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THE 


WORKS 


REV.  P/DODDRIDGE,  D.  D. 

IN  TEN  VOLUMES. 


VOLUME  IIL 


CONTAINING, 

I.  Sermons  on  public  occasions,  II    III.  Funeral  sermons, 

II.  Ordination  sermons.  ll    IV.  Hymns. 


LEEDS: 

PRINTED    BY    EDWARD    BAINES, 

VOH    THE    editors;    CONDER,    BUCKLERSBURY;    BUTTON,   PATERNOSTER-ROW; 
WILLIAMS,  STATIONERs'-COURT;   BAYNES,    PATERNOSTER-ROW;    OGLE, 
gREAT-TURN-STILE  ;  NUNN,  QUEEN-STREET;  AND  JONES,  PATER- 
NOSTER-ROW,     LONDON;     AND     FOR     BAINEt,     AND     BINNS, 
LKEDS;     COLBERT,     DUBLIN;     WILSON     AND    SPENCE, 
YORK;      OGLE     AND     AIKMAN,     EDINBURGH;      M, 
OGLE,     GLASGOW  ;      CROORES,    ROTHERdAM; 
AND    ABEL,    NORTHAMPTON. 

1803. 


CONTENTS  OF  VOLUME  III. 


SERMONS  ON  PUBLIC  OCCASIONS. 


Sermon  T.  On  a  Fire  at  Wellingborough        .... 

II.  On  a  Day  of  Public  Humiliation  •        •         • 

III.  Reflections  on  the  Conduct  of  Divine  Providence 

IV.  On  the  Shock  of  an  Earthquake 

V.  The  Duty  of  Compassion  to  the  Sick 

VI.  The  Absurdity  and  Iniquity  of  Persecution 

VII.  Deliverance  out  of  the  Hands  of  our  Enemies 


PACE. 

9 
29 
52 
•75 
95 
117 
141 


ORDINATION  SERMONS. 

SERMON  I.  The  Temper  and  Conduct  of  the  Piiraitive  Ministers     .        .  l7l 

II.  Directions  for  Ministerial  Conduct 192 

III.  Ministerial  Congratulations,  Admonitions,  &c.            .         .  209 
An  Appendix  relating  to  the  usual  Methods  of  Ordination  among  the 

Protestant  Dissenters          ....;..  225 

IV.  The  Evil  and  Danger  of  neglecting  the  Souls  of  Men           .  229 

V.  Christian  Candour  and  Unanimity 261 


PUNERAL  SERMONS. 
SERMON  I.  Tlie  Care  of  the  Soul  urged,  as  the  one  Tiling  Needful   . 

IJ.  Submission  to  Divine  Providence  in  the  Death  of  Children 
in.  Character  and  Translation  of  Enoch  .         . 

IV.  The  Christian  Warrior  animated  and  crowned 

V.  Christ's  mysterious  Conduct  to  be  unfolded  hereafter 

VI.  Meditations  on  the  Tears  of  Jesus      .... 

VII.  An  Oration  at  the  Grave  of  tlie  Rev.  Mr.  John  Newman 
Vin.  The  Christian's  Ttiumph  over  Death 


HYMNS   FOUNDED    ON   VARIOUS   TEXTS   IN   THE    HOLY 
SCRIPTURES. 


HYMNS  in  the  Old  Testament 
In  the  New  Testament 
On  Particular  Occasions 


285 
305 
329 
353 
369 
383 
404 
409 


433 
532 

634 


SERMONS 


PUBLIC  OCCASIONS. 


VOL.  IIT, 


TO  Yk^OSfi 


INHABITANTS  OF  WELLINGBOROUGH, 

^t  whose  Request  this  Sernion  is  published. 


MY  DEAR  FRIENDS, 

The  composition  of  laboured  and  polished  discourses  on  occasions  of  so* 
lenin  liumiliation  before  God,  seems  to  me  to  iiave  an  absurdity  yet  greater 
than  an  exact  elegance  of  dress  at  the  funeral  of  a  friend.  When  therefore  I 
appeared  among  you,  on  your  late  fast  day,  I  was  solicitous  about  little  other 
preparation,  than  what  arose  from  a  view  of  human  nature,  a  deep  feeling 
of  the  several  circumstances  of  youraflliclion,  and  a  serious  concern  to  deli- 
ver what  might  be  approved  of  God,  as  suited  to  the  great  purpose  of  your 
assembling,  and  subservient  to  your  edification  by  the  awful  providence  which 
occasioned  it. 

With  these  sentiments  I  spoke  to  you  out  of  the  fulness  of  my  heart, 
and  the  countenances  of  many  of  you  testified,  that  you  heard  me  in  the 
fulness  of  yours.  When  you  surprised  me  with  your  unexpected  request, 
that  the  sermon  might  be  printed  (which  some  of  my  reverend  brethren 
that  heard  it  had  before  intimated  as  their  desire,)  I  knew  not  how  to  deny 
you,  though  I  had  excused  myself  to  them  ;  lest  I  sliould  seem  wanting  in 
a  due  concern  to  keep  alive  upon  your  minds  any  good  impressions  which 
might  have  been  made  by  it :  and  on  farther  consideration  I  was  the  more 
willing  to  comply,  as  such  melancholy  accidents  (tiiough  blessed  be  God, 
not  in  an  equal  degree)  frequently  happen,  especially  in  populous  cities,  and 
I  do  not  recollect  many  single  sermons  which  so  directly  lead  to  the  religious 
improvement  of  them.  I  therefore  set  myself,  as  well  as  1  could,  to  recollect 
what  I  had  said,  and  have  endeavouied  to  preserve  the  same  freedom  in 
writing  which  I  used  in  speaking.  I  have  laboured,  as  much  as  possible,  to 
vrite  from  the  life.  The  ruins  of  your  town,  the  distress  of  your  families,  and 
the  mixture  of  hope  and  fear  attending  the  present  situation  of  your  alTairs, 
have  been  as  it  were  before  my  eyes,  and  on  my  heart  in  almost  every  sen- 
tence :  and  I  have  frequently  intermingled  these  meditations  with  earnest 
prayers  to  God,  that  he  so  would  lead  me  into  the  secret  recesses  of  your  soul?^ 
that  what  you  belbre  heard,  and  will  now  read, 'may  be  like  a  nail  fastened  in 
o.  sure  place . 

The  trouble  of  writing  this  discourse  in  short-hand,  and  afterwards  cor- 
recting the  transcript,  is  so  little  a  matter  as  hardly  to  deserve  your  thanks. 
Would  my  other  engagements  have  allowed  of  more,  I  should  have  submitted 
♦o  it  with  pleasure.     I  only  beg  that  you,  and  others  in  your  circumitauces, 

As 


1f5 


DEDICATION. 


into  whose  hands  it  may  fall,  will  read  it  attentively,  and  that  each  of  you. 
will  consider  what  conscience  hath  to  say  to  the  plain  admonitions  it  con- 
tains; and  if  you  feel  your  hearts  warmed  anew,  endeavour  immediately  to 
improve  those  good  affections,  that  they  may  produce  holy  resolutions,  and 
yield  the  peaceable  and  substantial  fruits  of  righteousness  ;  that  it  may  ap- 
pear you  have  not  siiffered  sn  many  things  in  vain. 

These  are  my  most  hearty  prayers  for  you.  I  hope  you  will  in  retura 
excuse  the  defects  of  a  sermon,  whicii  might  have  been  more  accurate,  had 
it  been  less  sincere  ;  and  will  also  pray,  that  I  may  be  animated  and  cheered 
tinder  the  various  and  almost  incessant  labours,  to  which  providence  calls 
me,  by  seeing  the  world  around  me  growing  the  wiser  and  better  by  them, 
and  may  finally  be  accepted  of  him,  whom  it  is  my  highest  ambition  to  serve 
and  please :  for  whose  sake  I  am 

Your  ttry  affectionate  friend, 

and  faithful  humble  servmvt, 

P.  DODDRIDGE. 

Northampton,  Dec.  30,  1731. 


[ 


SERMONS. 


SERMON   I. 
ON  A  FIRE  AT  WELLINGBOROUGH. 


Amos  iv.  11. /  hu'cc  overthroxvn  some  of  ipu,  as  God  overthreiv  Sodom  and 

Gomorruh,  and  ye  ivere  as  a  Firebrand  plucked  out  of  the  Burning  ;  yet 
have  ye  not  returned  unto  vie,  saith  the  Lord. 


We 


E  are  assembled  this  day,  (I  hope  many  of  us  with  sensi- 
ble and  penitent  hearts,)  to  lament  The  burning  which  the  Lord 
hath  kindled  *.  You  have  wisely  set  apart  this  portion  of  time 
as  a  season  of  solemn  fasting  and  prayer,  that  you  may  Hum- 
ble yourselves  under  God's  mighty  hand  f,  as  those  that  hope 
he  will  exalt  you  in  due  time.  But  what  is  that  humiliation 
which  he  requires,  and  will  accept  ?  Is  it  merely  for  a  few 
hours  To  bow  down  your  heads  like  a  bulrush  X?  Is  it  merely 
to  give  us  your  bodily  presence  in  this  place  of  worship,  and 
hear  the  words  that  are  spoken  in  God's  name  to  you,  or  in 
yours  to  him  ?  Nay,  I  will  add,  is  it  merely  to  feel  some  tran- 
sient emotions  of  the  mind,  in  the  reflection  of  a  providence, 
which  has  left  behind  it  such  deep  memorials,  as  nature  itself 
may  teach  those  to  retain,  whqm  grace  doth  not  teach  to  im- 
prove them  ?  Sirs,  if  your  assembling  this  day  be  indeed  a 
rational  and  a  religious  action,  you  come  to  enquire  wherefore 
it  is  that  God  hath  Called  to  contend  by  fircy  as  Amos  ex- 
presses it  §  :  you  come  that  the  voice  of  the  rod  may  be  more 
distinctly  explained,  in  the  name  of  him  Who  has  appointed 
it  (I,  and,  in  one  word,  agreeable  to  the  language  of  my  text, 
that  you  may  be  engaged  to  return  to  the  Lord  that  smiteth 
you. 

I  could  wish  you  had  among  you  such  an  interpreter,  as 
might  be  One  among  a  thousand^  to  declare  to  you  his  righte- 
ousness %,  and  his  will,  in  such  a  manner  as  might  most  effec- 
tually lead  you  to  comport  with  it.  But  since  the  office  of  ad- 
dressing you  on   this  occasion  is  devolved  upon   me,  I  shall 

»  Lev.  X.  6.  f  1  Pet.  v.  6.  +  Isai.  Iviii.  5. 

S  Amos  vii.  4.  H  Micsh  vi.  9.  f  Jul)  xxxiii.  23. 


46  6iJ  i^  FIRE  AT  WELLINGBOROL'GH.  SeR.  f» 

cndearour  to  shew  that  you  have  at  least  consigned  it  to  ond 
who  is  tenderly  concerned  for  you,  and  therefore  Avill  not,  and 
indeed  cannot  have  the  heart  to  amuse  you  with  a  studied  form 
of  words  ;  but  will  endeavour,  in  the  plainest  and  most  faithful 
manner,  to  advance  some  important  instructions  and  useful  re- 
flections, suited  to  the  sad  occasion  that  calls  us  together.  And 
though  some  of  those  hints,  like  the  providence  that  introduced- 
them,  may  seem  N^oi  to  be  joyous^  but  grievous'^,  I  hope  they 
may  afterwards  ijield  the  peaceable  fruits  of  righteousness ^ 

It  is  a  great  instance  both  of  the  wisdom  and  goodness  of 
God,  that  he  has  chosen  to  teach  us,  not  only  by  precept,  but 
example  ;  in  which  respect  it  may  properly  be  said,  as  well  as  in 
the  other,  that  He  has  set  before  us  life  and  death  §.  The  Hearts 
of  men  in  all  ages  are  fashioned,  in  a  great  measure  alike  \\; 
and  from  observing  the  temper  and  conduct  of  the  Israelites  in 
particular,  in  those  various  and  remarkable  circumstances,  in 
"which  they  are  represented,  we  may  learn  more  of  the  cor* 
ruption  of  our  nature,  and  draw  more  obvious  lessons  of  reli- 
gious instruction,  than  perhaps  from  the  history  of  any  other 
nation  whatsoever.  One  can  hardly  imagine  a  circumstance, 
either  of  prosperity  or  distress,  to  Avhich  there  is  not  something 
in  their  case,  w^iich  has  an  apparent  correspondence  ;  and  it 
IS  evidently  so  in  particular,  wdth  reference  to  the  event  spoken 
of  in  the  words  of  my  text.  God  had  been  exercising  them 
with  a  variety  of  judgments,  and  at  length,  as  that  was  one  of 
the  greatest,  he  gives  a  commission  to  the  devouring  flames  to 
break  out,  and  spread  ruin  and  desolation  in  their  dreadful 
inarch.  Thus  far  their  condition  and  yours  agree  ;  and  would 
to  God,  that  it  might  rest  there,  and  that  with  respect  to  you, 
■who  are  as  brands  plucked  out  of  the  burning,  there  might  be^ 
no  room  to  add,  yet  have  ye  not  reiurjied  unto  vie. 

In  handling  the  words,  I  shall, 

First,  Consider  their  contents  ;  and, 

Secondly,  attempt  the  practical  improvement  of  them,  with 
a  proper  regard  to  your  present  circumstances.  Yet  affecting 
as  they  are,  and  suitable  as  the  tenor  of  the  discourse  may 
be,  I  am  sensible  it  entirely  depends  on  the  divine  blessing  and 
grace,  to  make  it  successful ;  to  that  therefore  I  humbly  recom- 
mend what  I  am  about  to  say,  and  entreat  you  to  lift  up  your 
hearts  to  God,  that  he  may  give  you  the  seeing  eye,  the  hear- 
ing ear,  and  the  understanding  heart. 

*  Heb.  xii.  11.  f  ^eut.  xxx.  15.  +  Psal.  xxxiii.  15. 


The  Overthrow  of  Sodom  and  Gomorrah  iviproveJr.        U: 

I.  I  shall  first,  as  plij^nly  and  briefly  as  I  can,  consider  the 
original  meaning  and  contents  of  these  Avords,  /  have  over-s 
throxi'n  some  of  you,  as  God  ovcrlhrew  Sodom  and  Gomorrahy 
and  ye  were  as  a  firebrand  plucked  out  of  the  burning ;  yet 
have  ye  not  returned  unto  me,  saiih  the  Lord :  In  which  Avords 
you  will  naturally  observe, 

1.  They  are  reminded,  that  it  was  the  hand  of  God,  which 
bad  lately  kindled  a  fire  among  them. 

I  have  overthroxvn  some  of  you,  as  God  overthrew  Sodom 
and  Gomorrah.  I  doubt  not  but  these  words  are  to  be  under- 
stood,  in  a  proper  and  literal  sense,  of  fire,  and  of  fire  kindled 
in  the  common  methods  of  divine  providence. 

They  are  to  be  understood  of  fire  properly  so  called.  It  is 
true,  sometimes  an}"  of  God's  judgments  are  compared  to  Fire^y 
that  being,  as  you  too  well  know,  a"  most  dreadful  and  irresis- 
tible calamity,  when  it  breaks  out  among  the  dweUings  and 
possessions  of  men.  Thus  does  the  Avrath  of  God,  whenever  it 
is  kindled,  rage  and  flame.  Thus  does  it  bear  down  all  before  it, 
and  turn  the  most  pleasant  objects  into  heaps  of  ruin,  desolation, 
and  horror.  But  here,  I  apprehend,  it  is  to  be  taken  for  pro- 
per fire,  because  it  stands  distinguished  from  several  other  kind* 
of  judgments,  ver.  7,  &seq.  from  drought,  blasthig,  and  mildew  f 
from  the  palmerworm,  and  the  pestilence;  and  it  is  very  remark- 
able, that  it  brings  up  the  rear,  as  one  of  the  most  terrible  of  all. 

I  scruple  not  to  add,  that  Amos  speaks  of  fire  kindled  by 
the  common  method  of  divine  providence.  It  is  indeed  said,  he 
overthrew  them,  as  God  overthrew  Sodom  and  Gomorrah,  whic;h, 
you  know,  was  by  fire  and  brimstone,  rained  down  upon  thcni 
in  a  miraculous  manner ;  but  there  is  no  reason  to  take  the 
words  thus  strictly,  or  to  suppose  that  such  a  terrible  tempest  of 
fire  and  brimstone  had  actually  fallen  upon  the  cities  of  Israel. 
That  had  been  an  event  of  so  great  moment  and  importance, 
that  probably  the  sacred  history  Avould  have  been  full  of  it,  and 
succeeding  prophets  would  oiten  have  referred  to  it,  as  more 
memorable  than  even  the  calamity  of  Sodom,  as  such  a  visitation 
on  God's  people  would  certainly  have  been ;  whereas  there  is 
an  entire  silence  elsewhere,  with  relation  to  any  such  judgment. 
And  I  am  sure  it  is  impossible  to  infer  it  from  hence,  because 
The  overthrow  of  Sodom  and  Gomorrah  was  proverbially  used 
for  any  very  dreadful  calamity  f,  and  might  with  peculiar  pro- 

*Sio  Psal.  xcvii.  3.     Isa.  xxx.  33.  Ixvi.  15,  16.     Jer.  iv.  4.  xxi.  12.     Lani.  ii. 
3,4.     Kzck.  xxxvi.  5.     Amos  v.  6.     Nah.  i.6. 

+  Deut,  xxix.  33.     Isa.  i.  9»  xiii.  19.    Jcr.  xlix.  15.  I.  40.     Zt'ph.  ii.  9.    Mat. 


12  ON   A    FIRE    AT    WELLINGBOROUGH.  SeR.  F, 

priety  express  any  devastation  that  was  made  by  fire,  though 
kindled  in  a  common  manner. 

As  for  the  fires  here  mentioned,  it  is  possible  some  of  them 
might  have  been  kindled,  by  what  men  in  their  common  forms 
of  speech  call  some  unhappy  accident ;  and  drought,  and  winds, 
and  other  circumstances  might  concur,  to  spread  that  conflagra- 
tion, which  at  first  arose  from  a  little  spark,  or  some  trifling 
instance  of  negligence.  Others  of  these  fires  might  be  kindled 
by  a  cruel  enemy :  for  though  Joash,  the  father  of  Jeroboam  the 
Second,  in  whose  days  Amos  prophesied,  was  in  the  main  a 
prosperous  and  successful  monarch,  yet  being  engaged  in  fre- 
quent wars  with  his  neighbours,  it  is  not  improbable  that  the 
frontiers  of  his  country  might  sometimes  suffer  by  them.  And 
■we  are  particularly  informed  of  a  Syrian  war,  which  had  hap- 
pened some  years  before:  for  Ave  are  told,  that  in  the  days  of 
Jehoahaz,  The  anger  of  the  Lord  was  kindled  against  Israel^ 
and  he  delivered  them  into  the  hands  of  Hazael  king  of  Syria^ 
and  Benhadad  his  son,  all  their  days^,  and  He  oppressed  Israel 
all  the  days  of  Jehoahazf.  And  since  this  Hazael  carried  hia 
inhumanity  so  far,  as  to  Dash  even  their  children  in  pieces,  and 
to  rip  up  their  women  with  child,  it  is  no  wonder  also,  that  he 
should  set  their  strong  holds  on  fire;  as  we  are  expressly  assured 
that  he  did  I . 

But  whatever  was  the  occasion  of  the  conflagration,  whe>-. 
ther  the  cruelty  of  enemies,  or  negligence,  or  accidents,  you 
plainly  see,  that  God  claims  it  to  himself,  as  his  own  deed,  that 
he  had  overthrown  them;  agreeable  to  the  general  principle 
•which  is  laid  down  in  this  very  prophecy,  as  what  every  man's 
conscience  must  bear  testimony  to,  that  there  is  no  Evil  in  a 
city,  that  the  Lord  hath  not  done  §.  And  it  is  a  most  evident 
and  important  truth,  discovered  and  attested  even  by  natural 
religion,  that  all  the  efficacy  of  second  causes  is  owing  to  the 
continual  operation  of  the  Supreme.  He  appointed  'fire  and 
water  to  be,  in  their  various  natures,  useful  to  mankind;  and 
when  he  pleases,  he  can  turn  both  into  a  scourge.  Thus  when 
the  rains  descend,  and  the  floods  beat  down  the  fruits  of  the' field, 
and  overwhelm  houses,  with  their  inhabitants,  it  is  he  that 
Breaks  up  the  fountains  of  the  deep,  and  opens  the  windows  of 
heaven  ||.  And  when  the  flames  break  out  with  impetuosity,  and 
the  fiery  deluge  spreads  itself  abroad,  it  is  The  breath  of  the 
Lord  that  kindles  it  5[,  and  keeps  it  up  ;  nor  does  one  single 

*  2  Kings  xiii.  3.  tVer.  22.  +  Kings  viii.  12.  §Auiosiii.  6. 

\  Gen.  vii.  1 1.  ^  [sa.  xxx.  33. 


The  Overthrow  of  Sodom  and  Gomorrah  improved.         \'i 

spark  rise  or  full  without  liis  providential  interposition  and  guid- 
ance. An  observation  to  be  applied  to  all  tiie  other  events  of 
liuman  life,  and  whicli  the  sacred  scriptures  every  uhere  in- 
culcate, with  a  plainness  and  spirit  suited  to  its  importance,  for 
the  conviction  of  those  ignorant  wretched  creatures,  who  live 
Without  God  in  the  world  *. 

2.  The  prophet  farther  leads  them  to  reflect  on  their  own 
preservation  from  the  flames,  as  an  instance  of  divine  mercy. 

Ye  were  as  a  firebrand  plucked  out  of  the  burning;  this 
plainly  intimates,  how  narrow  an  escape  they  had  Irom  the 
extremity  of  danger  to  which  they  were  exposed  :  and  so  the 
expression  is  elsewhere  used,  where  Jerusalem  is  represented 
by  the  same  simiUtude  ;  Is  not  this  a  brand  plucked  out  of  the 
fireS'^  It  imphes,  that  they  were  just  ready  to  be  consumed  ; 
that  the  flames  were  beginning  to  take  hold  of  them  ;  that  The 
smell  of  fire  had,  as  it  -were,  passed  upon  thcmX,  and  they 
Vere  scorched  and  blackened  with  it  ;  but  yet  they  were  saved, 
and  Their  lives  at  least  given  them/or  a  prey  §.  There  may 
perhaps  be  some  remote  reference  to  the  case  of  Lot,  who  when 
God  was  about  to  overthrow  Sodom,  and  he  loitered  in  it,  was 
thus  delivered  ;  for  The  Lord  being  mtrcifid  unto  him,  the  men 
laid  hold  of  his  hand,  ami  brought  him  out  of  Sodom  ||. 

Again,  as  the  prophet  argues  from  their  preservation,  as 
■well  as  their  calamity,  to  enforce  their  obligations  to  return  to 
God,  we  may  infer,  that  ho  intended  to  represent  that  pre- 
servation likewise  as  his  work.  Whatever  accidental  engage- 
ments, whatever  prudential  conduct,  might  have  been  the  means 
of  it,  still  it  was  to  be  acknowledged,  that  there  was  the  gra- 
cious hand  of  God  in  it,  wiiieh  prevented  their  being  destroyed 
with  then-  habitations.  And  we  lose  more  than  half  of  the  sweet- 
ness and  advantage  of  all  our  deliverances,  if  we  do  not  see 
and  adore  the  gracious  providence  of  God  in  them,  and  are  not 
thereby  engaged  in  his  service.     Which  leads  me  to  add, 

3.  It  is  also  intimated  in  the  text,  that  the  design  of  this 
afflictive  providence  Avas,  to  bring  them  to  thorough  repentance 
and  reformation. 

Vet  have  ye  not  returned  unto  me,  sailh  the  Lord  ;  plainly 
implying,  that  this  was  what  might,  humanly  speaking,  have 
been  expected,  and  what  was  by  God  intended  in  the  dispensa- 
tion.    This  gives  us  u  most  edifying  and  important  view  of  ilie 

*  Eph.  ii.   V2.  f  Zech.  iii.  1.  \  Dan.  iii,  ^7, 

§  Jer.  xxi.  9.  II  Q^n.  xix.  16. 

VOL.  III.  B 


14  ON  A  FIRE  AT  WELLINGBOROUGH.  SeR.  1. 

nature  of  true  repentance  ;  it  is  a  return  to  God.  Ail  sin  is  an 
alienation  of  the  heart  from  the  service  of  God,  to  which  we 
are  under  ten  thousand  natural  obligations,  ail  highly  increased 
by  the  revelation  God  has  made  of  himself  to  us.  Now  the 
very  essence  of  true  repentance  consists  in  a  return  to  God ;  in 
a  deep  acknowledgment  of  our  guilt  in  going  astray  from  him, 
and  casting  off  the  easy  yoke  of  his  commands  ;  and  in  re- 
newed resolutions  of  devoting  ourselves,  for  the  future,  more 
entirely  to  his  service.  That  external  reformation,  which  arises 
from  other  inferior  motives,  is  by  no  means  worthy  of  the  name 
of  religion.  It  may  indeed  be  human  prudence  ;  it  may  be  com- 
passion to  others,  who  might  suffer  by  our  irregularities  :  but 
till  God  is  regarded,  yea  supremely  regarded  in  it,  we  cannot 
reasonably  suppose,  that  God  will  regard  us;  which  he  intimates, 
■when  he  complains  concerning  the  Israelites,  that  Theyreiurnedf 
but  not  to  the  Most  High  *. 

Again,  the  text  further  implies,  that  this  overthrow  by 
fire  had,  in  its  own  nature,  a  tendency  to  promote  such  peni- 
tent and  religious  sentiments,  and  that  it  was  their  duty  to  con- 
sider it  in  this  view.  And  indeed,  Avhatever  awakening  judg- 
ments befal  men,  it  is  their  wisdom  and  duty  thus  to  regard  them. 
The  Lordcriethf  and  the  wise  vmn  will  hear  his  voice  :  Hear  ye 
the  rod,  and  him  that  hath  appointed  it  f.  And  thus  God  is  re- 
presented, as  sending  very  terrible  calamities  on  the  Israelites 
in  this  very  view  ;  In  their  affliction  they  xvill  seek  7ne  early ^ 
saying.  Come  let  us  return  unto  the  Lord  ;  for  he  has  torn,  and 
he  will  heal  us ;  he  has  smitten,  and  he  will  bind  us  up  %-  And 
it  is  a  most  important  truth,  that  he  Does  not  afflict  willingly, 
nor  grieve  the  children  of  men  ^:  which  abundantly  justifies 
the  goodness  of  God,  in  all  those  penal  evils  with  which  our 
world  abounds.  Life  is  to  be  considered  as  a  state  of  discipline, 
and  our  heavenly  Father  has  recourse  to  the  rod,  that  it  may 
give  wisdom  to  those,  who  are  too  giddy,  or  too  stubborn  to 
learn  it  by  gentler  methods.  Thus  did  God  call  to  the  Israel- 
ites ;  thus  is  he  calling  to  you  ;  and  may  his  grace  prevent  the 
necessity  of  joining  with  the  prophet,  when, 

4.  He  complains  that  tliey  had  not  fallen  in  with  the  de- 
sign of  those  awful  providences,  but  still  continued  an  unre- 
formed  and  impenitent  people. 

Vet  have  ye  7iot  returned  unto  me,  saith  the  Lord,  notwith- 
standing this  judgment,  and  all  the  others  with  which  it  was 
introduced.     And  this  charge  is  advanced  no  less  than  five  times, 

*  Hos.  \ii.  16.        t  Mich,  vi,  9.         %  Hos.  v.  15.     rj.  1.  §  Lam.  iii.  33. 


The  Overthrow  of  Sodom  and  Gomorrah  improved.         1 5 

\\itliin  six  verses.  Tlioiigli  /  have  given  you  cleanness  of 
teeth  in  all  your  cities y  and  want  of  bread  in  all  your  places; 
thoucrh  /  have  xvithheld  the  rain  from  you  ;  though  /  have 
smitten  you  with  blasting  and  mildew  ;  yea,  though  /  have 
sent  a>nong  you  the  pestilence^  after  the  manner  of  Egypt ;  your 
young  men  have  I  slain  with  the  sword,  and  the  stench  oj  their 
camps  hath  come  up  unto  your  nostrils ;  and  though,  to  cotnplete 
all,  /  have  overthrown  some  of  you ,  as  God  overthrew  Sodom 
and  Goinorrah,  and  ye  were  as  a  frcbrand  plucked  out  oj  the 
burning ;  yet  have  ye  not  returned  unto  me,  saith  the  Lord*". 
Thus  the  awful  majesty  of  heaven  complains,  that  they  had 
been  chastised,  and  delivered  in  vain.  And  indeed,  when  we 
come  to  examine  into  their  history,  ^ve  find  the  complaint  but 
too  just.  Could  it  be  said  they  returned  to  God  when  they 
Sold  the  righteous  for  silver,  and  the  poor  for  a  pair  of  shoes ; 
when  they  had  trodden  down  the  head  of  the  poor  in  the  dust 
of  the  earth ;  when  they  added  whoredom,  and  incest,  to  all 
their  other  iniquities ;  and  with  mingled  rapine  and  impietv, 
lay  down  be/ore  their  idolatrous  altars,  on  clothes,  which  (ex- 
pressly against  the  law)  they  had  taken  for  pledges,  and  drank 
in  the  house  of  their  false  Gods,  the  wine  of  those  whom  they 
hdd  un]U:it\y  condemned  f?  Yet  this  is  the  account  that  God 
himself  gives  of  the  state  of  things  among  tliem,  in  the  pre- 
ceding chapter,  even  he  who  had  been  witness  to  their  sins,  and 
Had  sworn  by  himself,  that  he  would  not  forget  any  of  their 
•WorksX'  So  evidently  does  it  appear,  that  the  human  heart 
may  harden  itself  against  the  most  dreadful  dispensations  of 
divine  providence,  and,  like  That  king  Ahaz,  even  in  its  dis- 
tresses may  trespass  yet  more  against  the  Lord  §;  unless  the 
secret  intiuence  of  his  grace  be  joined  with  the  stroke  of  his 
rod,  and  while  he  is  Chastening  them  thereby,  he  teaches  them 
out  of  his  law  \\,  There  is  a  Reprobate  kind  of  silver,  which 
■will  not  be  purged  even  by  fire,  when  the  bellows  are  burnt, 
and  the  lead  coiuumed,  the  founder  will  yet  have  laboured  in 
vain  %. 

Thus  I  have  laid  before  you  those  particulars  in  the  text, 
that  appear  to  me  most  remarkable  and  instructive.  And  though 
I  doubt  not  but  you  have  anticipated  me  in  your  own  reflections, 
yet  I  hope  you  will  now  permit  me, 

*  Amos  ir.  6 — 1 1 .  f  Amos  ii.  6 — 8.  X  Amos  viii.  7. 

5  ?  Cbron.  xxviii,  23.  |1  Pial.  xciv.  1 2.  %  .Icr.  vi.  29, 30. 

B2 


36  ON  A  FIRE  AT  WELLINGBOROUGH.  SeR.  I. 

II.  To  attempt  the  more  particular  application  of  these 
things  to  you,  of  whom  it  may  with  such  evident  propriety  be 
said,  God  has  overthrown  some  of  you,  and  ye  were  as  a  Jire^ 
brand  plucked  out  of  the  burning. 

And  here  let  me  solemnly  intrcat  and  charge  you, — that 
you  acknowledge  the  rio-hteous  hand  of  God  in  what  has  be- 
fallen  you, — that  you  reflect  on  the  mixture  of  mercy,  that  has 
attended  this  awful  providence,— that  you  make  it  your  earnest 
prayer,  that  the  dross  of  sin  may  be  purged  away  by  it, — and 
that  you  long  retain  upon  your  hearts  a  permanent  sense  of 
these  important  lessons,  which  you  have  seen  in  so  strong  and 
so  affectini!^  a  lioht. 

1.  Let  me  intreat  you  to  acknowledge  the  righteous  hand 
of  God  in  this  calamity  which  has  befallen  you. 

Let  me  address  you  in  those  words  of  the  Psalmist,  Be 
still  and  know  that  he  is  God  *.  Be  affected  with  the  sense 
of  his  interposition,  and  confess  the  righteousness  of  it.  Assure 
yourselves,  Sirs,  that  it  is  not  only  a  general  truth,  that  as  wo 
before  observed,  all  second  causes,  and  fires  among  the  rest, 
operate  only  by  the  divine  concurrence,  and  efficacy,  but  that 
it  is  applicable  to  the  present  occasion.  It  was  the  hand  of  the 
Lord  that  kindled  your  fire,  and  his  breath  that  fanned  it  into 
such  a  terrible  blaze.  The  wind,  you  say,  drove  it  upon  some 
of  the  most  considerable  parts  of  your  town  ;  but  under  whose 
command  is  the  wind  ?  And  why  did  it  not  blow  towards  an  op^ 
posite  quarter,  so  as  to  bear  it  the  contrary  way,  where  it 
would  soon  have  died  for  want  of  fuel  ?  Or  why  did  it  not  sleep 
in  an  entire  calm,  which  might  have  given  you  an  opportunity 
of  extinguishing  the  burning  Avith  little  trouble  and  damage  ? 

It  was  his  hand  ;  and  let  it  also  be  remembered,  it  was  a 
very  righteous  hand.  Know,  that  God  is  just  in  all  that  he  has 
brought  upon  you,  nay,  in  all  this  he  Has  punished  you  less  than 
your  iniquities  deserved  f.  I  mean  not  to  insinuate  by  this,  that 
you  of  this  town  are  Greater  sinners  X,  than  those  that  are 
round  about  you  ;  or  that  any  inference  is  to  be  drawn,  as  to 
the  character  of  particular  persons,  or  families,  from  their  share 
of  this  calamity,  whether  more  or  less.  I  would  not,  by  'any- 
such  partial  and  imcharitable  censure,  ^dd  grief  to  your  sor-f 
row  §.  Nor  would  it  be  reasonable  to  do  it  ;  for  in  such  pro-r 
vidences  as  these.  All  things  come  alike  to  all,  and  there  is  one 
event  tQ   the  righteous,  and  tha  wicked  ||.      But  this  I   confi- 

*  Psal.  xlvi.  10.  t  Ezra  ix.  13.  +  Luke  xiii.  2,  4, 

§  Jer.  xlv.  5.  ||  Eccles.  ix,  '>. 


The  Overthrow  of  Sodom  and  Gomorrah  improved.         17 

riently  say,  that  all  the  sufferers  that  hear  me  this  dci}',  how  clear 
soever  they  may  have  been  from  scandalous  crimes,  nay,  how- 
ever worthv  in  their  character,  or  however  useful  in  then-  sta- 
tion, have  reason  to  acknowledge,  that  there  urextnth  them,  even 
with  thetn,  sins  against  the  Lord  their  God,  sufficient  to  justify 
this,  and  more  than  this  :  yea,  such  will  be  most  ready  to  say, 
Jt  is  of  the  Lord's  mercies  that  we  are  not  consumed  *;  justly 
inioht  he  have  delivered  us  o\er  to  Indignation  and  wrath, 
tribulation  arid  atiguishfy  to  the  rage  of  everlasting  burnings, 
and  the  darkness  of  perpetual  despair :  we  I^ay  our  hands  on 
our  mouths  X,  Jind  our  mouths  in  tl>e  dust,  and  cry  out  guiltv 
before  thee.  And  while  ^-ou  are  thus  owning  God's  justice,  let 
me  exhort  you, 

2.  To  attend  to  the  mixture  of  mercy,  whicli  has  appeared 
in  this  memorable  providence. 

Let  me  call  you  this  day  to  sec  it,  and  own  it,  and  to  min- 
gle songs  of  praise  with  your  tears.  Think  not,  1  beseech  you, 
your  case  worse  than  it  really  is  ;  but  acknowledge  the  good- 
ness of  God  in  every  mitigating  circumstance  that  attends  it. 
Most  certain  it  is,  most  evident  to  every  one  that  is  but  a  stran- 
ger among  yon,  to  cverv  wayfaring  man  that  passes  b}'  your 
dwellings,  that  in  the  midst  of  judgment,  God  has  remembered 
mercy  :  Why  else  is  not  your  whole  town  consumed  ?  Why 
had  some  of  you  houses  standing,  in  which  to  receive  your 
suffering  brethren,  and  stores  remaining,  out  of  which  to  relieve 
them  r  Let  me  address  mvself  to  those  of  you  in  particular, 
who  were  in  the  near  neighbourhood  of  tiesolation  ;  to  you,  that 
were  in  a  literal  sense  like  a  brand  plucked  out  of  the  burnings 
freed  from  the  flames,  that  were  raging  near  you,  perhaps,  I 
mav  add,  that  were  devouring  all  around  3'ou  ;  to  you,  whose 
houses  stand  in  the  midst  of  the  ruins,  as  monuments  of  (jod's 
peculiar  and  distinguishing  goodness  :  Now  does  he  demand  your 
sacrifice  of  praise  ;  and  see  to  it  that  you  retain  an  abiding  sense 
of  the  mercy,  and  of  that  consequent  claim,  which  he  has  to  dis- 
tinguished services  from  you. 

But  let  me  address  myself  to  those,  who,  though  perliaps 
their  houses  were  reached,  had  opportunities,  as  I  know  very 
many  of  you  had,  of  saving  some  considerable  part  of  vou» 
goods  ;  or  to  those  who  had  estates,  and  substance  elsewhere, 
out  of  the  reach  of  those  flames,  perhaps  sufficient  for  the  com- 
fortable and  honourable  support  of  your  families ;  perhaj)s,  after 
nil  this  diminution,  far  more  than  you  were  possessed  of  some 

*  Lam.  iii.  2V'.  f  Rora.ii.  8,  9.  *  Judt'-  x-viii.  1'.'. 


18  ON   A    FIRE   AT   WELLINGBOROUGH.  SeR.  I. 

years  aj^o.  Permit  me,  Sirs,  to  tell  yon,  that  it  would  be  very 
criminal  ingratitude,  to  think  so  much  of  what  you  have  lost,  as 
to  forget  your  remaining  mercies;  permit  me  to  say,  that  you 
have  reason,  as  it  were,  to  weep  over  those  floods  of  tears,  which 
you  have  so  profusely  shed :  To  Faint  thus  in  the  day  of  ad- 
versity, argues  ?/otir  spiritual  strength  to  be  small*;  and  per- 
haps may  discover  such  an  attachment  to  the  enjoyments  of 
this  present  life,  as  may  awaken  a  serious  mind  to  more  afflic- 
tive doubts,  lest  your  portion  is  here,  or  your  Gods  are  taken 
awayf. 

But  what  shall  I  say  to  those  of  you,  Avho  have  lost  your  all ; 
your  houses,  your  goods,  your  furniture,  your  clothing;  and 
are  turned  out  naked  and  destitute,  to  seek  your  bread  you 
hardly  know  where  ?  I  do  from  my  heart  condole  with  such  of 
you  ;  I  have  felt  your  affliction  myself,  and,  as  I  have  had  oppor- 
tunity^, recommended  it  to  the  consideration  of  others  ;  but  you 
must  give  me  leave  to  remind  you,  that  even  in  your  case  there 
is  a  mixture  of  mercy :  why  else  are  you  living  among  us  this 
day?  Is  it  not  something,  that  your  lives  have  been  given  you 
as  a  prey  ?  Is  it  not  to  be  acknowledged  as  a  gracious  circum- 
stance in  providence,  that  the  fire  did  not  break  out  in  the  night, 
and  surround  you  while  you  were  sleeping  in  your  beds,  so  as 
to  cut  off  perhaps  the  possibility  of  your  own  escape ;  or  at 
least  to  oblige  you,  in  your  first  surprise,  to  fly  for  your  own 
lives,  incapable  of  assisting  those,  that  were  dearest  to  you? 
What  if  when  you  had  a  little  recovered  yourselves  from  your 
consternation,  and  come  to  examine  the  ruins,  you  had  found 
among  them  the  bones  of  a  beloved  child,  or  of  a  friend,  who 
had  been  to  you  as  your  own  soul  ?  There  had  been  a  wound 
indeed,  the  scar  and  the  pain  of  which,  you  must  probably  have 
carried  to  your  graves.  But  your  present  losses  are  much  less  de- 
plorable :  for,  not  to  say  how  much  The  spirit  of  a  man  may  sus- 
tainX  these  afflictions  ;  not  to  plead,  what  good  sense,  and  much 
more  religion  may  do,  towards  reconciling  men  to  some  of  the 
inconveniences  of  poverty ;  it  is  to  be  remembered,  that  God 
may  change  the  scene  !  Hope  at  least  is  remaining,  and  that  not 
an  improbable  hope.  God  has  supported  you  thus  far,-and  al- 
ready carried  you  through  the  most  helpless  and  destitute  days 
of  life,  that  you  ever  saw,  or  probably  will  see.  Your  brethren, 
your  neighbours,  your  friends,  and  benefactors,  whether  nearer 
or  more  remote,  have  pitied  you ;  and  pity  alone,  much  more 
with  those  substantial  expressions  of  it,  is  some  balm  to  our  sor- 

*  Prov.  xxiv,  1 0.  f  Judg.  xviii,  24.  J  Prov,  xviii.  14-. 


The  Overthrow  of  Sodom  and  Gomorrah  improved.        19 

rows.  Let  mc  call  you  this  day  thankfully  to  acknowledge  the 
wisdom  and  goodness  of  the  great  author  of  our  beings,  who 
has  thus  made  man  the  guardian  of  man ;  who  has  implanted  this 
tender  feeling  in  the  humdn  mind;  so  that  on  the  sight  of  any 
remarkable  distress  of  our  fellow-creatures,  we  arc  moved  by  a 
most  powerful,  but  amiable  kind  of  instinct,  to  open  our  hands, 
yea,  to  draw  out  our  souls  to  them.  Happy  provision  of  the 
God  of  nature  and  of  grace,  -which  makes  the  possessions  of  the 
•wealthy  and  prosperous  a  perpetual  bank  for  the  support  of  the 
distressed ;  and  opens,  as  it  were,  amidst  heaps  of  desolation,  the 
sweet  fountains  of  benevolence  on  one  hand,  and  of  gratitude  on 
the  other !  These  things  call  for  your  acknowledgment ;  and  you 
are  to  remember,  that  all  those  supplies  are  ultimately  derived 
from  God,  Avhich,  from  his  additional  goodness,  he  chuses  to 
send  yon  bv  the  hands  of  your  fellow-creatures.  And  I  would 
hope,  he  will  go  on  to  do  you  good,  and  will  so  Turn  your  cap- 
tivitij,  like  that  of  Job*,  that  your  present  suffering  may  serve 
to  add  a  greater  relish  to  succeeding  and  growing  prosperity. 
At  least  with  regard  to  the  true  christian,  there  remains  another 
more  secure,  as  well  as  more  important  hope  ;  that  the  soul  may 
be  enriched  by  what  impoverishes  the  body,  and  that  these  Light 
afflictions,  which  are  but  for  a  moment,  may  work  out  afar  more 
exceeding,  and  eternal  weight  of  glory  ■\:  which  if  you  desire, 
then, 

3.  Make  it  your  serious  concern  and  earnest  prayer,  that 
the  dross  of  sin  may  be  purged  aw^ay  by  this  burning. 

Bi/  this,  said  Isaiah  the  prophet,  speaking  of  very  terrible 
judgments,  which  God  sent  among  the  Israelites,  By  this  shall 
the  iniquity  of  Jacob  be  purged,  and  this  is  all  the  fruit  to  take 
away  his  sinX-  Surely  then  it  is  meet  to  say  unto  God,  I  have 
borne  chastisement,  I  will  not  offend  any  more  :  that  which  I  know 
not,  teach  thou  vie;  if  I  have  done  iniquity,  I  will  do  no  more  §. 
So  may  it  be  with  you,  and  you  w  ill  be  unspeakable  gainers  by 
this  loss ;  gainers  in  the  true  comfort  and  happiness  of  the  re« 
mainder  of  life,  and  much  more  in  the  future  state. 

In  pursuit  of  this  blessed  end,  let  me,  my  friends,  this  day 
solemnly  call  you  to  Search  and  try  your  ways^,  and  to  ex- 
amine what  is  that  Accursed  thing,  which  may  have  occasioned 
this  trouble  and  distress  5[.  I  cannot  do  you  a  kinder  ofBce, 
than  to  assist  you  in  the  enquiry.  Give  me  leave  therefore  lo 
suggest  a  few  reflections;  by  which  I  would  not  be  understood 

*  Job  xlii.  10.  t'ZCor.  iv.  17.         +Isa.xxvii.  9,         §  Jcb  xxxiv.  51,  32. 

jjLam.  iii.40.  ^  Job  vii.  11. 


J?(7  ON    A    FIRE    AT    WELLINGBOROUGH.  SeR.  !» 

to  mean  any  thing  personal,  for  indeed  I  cannot  intend  it ;  most 
of  you  are  strangers  to  nic,  nor  have  I  reason  to  suspect  pecuhar 
evil  of  any  ;  but  an  acquaintance  with  human  nature  in  general  j 
will  very  naturally  lead  me,  in  the  present  circumstance,  to  turn 
your  thoughts  inward,  that  you  may  Accomplish  a  diligent 
search*.  Wherefore  has  God  visited  you  ?  Wherefore  has  he 
JVi'iiten  these  hittei'  things  against  t/ on  f? 

It  may  be,  some  of  you  have  indulged  yourselves  in  a 
luxurious  way  of  hving  ;  and  therefore  God  has  stript  you  of 
those  things,  which  have  been  the  instruments  of  it.  You  have, 
perhaps,  taken  a  secret  pleasure  and  pride  in  gay  dress,  or  af- 
fected a  magnificence  of  furniture,  beyond  your  rank ;  and  there* 
fore  God  has  consumed  your  ornaments,  and  turned  you  out 
almost  naked  and  bare.  Or  you  have  perhaps  been  addicted 
to  riot  and  intemperance,  squandering  away  3'our  substance, 
and  destroying  your  health,  and  it  may  be,  your  reason,  with 
the  abundance  of  good  things  God  had  given  you.  Just  is  he 
then  in  taking  them  away  ;  for  it  is  a  thousand  times  better,  that 
intoxicating  liquors  should  be  employed,  as  they  have  been  here, 
even  to  quench  the  flames,  or  that  the  choicest  dainties  should 
be  burnt  up,  and  your  money  perish  with  them,  than  that  your 
reason  should  be  impaired,  your  health  destroyed,  and  your 
families  reduced  by  continued  extravagance. 

Perhaps  there  are  some  of  you  that  have  been  accustomed 
to  make  a  kind  of  by-word  of  hell  and  damnation,  to  scatter 
about  in  rage,  or  mere  wantonness,  oaths  and  imprecations ; 
which  in  a  professed  christian  is  blasphemous  impiety,  and  which 
even  an  atheist  must  own,  to  be  at  best  but  boisterous  and. un- 
mannerly nonsense.  And  if  so,  justly  has  God  executed  upon 
3'ou  that  denunciation  against  JIi?n  that  sweareih ;  justly  has  he 
caused  his  curse  to  efiter  and  remain  in  the  midst  of  your  houscy 
and  consumed  it,  with  the  timber  thereof,  and  the  stones  thereof  %, 
Or  possibly,  in  other  of  your  houses,  the  fire  of  contention 
has  before  been  kindled ;  contention  between  the  members  of 
the  same  family,  or  between  neighbour  and  neighbour;  while  a 
clashing  of  secular  interests  with  some,  or  the  diversity  of  re- 
ligious persuasions  and  practices  with  others,  have  led  you  to 
forget  the  common  ties  of  brotherhood  and  human  kind,  and  to 
burn  with  mutual  animosity  and  wrath.  Justl}-  has  God  writ- 
ten your  sin  in  your  punishment,  and  joined  you  as  companions 
in  suffering  and  distress  ;  which  must  surely  teach  you  a  better 
temper,  if  you  are  not  (juite  incorrigible. 

*Psal.  Lxiv.  G.  fjobxili.26.  ^  Zetb.  v.  4, 

2 


The  Overthrow  of  Sodom  and  Gomori-ah  improved.       21 

But  amoni;  those  of  a  more  peaceable  disposition,  are 
there  none,  that  are  conscious  to  themselves  of  dishonest  crain  ? 
No  Merchant,  or  trader,  that  has  held  the  balances  of  deceit  in 
his  hand'',  and  has  allowed  himself  to  keep,  as  the  scripture  ex- 
presses it,  A  weight  and  a  weight,  a  measure  ajid  a  measure  f, 
to  buy  by  the  one,  and  to  sell  by  the  other  ?  None,  that  have 
Gone  beyond  and  defrauded  their  brethren  %,  and  practised  arts 
by  which  they  would  have  thought  themselves  to  have  been 
greatly  injured,  if  they  had  met  with  them  from  others?  If 
such  there  be,  that  as  the  prophet  expresses  it,  have  Coveted  an 
evil  covetousness  to  their  house  ^,  let  them  not  Avondcr,  if  God 
has  verified  the  Avords  of  his  servant,  so  that  The  stone  has 
cried  out  of  the  wall,  and  the  beam  out  of  the  timber  has  a?!- 
swered  it  \\.  And  so  will  it  be  with  those,  who  may  attempt  to 
found  their  rising  houses  in  falsehood,  and  to  cement  them  with 
perjury.  And  if  any  have  already  done  it,  by  giving  in,  even 
upon  oath,  unjust  accounts  of  their  losses,  let  them  Be  sure, 
their  sin  wilt  find  them  out^,  and  their  unrighteous  gain,  the 
phmder  of  their  fellow-sufferers,  will  be  bitterness  in  the 
latter  end. 

But  to  insist  no  longer  upon  this  head,  it  is  very  probable 
there  are  some,  whose  conscience  would  not  allow  them  in  such 
methods  as  these,  who  yet  may  accuse  themselves  of  having 
been  formerly,  in  their  most  prosperous  days,  backward  to 
actions  of  bounty  and  charity ;  some,  in  whom  the  words  of 
Solomon  are  fulfilled,  They  have  withheld  more  than  is  meet, 
and  it  has  tended  only  to  poverty  **.  It  may  be,  when  compas- 
sionate objects  have  presented  themselves,  or  been  re<:ommended 
to  you,  your  hearts,  instead  of  being  opened  and  warmed,  have 
rather  been  contracted  ;  and  you  have  been  ingenious  in  find- 
ing out  excuses,  for  not  bearing  your  part  in  such  cxpences. 
And  now,  all  that  you  have  spared  and  saved  by  such  a  mean 
and  unworthy  temper  is  gone,  and  perhaps,  through  the  righte- 
ous judgment  of  God,  has  carried  away  with  it  a  great  deal 
more :  while  the  generous  and  compassionate  christian  has  at 
least  had  this  satisfaction,  that  a  part  of  his  substance  is  laid  up 
in  the  bank  of  heaven,  and  secured  far  beyond  the  reach  of  any 
unhappy  accident ;  for  nothing  is  indeed  so  truly,  and  so  surely 
our  own,  as  what  we  have  laid  out  on  such  charitable  occasions. 

*  Hos.  xii.  7.         t  Deut.  xxv.  13—16.         J  1  Thess.  iv.  6.         §  Hab.  ii.  9. 
(I  Vcr.  11.  m  Numb,  xxxii.  23.  ♦*  Prov.  xi.  'ZA. 

VOL.  III.  C 


22  ON    A    FIRE    AT    WELLINGBOROUGH.  SeR.  I. 

And  I  shall  have  reason  to  congratulate  you  upon  yonr  present 
loss,  if,  havuig  felt  affiiction  yourselves,  and  experienced  the 
compassionate  assistance  of  others,  3'ou  melt  into  more  humane 
sentiments,  and  knowing  the  heart  of  sufferers,  be  for  the  future 
more  ready  to  relieve  them,  and  more  abundant  in  every  good 
wo}^  and  work :  and  happy  for  you  will  it  be,  if  The  Lord 
purge  away  your  dross,  bi/  the  spirit  0/  Judgment  and  the  spi^ 
rit  of  burning  *,  so  that  you  come  forth  from  his  furnace  as 
silver  seven  times  purified,  and  take  the  divine  image  in  brighter 
and  fairer  characters.  It  has  been  often  observed,  that  places 
which  have  suffered  by  a  kind  of  general  conflagration,  rise 
more  beautiful  out  of  their  ashes.  But  there  will  be  much 
greater  reason  to  congratulate  you,  if  by  this  means  your  tem- 
pers are  refined  ;  if  the  vain  become  grave,  the  luxurious  tem- 
perate, the  profane  religious,  the  contentious  meek,  the  frau- 
dulent upright,  and  the  sordid  liberal.  And  sure  I  am,  that 
with  such  an  alteration,  you  would  be  happier  in  a  cottage  of 
clay,  than  you  could  have  been  before  in  a  house  of  marble  and 
cedar.  And  that  this  happy  end  may  be  answered,  let  me  ex- 
hort you,  once  more, 

4.  That  you  endeavour  to  retain  upon  your  hearts  a  lively 
sense  of  those  important  lessons,  which  you  might,  as  it  were, 
read  by  the  light  of  these  flames. 

There  are  many  very  instructive  truths,  which  God  has 
often  spoken  to  you  from  his  word,  and  by  his  ordinances, 
which  yet  might,  with  some  more  sensible  demonstration,  be 
learned  from  such  a  scene  of  providence.  And  I  doubt  not  but 
those  that  are  truly  wise,  and  who  have  set  themselves  with  strict 
attention  to  reflect  on  what  has  passed,  have  prevented  me  in 
some  of  these  meditations.  Let  me  for  a  few  moments,  how- 
ever, recall  them  to  your  minds,  and  suggest  them  to  those, 
who  have  been  either  too  indolent,  or  too  perplexed,  to  form 
them  for  themselves. 

I  shall  only  mention  two,  which  comprehend  a  great  many 
more. — How  vain  are  worldly  possessions,  when  compared  with 
spiritual  and  eternal  blessings ! — And  how  unutterably  dreadful 
is  the  divine  displeasure,  by  which  fires  will  be  kindled  so  much 
more  terrible  than  these  ! 

You  have  seen  here  the  vanity  of  worldly  possessions,  and 
the  superior  value  of  spiritual  and  eternal  blessings  ;  and  there- 
fore labour  to  preserve  a  sense  of  it. 

You  had  often  before  read  that  expostulation,  Wilt  thou  set 

*  Isa.  ir,  4. 


The  Overthrow  of  Sodom  and  Gomorrah  improved.        23 

thine  eyes  upo?i  that  which  is  not  ?  For  riches  certainly  make 
themselves  wings,  and  fixj  away  as  an  eagle  towards  heaven  *. 
But  perhaps  you  never  saw  those  winij^s  spreading  so  wide,  and 
risinfy  in  so  rapid  a  flight  ;  you  never  saw  so  many  t'amihes  un- 
done in  an  hour,  the  worth  of  so  man}'  hundreds  and  thousands 
of  pounds  dissipated  in  the  air,  and  borne  away  by  the  wind  in 
blazing  and  smoaking  columns.  You  conld  not,  when  you 
came  to  look  over  the  ruins,  distinguish  between  the  ashes  of 
the  most  precious  of  your  goods,  and  the  poorest  refuse  of 
them ;  but  they  were  mingled  together,  like  the  dust  of  the 
dead.  So  vain  is  wealth,  and  so  uncertain  is  our  confidence  in 
riches  !  Thus  all  our  goods,  and  our  houses  may  perish.  And 
though  our  lands  may  seem  a  more  lasting  possession,  yet,  as 
you  have  seen,  flames  may  devour  the  product  of  them,  either 
before,  or  after  it  is  gathered  in  :  ond  our  lives  themselves,  yet 
frailer  than  almost  any  thing  else,  may  fail  us  in  a  moment. 
This  you  have  seen  with  your  eyes  ;  and  forget  it  not ;  but 
charge  it  on  your  conscience,  to  observe  the  infinite  difference 
between  these  transient  enjoyments,  and  spiritual  and  eternal 
blessings.  Those  treasures  are  not  liable  to  such  accidents  :  as 
Neither  moth  nor  rust  can  corrupt,  nor  thieves  break  through  and 
steal  them  f,  so  neither  can  fire  break  out  and  consume  them. 
It  is  a  known  story  of  B  ias  the  philosopher,  that  when  in  dan- 
ger of  shipwreck,  he  saw  others  concerned  about  their  goods, 
which  were  like  to  be  lost,  even  if  they  escaped  with  their  lives, 
he  said,  in  consciousness  of  superior  worth,  and  therefore  supe^ 
rior  happiness,  /  carr^  all  my  treasure  with  me.  And  so  can 
the  christian  say.  The  most  valuable  treasure  is  that,  which  by 
divine  grace  is  laid  up  in  the  heart,  or,  to  speak  with  more  strict 
propriety,  in  the  soul  itself ;  so  that  should  devouring  flames 
surround  the  house,  even  the  tabernacle  of  clay,  or  any  other 
overwhelming  calamity  demolish  it,  the  heaven-born  inhabitant 
would  escape  witli  all  its  riches,  and  borrow  wings  from  the 
tempest  itself,  to  bear  it  on  to  eternal  blessedness. 

Once  more,  reflect,  how  unutterably  dreadful  the  wrath 
of  God  is,  by  which  fires  will  be  kindled  much  fiercer  than  these. 

Oitr  God,  says  the  apostle,  is  a  consuming  fire  %  ;  and  it  is 
a  representation  which  God  himself  has  made,  when  describing 
his  displeasure  against  sin,  Who,  says  he,  would  set  briars  and 
thorns  against  me  in  battle  ?  I  would  go  through  them,  I  would 
burn  them  together  §.     You  have  seen  a  burning  town,  and 

♦Piov.  xxiii,  5.  fMat.  vi.  90.  +  H«b.  xii.  *!9.         §  Isa.  xxvii.  4. 

C    2 


a  ON   A    FIRE    AT  WELLINGBOROUGH.  BeR.  I. 

have  found  it,  perhaps,  an  object  of  terror  beyond  all  your 
imagination.  But  remember,  Sirs,  the  day  is  approaching, 
when  you  must  see  a  burning  world  :  for  The  day  of  the  Lord 
will  come,  and  that  as  a  thief  in  the  night ;  in  which  the  heavens 
shall  pass  axvaij  with  a  great  noise,  and  the  eleynents  shall  melt 
with  fervent  heat;  the  earth  also,  and  the  works  that  are  therein, 
shall  be  burned  up  *.  And  though,  long  before  that  time,  the 
grave  will  have  received  you,  and  you  will  Have  no  portion  any 
more  in  all  that  is  done  under  the  sun  f  ;  yet  you  yourselves 
must  be  called  forth,  and  shall  arise,  to  be  spectators  of  that 
august  solemnity  :  and  you  shall  all  behold  The  day,  when  the 
sun  shall  be  turned  into  darkness,  and  the  moo?i  into  blood  X  i 
when  The  stars  shall  fall  from  heaven,  and  the  powers  thereof 
shall  be  shaken  §  ,-  when  The  heavens  shall  be  rolled  together 
as  a  scroll,  and  all  their  host  shall  fall  down,  as  the  leaf  falleth 
off  the  vine,  and  as  a  falling  fig  from  the  fig-tree  \\  ;  when 
The  streams  shall  be  turned  into  pitch,  and  the  dust  into 
brimstone  ^,  and  all  the  beauties  of  nature  and  art  shall  be  sunk 
into  rubbish  and  chaos.  Happy  men,  who  shall  then  be  able  to 
Lift  up  their  heads  with  joy,  knowing  that  their  complete 
redemption  draweth  nigh  ** ;  and  who  According  to  the  pro- 
mise of  that  God,  who  amidst  all  the  convulsions  and  revolutions 
of  nature  is  still  the  same,  look  for  new  heavens,  and  a  new  earth, 
wherein  dwelleth  righteousness  ff. 

But  let  it  be  remembered,  that  all  this  pomp  is  to  usher  in 
that  Day  of  Judgment,  which  shall  be  a  day  o^  perdition  to  un- 
godly 7}ien  XX  •  -^<^''  afire  shall  then  be  kindled  in  God's  anger, 
which  shall  burn  even  to  the  lowest  hell,  when  it  has  consumed 
the  earth  with  its  increase,  and  calcined  the  very  foundations 
of  the  ynountains  §§.  And  in  this  view,  let  The  sinners  in  Zion 
be  afraid,  and  let fearfulness  surprise  the  hypocrites  ;  for  who 
can  dwell  with  the  devouring  fire  ?  Who  can  dwell  with  ever- 
lasting burnings  \\\\  ?  Yet  this,  you  well  know,  is  the  doom  of 
every  impenitent  sinner ;  a  doom,  to  be  pronounced  by  the 
lips  of  Christ  himself,  in  words  which  he  has  already  uttered 
and  recorded,  that  by  weighing  tlieir  terror,  we  may  be  roused 
from  our  security,  and  be  alarmed  to  escape  it ;  Depart  from 
me,  ye  cursed,  into  everlasting  fire,  prepared Jor  the  devil  and 
his  an'^els^'^.  Nor  can  you  imagine  the  sentence  shall  be 
pronounced  in  vain,   or  that  all  the  confederate  nations  of  the 

*  2  Pet.  iii.  10.  f  Eccles.  ix.  6.  X  Jo^^l  ''•  ^^-  §  ^^'-  '"^^^'  ^^' 

ji  I(=a.  xxxiv.  4.  II  Ver.  9.  **  Luke  xxi.  23.     -H"  2  Pet.  iii.  13. 

^+  Ver.  7.  §§  DuuU  xxxii.22.    ||ji  Isa.  xxxiii.  14.    ^^  Mat. xxv. -ij. 


The  Ovey^throw  of  Sodom  ayid  Gomorrah  improved.        25 

condemned  shall  be  able  to  ward  it  off.  But  who  can  sustain 
the  terror  of  its  execution  !  What,  if,  while  your  habitations 
uere  in  Hames,  and  you  were  endeavouring  to  escape  for  your 
lives,  a  host  of  armed  enemies  had  cut  off  your  retreat,  and  for- 
cibly driven  you  back  to  the  fire  !  You  cannot  bear  the  thought  ; 
the  horror  of  it  strikes  j^ou  to  the  heart,  and  nature  shudders  at 
it.  But  will  it  not  be  infinitely  more  terrible,  when  legions  of 
angels  with  irresistible  power  urge  you  on,  and  the  wrath  of 
God  like  an  overflowing  torrent  sweeps  you  away  into  The  lake 
that  burns  with  Jire  and  brimstoyie*  ?  Wretched  creatures,  that 
arc  yet  obnoxious  to  such  a  dcstrtiction  !  Weep  not.  Sirs,  if  this 
be  the  case,  for  your  houses  and  goods  consumed.  Weep  not 
for  your  substance  wasted,  and  your  families  undone.  You 
have  a  far  juster  cause  for  deep  lamentation.  Mourn  over  your 
perishing  souls.  Say  not,  we  will  recover  our  affairs  as  fast  as 
we  can,  by  renewed  application  to  worldly  business  ;  and  much 
Jess  presume  arrogantly  to  Say  in  the  pride  afid  stoutness  of  yonr 
hearts^  The  bricks  are  fallen  down,  but  we  will  build  with  hewn 
stones:  the  sijcamores  are  cut  down,  but  we  will  change  them 
into  cedars  \.  Remember,  that  Pride  goes  before  destruction  %  ; 
and  amidst  all  the  most  pressing  cares  and  hurries  of  life,  let  it 
be  still  considered  by  )^ou,  there  is  one  great  concern,  that  even 
now  demands  a  more  attentive  regard  ;  that  you  may  Flee  from 
the  wrath  to  come,  to  Jesus,  who  is  appointed  to  deliver  from 
it  ^.  Think  not  of  repairing  your  losses,  and  of  settling  your 
affairs  here  ;  but  let  me  rather  say  to  each  of  you,  as  the  Angel 
to  Lot,  while  he  lingered  in  Sodom,  perhaps  from  too  great  a 
regard  for  the  goods  he  was  to  leave  there.  Escape  Jor  thy  life; 
look  not  behind  thee  ;  escape  to  the  mountain,  lest  thou  be  cow- 
sumed  ||.  I  must  be  insensible  of  the  worth  of  souls,  and  most 
regardless  of  the  great  end  of  my  office,  if  I  were  not  willing  to 
digress  much  farther  than  I  have  now  done,  to  give  so  necessary 
a  caution.  May  divine  grace  make  it  effectual  to  awaken  those, 
who,  if  tlieir  pn^sent  stupidity  continue  a  while  longer,  must 
feel  those  flames,  which  they  will  not  see  ! 

But  1  truat,  my  brethren,  there  are  those  of  you,  whom 
God  has  plucked  as  brands  out  of  the  burning,  in  the  noblest  and 
most  important  sense  of  these  words,  and  who  have  sought,  and 
found  your  shelter,  from  this  most  terrifying  prospect,  in  the 
grace  of  the  gospel-covenant.  Whatever  your  otiier  circum- 
stances are,  be  thankful  for  this  most  gracious  interposition  : 
let  your  losses  and  sorrows  sit  light  on  your  hearts,  while  God 

*  Rev    xxi.  S.    f  Ua.  ix.  9,  10.    \  Pror,  xvi.  13.  ^  1  Thess.  i.  10.  ||  Gen.  xix.  17. 


26  OK  A  FIRE   AT    WELLINGBOROUGH.  Ser.  I. 

has  appointed  salvation  itself /or  walls  and  bulwarks*.  But 
still  be  sure  that  you  maintain  that  active  zeal,  and  continued 
watchfulness,  which  suits  your  obligations  to  God,  and  your 
expectations  from  him  ;  and  Seeing  that  you  look  for  such  things, 
be  diligent y  that  you  viaj/  be  found  of  him  in  peace  f.  In  the 
mean  time,  Encourage  yourselves  in  the  Lord  your  God  X , 
well  knowing,  that  if  the  foundations  of  the  earth  were  to  shake 
and  the  arches  of  heaven  to  burst  asunder,  it  becomes  the  soul, 
that  is  supported  by  its  God,  to  stand  the  shock  with  intrepid 
courage  ;  as  being  assured,  that  nothing  can  finally  crush  and 
overwhelm  him,  who  is  covered  by  the  shield  of  the  Almighty  ; 
and  That  the  trial  of  the  good  man's/a/M,  which  is  far  more 
precious  than  that  of  gold  which  perishes ^  though  tried  in  the 
firef  will  certainly  be  found  to  honour  and  joy  at  last  §. 

Such  may  the  event  of  all  your  trials  be  !  So  may  divine 
grace  animate  every  heart  that  hears  me  !  So  may  it  visit  all 
who  have  been  sufferers  by  the  loss,  or  shared  in  the  alarm, 
though  they  share  not  with  us  in  the  devotions  of  this  day  ! 
May  the  compassionate  eye  of  God  regard  you,  and  your  habi- 
tations !  may  his  providence  cement,  strengthen,  and  adorn 
them  ;  for  Except  the  Lord  build  the  city,  they  labour  in  vain 
that  build  it  ||  /  May  The  candle  of  the  Lord  shine  on  your  ta- 
bernacle 51,  and  his  Spirit  enlighten  and  renew  your  souls  !  May 
peace  and  prosperity,  friendship  and  religion,  always  flourish 
in  this  town  and  neighbourhood  !  And  in  a  word,  may  God  so 
compassionate  your  calamity,  as  to  give  you  Joy  for  mournings 
and  beauty  for  ashes'^*  ;  that  those  who  have  lamented  over 
you,  may  rejoice  with  you  ;  and  that  at  length  you  may  share 
the  security  and  joy  of  The  city  of  God  even  the  heavenly 
Jerusalem  ff,  where  no  flames  shall  be  felt,  but  those  of  love, 
and  no  sound  heard,  but  the  accents  of  everlasting  triumph 
and  praise  !     Amen. 

*Isa.  xxvi.  1.  t  2Pet.  iii.  14.  J  1  Sam.  xxx.  6.         §  I  Pet.i.  7, 

II  Psal.  cxxvii.  1.      ^y  Job  xxix.  3.  **  Isa.  Ixi.  3.  f  f  Hcb.  xii.  22. 


The  Overthrow  of  Sodom  and  Gomorrah  improved.        27 


POSTSCRIPT. 

The  following  Hymn,  though  not  considerable  on  any  other  account,  was 
judged  so  suitable  to  the  occasion,  tiiat  many  of  my  friends  united  in  their 
request,  that  it  might  be  printed  with  the  sermon,  after  which  it  was  sung  :  I 
was  the  n)ore  willing  to  comply  with  it,  lest  the  multiplication  of  incorrect 
copies  sliould  make  it  yet  more  imperfect  than  it  is.  But  hardly  any  thing 
was  ever  farther  from  my  thoughts,  than  the  publication,  either  of  this,  or 
of  the  discourse  itself. 


THE  HYMN. 

Kternal  God  !  our  humbled  souls 

Low  in  thy  presence  bow  : 
With  all  thy  magazines  of  wrath. 

How  terrible  art  thou  ! 
H. 
Fann'd  by  thy  breatii,  huge  sheets  of  flame 

Do  like  a  deluge  pour  ; 
And  all  our  confidence  of  wealth 

Lies  moulder'd  in  an  hour. 

in. 

Led  on  by  thee,  in  horrid  pomp, 

Destruction  rears  its  head  ; 
And  blacken'd  walls,  and  smoaking  heaps, 
Through  all  our  streets  are  spread. 
IV. 
Deep  in  our  dust  we  lay  us  down. 

And  mourn  thy  righteous  ire ; 
Yet  bless  that  hand  of  guardian  love. 
Which  snatched  us  from  the  fire. 
V. 
Oh  that  the  hateful  dregs  of  sin. 

Like  dross  were  perish'd  there  ; 
That  in  fair  lines  our  purer  souls 
Might  thy  bright  image  bear ! 
VI. 
So  might  we  view  with  dauntless  eyes 

That  last  tremendous  day. 
When  earth,  and  seas,  and  stars,  and  skies. 
In  flames  shall  melt  away  ' 


I        I    ■  * 


DEDICATION 
TO  A  SERMON  ON  A  DAY  OF  PUBLIC  HUMILIATION. 


To  the  Honourable  Col.  James  Gardiners 

SIR, 

1  AM  far  from  thinking,  that  I  pay  any  part  of  the  debt  whicli  I  owe  to  your 
most  engaging  friendship,  by  presenting  you  with  this  plain  discourse  ;  on  the 
contrary,  I  am  sensible,  that  by  your  permitting  me  to  inscribe  it  to  you,  that 
debt  is  increased  :  but  obligations  to  so  much  goodness  as  I  have  experienced 
in  you,  sit  so  easily  and  so  pleasantly  upon  me,  that  no  objection  arises  from 
that  quarter.  And  it  has  this  claim  to  your  patronage,  that  many  of  the 
thoughts  are  as  much  yours  as  mine;  having  been  talked  over  between  us 
■with  a  great  deal  of  freedom.  J  know.  Sir,  they  are  such  as  niake  a  very 
deep  impression  on  your  heart,  and  such  as  you  strenuously  labour  to  promote 
among  those  who  have  the  happiness  of  being  under  your  command  ;  and  I 
am  confident  you  will  think  it  no  reproach  to  you  to  avow  them  in  the  most 
public  manner,  as  your  whole  life  always  speaks  your  steady  regard  to  those 
principles  on  which  they  are  built. 

1  heartily  congratulate  you.  Sir,  and  I  congratulate  the  public,  on  the 
visible  effects  of  your  resolute  and  courageous  zeal  for  religion,  in  the  remark- 
able sobriety  and  regularity  of  those  to  whom  your  influence  most  directly 
extends ;  and  I  doubt  not,  but  it  has  extended  much  farther  than  the  com- 
pany, or  even  the  regiment,  to  wliich  you  stand  peculiarly  related.  Were 
our  officers  and  our  soldiers  in  general  such,  I  am  persuaded  it  would  soon 
appear,  how  much  righteousness  exalteth  a  nation;  and  that  he  who  is  •wisdam 
to  the  pious  counseller,  would  also  be  strength  to  them  that  turn  the  battle  frotn 
our  gates  to  those  of  the  enemy:  so  that  our  commanders,  like  the  hero  who 
has  furnished  me  with  my  motto,  might  well  give  it  for  their  word,  God  our 
ally  and  our  general. 

To  all  the  prayers  which  I  have  been  offering  for  my  country  in  the 
progress  of  that  discourse  of  which  I  now  beg  your  acceptance,  permit  me 
to  add  this  one  more,  that  to  whatever  services  you  may  be  called  in  its  de- 
fence, that  God,  whom  you  serve,  in  all  may  continually  watch  over  you 
for  good,  and  prolong  to  many  future  most  honourable  and  important  years, 
a  Hfe  so  faithfully  devoted  to  him.  My  heart  reveres  you  too  much,  to  per- 
mit me  to  tell  the  world,  so  immediately  in  your  presence,  the  high  senti- 
ments it  entertains  of  you  ;  and  I  am  (with  an  affection,  which  is,  perhaps, 
too  ready  to  forget  the  formalities  of  a  public  address,  in  the  tenderness  of 
private  friendship,) 

Mr/  dear  Colonel, 

Your  7nostfaithfid, 

most  obliged, 

and  most  obedient 
humble  servant, 

P.  DODDRIDGE- 
Nortluanpion,  Feb.  25,  llSO-'iO. 


Rt'fonnulivn  necessary  to  Success  in  War,  29 

SERMON  ir. 
ON  A  DAY  OF  PUBLIC  HUMILIATION. 


Dciit.  x\iii.  0. — Iflien  the  Host  godh  forth  OQidnst  thine  Enemies,  then  keep 
thee  jrom  cveri/  icicked  Thing, 


Ti 


II E  acknowledgment  of  that  God,  in  whose  hand  our  breath 
is,  and  whose  are  all  our  ways  *,  is  a  duty  in  its  obligation  so 
evidently  reasonable,  in  its  exercise  so  delightful,  and  in  its  na- 
tural consequences  so  variously  advantageous,   that  one  would 
hope  it  should  be  the  prevailing  temper  among  men  ;  a  temper 
which  should  run  through  the  most  agreeable  and  secure  scenes  of 
life,  since  that  agrecableness  and  security  is  the  elTect  of  divine 
care,  and  goodness.     Nevertheless  we  too  generally  see,  that  in 
this  respect  men  are  lulled  asleep  by  those  gentle  gales  of  pros- 
perity, which  waft  them  on  towards  a  haven  they  desire  i   but 
when  cross  and  contrary  winds  arise,  and  beat  upon  them,  the 
noise,  the  motion,  the  danger  of  the  tempest  often  awakes  them, 
and  engages  them,  like  tiie  Mariners  in  the  ship  with  Jonah,  to 
call  every  one  upon  his  God  \.     I  would   hope  indeed,   that  I 
am  now  addressing    many,   who   have   made  prayer  the  busi- 
ness and  the  joy  of  their  prosperous  days  ;   and  such  may  with 
peculiar  pleasure  and  confidence  have  recourse  to  it  in  circum- 
stances of  extremity,  if  God  should  be  pleased  to  lead  us  in 
such  circumstances.     In  the  mean  time,   I  doubt  not,   but  it  is 
with  great  readiness  that  such  numbers  of  you  have  ol)eyed  tlie 
Avisc  and    pious  call  of  our  sovereign,   to   assemble   this  day, 
*'  That  we  may   humble  ourselves  before  almighty    God,  in 
order  to  obtain  pardon  of  our  sins  ;    and  may   in  a  most  devout 
and  solemn  manner  send  up    our  prayers  and  supplications   to 
the  divine  Majesty,   for  averting  those  heavy  judgments  which 
our  manifold  sins    and  provocations  have  most  justly  deserved, 
imploring  his    blessing  and  assistance  on  our  arms,  and  for  re- 
storing and  perpetuating  peace,  safety,  and  prosperity  to  us." 

*Dan.  V.  Q3.  f  Jonah  i.  5. 

VOL.  III.  D 


30  ON  A  DAY  OF  PUBLIC  HUMILIATION.  SeR.  II. 

Christian  princes  have  seldom  omitted  on  such  occasions  as 
these,  to  give  such  calls  to  their  subjects  ;  and  they  have  in- 
structive precedents  for  it  in  scripture.  They  might  learn  it 
from  the  conduct  of  pious  Jchoshaphat,  who,  when  numerous 
nations  were  conspiring  against  him,  set  himself  to  seek  the 
Lord,  and  proclaimed  a  fast  throughout  all  Judah-,  that  they 
might  gather  theynselves  together,  to  ask  help  from  him  *.  Yea, 
the  hint  might  be  taken  even  from  the  behaviour  of  the  King 
of  Ninevahy  who,  when  the  prophet  had  so  solemnly  declared 
in  the  name  of  God,  that  this  country  should  be  destroved, 
rose  from  his  ihrotie,  and  laid  aside  his  robe^  and  covered  him- 
self with  sackcloth,  and  sat  in  ashes,  at  the  same  time  causing 
a  most  rigorous  /rtj^  to  be  proclaimed  through  Ninevah,  by  his 
own  decree,  and  that  of  his  nobles  ;  an  abstinence,  in  w  hich, 
the  more  forcibly  to  impress  the  minds  of  men,  the  beasts 
were  also  to  share,  and  neither  to  feed,  nor  drink  water ;  and 
those  of  them  which  had  appeared  in  that  luxurious  city  in  the 
most  sumptuous  trappings  and  decorations,  were  in  the  sad  pro- 
cession, like  their  masters,  to  be  covered  with  sackcloth.  With 
such  low  prostration  was  the  Avhole  nation,  as  one  man,  to  cry 
mightily  unto  God,  to  avert  his  displeasure  :  but  it  is  worthy  of 
our  remark,  that  the  light  of  nature  and  reason  taught  that 
prince  also  to  add,  in  his  royal  mandate  for  a  general  humili- 
ation. Let  them  turn  every  one  from  his  evil  way ^  and  from 
the  violence  that"  is  in  their  hands  f. 

Now  as  obedience  to  the  government,  and  love  to  the  pub- 
lic, must  engage  every  faithful  minister  to  labour  to  address  his 
people  this  day,  on  such  a  subject,  and  in  such  a  manner,  as 
he  judges  most  suitable  to  its  great  design  ;  I  thought  it  my 
duty  to  fix  my  own  meditations  and  yours,  on  the  absolute  ne- 
cessit}^  of  national  and  personal  reformation,  in  order  to  a  well- 
grounded  expectation  of  success  in  war.  This  the  king  of 
Ninevah  inculcated,  as  j'ou  have  heard  ;  and  Moses  also  had 
long  before  solemnly  urged  it,  in  the  words  of  my  text ;  when 
the  host  goeth  forth  against  thine  enemies,  then  keep  thee  from 
every  wicked  thing.  And  surely  every  one's  conscience  \v\i\  tell 
him,  how  fit  it  is,  that,  after  we  have  been  pouring  out  our 
confessions  and  our  supplications  before  God,  we  should  atten- 
tively reflect  upon  such  a  charge  as  this,  lest  future  iniquities, 
aggravated  even  by  the  humiliation  of  this  day,  should  prove 
our  speedy,  and  our  final  destruction. 

You  see  the  words  contain  a  very  plain  and  intelligible  ad- 

*  2  ehron.  xx.  3,  4.  t  Jonah  "!•  6—8- 


Reformation  necessary  to  Success  in  War.  31 

monition  to  Israel,  of  the  peculiar  cure  with  which  they  should 
g^uard  against  any  unrcfornied  wick«(hiess,  when,  like  Grcat- 
IJntain  at  this  day,  they  were  engaging  in  war  .  and  they  are 
a  charge,  not  only  to  the  soldiery,  in  such  circumstances  as 
these,  to  abstain  from  rapine,  cruelty,  and  dL-bauchery,  as  well 
as  from  any  superstitious  regard  to  those  idols,  which  they 
might  meet  with  in  the  camps  and  cities  of  their  enemies  ;  but 
also  to  the  people  in  general,  to  be  careful,  that  they  did  not,  by 
any  impieties  or  immoralities  at  home,  bring  down  the  curse 
of  God  upon  their  arms,  and  blast  the  success  even  of  the  most 
riii'iteous  cause. 

Before  I  proceed  to  a  more  particular  consideration  of  the 
Avords,  I  Avill  very  readily  allow,  they  might  have  some  peculiar 
Avcight,  Avhen  considered  as  addressed  to  the  Israelites  ;  for  they 
JiadGod  in  a  very  extraordinary  manner  present  among  them  ;  as 
the  ark,  often  called  the  footstool  of  his  throne^  was  now  in  the 
midst  of  their  camp  ;  and,  when  it  was  not,  there  were  other 
holy  instruments  committed  to  the  charge  of  the  anointed  of 
the  field,  by  which  God  was  to  be  consulted,  and  his  presence 
acknowledged.  Upon  this  account  we  jfind,  in  the  following 
words,  they  are  urged  to  keep  themselves,  not  only  from  moral, 
but  also  from  ceremonial,  and  even  natural  pollution  ;  that  the 
order,  decency,  and  cleanliness  of  their  camp  might  be  an 
habitual  expression  of  their  reverence  for  that  God,  Avho  con- 
descended to  appear  among  them  as  their  General,  and  their 
King  :  For  the  Lord  thy  God  walketh  in  the  midst  of  thy  caynp ; 
— therefore  shall  it  be  holy,  that  he  see  no  unclean  thing  in 
thee,   and  turn  away  from  thee  *. 

It  may  also  be  proper  to  recollect  upon  this  occasion,  that 
the  Israelites  were  under  something  of  a  peculiarly  equal  pro- 
vidence ;  and  consequently  might  expect  victory  or  defeat,  as 
they  were  obedient,  or  disobedient  to  the  divine  command, 
with  a  certainty  greater  than  is  common  to  other  nations.  For 
though  indeed  it  is  probable,  that,  in  a  series  of  years,  the  pros- 
perity or  calamity  of  a  nation  will  be  proportionable  to  its  ge- 
neral virtues  or  vices  ;  yet  the  peculiar  covenant  which  God  had 
made  with  Israel,  not  only  seems  to  have  engaged  him  to  a 
more  immediate  retribution,  but  likewise  extended  itself  to  all 
those  peculiar  institutions,  which  they  as  a  separate  nation  were 
under.  Therefore  does  he  particularly  tell  them,  that  If  they 
did  not  observe  to  do  all  his  commandments  and  statutes,  lie 

*  Deut.  x\iii.  14. 
D  2 


33  ON  A  DAY  OF  PUBLIC  HUMILIATIO^^  SeR.  II. 

vould  cause  them  to  he  smitten  before  their  enemies;  they 
should  go  out  against  them  one  waij,  and  flee  seven  ways  before 
them  *;  thereby  strongly  intimating,  and  indeed  with  the  ut- 
most reason,  that  the  presumptuous  violation  of  any  ceremonial 
or  positive  precept  would  be  attended  with  fatal  consequences  ; 
ot  which,  you  well  know,  the  defeat  brought  upon  the  whole 
army  of  Israel  for  the  sin  of  Achan^  in  secreting  the  accursed 
thing,  was  an  early  and  very  memorable  instance  ;  as  well  as 
the  severity,  with  which  that  crime  was  punished,  on  the  offen- 
der, and  his  family  f .  And  it  was  indeed  a  merciful  method 
which  God  took,  to  preserve  Israel  in  an  external  and  visible 
adherence  to  the  religion  and  the  institutions  he  had  founded 
among  them,  thus  immediately  to  animadvert  upon  them  by  his 
chastising  providence,  Avhenever  they  deviated  from  it,  though 
in  cn-cumstances  otherwise  indifferent  ;  and  it  may  be  in  those, 
in  which  human  policy  would  have  dictated  a  verv  different  con- 
duct, had  not  a  divine  command  niterposed  :  which,  by  the 
way,  is  particularly  apparent  in  the  effect  of  vmltiplying  cha- 
riots and  horses  w^hich  were  alwavs  a  curse,  instead  of  a  de- 
fence to  Israel,  how  useful  soever  they  might  have  been  to  other 
nations  ;  because  God  had  required  them  to  employ  infantry 
alone,  as  that  by  which,  the  more  immediately  to  shew  his  in- 
terposition, he  would  save  them,  when  they  depended  upon 
him. 

I  pretend  not  therefore  to  maintain  from  these  words,  that 
we  are  concerned  in  them,  just  in  the  very  same  manner  and 
degree,  that  the  Israelites  were  ;  yet  I  doubt  not  but  I  shall  be 
able, 

I.  To  prove,  that  we  are  highly  concerned  in  this  caution 
which  is  given  to  them.     And  then, 

II.  I  shall  endeavour  to  illustrate  it,  by  the  mention  of  some 
particular  evils,  against  which,  in  our  present  circumstances, 
we  are  peculiarly  obliged  to  guard.     After  which, 

III.  I  shall  conclude  with  some  inferences  from  hence,  fur- 
ther suited  to  the  occasion  of  this  day's  most  solemn  assembly. 

I,  I  am  to  prove,  that  we  are  all  much  concerned  in  the 
caution  that  is  here  given  ;  and  that  as  ever  we,  or  any  other  na- 
tion, would  reasonably  expect  success  against  our  enemies,  it 
is  necessary  that  when  we  go  forth  against  them,  we  should  keep 
ourselves  from  every  wicked  thing. 

You  will  remember,  I  pretend  not  to  assert,  that  the  event 

*  \ic\\t.  xxviii.  \5y25.  f  Josh,  cliaji.  vii. 


Reforynation  necessary  to  Success  in  JVa7\  33 

of  every  battle,  or  of  every  Mar,  will  always  bear  an  exact  pro- 
portion, either  to  the  justice  of  the  cause,  or  to  the  virtue  and 
piety  of  those  that  are  engaged  in  it.  Indeed  the  event  of  some 
Avars,  especially  towards  the  beginning  of  the  reformation,  where- 
in the  sullerers  were  persons  of  the  most  excellent,  and  the  vit:- 
tors  of  the  must  hateful  characters,  is  too  sad  an  evidence  to  the 
contrary  *.  I  am  very  ready  to  allow,  that  in  some  instances, 
to  form  the  hearts  of  his  people  to  more  eminent  attainments  in 
goodness  by  scenes  of  distress,  or  for  other  reasons  to  us  un- 
known, God  may  determine  events  otherwise:  yet  I  think  1  may 
vcrv  safely  venture  to  affirm,  that  we  can  never  form  any  iu>t 
expectation  of  continued  success  and  })rosperity  in  our  military 
affairs,  unless  there  he  a  zealous  concern  about  a  reformation  in 
our  manners;  and  unless  national  piety  and  virtue  be  our  earnest 
and  governing  care.  And  this  may  sufficiently  appear,  if  we 
consider,  on  the  one  hand,  that  the  divine  favour  can  only  rea- 
sonably be  expected  by  those,  who  are  careful  to  keep  them- 
selves from  evil ;  and  on  the  other,  that  prosperity  in  military 
affairs  does  evidently  depend  on  the  divine  favour.  Both  these 
considerations  are  so  plain,  that  they  might  almost  be  admitted 
as  self-evident ;  though  in  order  to  impress  them  more  deeply 
upon  our  minds,  I  shall  spend  a  few  words  upon  each. 

1 .  The  divine  favour  can  only  reasonably  be  expected  by 
those,  who  are  solicitous  to  keep  themselves  from  moral  evil. 

I  might  introduce  what  1  have  further  to  sa}'  on  this  head, 
by  observing,  that  the  moral  perfections  of  God  seem  evidently 
deducible  from  his  natural ;  for  to  suppose  otherwise  concerning 
him,  would  be  indeed  to  suppose  him  worse  than  even  the  very 
vilest  of  men,  who,  if  they  act  unrighteously,  where  they  know 
what  is  reasonable  and  fit,  do  it  as  tempted  by  some  self-interest; 
a  temptation,  to  which  an  almighty  Being  cannot  possibly  be 
obnoxious.  Now  the  consequence  from  his  being  perfectly  holy 
and  righteous  himself,  to  his  loving  the  like  character,  and  hating 
the  contrary,  in  his  reasonable  creatures,  is  so  plain,  that  the 
apostle  appeals  to  every  one's  conscience  to  bear  witness  to  it : 

*  1  hnrdlyknow  a  more  memorable  instanco  of  tliis,  than  in  the  success  of 
that  perfidious  and  ungrateful  war,  wliich  the  Emperor  Charles  V.  undertook  against 
tho^-e  two  pious  and  worthy  princes,  John  Frederick,  elector  of  Saxony,  and  Philip, 
Landgrave  of  Hesse-Cassal  ;  in  which  tlie  F.mjieror  was  supported  by  a  considerable 
number  of  Spanish  and  Italian  forces,  who  marked  their  way  throucrh  Germany 
with  unheard-of  cruelties  ;  and  particularly,  (as  the  I,ands;rave  himself  asseits  in  his 
munifesto)  cut  off  the  hands  and  feet  of  little  children,  to  testify  their  hatred 
against  the  protestant  religion,  \vhi<;h  their  parents  professed.  "  Pucris  ipsis  ct  in- 
fantibus  re«ccare  manus  atque  pedes,  odio  nimirum  doctrinae."  Sleid.  de  Stat. 
Kclig.  lib.  xviii.  p.  71. 


34  ON   A   DAY   OF    PUBLIC    HUMILIATION.  SeR.  II. 

What  fellowships  says  he,  haih  righteousness  with  unrighteous- 
ness? Or  what  communionhath  light  with  darkness^?  It  must  then 
be  granted,  that  as  The  righteous  Lord  loveth  righteousness ,  and 
his  countenance  beholds  the  upright  f;  so  his  Face  must  be  set 
against  theyn  that  do  evil,  that  sooner  or  later  he  may  cut  off  the 
remembrance  of  them  from  the  earthX-  Wicked  men  have  rea- 
son therefore  to  be  afraid  of  his  judgments;  and  they  have 
especial  reason  to  fear  them,  who,  like  the  inhabitants  of  Great 
Britain,  have  been  favoiu'ed  with  the  clearest  knowledge  of  his 
will,  have  received  the  most  eminent  deliverances  from  him,  and 
have  for  a  long  series  of  years  been  preserved  in  peace  and  pros- 
perity ;  while  at  the  same  time,  that  they  have  called  themselves 
his  people,  they  have  acted  in  a  visible  contrariety  to  their  pro- 
fession, and  thereby  brought  proportionable  dishonour  upon  liis 
name.  This  is  a  case  greatly  to  be  feared  in  every  condition, 
and  it  is  especially  worthy  of  our  consideration  in  our  present 
circumstances;  because 

2.  It  is  most  evident,  that  the  success  of  military  affairs  does 
entirely  depend  upon  the  divine  protection  and  favour. 

This  is  a  Avell  known  maxim  of  the  word  of  God ;  and  con- 
sidering the  natural  pride  of  our  hearts,  it  was  fit  that  it  should 
be  deeply  inculcated.  It  is  therefore  repeated  again  and  again ; 
and  it  is  observable,  that  it  comes  most  frequently  from  the  pen 
of  David,  who  Avas  himself  so  courageous  a  warrior,  and  so 
illustrious  a  conqueror.  No  king,  says  he,  is  saved  by  the  multi- 
tude of  a  host;  a  mighty  man  is  not  delivered  by  much  strength : 
A  horse  is  a  vain  thing  for  safety ;  neither  shall  he  deliver  any 
by  his  great  strength  :  Behold,  the  eye  of  the  Lord  is  upon  them 
that  fear  him,  to  deliver  their  soul  from  deaih^.  And  we  shall 
have  occasion  hereafter,  to  mention  many  other  passages  equi- 
valent to  those. 

It  would  indeed  be  thus,  if  the  success  of  battle  was  always 
proportionable  to  the  number,  strength,  and  skill  of  those  re- 
spectively concerned  in  it;  for  all  the  strength,  and  all  the  skill 
of  creatures  is  derived  from  God,  and  is  supported  by  him.  But 
V.K  find  in  experience,  as  Avell  as  in  scripture,  that  events  often 
arise,  in  which  it  evidentl}^  appears.  That  the  battle  is  not4o  the 
strong,  nor  the  race  to  the  swift  \\;  and  circumstances  happen, 
in  Avhicb,  with  some  allowance  for  the  figurative  expression, 
One  chases  a  thousand,  ajid  two  put  ten  thousand  tojlight^. 

Much  of  the  success  of  military  actions  depends  upon  the 

*  2  Cor.  vi.  U.        +  Psal.  xi.  7.  +  Psal.  xxxiv.  16.     §  Psal.  xxxiii.  16—19. 

IIEccles.  ix.  11.       ^\  Dcut.  xxxii.  30. 


lif/vrmalion  necessary  to  Success  in  IVar.  3i 

weather,  Avhich  almost  the  whole  world  acknowledges  to  be  ap- 
parently at  tile  divine  disposal,  and  to  be  quite  beyond  any 
iiuman  alteration  or  coniroul.  Wind  and  rain,  cold  and  heat, 
have  been  the  destruction  of  thousands,  who  imagined  them- 
selves most  secure  of  victory  and  success,  even  in  laml  engage- 
ments. Much  likewise  depends  upon  a  variety  of  little  accidents ; 
and  especially,  with  respect  to  the  discernment  of  those  that 
command,  and  the  alacrity  of  those  who  engage.  Now  God  at 
pleasure  takes  away  the  spirit  of  princes,  and  dejects  The  men 
of  might,  so  that  they  are  not  able  to  find  their  hands-.  He 
sometimes  diffuses  among  mighty  armies  a  spirit  of  discord,  so 
that  confederate  forces  desert,  or  destroy  one  another  f;  or  per- 
haps sends  a  sudden  panic  upon  them  |,  and  then,  be  their  forces 
ever  so  numerous,  the  entrance  of  fear  is  the  beginning  of  a  de- 
feat, in  which  numbers,  instead  of  helping,  only  crowd,  and  bear 
down,  and  trample  on  each  other.  It  is  evident  to  all  acquaint- 
ed with  history,  that,  by  such  incidents  as  these,  small  numbers 
have  iieen  rendered  victorious,  even  almost  beyond  their  ex- 
pectation, and  have  stood  astonished  at  their  own  success. 

This  is  a  remark  peculiarly  applicable  to  naval  prepara- 
tions. Their  prosperity  most  evidently  depends  on  the  most 
uncertain  elements,  the  winds  and  the  waves ;  and  he  that 
Gathers  the  winds  in  his  fist  ^,  can  with  infinite  ease  pen  up  the 
most  gallant  fleets  in  their  harbours,  and  waft  over  to  defence- 
less ports,  in  the  very  neighbourhood  of  them,  invading  enemies 
in  transports  by  no  means  a  match  for  the  fine  navies,  on  whicii 
the  sovereign  of  the  sea  has  laid  his  embargo.  Yea,  at  his  com- 
mand The  ships  of  Tarshish  shall  be  dashed  in  pieces  with  an 
east  wind  ||,  and  their  bulk  and  strength  only  serve  to  give  each 
other  the  more  violent  shocks,  and  to  spread  the  wider  ruin. 
This  is  a  thought  especially  worthy  our  attention,  w  ho  have  in 
so  many  instances,  within  the  memory  of  man,  owed  the  pre- 
servation of  our  domestic  peace,  and  probably  it  may  be  added, 
even  that  of  our  religion  and  liberty,  to  the  interposition  of  the 
wind  in  our  favour.  A  circumstance,  which  our  enemies  them- 
selves have  recorded  with  surprise,  though  we  are,  alas,  too  in- 
sensible of  it  %. 

"^Psal.  l\-.vvi.  5, 12.  fS  Chron.  xx.  22,  23.  +  aKings  vii.  6,7.  §Prov.  xxx.  4. 
||Psal.  xlviii.  7. 

^  Not  only  the  story  of  tlie  Spanish  invasion,  and  that  of  the  an-ival  of  the 
prince  of  Orange,  our  ereat  deliverer,  in  1688,  are  memorable  instances  of  this; 
but  also  the  invasions  afterwards  attempted,  either  by  king  James  the  second,  or 
the  Pretender  and  his  agents  ;  of  which  I  cannot  recollect  any  one  that  has  not  been 
defeated  chiefly  by  winds,  and  those  such  as  we  ourselves  could  have  wished.  And 
ai  I  thiuk  that  Father  Oilcans,  in  bis  History  of  the  English  Rcvolutious,  men- 


36  ON    A    DAY    OF    PUBLIC    HUMILIATIOK.  SeR.  II. 

We  see  then  how  incontestibly  it  appears,  that  the  pros- 
perity of  our  arms  entirely  depends  upon  the  divine  favour:  and 
indeed  the  truth  of  this  is  so  evident,  that  dissolute  as  die  ge- 
nerahty  of  mankind  are,  there  arc  few  of  them  entirely  unim- 
pressed with  it.  It  is  certain,  that  many  of  those  vices,  which 
tend  to  provoke  God,  do  at  the  same  time  render  men's  circum- 
stances desperate,  their  spirits  mean,  and  their  constitutions 
weak.  Riot  and  debauchery  unbrace  the  nerves ;  and  in  pro- 
portion to  the  degree  in  which  they  are  indulged,  render  the 
glutton,  the  drunkard,  and  the  whore-monger,  incapable  of 
sustaining  those  hardships,  which  would  be  comparatively  easy 
to  those,  who  had  been  long  trained  up  under  the  discipline  of 
abstinence,  sobriety,  and  industry.  But,  besides  all  this,  guilt 
of  every  kind  naturally  makes  men  cowards;  whereas  conscious 
integrity  and  uprightness  is  a  kind  of  impregnable  armour,  which 
secures  the  heart  from  fear,  even  in  the  midst  of  danger.  This 
Solomon  well  knew,  and  therefore  says.  The  wicked  flee  when 
no  man  pursues ;  but  the  righteous  are  bold  as  a  lion  *.  And 
indeed  that  man,  Avho  apprehends  himself  under  the  guardian- 
ship and  defence  of  divine  providence,  may  well  be  courageous ; 
and  when  he  can  say,  The  Lord  is  my  light,  and  my  salvation, 
he  may  justly  add,  Whom  shall  I  fear  9  The  Lord  is  the  strength 
of  my  life,  of  whom  shall  I  be  afraid  ?  Though  an  host  should 
encamp  against  me,  my  heart  shall  not  fear ;  though  war  should 
rise  against  me,  in  this  will  I  be  confident \:  for  he  has  all  the 
reason  in  the  world  to  be  assured,  that  God  will  either  shield 
Iiim  from  danger,  which  in  the  most  perilous  action  he  can 
easily  do;  or  if  he  suffer  him  to  fall  by  it,  will  open  him  a  pas- 
sage to  eternal  glory,  by  the  wounds  he  may  receive  in  a 
righteous  cause.  Whereas  the  man  who  is  Condemned  by  his 
own  heart,  cannot  easily  flatter  himself  so  far,  as  inwardly  to 
imagine,  that  he  is  not  condemned  by  that  God  who  is  greater 
than  his  heart,  and  knoweth  all  thingsX-  Nor  can  he  always 
forget  how  entirely  he  is  in  the  hand  of  that  tremendous  Being, 
whom  his  disobedience  has  made  his  enemy:  and  it  is  no  wonder 
if  Death  appear  terrible,  when  he  has  so  much  reason,  to  fear, 
that  hell  will  follow  it  §;  for  though  it  is  an  easy  thing  to  jest 
v/ith  its  distant  terrors,  it  is  not  so  easy  delilierately  to  brave 
them,  when  they  seem  to  approach.     You  may  therefore  ob- 

tions  some  of  the  former  instance!!,  with  particular  regard  to  this  circumstance  ;  so 
I  know  the  author  of  the  late  Duke  of  Berwick's  Life,  remruksit  as  to  some  of  the 
latter,  in  some  passages  which  struck  me  so  agreeably  in  reading,  that  I  am  sony 
I  have  not  now  an  opportunity,  either  of  inserting,  or  referring  to  them. 

*  Prov.  xxvjii.  1.  +  Psal.  xxvii,  ! ,  3.         1  1  John  iii.  20.         §  Rev.  vi.  8. 


licformation  necessary  to  Success  in  War.  37 

serve,  that,  in  order  to  lay  conscience  asleep,  politic  men  have 
oi'ten  contrived  to  blow  up  a  wicked  soldiery  with  an  apprehen- 
sion, that  what  tltey  might  want  in  the  regularity  and  virtue  of 
their  behaviour,  they  had  in  the  goodness  of  their  cause,  or  in 
the  orthodoxy  of  their  belief;  that  u  persuasion  of  the  piety  of 
their  cause,  might  at  least  be  a  balance  to  the  impiety  and 
licentiousness  of  their  characters:  yea,  they  have,  it  maybe, 
consecrated  their  cruelties  as  an  atonement  for  their  debauchery. 
What  artifices  have  been  used  to  this  purpose,  and  by  w  horn,  it 
is  bv  no  means  my  present  business  to  encjuire ;  but  I  look  upon 
it  as  a  sort  of  testimony,  borne  often  by  the  worst  of  men  to  the 
importance  of  some  religions  hopes  in  military  affairs ;  as  it  does, 
on  the  other  side,  appear  from  what  was  before  said,  that  these 
hopes  can  only  be  reasonably  entertained  by  those,  who  are  dis- 
posed to  a  thorough  reformation  of  their  lives,  or,  in  the  lan- 
guage of  the  text,  to  keep  themselves  from  every  wicked  thing, 
when  their  host  goes  forth  against  the  enemy. 

\>v\t  in  order  to  render  these  general  reflections  more  use- 
ful, by  bringing  them  to  a  point,  permit  me,  in  the  second 
place, 

II,  To  hint  at  some  of  those  evils,  which  we  should,  in 
our  present  circumstances,  be  particularly  careful  to  guard 
against. 

And  here  I  must  in  the  very  first  place,  mention  that,  in 
which  all  the  other  particulars,  Avhich  might  occur  on  this  oc- 
casion, are  in  effect  contained,  as  in  tlieir  fatal  cause;  and 
observe, 

1.  That  "  a  profane  contempt  of  that  divine  revelation, 
with  which  God  has  favoured  us,"  is  one  great  evil,  that  should 
be  carefully  avoided. 

As  I  cannot,  so  I  hope  I  need  not,  be  large  in  shewing,  how 
admirably  the  whole  tenor  of  the  M'ord  of  God,  and  especially 
the  gospel  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  which  we  all  profess  to  be- 
lieve, is  calculated  to  promote  a  general  reformation  in  man- 
kind ;  and  how  certainly  it  will  promote  it,  in  proportion  to 
the  degree  in  which  it  is  cordially  received.  It  indeed  most 
powerfully  tends,  not  only  to  regulate  the  life,  but  to  awaken 
and  impress  the  conscience;  not  only  to  control  those  evil 
actions,  which,  though  detrimental  in  some  measure  to  society, 
may  not  be  cognizable  by  human  laws,  but  also  to  suppress,  and 
even  eradicate,  those  irregular  aflections  and  passions,  from 
which  such  actions  proceed.  We  can  therefore  wish  nothing 
better  to  our  country,  than  this  gospel,  this  Glorious  gospel  of 

VOL.  III.  E 


^^  ON  A  DAY  OF  PUBLIC  HUMILIATION,  SeR.  II. 

ine  blessed  God^,  may  be  universally  considered,  embraced,  and 
obeyed :  and  I  am  persuaded,  nothing  would  have  an  happier 
aspect  upon  our  public  aflFairs,  than  that  we  should  all  labour  to 
our  utmost  to  promote  its  establishment,  and  its  influence  over 
the  minds  of  men. 

We  have  the  more  reason  to  be  concerned  about  it,  as  per- 
haps there  is  no  christian  nation  under  heaven,  in  which  bolder 
and  more  mischievous  assaults  have  been  made  upon  revealed 
religion,  than  among  us:  and  though  it  has  so  friendly  an  aspect 
on  the  comfort  of  individuals,  and  the  happiness  of  society,  the 
licentiousness  of  some,  and  the  pride  of  others,  has  engaged 
them  to  unite  against  it,  as  against  a  common  enemy,  and  to 
treat  it  with  a  contempt,  equal  to  that  veneration  it  might  justly 
have  demanded.  This  is  indeed  the  natural  consequence  of  that 
liberty  which  we  enjoy,  not  only  of  thinking  for  ourselves,  which 
none  can  prevent,  but  of  freely  professing  our  own  sentiments: 
a  liberty  so  honourable  to  human  nature  and  to  truth,  and  on 
many  accounts  (as  I  have  elsewhere  shewn  f,)  so  profitable,  that 
I  think  no  wise  man  could  wish  it  were  restrained.  Yet  the 
more  freely  we  assert  it,  the  more  careful  should  we  be  by  all 
rational  and  christian  methods  to  prevent  its  abuse,  and  to  guard 
against  those  bad  consequences,  which,  good  as  the  thing  itself 
is,  are  almost  inseparable  from  it. 

Let  all  who  believe  the  gospel,  take  heed  how  they  trifle 
with  it ;  and  let  all  who  have  any  scruples  concerning  it,  make 
their  enquiries  into  its  evidences  with  all  possible  diligence,  hu- 
luility,  and  impartiality  ;  which  if  they  do,  they  will  undoubt- 
edly end  in  a  more  established  belief.  And  let  us  all,  according 
to  our  abilities,  exert  ourselves  for  its  defence ;  not  only  by 
pleading  its  cause  by  arguments,  so  far  as  we  have  an  oppor- 
tunity in  our  respective  places  to  do  it ;  but  also  by  bearing  our 
testimony  to  its  importance,  as  well  as  its  truth  ;  and  above  all, 
by  labouring  to  the  utmost  to  make  our  lives  a  continued  and 
I  prevailing  apology  for  it,  Avhich  they  will  be,  if  they  are  steadily 
governed  by  its  holy  dictates. 

To  excite  us  to  the  greater  care  on  this  head,  let  it  be  re- 
membered, that  nothing  is  more  highly  displeasing  to  God,  than 
the  contempt  of  that  revelation  which  he  has  sent.  They  that 
despised  Moseses  law,  found  it  so  to  their  cost ;  for  when  They 
7)iocked  the  messengers  of  God,  and  despised  his  words,  and  mis- 
used his  prophets,  the  wrath  of  the  Lord  rose  against  his  people^ 
till  there  was  no  remedy ;   and  he  brought  an  invading  enemy 

*  I  Tim.  i.  1 1.  -J-  Sermon  on  Persecution, 


Befoj'ination  necessary  to  Success  in  War.  39 

upon  t/u'7n,  who  slew  their  young  men  with  the  sword,  in  tht 
house  of  their  sanctuary ,  and  had  no  compassion  upon  young 
man,  or  maiden,  old  )nan,  or  him  that  stooped  for  age  *;  And 
"\ve  cannot  expect,  that  the  effects  of  his  displeasure  will  be 
less  terrible,  if  we  will  not  reverence  his  Son.  It  is  owintr  to 
his  wonderful  patience,  that  we  have  not  long  ago  been  made 
a  monmnent  of  his  wratii,  and  Punished  for  these  iniquities, 
as  reinaikably  as  we  have  been  known  bjy  him  beyond  most  of 
the  other  nations  of  the  earth  f .  Our  guilt  on  this  head  makes 
it  more  necessary  to  add , 

2.  "  The  luxurious  abuse  of  the  favours  of  divine  provi- 
dence, which  have  in  so  long  a  peace  been  Howing  in  upon  us,'* 
is  another  evil  to  be  guarded  against,  it"  Ave  would  reasonably 
expect  success  in  war. 

I  am  now  speaking  to  many,  ^vho  know,  more  particularly 
than  I  myself  do,  how  plentifully  our  land  has  yielded  her  in- 
crease for  many  succeednig  years  ;  insomuch  that  we  have  been 
able  to  relieve  the  necessities  of  neighbour  nations,  out  of  our 
own  redundant  stores:  a  providence  which  has  not  only  pre- 
vented corn  from  growing  a  drug  at  home,  but  has  been  an 
occasion  of  bringing  into  the  nation  no  contemptible  return  of 
riches  for  a  considerable  time.  Besides  this,  whatever  particular 
diiBculties  may  have  attended  some  traders,  our  commerce  in 
general  has  long  been  in  a  flourishing  condition.  Very  consider* 
able  estates  have  been  raised  ;  and  it  is  neither  to  be  wondered 
at,  nor  blamed,  that  those  who  have  found  their  wealth  in- 
creasing, have  thought  proper  to  live  in  a  more  liberal,  and 
elegant,  and  some  of  them  in  a  more  magnificent  manner,  than 
before.  But  I  fear,  that,  in  many  of  those  who  have  thus  been 
distinguished  by  the  blessings  of  divine  providence,  this  indul- 
gence has  grown  up  into  luxury  and  extravagance,  and  to 
a  neglect  of  every  honest  and  industrious  employment,  whereby 
God  might  have  been  honoured,  and  the  public  interest  pro- 
moted ;  cares  and  labours,  from  which  the  wealthiest  and  the 
noblest  of  mankind  are  by  no  means  to  think  themselves  ex- 
cused ;  nay,  by  which  they  are  rather  to  be  proportionably  dis- 
tinguished. 

I  fear  also,  that  the  taste  for  pleasure  and  grandeur,  which 
has  prevailed  so  much  in  persons  of  plentiful  circumstances, 
has  been  too  eagerly  and  vainlv  imitated,  by  those  whose  estates 
and  families   would  have   required   another  kind  of  conduct, 

*  P  Thron.  xxKri.  16,  17.  f  Amosiii.  3. 


40  ON  A  DAY  OF  PUBLIC  HUMILIATION.  SeR.  II. 

This,  in  great  measure,  may  have  been  the  cause  of  the  many 
bankruptcies,   whereby  such  who  have  dealt  largely,  and  have 
affected  to  deal  much  more  largely  than  they  ought,  have  fre- 
quently drawn  down  many  others,  and    those,   perhaps,  more 
industrious  and   deserving  families  into  ruin   with  themselves. 
While  others,  in   various  employments,  have  been  obliged  to 
have   recourse  to  mean  artifices,  to  siiore  up  a  sinking  credit 
for  a  while,  till  all  those  props  have  at  last  only  made  the  ruin 
the  greater,  and  the  more  unpitied  ;  and  all  this  to  the  unspeak- 
able reproach  of  religion,  which  has   sometimes   been  vainly 
pretended  to  by  those,  whose  conduct  has  been  most  contrary 
to  its  essential  precepts.     Indeed,  to  speak  freely,  1  can  by  no 
means  think,  the  great  affectation  of  ornament  in  dress,   and 
magnificence  in  living,  Avhich  is  the  expensive  taste  of  the  pre- 
sent age,  can   bode  well  to  the  public.     The  sins  of  Sodomy 
pride,  and  idleness,  with  fulness  of  bread*,  have  long   been 
in  the  midst  of  us  ;   and  if  they  are  not  reformed,  they  must, 
both  by  their  natural  consequence,  and  by  the  righteous  judg- 
ment of  God,  involve  our  nation  in  destruction.     We  have  long 
been    Made   to  eat  the  i'ncrease  of   the  field,  to    suck    honey 
out  of  the  rock,  and  oil  out  of  the  flinty  rock  :    we  have  been 
fed  with  the  fat  of  kidneys  of  wheat,  and  drank  the  pure  blood 
of  the  grape;  till  \'\ke  Jeshurun,yv&  ha,ve  waxed  fat  a7id  kicked  f : 
and,  therefore,  as  the  guilt  has  been  ours,   it  Avill  be  but  righte- 
ous, if  the  condemnation  should  be  ours  too  ;  and  Afire  should 
be  kindled  against  us  in  God^s  anger ^  that  should  burn  even  to 
the  lowest  hell,  that  should  consume  the  land  with  its  increase^ 
and  set  on  fire  the  foundations  of  the  mountains  %-     It  becomes 
us  therefore,  if  we  would  avert  the  deserved  judgments  of  God, 
to  set  ourselves,  as  in  his  presence,  to  examine  seriously  how^ 
we  are  using  the  talents  he  has  graciously  lent  us  ;   and  instead 
of  profusely  wasting  both  our  time  and  our  stock  in  vain  indul- 
gences, to  apply  ourselves  with  honest  industry  to  the  proper 
business  of  our  calling  ;   and  by  a  prudent  frugality  at  home,  to 
lay  a  foundation  for  a  liberal  contribution  to  the  poor.     So  are 
we  most  likely  to  regain  the  strength  and  honour  of  our  nation, 
which  luxury  must   infallibly   enervate  and  disgrace  ;    and  to 
draw  down  the  blessing  of  God  upon  our  affairs  ;  as  M^ell  as  to 
provide  some  resource  for  future  supplies,   if  our  present  pre- 
paration should  be,  which  God  forbid,  unsuccessful,  or  the  war 
should  be  prolonged  till  the  burden  grow  much  more  sensible, 
than  it  can  at  present  be.     Again, 

*  Ezek.  xvi.  49.  f  Dent,  xxxii.  13—15.  %  Ver.  22. 


Reformation  necessary  to  Success  in  War.  41 

3.  "  Too  great  a  confkU'ncc  in  our  own  militarv  strength 
and  preparations,"  is  another  evil  from  whicji  we  should  be  es- 
pecially solicitous  to  keep  ourselves,  in  sucii  a  conjecture  of 
aflairs  as  this. 

'I'hrough  the  abundant  goodness  of  God,  the  armaments  of 
Great-Britain,  both  by  sea  and  land,  have,  so  far  as  I  can  re- 
collect, in  most  instances,  since  the  beginning  of  the  present 
centurv,  been  attended  with  success  ;  and  in  some  circum- 
stances tliat  success  has  been  glorious  and  remarkable.  These 
being  then  the  latest  facts,  and  facts  of  so  pleasant  a  nature,  are 
apt  to  strike  our  rememl)rance  very  strongly  ;  and  r.rc  now  recol- 
lected with  so  much  the  more  pleasure,  as  the  last  of  them  was  at- 
tended with  equal  honour  to  Great-Britain,  and  shame  and  disap- 
pointment to  Spain*.  But  I  fear,  that  to  allude  to  the  expressive 
language  of  the  prophet,  because  IVe  have  ohcv\  caught  onx  er\o.- 
mies  m  our  net,  and  gathered  them,  in  our  drag,  we  are  fallen  into 
the  absurd  impiety  of  sacrijicing  to  our  net,  and  burning  incense 
to  our  drag  f.  And  though  it  is  to  be  sure  a  pleasant  thing,  to 
see  our  nation  engaging  in  this  necessary  war  with  ardour  and 
cheerfulness  ;  and  the  apparent  righteousness  of  our  cause  may 
indeed  encourage  our  humble  hopes  ;  yet  I  cannot  forbear  say- 
ing, that  I  fear  that  great  eagerness  which  in  many  instances 
has  been  shewn  on  this  occasion,  has  proceeded  from  a  forget- 
fulness  of  God,  and  a  proud  confidence  in  ourselves  ;  as  if 
victory  were  chained  to  our  chariot-Av heels,  and  the  winds,  so 
often  indeed  listed  our  banners,  were  always  to  blow  according 
to  our  directions  ;  as  if  the  artillery  of  our  ships  were  as  un- 
conquerable, as  that  of  heaven  itself,  and  we  could  at  pleasure 
send  forth  our  thuniler,  and  scatter  our  enemies,  and  shoot  out 
lightnings,  and  discomfit  them. 

But  let  it  be  remembered,  that  Pharaoh  stood  on  the  very 
verge  of  disgrace  and  destruction,  when  he  said,  /  will  pursue, 
I  will  overtake,  I  will  divide  the  spoil ;  my  lust  shall  be  s  itis- 
fied  upon  them  ,  I  will  draw  wy  sword,  and  mij  hand  shall 
destroy  themX-  Yea,  let  us  remember  in  general,  t\M\t  Pride 
goes  before  destruction,  and  a  haughty  spirit  before  a  fall 'i^. 
I  can  wish,  no  happier  omen,  than  that  we  should  learn  the  lan- 
guage and  sentiments,  which  that  martial  hero,  whom  we  men- 
tioned  before  on  a  like  occasion,   so  often  inculcates  upon  his 

*  1  suppose  few  need  to  be  told,  th.it  I  refer  to  that  srlorious  expedition  to  .Sicily, 
111  the  year  1718,  wliiih  was  conducted  with  so  much  spirit,  prudence,  and  bravery, 
by  Admiral  Byiig,  afterwards  Viscount  Torrington. 

t  Hab.  i.  15,  16.  \  Exod.  xv.  9.  §  Prov.  xvi.  13. 


42  ON  A  DAV  of  public  HUMlLIAtlON.  SeR.  it, 

people  ;  that  we  may  say  with  him,  In  the  name  of  our  God 
will  we  set  up  our  banners  *;  Through  thee  will  we  push  down, 
our  enemies  i  through  thy  name  will  we  tread  them  under, 
that  rise  up  against  us ;  for  I  will  not  trust  in  my  bow,  nei- 
ther shall  my  sword  save  me  f.  Though  Some  trust  in  chariots , 
and  some  in  horses,  we  will  remember  the  name  of  the  Lord  out 
God  X;  for  God  Delights  7iot  in  the  strength  of  the  horse,  neither 
takes  he  pleasure  in  the  legs  of  a  man  §,  so  that  his  victory 
should  be  proportionable  to  their  strength,  and  their  agility  t 
and  therefore,  though  in  some  cases  The  horse  may  prudently 
be  prepared  against  the  day  of  battle :  yet  still  it  must  be  ac- 
knowledged, that  Safety  is  of  the  Lord  Ij.  He  breaks  the  bow, 
and  cuts  the  spear  in  smider,  he  burns  the  chariot  in  the  fire  ^; 
Salvation  belongs  to  the  Lord ;  his  blessing  is  upon  his  people  *** 
We  have  indeed  no  warrant  to  expect  a  miraculous  interposi- 
tion of  God  in  our  favour  ;  and  it  would  be  folly  and  wicked- 
ness, in  a  dependance  upon  that,  to  neglect  any  necessary 
methods  of  defence  :  but  still  it  is  to  be  remembered,  that,  as 
■we  proved  under  the  former  head,  the  success  of  all  is  from 
above  ;  and  that  it  is,  on  the  whole,  Through  God  alone  xue  can 
do  valiantly,  and  he  it  is  that  must  tread  down  our  enemies  ff-. 
This  we  are  solemnly  acknowledging  in  the  devotions  of  this 
day  ;  and  God  grant,  that  it  may  fix  on  our  minds  that  pious 
humility,  which,  as  it  is  perfectly  consistent  with  the  firmest 
valour,  has  in  some  very  remarkable  instances  been  a  prelude 
to  the  most  glorious  success. 

Let  me  add,  but  this  once  more, 

4.  "  Too  keen  a  resentment  for  uijuries  received  from  our 
enemies,  grovving  into  a  malignant  hatred  against  them,"  is 
another  evil,  which  we  should  be  peculiarly  solicitous  in  oui* 
present  circumstances  to  avoid. 

It  is  certain  indeed,  that  some  of  those  violences,  which 
have  been  offered  us,  have  been  attended  with  circumstances 
of  such  barbarity  and  contempt,  as  cannot  but  awaken  a  strong 
indignation  ;  and  the  genius  of  Britons  can  very  ill  brook  such 
kind  of  treatment.  Yet  permit  me  to  say,  that  it  would  be 
unjust  to  charge  the  whole  Spanish  nation  with  such  enormities, 
as  have  been  committed  by  some,  probably  in  the  number  of 
the  most  abandoned  among  thera.  Humanity  is  not  the  growth 
of  one  particular  climate,  but  a  happy  inheritance  divided 
among  the  various  inliabitants  of  the  earth  ;  and  I  doubt  not, 

*  Psal.  XX.  5,  t  Psal-  ^li^-  5,  6.  %  Psal.  xx.  7.  §  Psal.  cxlvii.  10. 

II  Prov,  XX.  31.  %  PsaU  xlri.  9.       **  Psal.  iii.  8.  ff  Psal.  cviii.  13. 


Reformation  necessary  Success  in  IVar.  43 

but  it  teaches  many  among  tliem  to  abhor  the  villanies  of  their 
countrymen.  But  if  not,  be  that  reproach  to  our  enemies  ;  and 
may  it  never  foil  upon  us,  that  we  have  dehghted  in  the  unne- 
cessary misery  of  our  fellow-creatures,  and  have  retorted  cruelty 
for  cruelty.  We  are  indeed  to  wish,  that  injustice  may  be  so 
chastised,  as  that  for  the  future  it  may  be  suppressed  ;  but  God 
forbid,  that  we  should  thirst  fov  blood  and  ruin,  or  take  delight 
to  think  of  the  sufferings  of  any,  how  ill  soever  they  may  have 
deserved  of  us  ! 

War,  in  such  circumstances  as  ours,  is  the  rigorous  and 
severe  work  of  justice,  and  must  be  done  :  but  methinks  a  iiu- 
manc  heart  consents  to  it  with  some  sensible  regret,  and  will 
sometimes  bleed  to  think,  that  those  benevolent  and  brotherly 
cares,  that  ought  to  fill  the  heart  of  one  man  for  another,  and  of 
one  nation  for  another,  should  be  turned  into  thoughts  and 
schemes  of  destruction  ;  and  give  place  to  contrivances,  how- 
men  may  be  slaughtered,  and  cities  laid  waste,  and  the  beau- 
ties of  nature  and  art  ravaged  and  defaced. 

It  would  indeed  be  a  partial  and  short-sighted  tenderness, 
if  potent  nations  should  on  these  principles  suffer  themselves  to 
be  injured  and  insulted  by  every  foreign  bravo  ;  till  at  length 
they  sink  into  contempt,  and  yield  up  themselves,  or  their  de- 
pendants, a  tame  and  helpless  prey  to  injustice  and  cruelty.  A 
neglect  of  the  proper  methods  of  self-defence  would  leave  them 
chargeable  before  God  and  man  with  the  calamities  resulting 
from  it :  yet  still  it  becomes  them,  in  the  vindication  of  their 
just  rights,  to  guard  against  that  savage  fierceness,  which  for- 
gets that  enemies  are  men  *.  It  becomes  us  rather  to  wisli, 
they  may  be  brought  to  reason  by  the  least  destructive  methods ; 
and  that  what  they  in  the  mean  time  suffer,  may  be  a  profitable 
lesson  to  others,  and  on  the  whole  to  themselves. 

I  apprehend  these  admonitions  not  unseasonable,  and  hav- 
ing enlarged  so  far  upon  them,  shall  omit  some  other  heads, 
which  might  easily  be  connected  with  them  ;  and  shall, 

III,  Conclude  this  discourse  with  some  general  reflections., 

Now  such  as  these  will  probably  present  themselves  to  most 
of  your  thoughts  ;  and  no  doubt  you  have  anticipated  me  in. 
some  of  them. 

I .  Let  us  be  deeply  humbled  before  God  for  the  evils  that 
are  to  be  found  among  us. 

Let  us  lie  down  as  it  were  in  the  dust,  in  his  sacred  pre- 
sence, when  we  consider  that  with  us,  even  M'ith  us,  there  are 

•  *  Viriboni  est,  initia  Belli  jiivitum  suscipcrc,  extrcma non  libenter  perse<iui.  Salliut. 


44  ON    A    DAY    OF    PUBLIC    HUMILIATION.  SeR,  II. 

'so  many  crying  abominations  to  be  found,  notwithstanding  all 
that  God  has  been  pleased  to  do  for  us.  Let  us  be  humbled  be- 
fore him,  not  only  for  the  sins  of  our  princes,  and  nobles,  and 
priests,  and  people  ;  but  more  especially  under  a  sense  of  our 
own  guilt,  and  of  what  we  have  added  to  the  divine  displea- 
sure, by  offences,  if  not  in  their  kind  peculiarly  enormous,  yet 
at  least  in  their  circumstances  most  highly  aggravated.  Let  us 
borrow  the  expressions  of  humble  contrition,  which  Avere 
used  by  God's  ancient  people,  and  each  of  us  say  with  Ezra, 
O  my  God,  I  am  ashamed  and  blush  to  lift  up  my  face  to  thee, 
viy  God ;  for  our  iniquities  are  increased  over  our  head,  and  our 
trespass  isgroxoyi  up  untothe  heavens :  Since  the  days  of  our/at  hers 
have  we  been  in  a  great  trespass  unto  this  day; — aiul  behold,  we 
are  now  before  thee  in  our  trespasses ;  for  we  cannot  stand  before 
thee,  because  of  this*.  Let  us  say  with  Jeremiah,  We  lie  down 
in  our  shame,  and  our  confusion  covereth  us ;  for  we  have  sinned 
against  the  Lord  our  God,  we  and  our  fathers,  from  our  youth 
even  to  this  day,  and  have  not  obeyed  the  voice  of  the  Lord  our 
God  f.  Let  us  say  with  Daniel,  when  he  Set  his  face  unto  the 
Lord  God,  to  seek  him  by  prayer,  and  supplications,  with  fasting 
and  sackcloth,  and  ashes,  O  Lord,  the  great  and  dreadful  Gody 
we  have  sinned,  and  have  committed  iniquity,  and  have  done 
wickedly,  and  have  rebelled,  even  by  departing  from  thy  precepts 
and  thyjudgmejits  : — 0  Lord,  righteousness  belongs  unto  thee, 
but  unto  us  confusion  of  faces,  as  at  this  day, — to  Sur  kings, 
to  our  princes,  and  to  our  fat  hers,  because  we  have  sinned  against 

thee  ; neither  have  xve  obeyed  the  voice  of  the  Lord  our  God, 

to  walk  in  his  laws,  which  he  set  before  us  by  his  servants  the 

prophets : Nevertheless,   O  Lord  hear,  0  Lord  forgive,  O 

Lord  hearken  and  do,  defer  not  for  thine  own  sake,  0  my  God ; 
for  thy  people  are  colled  by  thy  name  X^ 

Nor  let  this  be  words  alone,  but  the  deep-felt  sentiments  of 
our  hearts.  Let  us  call  to  remembrance  our  n)anifold  engage- 
ments to  God,  on  the  one  hand,  and  our  transgressions  against 
him,  on  the  other  ;  and  acknowledge  in  the  abasement  and  bit- 
terness of  our  souls  before  him,  that  it  would  be  a  righteous 
thing  in  him,  to  bring  destruction  upon  us  in  its  most  painful 
and  dreadful  forms,  to  infatuate  all  our  counsels,  to  blast  all 
oar  undertakings,  to  sink  our  navies  in  the  midst  of  the  sea,  to 
cause  our  own  hearts  to  melt,  and  our  hands  to  fail,  while  those 
of  our  enemies  were  strengthened  for  our  ruin  !  Let  us  humbly 
acknowledge,   that  he  would  be  just  in  all  that  came  upon  us, 

*  Ezraix.  6,  "7,  15.  f  Jer.  iii.  25.  +  Daa.  ix.  3,  4,  3,  7,  8,  10,  19. 


Reformation  necessary  to  Success  in  War.  45 

if  tliis  j)leasant  land,  in  which  we  have  enjoyed  so  <rreat  plenty  and 
prosperitv,  should  become  a  desart ;  or  if  we  should  see  those 
possessions,  for  which  we  ourselves  have  laboured,  or  which 
-have  been  transmitted  to  us  from  our  forefatliers,  plundered  by 
strancjers,  or  even  inherited  by  enemies.  And  while  we  are 
confessing  this,  let  us  endeavour  by  earnest  and  importunate 
prayers  to  avert  these  deserved  judgments,  and  wrestle  with 
God  Not  to  destroy  his  people  * ;  but  to  Give  us  that  help  from 
troubley  without  which  we  shall  find,  that  vain  is  the  help  of 
man  f. 

Let  these  thoughts,  which  I  hope  are  impressing  our  minds 
in  the  solemnities  of  this  day,  be  carried  along  with  us  into  our 
secret  retirements  ;  let  us  spread  tliem  before  God  in  our  family 
devotion,  and  let  them  have  a  becoming  share  in  our  private 
worship.  And  if  we  desire  that  these  supplications  and  prayers 
may  not  be  an  abomination  to  a  holy  God,  iet  us 

2.  Be  very  solicitous  to  exert  ourselves  to  the  utmost,  to 
promote  a  work  of  general  reformation,  according  to  the  various 
stations  in  which  providence  has  placed  us. 

Our  care  in  this  respect,  if  it  be  earnest  and  sincere,  will 
begin  with  ourselves;  and  we  should  now  particularly  consider 
ourselves,  as  solemnly  called  b^'  God  to  Search  and  try  ourwaySy 
that  we  may  turn  again  to  the  LordX.  In  obedience  to  that 
command,  let  us,  as  it  were,  call  a  court  in  our  own  consciences, 
and  impartially  judge  ourselves,  as  those  that  are  shortly  to  be 
judged  of  the  Lord.  Whatever  is  criminal,  whatever  is  even 
suspicious  in  our  temper  and  conduct,  let  us  endeavour  to  re- 
gulate it  by  the  certain  rules  of  religion,  and  bring  all  our  senti- 
ments and  actions  to  its  unerring  standard.  Let  us  not  only 
Cease  to  do  evil,  but  learn  todoweli^;  labouring  to  the  very 
utmost,  to  prevent  any  reproach  to  our  profession,  and  to  re- 
flect a  glory  upon  it.  Could  every  one  be  engaged  to  this,  all 
would  be  well ;  nay,  should  it  grow  the  prevailing  temper,  we 
might  reasonably  hope,  that  The  innocent  would  deliver  the 
island;  yea,  that  it  should  be  preserved  by  thepiireness  of  their 
hands  || . 

And  this  will  naturally  engage  us  to  a  proper  care  of  those 
committed  to  our  immediate  charge.  It  will,  no  doubt,  have  an 
happy  influence  upon  heads  ot  families,  to  stir  them  up  to  Walk 
uithin  their  houses  in  a  perfect  way%i  and  so  to  govern,  as  weli 

*  Deut.  ix.  (!6.  f  Psol.  cviii.  12.  :^  Lam.  iii.  40, 

§  Isa.  i.  16,  17.  II  Job  xxii.  00.  ir|  PjaJ,  ci.  2. 

VOL.  IJI.  F 


46  ON   A   DAY   OF   PUBLIC   HUMILIATION.  SeR.  II. 

as  instruct  their  domestics,  that  none  under  their  roof  and  care, 
may  Make  themselves  vile,  without  being  re'^^?'flfne^  by  proper 
disciphne*.  This  would,  under  God,  Avho  very  seldom  denies 
a  blessing  to  such  pious  endeavours,  have  a  happy  tendency  to 
secure  to  our  country  a  race  of  virtuous  and  pious  youth,  whose 
behaviour  might  wipe  off  the  stain,  which  the  sins  of  their  fathers 
have  thrown  upon  it;  out  of  regard  to  whom  God  might  deal 
so  much  the  more  graciously  Avith  us,  while  they  were  growing 
up  for  public  service,  and  might  say  of  our  nation,  as  in  another 
case,  Destroy  it  not,  for  a  blessing  is  in  it  f.  And,  to  con- 
clude all, 

3.  Let  us,  from  what  we  have  now  been  hearing,  be  excited 
earnestly  to  pray  for  those,  who,  by  reason  of  their  more  public 
stations  in  life,  may  be  capable  of  doing  more  than  ourselves,  to 
promote  the  work  of  national  reformation. 

And  here  our  magistrates  justly  claim  the  first  share  in  our 
remembrance.  Let  us  earnestly  pray,  that  divine  grace  may 
possess  their  hearts  with  a  sense  of  the  importance  of  their  re- 
spective offices,  and  of  the  strict  account  they  must  another  day 

render  for  tlie  manner  in  which  they  have  discharged  them. 

Let  us  especially  pray  for  our  gracious  sovereign,  who  is  calling 
us  to  these  prayers,  and  joining  with  his  people  in  hMmiliatioi> 
before  tlie  King  of  kings,  and  Lord  of  lords.  Let  us  pray,  that 
The  Lord  may  hear  hiin  in  the  day  of  trouble,  that  the  name  of 
the  God  of  Jacob  may  defend  him ;  that  he  may  send  him  help 
from  his  sanctuary,  and  strengthen  him  out  of  ZionX!  That 
The  king  may  joy  in  the  strength  of  the  Lord,  and  in  his  salva- 
tion may  greatly  rejoice^!  That  as  he  is  thus  publicly  declar- 
ing his  Trust  in  the  Lord,  through  the  mercy  of  the  Most  Lligh 
he  may  not  be  moved;  but  that  God's  hand  may  find  out  all  his 
enemies,  atid  his  right  hand  may  find  out  those  that  hate  him  ||.' 
That  Llis  glory  may  be  great  in  God's  salvation,  and  increasing 
honour  and  majesty  may  be  laid  upon  him  %!  I  am  persuaded, 
there  is  not  a  heart  that  does  not  answer,  amen  !  May  the  father 
of  our  country  hear,  that  his  enemies  are  humbled  abroad  I 
May  he  see  his  people  united,  and  reformed  at  home !.  Yea, 
may  God  Make  him  most  blessed  for  ever**;  that  in  the  future, 
and  infinitely  most  important  world,  they  that  have  been  here 
protected  by  him  in  war,  and  cherished  m  peace,  may  see  him 
as  much  distinguished  by  celestial  glories,  as  he  now  is  by  earthly 
dignities! — May  ail  our  counsellors  be  wise;  and  all  our  judges 

*  1  Sam.  iii.  13.  f  Isa.  Ixv.  8.  %  Psal.  xx.  1,2.  §  Psal.  xxi.  1. 

I  Ver.  7,  8.  f  Ver.  5.  **  Ver.  6. 


lii'formatlon  necessary  to  Success  in  War.  47 

faitliful!  May  our  legislators  enact  good  laws;  and  inferior  ma- 
gistrates vigorously  execute  them!  And  may  all  our  rulers, 
from  tiie  highest  to  the  lowest,  be  themselves  examples  of  uni- 
versal goodness!  May  they  Scatter  away  all  evil  ii)ith  their 
eyes'^,  and  make  it  ashamed  by  their  presence!  May  they  re- 
•solutelv  reform  the  peoj)le,  who  generally  of  all  others  need  it 
most,  their  own  domestics  and  dependants!  And  may  they  have 
that  inward  veneration  from  all  about  them,  Avhich  nothing  but 
a  character  for  real  religion  can  give,  even  to  the  greatest  and 
wisest  of  mankind. 

Let  us  pray  likewise  for  our  military,  as  well  as  our  civil 
officers  ;  that  they  may  exert  themselves,  with  a  bravery  so  well 
becoming  their  character,  to  drive  out  wickedness,  that  most 
dangerous  enemy,  from  our  camps  and  navies,  which  it  has  so 
boldly  invaded;  yea,  where  it  has  by  so  long  a  custom  claimed 
a  kind  of  right  to  pitch  its  tent,  and  to  set  up  its  banners.     This 
will  indeed  be  a  very  hard  conquest,  considering  the  circum- 
stances in  which  persons  generally  enter  on  such  a  life,  and  the 
great  and  dangerous  leisure  Avhich  it  gives  them,  in  a  time  of 
long  peace,  of  corrupting  themselves,  and  each  other.     Yet  the 
extensive  power,  which  is  annexed  to  superior  officers  in  every 
regiment,    and    company,    may    give    them  great   advantages 
for  serving  their  country,  by  regulating  the  external  behaviour 
of  those  under  their  command  ;  and  human  authority  can  pre- 
tend to  regulate  nothing  more.     They  may,  for  instance,  be  re- 
strained from  the  open  violation  of  the  sabbath,  and  called  to  an 
attendance  upon  public  worship,  under  one  form  of  it  or  an- 
other ;  and  a  great  check  may  be  given  to  that  lewdness,  de- 
baucliery,  and  profaneness,  in  which  not  a  few  of  them  vie  with 
each  other,  as  if  they  were  the  distinguishing  honours  of  their 
order.     I  look  upon  it  as  a  great  ornament,  honour,  and  blessing 
to  our  land,  that  many  of  our  officers  are  very  amiable  examples 
of  virtue  and  piet}',  and  know  how  deficient  even  the  character 
of  a  gentleman  is,  when  notoriously  wanting  in  either.     And  we 
in  these  parts  have  had  many  opportunities  of  observing,  how 
good  an  influence  the  inspection  of  such  persons  has  upon  the 
inferior  soldiery,  to  secure  the  regularity  and  decency  of  their 
behaviour.     Let  us  earnestly  pray,  that  The  Lord  oj  hosts,  whom 
we  are  intreating  to  cover  the  heads  of  our  warriors  in  the  day 
of  battle  f,  may  more  generally  inspire  the  hearts  of  those  that 
lead  them  forth  with  his  fear,  and  excite  them,  however  it  may 

*Prov,  XX,  3.  fPsal.  csJ.  7. 

F3 


48  ON    A    DAY    OF    PUBLIC    HUMILIATION.  SeR.  II. 

be  censured  by  the  abandoned  and  profane,  to  exert  themselves 
to  the  utmost,  to  form  their  troops  to  the  discipline  of  virtue,  as 
well  as  of  war.  It  is  what  the  credit  of  their  profession,  and  I 
will  add,  the  safety  of  the  public  requires.  And  I  must  take  the 
liberty  particulai'ly  to  say,  that  when  my  ears  are  at  any  time 
wounded  with  those  detestable  imprecations,  which  are  in  many 
places  so  common  among  our  soldier^',  and  which  are,  I  think, 
an  infallible  proof  of  a  character  thoroughly  bad,  I  am  ready  to 
tremble  with  the  sad  apprehension,  lest  their  guilt  should  turn 
back  their  weapons  of  war  ;  and  lest  God  should  suddenly  send 
them,  from  the  points  of  their  enemies'  swords,  or  the  mouths  of 
their  guns,  that  damnation  which  they  have  so  -wantonly  invok- 
ed on  themselves,  and  each  other. 

We  are  under  yet  more  apparent  obligation,  to  pray  for 
those,  that  preside  in  religious  assemblies  of  all  denominations  ; 
that  God  M'ould  Clothe  his  priests  with  salvation,  as  Avhat  will 
have  a  most  important  influence  to  make  his  people  joyful  and 
happy  *.  May  their  hearts  and  hands  be  united  in  that  good 
work  which  is  committed  to  them !  May  God  deliver  them  from 
the  shame  and  folly  of  employing  the  solemn  seasons  of  public 
worship,  in  reproaching  their  brethren,  and  animating  the  hearts 
of  professing  christians  against  each  other  !  An  enormity, 
which,  I  think,  is  in  our  day  generally  driven  out  with  a  just 
contempt ;  unless  perhaps,  it  be  yet  sheltered  among  a  very  few, 
whom  great  ignorance,  or  greater  wickedness,  has  reduced  to 
this  wretched  expedient,  as  a  kind  of  forlorn-hope.  May  abet- 
ter temper  universally  succeed  ;  and  however  christian  assem- 
blies may  differ  in  some  of  their  forms  of  worship,  yet  as  they 
agree  in  the  essentials  of  it,  may  their  ministers  agree  in  pursu- 
ing the  same  great  end  ;  and  as  they  all  have  one  errand,  may 
their  language,  in  the  main,  be  one!  May  they  all  speak  with 
plainness,  \\Tth  seriousness,  and  I  will  add,  with  that  authority 
too,  which  nothing  but  conscious  integrity  and  goodness  can 
give!  Not  even  amusing,  and  much  less  firing  the  minds  of 
men,  with  matters  of  doubtful  disputations  ;  but  rather  exerting 
themselves  to  the  utmost  for  that  one  plain,  but  glorious  pur- 
pose, of  reforming  men's  tempers  and  lives  upon  the  christian 
plan ! 

For  promoting  the  efticacy  of  such  labours  as  these,  we 
should  earnestly  pray,  that  all  who  are  employed  in  them,  may 
be  examples  of  distinguishing  piety ;  and  that  God  would  be 
Like  a  rejin€r''s  fire,  to  purify  the  sons  of  Levi  f.     For  while 

*  P«al.  cxxxii,  16.  t  Mai.  iii.  C,  3. 


Beformation  necessary  to  Success  in  War.  A*J 

an}'  gross  immoralities  are  observable  in  tlicir  conduct,  they  will 
wound  religion  like  a  two-edged  sword;  as  their  hearers,  by  a 
perversencss  and  inconsistency  very  natural  to  the  licentious  and 
profane,  will  look   upon  it  as  a  sanction  at  once  fi)r  despising 
their  persons,  and  imitating  their  vices.     Ministers  of  all  deno- 
minations claim  our  prayers   on  these   heads:    and  peculiarly 
those  of  established  churches;  where,  as  the  temporal  emolu- 
ments are  generally  greatest,  there  is  of  course  more  to  invite 
unworthy  persons  to   oiler  themselves  to  the  mmistr}-. — Nor 
ought  we  to  forget,  in  our  prayers  at  such  seasons,  those  wise, 
learned,  and  pious  men,  whom  our  governors  may  from  time  to 
time  think  lit  to  raise  to  the  most  exalted  stations  among  the 
clergy,  and  to  invest  with  a  dignity  and  authority,  which  though 
no  part  of  their  ministerial  office,  is  capable  of  being  improved 
to  great  advantage.     It  is  devoutly  to  be  wished,  that  the}-  may 
use  their  great  mfluence  and  power,  to  exclude  those  that  are 
unworthy,  from  that  important  trust,  as  persons  whom  they 
cannot  suppose  to  be  called  by  the  Holy  Ghost  to  take  it  upon 
them  ;  and  that  they   may  preside  over  the  doctrine  and  be- 
haviour of  those  committed  to  their  care,  in  such  a  manner,  as 
may  render  both,  most  edifying  to  those  who  attend  their  in- 
struction.    By  these  pious  and  zealous  endeavours  an  establish- 
ment will  flourish,  and  separate  interests  decrease.     But  what 
folly  and  iniquity  were  it,  so  much  as  secretly  to  wish,  that  one 
limb  might  grow  by  the  distemper  of  the  body,  or  one  coast  be 
enriched  by  the  wreck  of  the  public  navy! 

Once  more,  let  us  on  the  principles  on  which  I  am  now  in- 
sisting, earnestly  pray  for  those,  who  have  the  care  of  educating 
3'outh  intended  for  public  stations.  Let  us  pray  for  all  the  uni- 
versities of  Great  Britain,  and  for  more  private  academies  and 
.schools;  which  according  to  the  manner  in  which  they  are  re- 
gulated, will  either  be  the  blessing,  or  the  calamity  of  our  coun- 
try. May  those,  that  are  so  trained  up  for  one  important  em- 
ployment or  another,  and  especially  those  iiitencled  for  the 
ministry  of  Christ's  church,  be  formed  to  extensive  knowledfro, 
and  above  all,  to  the  knowledge  of  the  gospel!  May  they  be 
regulated  by  proper  discipline,  that  habits  of  virtue  may  be 
formed,  as  well  as  principles  of  science  and  truth  imbibed  !  May 
those,  to  whom  God  has  committed  the  high  and  laborious 
though  honourable,  charge  of  presiding  over  such  societies, ever 
remember  how  much  they  have  to  answer  for,  to  God,  and  to 
their  country  !  May  they  cultivate  these  plantations  with  that 
assiduity;  may  they  watch  over  them  with  that  caution  ;  and  I 
will  add,  may  they  weed  them  with  that  prudence  and  re^olu- 


so  ON   A   DAY   OF    PUBLIC    HUMILIATION.  SeR.  II. 

tion,  which  in  concurrence  with  those  influences  from  above,  on 
which  all  depends,  may  render  them  like  a  field  which  the  Lord 
has  blessed,  and  a  garden  which  he  continually  cares  for!  There 
may  the  rising  hopes  of  future  generations  flourish,  and  those 
plants  be  reared  and  spread,  which  in  due  time  may  beautify 
our  land,  and  refresh  and  nourish  its  inhabitants! — And  may 
God  so  guard  our  religious  and  civil  liberties  from  generation 
to  generation,  that  in  this  respect,  as  well  as  the  other,  the  inha- 
bitants of  our  favoured  island  Mot/  sit  every  man  under  his  vine, 
ayid  under  his  Jig-tree,  and  have  none  to  make  him  a/ raid*.  May 
not  the  study  and  the  arts  of  peace,  among  us  at  least,  be  inter- 
rupted by  the  noise  of  war ;  may  not  our  ears  hear  the  tumult  of 
battle,  nor  our  eyes  see  the  miserable  spectacles  it  produces  ! 
Only  by  report,  may  we  learn  the  success  of  our  fleets,  and  our 
armies  abroad  ;  till  we  at  length  hear,  that  the  contention  ends 
in  a  safe  and  honourable  peace  ! 

And  let  it  not  be  misinterpreted,  as  unworthy  a  British  and 
a  christian  heart,  to  add,  let  us  pray  for  our  enemies;  for  that 
haughty  nation,  which  despises  our  pravers,  and  has  treated  us 
•with  so  much  injustice  and  contempt.     May  the}'^  be  sensible  of 
the  mjury  they  have  done  us,  and  of  the  aflfront  they  have,  by 
every  act  of  injustice  and  cruelty,  offered  to  the  Majesty  of  hea- 
ven, the  Father  of  nations,  and  the  Guardian  of  men ;  whose 
penetrating  eye  sees  through  the  frauds  M-hich  may  cover  trea- 
ties, and  before  whose  tribunal  those  criminals  must  be  arraign- 
ed, who  are  too  great,  or  too  distant,  for  the  reach  of  human 
justice  !  May  Spain  have  no  reason  to  glory  in  those  vain  refuges, 
to  which  the  idolatrous  principles  of  their  unhappy  church  teach 
them  to  fly !  May  they  be  disposed  to  give,  and  we  to  receive, 
all  reasonable  satisfaction  !     And  oh  that,  if  it  were  the  will  of 
God,  their  eyes  might  be  opened  to  see  the  delusions  of  popery, 
•which  they  support  in  all  its  darkness,  and  rigour,  and  terror  ! 
Oh  that  they  might  be  so  happy,  as  to  understand  the  guilt  of 
tliose  murders,  which  they  are  committing  in  the  injured  name 
of  the  most  merciful  Jesus !  May  their  princes,  and  their  priests, 
see  how  much  it  is  for  their  own  interest  on  the  whole,  whatever 
the  principles  of  carnal  poUcy  may  dictate,  to  divest  themselves 
of  those  spoils  of  innocence,  and   ornaments  of  superstition, 
•^vhich,  gaudy  as  they  seem,  may  mark  them  out  as  the  objects 
of  divine  vengeance!    The  day  will  assuredly  come,  when  The 
cry  of  the  souls  under  the  altar  shall  be  heard  f  ;  and  there  is 
hardly  a  nation  under  heaven,  that  has  more  reason  to  dread  it, 

*Mic.  iv.4.  tRev.vi.  9,  10, 


Btforviation  necessary  to  Success  in  IVav.  51 

than  that  Avitli  which  we  are  now  contending  :  for  none  have 
been  more  eager,  unci  none  more  resolute  and  inexorable,  in 
treading  o»it  the  first  sparks  of  truth,  when  it  began  to  kindle 
among  them,  and  in  adding  the  blood  of  the  martyrs  to  all  their 
other  pollutions* 

In  what  rigour  that  diabolical  engine  of  miseliief,  the  in- 
quisition, is  still  established  among  them,  you  need  not  be  told  ; 
but  tliough  its  foundations  are  laid  deep  as  hell,  the  hand  of  God 
can  overthrow  them.  He  can  shake  the  firmest  arches  of  the 
dung.'on,  and  lay  open  all  that  laboured  artificial  darkness  to  the 
full  lustre  of  truth  and  the  gospel.  May  he  hasten  that  happy 
time,  when  he  will  do  it ;  that  day,  when  the  all-uniting  reli- 
gion of  the  blessed  Jesus  shall  exert  its  genuine  influence,  and 
cement  the  divided  kingdoms,  that  now  call  themselves  his  church, 
in  holy  friendship  and  fraternal  affection  !  that  happy  day,  when 
instead  of  preparing  the  instruments,  and  studying  the  arts  of 
destruction,  T he ij  shall  beat  their  sii'ofds  into  plow-shares,  and 
their  spears  into  pruning-hooks ;  when  nation  shall  not  lift  up 
sword  against  nation,  neither  shall  they  learn  war  any  moi'ef; 
for  the  earth  shall  be  full  of  the  knowledge  of  the  Lord,  as  the 
waters  cover  the  sea  %  !     Amen. 

*  I  doubt  not  but  many  of  my  readers  will  know,  that  I  here  refer  to  what  hap- 
pened in  Spain  quickly  after  the  reformation;  which  we  learn  particularly  from 
Paramub,  au  iiujuisitor,  and  another  popish  writer  of  note,  as  quoted  by  Dr.  Geddes, 
in  the  first  volume  of  bis  inestimable  Traces,  page  447,  &  seq.  viz.  That  the 
Spanish  divines  sent  by  the  emperor  Charles  the  Fifth,  and  his  son  Phihp  the  Second, 
into  Germany,  England  and  Flanders,  to  convert  the  protestants  in  those  parts  to 
the  Roman  faitl),were  themselves  converted  from  popery;  and  as  they  were  persoiiS 
of  great  learning  and  piety,  returned  into  their  native  country  full  of  zeal  for  its  re- 
formation; but  were  immediately  seized  by  the  merciless  inquisition,  and  together 
with  many  illustrious  converts,  which  were  the  first  fruits  of  their  ministry,  were 
cruelly  sacrificed  on  scaft()lds,  and  at  the  stake.  Dr.  Geddes  has  preserved  an  ac- 
count of  some  of  the  glorious  leaders  in  that  army  of  martyrs,  which,  short  and  in- 
complete as  it  }s,  deserves  an  attentive  perusal. 

t  Isa.  ii,  4.  +  Isa.  xi.  9. 


52  ON  A  DAY  OF  GENERAL  THANKSGIVING.  SeR.  Ill, 


SERMON  III. 

REFLECTIONS  ON  THE  CONDUCT  OF  DIVINE  PROVIDENCE 

In  the  series  and  conclusion  nfthe  late  War  •with  France  and  Spain,  preached 
at  Nnrthumpton^  Jpril  25,  1749,  being  the  Day  appointed  Jor  a  GeneraX 

Thanks'iivin'i. 


Psalm  cvii.  43. — Whoso  is  ivise,  and  xvill  observe  these  things,  even  they  shall 
understand  the  loving-kindness  of  the  Lord. 


A. 


.S  almost  all  the  nations  of  the  earth  have,  from  their  first 
plantation  upon  it,  had  some  forms  of  religion  among  them, 
though  alas  those  forms  liave  been  too  generally  erroneous  and 
superstitious,  it  is  observable,  they  have  had  recourse  to  their 
sacred  solemnities,  Avhen  they  have  been  passing  from  peace  to 
war,  or  from  war  to  peace.  Among  some  of  the  most  cele- 
brated of  the  ancients,  war  was  proclaimed  by  the  ministers  of 
religion,  and  military  expeditions  were  opened  by  devout  pro- 
cessions and  public  sacrifices  ;  whereby  they  seemed  to  appeal 
to  their  deities  as  witnesses  of  the  justice  of  their  cause,  and 
professedly  to  put  themselves  under  their  protection  -•-'.  And 
when  the  strife  of  war  has  ceased,  pacific  treaties  have  gene- 
rally been  confirmed  by  the  sanction  of  mutual  oaths  ;  and  the 
festivities  which  have  accompanied  the  conclusion  of  them,  have 
crowded  the  temples  with  worshippers,  as  well  as  the  streets  and 
houses  with  tokens  of  rejoicing.  Well  then  may  such  customs 
prevail  in  christian  states,  Avhere  our  dependance  on  divine  pro- 
vidence is  known  to  such  advantage  ;  and  most  suitable  is  it  to 
a  Sovereign,  who  esteems  it  his  honour  to  be  called  the  *'  Defen- 
der of  the  Faith,"  after  having  so  often  called  us  together  to  sup- 
plicate the  divine  blessing  on  his  arms,  thus  to  assemble  us  this 
day  to  return  our  thanks  to  the  great  disposer  of  all  events,  for 
the  success  Avith  whicii  he  has  crowned  our  negotiations  of 
peace.  And  surely  our  cheerful  compliance  is  the  mpre  evi- 
dently reasonable,  as  all  the  successes  of  the  war  abroad,  glori- 
ous as  some  of  them  have  indeed  been,  were  so  balanced  by 

*  I  am  persuade(JI,  that  the  14Pth  Psalnj  is  an  ode  of  this  kind,  that  was  sung-, 
when  David's  army  was  marching  out  to  war  against  the  remnant  of  the  devoted  na- 
tions, and  first  went  up  in  solemn  procession  to  the  house  of  God,  there  as  it  were 
to  conseerate  the  arms  he  put  into  their  hands.  The  beds  referred  to,  ver.  5.  oa 
which  they  were  to  sing  aloud,  were  probably  the  couches  on  which  they  lay  at  the 
banciuet  attending  their  sacrifices ;  which  gives  a  noble  sense  to  a  pasajije,  on  any 
Other  interpretation  hardly  intelligible. 


Tht  Conduct  of  Divine  Providence.  53 

events  of  a  diftcrent  nature,  that  our  governors,  who  sing  not 
*'  te  Deum"  in  vain,  did  not  think  it  convcnieMt  to  appouit  one 
day  of  general  thanksgiving  on  the  account  of  them. 

As  we  well  know"  divine   providence  to  be  concerned  even 
in  the  minutest  affairs  of  the  animal  or  vegetable  creation,  Ave 
must  certainly  on   the   most  obvious  principles,   acknowledge 
its  interposition  where  large  communities  of  men   are  m  (]ues- 
tion:    With  relation  to  these  it  is  peculiarly  said,  1  form  the 
light,  and  create  darkness  ;  I  make  peace,  and  create  evil ;  / 
the  Lord  do  all  these  things  *.     And  as  a  careful  attention  to 
providence  is  always  our  duty  and  interest,  it  M'ill  especially 
appear  so  in  proportion  to  the  importance  of  the  events  it  pro- 
duces and  directs.     To  such  reHections  therefore  I  would  this 
day  invite  you,  and  I  know  not  how  to  do  it  better  than  in  the 
words  of  tiie  text  ;   which  are  the  more  suitable,  as  the  vicissi- 
tudes to  which  they  immediately  relate  are  evidently  ot  a  pub- 
lic nature  ;  circumstances,  whereby  men  w  ere  on  the  one  hand 
blessed  with  prosperity  and  plenty,  or  on  the  other  hand  Dimi- 
nished and  brought  low,  through  oppression,  ajfiiction,  and  sor- 
row"[,  by  such  revolutions  as  did  not  only  affect  numbers   of 
private  persons,  but  Poured  contempt  upon  princes,  and  caused 
those  that  had  once  been  distinguished,  perhaps  in  cities,  pro- 
vinces, or  armies,  to  wander  forlorn  in  the  tractless  wilderness  %. 
All  these  things  are  supposed  under  a  moral  government  and 
superintendancy,   which  should  at  length  cause  The  righteous 
to  rejoice,  and  iniquity ,   how  loudly  soever  it  had  for  a  while 
triumphed  and  insulted,  to  stop  its  mouthy,  confounded  and 
ashamed.     And  then  it  is  added,  whoso  is  wise,  he  will  observe 
these  things  i   so  observe  them,  as  to  see  the  secret  hand  of 
God  in  them,  even  -where  the  train  of  events  is  most  natural : 
And  they,  who  attend  to  them  in  this  light,  shall  understand  the 
loving-kmdness  of  the  Lord  to  them  that  fear  him,  which  shall 
emerge  gloriously  out  of  every  cloud  that  might  seem  for  a 
whilfTto  darken  it.     Thus  the  psalm  ends  :  And  the  prophecy  of 
llosea  concludes  with  a  passage  exactly  parallel  to  this,  in  which 
my  text  seems  to  be  quoted  and  paraphrased  :  Who  is  wise  and 
■    he  shall  understand  these  things  '?  Prudent,  and  he  shall  know 
them  ?  For  the  watjs  of  the  L.ord  are  right,  and  the  just  shall 
walk  in  them  ;    but  the  transgressors  shallj'ult  therein  \\. 

Permit  me  then  solemnly  to  call  you  this  day,  to  make  a 
serious  pause,  and   to  employ  that  recess  from  other  business 

♦  I,i).  xh.  -.         fPsal.  <vii.  r>9.  I  VcT.  SO.  ^  Vlt.  4'!.  \\  Uo.-,.  xiv.  ?. 

vol..  in.  Ci 


54  ON  A  DAY  OF  GENERAL  THANKSGIVING.  SeR.  III. 

which  the  season  and  the  place  gives,  in  looking  back  upon  the 
series  of  events  through  which  we  have  lately  passed,  as  those, 
that,  believing  the  universal  government  of  God,  would  Regay^d 
the  works  of  the  Lordy  and  consider  the  operation  of  his  hands  *. 
The  pewer  of  reflection  is  the  glory  of  the  rational  nature : 
May  we  now  be  directed  to  a  proper  use  of  it !  And  it  will  afford 
us  a  calm  pleasure,  which,  though  in  these  circumstances  not 
unchastised  with  pain,  is  nevertheless  much  to  be  preferred  to 
all  the  joys  of  a  licentious  mirth,  to  The  laughter  oj  fools,  which 
Solomon  esteemed  but  as  the  crackling  of  thorns  under  a  pot  f. 

It  would  veiy  ill  become  me,  to  pretend  to  a  knowledge 
of  the  secret  springs  of  those  events  which  have  lately  passed 
before  us,  or  to  set  up  for  any  peculiar  penetration  in  judging 
of  things  which  are  most  apparent.  But  there  are  certain  ob- 
vious remarks  which  arise  from  circumstances  universally  known, 
which  though  they  be  important  in  proportion  to  the  degree  in 
Avhich  they  are  obvious,  some  for  want  of  attention  may  not 
fall  upon,  and  others  may  not  discern  in  that  connection  which 
is  like  to  render  them  most  useful,  I  think  it  therefore  congru- 
ous to  the  relation  in  which  I  stand  to  you,  and  to  the  occasion 
of  this  day's  assembly,  to  endeavour  to  guide  your  meditations 
to  them,  and  to  assist  you  in  dwelling  on  the  review. 

Let  mo  then  mention  several  things  which  have  lately  passed 
before  the  eyes  of  all  Europe,  as  worthy  of  your  farther  remem- 
brance and  consideration.  And  I  shall  endeavour  to  do  it  with- 
out any  unnecessarily  severe  reflections  upon  those  of  our 
neighbours,  with  v.hom  we  have  lately  been  contending.  When 
hostilities  were  once  commenced,  many  of  the  events  most 
grievous  to  us  were  justifiable  by  the  laws  of  nations  :  And  so 
far  as  ambition,  or  any  other  evil  principle,  might  be  the  occa- 
sions of  opening  them,  may  the  great  preserver  of  men  forgive 
it,  and  make  us  and  our  new  friends  for  the  future  wiser  and 
happier  !  In  the  mean  time,  as  the  most  solemn  acts  of  mu- 
tual reconciliation  have  passed,  it  would  be  unworthy  the 
generosity  of  Britons,  to  rehearse  the  wrongs,  they  could  not 
but  once  apprehend  and  resent.  But  it  is  surely  consistent  with 
tjje  sinccrest  reconciliation,  and  with  all  the  rules  of  propriety 
and  decency,  on  such  an  occasion  as  this,  to  commemorate  the 
divine  goodness  to  us  in  events,  which  during  the  breach  were 
afflictive  to  those  Avho  were  then  our  enemies  :  And  it  is  with  no 
unfriendly  disposition  that  we  wish,  they  hkewise  may  remem- 
ber them  for  their  future  instruction.     I   shall  not  thereforp 

*  Isa.  V.  IQ.  I  Eccl.  vii,  6, 


The  Conduct  of  Divine  Providence.  SB 

make  any  farther  apology,  for  what  of  this  nature  may  occur  ; 
but  proceed  to  those  reflections,  which  may  he  naturally  sug- 
gested from  wliat  we  may  easily  recollect  of  the  rise,  ])rogrcss, 
and  conclusion  of  the  war  ;  reflections,  wiiich  it  may  in  many 
instances  be  pleasant  to  pursue,  and  I  hope  in  all  profitable  to 
retain. 

I.  Let  us  recollect,  how  much  we  are  obliged  to  the  divine 
goodness,  that  the  late  war  hath  not  proved  our  destruction,  or 
that  of  onr  protestant  neighbours.- 

Nothing  is  more  common,  than  for  those  who  have  long 
been  pampered  with  the  blessings  of  peace,  in  the  height  of 
their  spirits,  to  plunge  themselves  into  war  with  a  kind  ot  wan- 
ton confidence,  like  that  with  which  The  horse  rushes  into  the 
battle  *;  But  the  issue  has  been  so  frequent,  that  it  grew  into 
a  proverb  many  ages  ago,  They  who  take  the  sword,  perish 
with  the  sword  f.  Let  us  adore  the  divine  goodness,  that  Great- 
Britain  is  not  added  to  the  instances  which  illustrate  it.  It  is 
the  more  reasonable  particularly  to  acknowledge  it,  considering 
how  ill  we  were  provided  with  some  kind  of  preparations,  and 
how  destitute  of  alliances  when  the  war  Avith  Spain  broke  out  ; 
and  how  deplorably,  I  will  not  pretend  to  say  by  what  sad  fa- 
tality, we  have  since  been  disappointed  in  our  expectations 
from  some,  who  were  most  evidently  joined  with  us  in  a  com- 
munity of  public  interest,  had  public  interest  been  duly  under- 
stood or  regarded. 

But  it  is  sufficient  to  have  hinted  at  this.  Let  me  rather 
call  back  your  thoughts  this  day  to  the  storm  that  hung  over  us, 
when  France  was  preparing  for  so  formidable  an  invasion,  and 
God  Blew  with  his  wind  and  scattered  them  J,  and  strewed 
their  own  shores  with  the  wreck  of  those  ships  and  men,  which 
had  been  armed  for  our  destruction  ;  an  event,  the  importance 
of  which  there  were  few  that  then  thoroughly  understood, 
though  what  since  happened  opened  the  view  more  distinctly 
upon  us.  I  here  refer  to  that  bold  attempt,  then  concerted,  and 
quickly  after  madv,  bv  the  enemies  of  Britain  at  home,  in  con- 
currence with  those  abroad.  And  let  me  now  more  solemnly 
recall  to  your  remembrance  that  day  of  alarm  and  consterna- 
tion, when  a  little  spring  from  the  Northern  mountains,  Avhich 
seemed  in  its  rise  beneath  our  notice,  and  was  unhappily  too 
much  despised,  swelled  on  a  sudden  into  a  torrent,  that  deluged 
half  our  land  :   When  battalions  of  desperate  and   infLitualed 

♦  Jer.  viii.  6.  t  ^f^t.  xxvi.  52.  1  Exod.  xv.  10. 

G2 


56  ON  A  DAY  OF  GENERAL  THANKSGIVING.  SeR.  HI. 

men,l)aving  consecrated  their  swords  to  our  destruction,  in  blood 
ever  to  be  lamented,  bent  on  completing  the  ruin  of  their 
country,  came  pouring  on  us  with  such  savage  fury  and  unre- 
strained impetuosity  ;  till  it  pleased  God,  according  to  the  lan- 
guage in  which  he  speaks  of  the  proud  Assyrian,  to  Put  a  hook 
into  their  nose,  and  a  bridle  into  their  jaws,  to  turn  them  back 
by  the  way  which  they  came  *,  even  like  him  to  their  own  land, 
that  they  might  perish  there.  Dwell,  Sirs,  on  an  idea,  which  I 
hope  is  already  familiar  to  your  mind,  and  ought  for  ever  to  be 
retained.  Do  you  not  even  now  tremble  to  think,  what  the 
consequence  would  probably  have  been,  if  those  westerly  winds 
which  blew  almost  continually  during  the  same  season  of  the 
last  year,  had  then  been  commissioned  to  detain  our  forces  on 
the  continent  ?  What  an  a;ra  had  that  been  in  the  British  his- 
tory !  What  a  spectacle  to  Europe  !  What  a  lamentation  to  ages 
unborn  !  But  God  wafted  over  to  us  speedy  deliverance,  so  that 
not  a  company  was  kept  back  ;  nay,  I  think  I  may  add,  hardly 
a  man  or  a  horse  miscarried.  A  deliverance,  greatly  endeared 
to  us  by  the  hand  that  brought  it,  and  by  the  remembrance  of 
those  importunate  prayers  which  we  had  so  often  presented  in 
the  day  of  our  distress.  Pursue  the  reflection,  and  let  your 
hearts  this  day  feel  anew  the  tender  and  lively  gratitude,  which 
you  owe  to  God,  and  to  your  human  protectors. 

It  becomes  us  also  this  day  most  thankfully  to  recollect, 
in  what  undisturbed  tranquility  we  have  generally  lived,  during 
this  ten  year's  war  ;  Sitting  as  in  the  profoundest  peace  under 
our  own  vines  and  Jig-trees  f;  as  entire  strangers  to  those  griev- 
ous desolations  and  horrid  spectacles,  which  so  many  thousands 
of  our  neighbours  have  known,  as  if  no  sword  had  ever  been 
unsheathed.  We  immediately  owe  it  to  the  vigilance  of  our 
governors,  and  the  advantages  of  our  situation,  in  concurrence 
Avith  the  strength  of  our  navy,  and  the  conduct,  courage  and 
iidelity  of  those  to  Avhom  the  command  of  it  was  intrusted,  and 
which  the  contrary  character  and  behaviour  of  some  in  their 
station  has,  alas,  too  unhappily  illustrated:  But  let  us  remember, 
that  the  governors,  the  situation,  the  navy,  the  commanders,  in 
which  we  rejoice,  are  the  gifts  of  a  kind  providence,  and  are 
to  be  acknowledged  as  such.  Let  the  safety  of  Britain  and  its 
provinces,  in  consequence  of  all,  be  the  subject  of  our  repeated 
and  continued  thanksgivings.  Nor  let  us  be  so  unfeeling  for 
the  protestant  interest  in  general,  so  forgetful  of  former  bene- 
fits, so  insensible  even  of  our  own  present  and  future  security, 

*  Isa.  xxxvii.  29.  f  Mic.  iv.  4. 


The  Coyiduct  of  Divine  Providence.  57 

as  not  to  rejoice,  that  our  allies,  and  especially  the  united  pro- 
vinces, have  shared  with  us  in  the  rescue  God  has  been  pleased 
to  give  us.  Let  us  adore  the  Ahiiii^hty,  that  those  praijcrs  for 
their  safety,  which  we  had  so  much  reason  to  unite  with  tJKise  for 
our  own,  have  appeared  to  come  up  in  remembrance  before  God; 
so  that  they  arc  indeed  j-ls  a  brand  plucked  out  of  the  burning  *. 
Praise  waiteth  Jor  thee.  Oh  God^  in  our  Zion,  on  all  these  ac- 
counts ;  and  unto  thee  may  our  vows  be  performed  f/  the  vows 
Avhich  we  made  when  we  were  in  trouble  and  perj)lexity,  and 
Lifted  up  our  eyes  unto  thee,  from  whom  our  help  comethy  even 
to  the  God  that  made  heaven  and  earth  |.  But  amidst  all  the 
joy  which  these  reliections  may  afford, 

II.  Let  us  humble  ourselves  in  the  review  of  those  rebukes 
of  providence,  which  we  experienced  during  the  series  of  the 
late  war. 

I  question,  whether  modern  history  §  can  produce  an  in- 
stance, in  which  a  war  has  been  entered  into  wdth  more  tower- 
ing hopes,  Avith  more  anticipated  triumph,  than  that  which  we 
proclaimed  against  Spain  ;  and  probably,  the  wisest  men  amongst 
us  thought  that  confidence  no  very  good  omen  of  our  success. 
We  seemed  to  think,  we  had  nothing  to  do  but  to  gird  on  our 
terrors,  and  make  the  earth  tremble.  As  if,  according  to  the 
beautiful  manner  in  which  Isaiah  describes  the  pride  of  the 
Assyrian,  we  might  at  pleasure  go  to  the  nations  that  had  offend- 
ed us,  as  securely  and  irresistibly  as  to  the  Nest  of  some  little 
insignificant  bird,  and  gather  their  riches,  as  one gathereth  eggs 
that  are  left,  and  there  should  be  ?ione  to  move  the  wing,  or  to 
open  the  mouth,  or  to  peep^.  But  the  event  proved  very  dif- 
ferent: We  found,  there  was  such  a  thing  as  military  prudence, 
and  strength,  and  bravery  among  our  enemies,  as  well  as  among 
ourselves:  And  after  all  the  vain  parade  with  which  we  set  out, 
we  returned,  in  repeated  instances,  disappointed  and  ashamed; 
so  as  to  have  evident  reason,  after  such  vast  preparations,  and 
such  presumptuous  confidence,  to  apply  to  several  of  our  pro- 
jects and  attempts  the  words  of  Israel  by  the  same  prophet,  IVe 
have  been  with  child,  we  have  been  in  pain;  we  have  as  it  were 
brought  forth  wind;  we  have  not  wrought  any  deliverance  in  the 

*Amosiv.  11.  fPsal.  Ixv.  I.  J  Psal.  cxxi.  1,2. 

§  I  say  modern  histoi-y,  as  I  must  allow  the  triumphant  confidence  with  which 
the  Athenians  sent  out  their  navy  and  troops  to  the  unfortunate  Sicilian  war  aijainst 
Syracuse,  where  they  were  so  deplorably  destroyed,  to  be  an  ever  memorable  ex- 
ception, and  so  far  as  I  can  recollect,  an  event  unparalleled  in  its  kind.  .See  Thucyd. 
page  430—432.  Diod.  Sic.  Lib.  xiii.  &  Roll.  Hist.  Aiic.  L.  vili.  C.  8. 

II  Isa.  \.  14. 


SS  ON    A   DAY   OF   GENERAL  THANKSGIVING.         SeR.  III. 

earth,  neither  have  the  inhabitants  of  the  xvorld fallen  before  us*. 
For  succeeding  jears  during  our  war  with  France,  though  the 
British  soldiery  to  their  immortal  honour  behaved  so  bravely, 
we  heard  not  of  one  battle  gained,  of  one  town  taken  by  us  or 
our  allies,  on  the  continent;  while  on  the  otlier  hand,  we  re- 
ceived repeated  information  of  actions,  in  which  Ave  Jiad  greatly 
the  disadvantage,  and  in  Avhich  victory  was  snatched  out  of  our 
hands  by  accidents  so  vexatious,  that  they  are  not,  even  at  this 
distance,  to  be  named;  and  of  fine  towns,  more  than  memory 
can  number,  lost  to  the  enemy  almost  as  fast  as  their  forces 
could  march  from  one  of  them  to  another,  some  without  any  re- 
sistance, and  most  of  the  rest  with  only  a  feint  of  defence. 

These,  Sirs,  are  mortifying,  but  they  are  indisputable 
truths;  and  they  must  stand  upon  record,  not  indeed  to  the 
shame  of  our  forces  or  our  generals,  but  for  the  instruction  of 
generations  to  come,  that  With  good  advice  they  may  make  war  f; 
and  that,  how  well  soever  the  measures  of  it  may  seem  to  be  con- 
certed, tiiey  may  not,  while  Girding  on  their  harness,  boast  as  if 
they  were  putting  it  offX'  I  know,  that  by  the  war  some  parti- 
cular interests  have  been  largely  advanced,  and  many  consider- 
able advantages  for  commerce,  while  we  remained  so  incontest- 
ably  masters  of  the  ocean,  gained,  "vvhich  to  those  concerned  in 
them  have  more  than  balanced  their  share  in  the  public  expence : 
But  I  cannot  imagine,  that  had  the  nation  distinctly  foreseen  all 
the  consequences,  they  would  have  engaged  in  it  wath  the  eager- 
ness they  did,  when  I  suppose  the  whole  gain  that  can  be  set 
down  at  the  foot  of  the  account,  to  balance  the  loss  of  so  many 
thousand  lives,  and  so  many  millions  of  treasure,  is  this,  that 
some  of  our  neighbours  are  perhaps  more  exhausted  than  Ave, 
and  are  less  able,  should  they  immediately  attempt  it,  to  make 
themselves  terrible  to  the  liberties  of  Europe.  On  the  Avhole, 
just  as  our  cause,  and  upright  and  strenuous  as  our  measures 
■were,  it  appears  to  have  been  the  scheme  of  providence,  to  save 
Great  Britain  from  sinking  into  ruin,  rather  than  to  exalt  it: 
And  we  have  much  greater  reason  to  wonder,  when  we  consider 
our  circumstances  in  comparison  with  our  characters,  that  ruin 
■was  averted,  than  that  so  few  memorable  advantages  were 
gained,  or  some  sensible  inconveniences  incurred.  In  these 
views, 

III.  Let  us  acknowledge  the  divine  interposition,  which 
facilitated  so  equitable  a  peace  as  that  which  we  this  day  cele- 
brate. 

*  Isa.  xxvi.  18.  +Prov.  xx.  18.  ^  iKin^sxx.  11. 


The  Conduct  of  Divine  Providence.  59 

I  shall  not  enter  into  any  large  discourse  on  the  blessings 
of  peace  in  general.;  since,  how  proper  soever  it  may  be  to  re- 
collect them  at  present,  the  subject  is  trite,  and  many  of  the  most 
material  thoughts  which  might  illustrate  it,  sufficiently  obvious. 
But  I  would  hint  at  some  things,  which  are  peculiar  to  the  pre- 
sent occasion.  I  am  persuaded,  distant  posterity  will  wonder, 
that  so  equitable  a  treaty  shoukl  take  place,  when  they  consider 
a  variety  of  attending  circumstances,  and  compare  them  with 
the  great  rapidity  and  extent  of  the  French  conquests,  and  the 
evident  superiority  with  Avhicli  they  threatened  the  low  coun- 
tries, and  by  a  necessary  consequence  Britain  itsell,  and  all  its 
allies.  To  suppose  this  to  have  been  owing  to  some  sudden 
change  in  the  spirits  of  men,  moderating  their  ambitious  views, 
and  assuaging  their  tliirst  of  phmder  and  of  empire,  would  in- 
crease rather  than  abate  the  Avonder  ;  and  there  are  incidents  by 
which,  on  very  different  principles,  the  change  of  measures 
may  be  accounted  for ;  but  they  are  such  as  still  leave  room  to 
say,  especially  Avhen  compared  Avith  each  other,  that  it  Is  the 
Lord' s  doing ,  and  marvellous  in  our  eyes"^. 

In  this  view  Ave  shall  naturally  think  of  our  late  successes 
at  sea,  in  the  first  place;  Avhereby  the  designs  of  hostile  poAvers 
Avere  rendered  abortive,  and  those  naA'al  preparations  Avhicli 
Avcre  intended  to  ruin  our  colonies,  Avere  led  home  in  triumph 
to  our  own  shores,  and  made  at  length  to  pour  that  vengeance 
on  themselves,  Avhich  they  had  meditated  against  us  ;  Avhilst  the 
opportunitv  which  our  maritime  force  gave  us  of  cutting  off  their 
trade,  and  at  the  same  time  of  extending  our  OAvn,  added  strength 
to  the  sinews  of  Avar  amongst  us,  Avhich  it  Aveakened  amongst 
them.  Nor  are  Ave  to  consider  that  ever  memorable  series  of 
providence  which  gave  Cape  Breton  into  our  hands,  as  insignifi- 
cant to  this  end.  For  though  important  reasons  obliged  the  go- 
vernment to  restore  it,  it  is  certain,  the  possession  Avhich  Ave 
actually  had  of  so  A'ahiable  a  jewel  of  the  French  ot'own  must 
add  great  weight  to  our  negotiations,  and  equitably  intitle  us  to 
man\  advantages  Avliich  we  might  not  otherwise  liaA-e  been  able 
to  obtain  :  Mot  to  say  Avhat  influence  our  having  so  long  held  it, 
iind  intimately  known  its  state,  coimexions,  and  dependanccs, 
may  have  on  setthng  and  conducting  that  colony  to  our  adjacent 
province  of  Nova  Scotia,  Avhich  under  the  divine  blessing,  to 
Aviiich  I  hope  Ave  shall  fcrA-ently  recommend  it,  may  be  pro- 
ductive of  signal  advantages,  and  prove  an  happy  equivalent  (or 
Aviuit  it  has  been  necessary  to  resign. 

*P-;aK  cxv'iii.  '23. 


€0  ON  A  DAY   OF    GENERAL    THANKSGIVING.         SeR.   III. 

In  these  things  the  arm  of  the  Lord  hath  been  made  bare; 
and  lest  the  part  which  we  ourselves  have  had  in  them,  should 
make  us  less  sensible  of  it,  God  hath  been  pleased  to  interpose 
in  other  instances,  where  we  could  pretend  to  no  share  of  glory. 
In  this  view,  besides  what  I  said  of  the  renewed  wonders  of  pro- 
vidence in  so  favourable  a  disposition  of  the  winds*,  we  have 
great  reason  to  reflect  on  the  scarcity  of  provisions  in  France, 
while  we  were  enriched  with  plenty,  for  many  successive  years. 
And  though  in  the  mean  time  distempers  reigned  among  our 
liorned  cattle,  yet,  blessed  be  God,  never  to  such  a  degree  as  in 
some  neighbouring  countries,  where  various  provisions  were 
raised  to  ahuost  three  times  their  former  value.  And  the  fertility 
of  our  sheep,  as  well  as  of  our  lands,  while  our  kine  have  been 
visited  and  afflicted,  is  never  to  be  reflected  upon  Avithout  grate- 
ful acknowledgment;  as  it  hath  not  only  moderated  the  price 
of  our  food,  but  furnished  us  abundantly  for  those  manufactures, 
the  trade  of  which  has  been  carried  on  extensively  abroad,  so 
much  to  our  national  advantage  ;  in  consequence  of  which,  we 
have  been  much  better  able  to  support  the  necessary  expence 
of  the  war.  And  this  has  taught  our  enemies  to  look  upon  us, 
not  as  an  exhausted  ruined  people,  but  as  those  who  had  still 
resources  sufl'icient  to  render  them  formidable,  and  whom  it  was 
not  their  interest  to  provoke  to  the  last  extremities, 

I  am  indeed  sensible,  there  are  some,  who  being  themselves 
surrounded  with  all  the  blessings  of  plenty,  and  attentive  only 
to  accidental  personal  advantages,  or  to  the  happy  consequences 
which  might  have  attended  some  successful  action  on  the  seas, 
or  in  the  field,  at  a  crisis  like  that  which  has  lately  occurred, 
regret  the  pacification  in  which  we  are  this  day  called  to  rejoice. 
But  such  should  temper  these  sanguine  views,  by  remembering, 
how  possible  it  was  that  another  action  might  have  been  un- 
successful to  us  and  our  allies,  and  how  dreadful  the  conse- 
,  qnenccs  of  this  must  have  been  to  the  public  cause,  and  even  to 
Britain  itself;  Avhose  army  might  then  probably  have  been 
utterly  cut  ofi",  and  whose  naval  strength  might  not  have  been 
able  to  have  defended  it,  if  the  wealth  and  shipping  of -Holland 
had  fallen  into  the  hand  that  was  stretched  out  over  them.  The 
view  indeed  is  so  aflecting,  that  it  is  painful  to  dwell  upon  it: 
and  one  trembles  to  think  of  casting  the  die  for  so  deep  a  stake, 
had  the  chance  been  more  equal  than  it  seems  to  have  been. 
But  one  of  the  first  unhappy  events  which  might  have  attended 

*  Sec  some  illustration  of  the  expression  liere  used,  in  my  sermon,  preached 
on  the  Fast  Day,  1738-9,  and  a  uiucli  fuller  in  that  excellent  pamphlet,  called 
Britain's  Kenicml)r;in<'cr. 


The  Conduct  of  Divinti  Pro-Cidend^.  61 

the  risk,  leads  us  to  reflect  on  that  signal  interposition  of  liea- 
ven,  wliich,  in  the  hour  of  extremity,  and  with  a  hand  conspicu- 
ous to  the  whole  world,  raised  the  house  of  Orange  to  such 
distinguished  dignity  and  power ;  Avhereby  the  strength  of  the 
Low  Countries  is  drawn  into  a  point,  and  a  steadiness  and  weight 
is  o-iven  to  their  councils,  which  will  render  them  respectable  in 
the  eyes  of  all  Europe,  and  must  surely  put  it  out  of  the  power 
of  any  neighbouring  states,  to  traverse  our  interest  in  tliem,  and 
to  deprive  us  of  their  important  assistance,  if  future  emergencies 
should  arise.  From  this  surprising  event,  with  many  others 
which  have  occurred  of  late  years, 

IV.  Let  us  take  occasion  to  reflect  on  the  vanity  of  humaa 
ambition. 

Some  of  its  fatal  eflects  we  immediately  saw ;  and  I  per- 
suade myself,  the  hostilities  which  were  exchanged  between  us 
and  our  neighbours,  could  not  so  far  steel  our  hearts  against  all 
sentiments  of  humanity,  as  that  we  should  not  tenderly  regret  on 
their  side,  as  well  as  on  our  own,  the  many  sacrifices  which  were 
made  to  that  merciless  da;mon.     And   who  must  not  now  be 
struck,  to  observe  how  it  has  repaid  its  votaries  !    We  may  hope, 
it  will  be  a  lesson  of  Avisdom,  moderation,  and  justice,  to  distant 
nations,  and  to  future  ages,  when  they  hear  and  read,  how,  after 
so  vast  an  expencc  of  blood  and  treasure,  after  so  many  fine  pro- 
vinces harrasscd,  so  many  rich  cities  plundered,  so  many  thou- 
sands and  myriads  slain  m  their  prime,  the  consequence  of  all 
should  be,  to  quit  what  had  been  thus  violently  usurped,  with 
this  onl}'^  consolation,  or  little  but  this,  that  the  places  through 
which  the  sanguinary  procession  had  passed,  were  left  less  po- 
pulous, less  beautiful,   less  opulent,  than  they  had  been  found, 
and  that  perhaps  a  dav  had  ruined  what  nature  and  art  had  been 
years  in  forming.     Can  we  imagine,  that  if  France  could  have 
foreseen,  how  France  would  have  been  lacerated,  chastised,  and 
exhausted,  not  to  say  in  many  instances  disgraced,  it  would  have 
purchased  the  disquiet  of  Flanders,  of  Germany,  of  Italy,  of 
Britain,  at  so  dear  u  rate  ?  Surely  it  would  be  unjust  to  suspect 
that,  or  any  nation  under  heaven,  of  so  much  disinterested  male- 
volence.    But,  as  in  the  instance  of  Edom,  it  may  justly  be  said, 
The  pride  of  their  heart  hath  deceived  them; — and  the  men  of 
their  confederacy,  the  auxiliary  forces  on  which  they  so  nuich 
relied,  have  only  brought  them  back  to  their  own  impoverished 
border*.     The  river  rose  with  impetuosity,  and  deluged  the 

*  Obad.  ver.  3,  7. 
VOL.  Ill,  H 


62  ON"  A  DAY  OF   GENERAL   THANKSGIVING.         Ser,  III. 

lands  on  either  side ;  it  bore  down  their  ornaments,  and  their 
wealth,  into  a  sea  of  destruction ;  and  now  its  force  and  fury 
are  spent,  it  runs,  not  unsullied,  within  its  former  channel. 

Wliile  we  reflect  upon  this,  and  perhaps  suppress  in  our 
minds  some  of  those  reflections  which  will  naturally  arise  upon 
it,  let  us  pray,  that  wiser  and  more  equitable,  as  well  as  more 
benevolent,  measures  and  principles  may  prevail  among  the 
rulers  of  the  earth.  And  let  us  rejoice,  that  the  counsels  of 
Britain,  and  the  conduct  of  that  generous  prince  who  presides 
over  them,  may  teach  the  nations  honour  and  good  faith.  The 
glory  of  our  sovereign  in  this  respect  must  be  the  joy  and  boast 
of  his  people,  far  beyond  what  the  trophies  of  conquest  could 
yield  :  And  it  must  give  a  satisfaction,  not  to  be  paralleled  by 
any  little  momentary  advantages  which  a  contrary  conduct 
might  promise,  that  posterit}'-  will  testify  for  his  Britannic  Ma- 
jesty, how  religiously  his  treaties  have  been  observed,  and  his 
engagements  fulfilled  ;  in  consequence  of  which  his  throne  has 
stood  firm  against  all  eflbrts  to  shake  it,  supported  by  the  grate- 
ful afiection  of  a  free  people,  supported  above  all  by  the  omni- 
potent guardian  of  justice  and  truth. 

V.  Let  the  scenes  through  which  we  have  passed,  teach  us 
to  value  and  cultivate  peace  at  home. 

The  public  virtues  of  a  prince  take  ofi^  very  much  from  the 
merit  of  loyalty ;  and  in  an  assembly  like  this,  I  need  not  urge, 
how  much  those  of  ours  would  increase  the  infamy  of  disaffec- 
tion. May  they  who  need  such  kind  of  lessons  more,  reflect 
how  sadly  our  dissentions  at  home  have  weakened  our  strength 
and  our  importance  abroad.  Taught  by  what  the  common  in- 
terest has  suffered  by  them,  let  us  exert  the  utmost  influence  of 
our  examples,  our  persuasions,  and  our  prayers,  to  unite  all 
around  us  in  attachment  to  our  illustrious  king  and  his  family, 
and  in  unfeigned  love  to  each  other.  And  Oh  that  he,  whose 
powerful  influence  alone  can  effect  it,  would  so  subdue  every  un  - 
kind  suspicion  and  unfriendly  prejudice,  as  to  promote  our  civil 
and  ecclesiastical  union  in  degrees  which  have  been  hitherto  un- 
known !  A  civil  and  political  union  seems  so  easy  under  Ii  go- 
vernment like  ours,  that  one  Avould  wonder  any  should  oppose  it, 
who  have  not  some  unnatural  antipathy  to  liberty  and  prosperity, 
or  whose  desperate  circumstances  and  characters  do  not  ap- 
parently give  them  an  interest  in  the  confusion  of  the  public. 
In  religious  affairs,  mistaken  principles  conscientiously  admitted 
and  retained  may  create  mutual  difficulties,  Avhich  may  em- 
barrass the  most  faithful  and  affectionate  counsellors  of  peace ; 
not  to  say,  how  far  secular  interest  may,  in  some  cases,  increase 


The  Conduct  of  Divine  Providence.  63 

the  embarrassment.  But  let  us  humbly  look  up  to  that  uni- 
versally acknowledged,  but  alas  almost  as  universally  neglected, 
head  oF  the  church,  to  whose  all-healing  energy  no  evils  arc  in- 
curable ;  that  he  may  dilTuse  those  gentle  but  powerful  influences 
of  the  spirit  of  love,  which  may  eftectually  prevent  our  reviling 
or  suspecting,  our  judging  and  despising  each  other.  As  for  us, 
while  under  an  unwilling  necessity  of  continuing  separate  from 
our  brethren,  may  we  use  thankful,  peaceful,  and  unenvied,  the 
liberty  which  the  laws  of  God  and  man  allow  !  and  may  grow- 
ing experience  more  fully  teach  protestants  of  every  denomina- 
tion. How  good  and  pleasant  it  is  for  brethren,  though  perhaps 
in  different  habits  and  assemblies,  to  dwell  together  in  unity*; 
how  much  beauty,  and  pleasure,  and  strength,  are  added  to  the 
community,  when  it  is  cemented  by  such  bonds!  Which  leads 
me  to  a  yet  more  extensive  reflection, 

VI.  Let  what  has  passed,  teach  us  to  conduct  ourselves, 
and  all  under  our  influence,  by  such  rules  of  prudence  and  vir- 
tue, as  may  have  a  natural  tendency  to  increase  our  national 
strength. 

I  would  not  cloud  the  festivity  of  a  day,  like  this,  by  any 
thing  which  might  appear  an  inauspicious  insinuation  as  to  the 
peace  so  lately  established :  May  it  be  as  lasting,  as  it  is  welcome 
to  any  who  are  concerned  in  it;  and  may  providence  give  our 
children's  children  to  rejoice  in  its  happy  consequences!  But 
we  know,  that  all  human  affairs  are  uncertain ;  and  it  cannot 
easily  be  forgotten,  that  the  peace  with  France  towards  the  end 
of  king  William's  reign,  and  that  with  Spain  towards  the  end  of 
queen  Anne's,  did  neither  of  them  continue  seven  years.  It  is 
however  evident,  that  nothing  will  tend  more  to  perpetuate  this 
pacification,  than  our  being  so  provided  against  a  contrary  event, 
that  none  of  our  neighbours  may  find  it  their  interest,  if  b}'  a 
fatal  relapse  it  should  he  their  inclination,  to  disturb  us. 

There  are  natural  and  political  precautions  to  be  taken  for 
this  purpose,  which  will  undoubtedly  be  the  care  of  our  gover- 
nors, and  concerning  the  particulars  of  Avhich  none  but  they 
who  have  the  management  of  public  affairs  can  competently 
judge:  But  there  are  others;,  and  those  on  the  whole  not  less 
important,  which  are  of  such  a  nature,  as  well  becomes  the 
teachers  of  religion  to  recommend  and  enforce;  I  mean,  the 
cultivating  those  moral  dispositions,  without  which  we  may  vcn- 

♦  P?al.  cxxxiii.  1, 
II  2 


^4  ON  A  DAY  OF  CENERAL  THANKSGIVING.  SeR.  III. 

ture  to  say,  th3,t  none  other  can  hav«  a  sufficient  efficacy  for  the 
general  safety. 

And  here  no  thought  more  readily  occurs,  than  the  neces- 
sity of  endeavouring  to  curb  that  taste  for  luxury  and  plea- 
surable expence,  which  has  done  so  much  to  enervate,  disgrace, 
and  impoverish  us.  One  would  imagine,  that  the  degree  to  which 
our  finances  must  necessarily  have  been  exhausted  during  so 
long  and  expensive  a  war,  should  enforce  a  prudent  frugality  on 
all  who  have  any  regard  for  the  public  good.  But  instead  of 
this,  were  we  to  judge  from  the  glaring  objects  which  every 
■where  strike  us,  a  considerate  man  would  be  tempted  to  sus- 
pect, that  the  whole  nation,  if  it  acted  on  any  scheme  at  all, 
was  fallen  into  the  unhappy  artifice  whereby  so  many  particular 
persons  have  been  undone  ;  I  mean,  that  of  fancying  a  credit 
may  be  established  among  their  neighbours,  by  making  a  gay 
figure,  when  there  is  least  to  support  it.  True  prudence  would 
certainly  teach  us,  to  endeavour  to  retrieve  our  affairs,  while  there 
is  a  possibility  of  doing  it,  by  imposing  on  ourselves  those  sumptu- 
ary laws,  if  I  may  be  allowed  the  expression,  which  the  indul- 
gence of  our  superiors  spares  us ;  that  a  vain  parade,  and  an 
excessive  delicacy  in  the  articles  of  food  and  dress,  of  furniture 
and  equipage,  may  not  melt  down  our  spirits,  and  increase  our 
necessities  ;  and  so  make  us  the  more  accessable  to  corruption, 
the  more  averse  to  those  labours  and  dangers,  which  if  we  know 
not  how  resolutely  to  face,  we  shall  in  consequence  of  that  be 
forced  to  meet,  and  perhaps  the  sooner  when  we  turn  our  backs 
upon  an  enemy  to  avoid  them. 

Permit  me  farther  to  observe,  of  how  great  importance  it 
is,  that  a  wise  and  steady  care  be  taken  in  the  education  of 
youth,  that  they  may  be  Trai7ied  up  in  the  way  in  which  they 
should  go  *;  a  care  to  form  them  betimes,  to  strenuous  resolu- 
tion and  industry,  to  activity  and  self-denial,  to  reverence  for 
laws  and  obedience  to  just  and  equitable  government,  and  in  a 
■vvord,  to  every  generous  sentiment  with  regard  to  the  public 
good  and  the  liberty  of  their  country  ;  that  they  may  take  an 
honest  pleasure  and  pride,  if  I  may  be  permitted  to  say  it,  in 
sacrificing  to  that  every  personal  interest  Avhich  may  seem  to 
oppose  it.  The  more  elevated  and  distinguished  the  station  of 
?iny  one  in  question  may  be,  the  more  important  will  these  pre- 
cautions be  found,  and  the  more  solicitously  should  such  princi- 
ples be  inculcated  :  But  even  in  lower  life  this  care  is  necessary ; 
that  if  those  whose  prerogative  it  js  to  set  the  fashion  should 

■*  Prow  xxii.  (j. 


The  Conduct  of  Divine  Providence.  65 

fail,  as  amidst  their  strong  temptations  they  so  generally  do, 
all  may  not  be  carried  away  by  the  torrent. 

The  like  consideration  calls  us,  to  exert  ourselves  for  the 
execution  of  those  wholesome  laws,  which  are  enacted  for  the 
suppression  of  profaneness  and  vice,  but  which  are  so  frequently 
violated,  and  audaciously  insulted.  Associations  of  worthy 
and  public  spirited  men  are  in  this  view  very  desirable  ;  espe- 
cially for  restraining  that  licentiousness,  which  if  not  carried 
into  an  army,  is  so  frequently  brought  out  of  it,  even  where  it 
has  in  the  main  been  well  disciplined  ;  and  which  in  civil  life, 
to  whici)  disbanded  soldiers  must  return,  is  pregnant  with  many 
grievous  and  fatal  consequences. 

I  might  enlarge  here  ;  but  these  are  hints  of  advice,  easily 
suggested  by  one  destitute  of  all  religion,  and  which  no 
prudent  atheist  would  oppose  or  neglect.  It  becomes  the 
servants  of  the  living  God,  the  ministers  of  the  everlasting  gos- 
pel, to  lead  your  thoughts  much  farther  on  such  an  occasion  : 
I  must  therefore  add, 

VII.  Let  us  ail  be  engaged  by  the  survey  we  have  been 
taking,  to  repose  ourselves  on  God,  and  to  seek  his  protection 
and  favour  in  the  way  he  has  graciously  appointed. 

We  well  know  him  to  be  the  great  Disposer  of  all  events, 
who  Speaks  at  pleasure,  with  an  efficacious  voice,  concerning  a 
jiation,  as  well  as  a  family,  to  plant,  or  pluck  up,  to  build  or 
destroy  it  *.  Our  higiiest  wisdom  must  therefore  consist  in  se- 
curing his  favour,  by  a  most  grateful  reception  of  his  gospel, 
and  a  faithful  and  constant  compliance  with  its  great  and  blessed 
design.  And  indeed  it  is,  as  the  apostle  insinuates,  absolutely 
necessary,  that  v/r/i^e  should  be  grafted  on  faith  ■[  in  order  to 
its  flourisiiing.  Permit  me  therefore  this  day,  solemnly  to  re- 
new the  exhortation  I  have  so  often  given  you,  that  you  submit 
to  the  authority  of  the  word,  and  of  the  Son  of  God,  and  that 
you  endeavour  religiously  to  conform  yourselves  to  the  chris- 
tian institution  ;  acting  as  in  the  presence  of  that  holy  majesty 
of  heaven,  who  registers  all  our  actions,  and  penetrates  our 
iiearts  ;  feeling  at  all  times  the  deepest  and  most  affectionate 
sense  of  your  infinite  obligations  to  redeeming  grace  ;  and  con- 
sidering yourselves  as  continually  on  the  borders  of  an  eternal 
state,  where  happiness  or  misery  awaits  you  complete  and  per- 
petual. These  are  motives  and  considerations,  suited  to  pro- 
duce that  consistency,  that  uniformity,  that  elevation  of  good- 
ness, which  must  never  be  expected  on  any  other  foundation. 

*  Jcr.  xviii.  7,  9.  f  -  Pet.  i.  5. 


CS  ON  A  DAY  OF  GENERAL  THANKSGIVING.  SeR.  Ill, 

And  what  glorious  hopes  might  we  not  form  for  our  dear 
country,  if  sentiments  Hke  these  were  generally  to  prevail ! 
*'  Oh  Britain,  thou  nation  saved  and  favoured  of  the  Lord  !  If 
God  hath  so  powerfully  rescued  thee  again  and  again,  plunged 
as  thou  art  into  so  many  excesses  and  enormities  ;  if  his  ami 
has  been  thus  7nade  bare  in  thy  defence,  whilst  many  who  boast 
the  most  ancient  hereditary  honours,  or  whose  atchievments  for 
their  countrj^'s  good  have  ennobled  their  line,  deem  it  no  stain 
to  their  greatness,  to  shew  their  contempt  of  religion,  and  to 
teacli  every  rank  below  them,  to  profane  his  sabbaths,  to  neg- 
lect his  ordinances,  or  to  affront  them  yet  more  by  their  irreve- 
rent attendance,  and  by  every  other  method  to  dishonour  and 
outrage  that  tremendous  name,  which  is  the  awe  of  heaven,  and 
the  terror  of  hell ; — if  he  not  only  spare,  but  by  signal  inter- 
positions deliver  and  bless  thee,  while  profaneness  and  riot  walk 
through  thy  villages  and  cities  uncontrolled,  and  almost  unre- 
proved  too  ;  and  so  many  of  thy  watchmen  themselves  sleep 
over  their  charge,  where  they  do  not  by  false  principles  or 
scandalous  examples  cause  their  people  to  err, — what  mightest 
thou  not  expect  were  a  general  reformation  to  prevail !  What 
prosperity,  Avhat  felicity  would  not  attend  thee,  if  ,thy  princes 
and  thy  nobles  appeared  indeed  to  reverence  the  God  of  hea- 
ven, if  his  sabbaths  were  religiously  observed,  his  name  honoured, 
his  worship  devoutly  celebrated,  in  the  family  as  well  as  in  the 
sanctuary  ;  if  pastors,  to  the  strength  of  argument  and  the  fer- 
vour of  exhortation,  Publickly  and  from  house  to  house  *,  added 
the  sanction  of  a  blameless,  a  holy,  an  edifying  example ; 
and  in  consequence  of  this  there  were  a  general  solicitude  in 
those  under  their  ministry,  however  they  varied  in  opinions  and 
in  forms,  to  unite  in  Adornhig  the  doctrine  of  God  their  Saviour 
in  all  things -^ P'' 

Surely  the  consequence  must  be,  that  a  nation  thus  truly 
christian,  though  far  less  distinguished  by  natural  advantages 
than  ours,  would  appear  at  once  amiable  and  awful ;  or  in  So- 
lomon's sublime  language.  Fair  as  the  moon,  clear  as  the  sun, 
and  terrible  as  an  army  with  banners  |.  Our  neighbours 
would  revere  us;  cur  God  would  protect  us,  and  shower  down 
his  blessings  upon  us  ;  the  blessings  of  peace  and  plenty,  which 
being  traced  up  to  their  true  source,  being  also  moderately 
used,  and  equitably  and  generously  distributed  to  those  that 
were  real  and  proper  objects  of  compassion,  would  be  far 
sweeter  than   ever.     When  our  counsellors  were  faithful,  and 

*  Acts  XX.  20.  f  Tit.  ii.  10.  +  Cant.  vi.  10. 


The  Conduct  of  Divine  Providence.  67 

knew  no  interest  of  their  own  to  be  compared  with  tliat  of  the 
pubhc  ;  when  our  leaders,  like  that  exeeile.nt  man  who  so  lately 
iell  in  our  defence,  feared  to  sin  but  not  to  die  *;  and  there 
was  in  the  breast  of  every  soldier  a  calm  resifTijation  to  the  will 
of  God,  a  noble  ambition  of  securing  his  approbation,  a  well 
grounded  confideiiee  in  his  favour,  Avhcthcr  for  time  or  eter- 
nity ;  what  could  we  reasonably  dread  ?  Surely,  bad  as  the 
world  is,  the  enemies  of  such  a  people  would  be  few  ;  and  God, 
their  guardian,  Avould  make  such  enemies  to  know  that  He  who 
touched  them,  touched  the  apple  of  his  eye  f. 

Whose  heart  does  not  kindle  at  such  a  representation  ? 
Who  that  loves  his  country,  would  not  form  the  most  ardent 
•wishes,  that  this  may  be  its  character,  and  its  felicity  ?  May  tlie 
repose  God  hath  been  pleased  to  give  us,  be  subservient  to  this 
blessed  end  !  and  now  that  our  public  counsellors  are  eased  of 
many  burdens  which  the  exigencies  and  operations  of  the  war 
must  occasion,  may  their  thoughts  be  directed  to  the  happiest 
measures,  Avhereby  immoralities  may  be  farther  curbed,  and 
pure,  genuine,  catholic  Christianity  most  effectually  promoted 
and  established  among  us  !  And  may  they  who  stand  in  the 
first  rank  of  the  ministers  of  Christ,  be  animated  to  lead  the 
way,  with  a  courage,  magnanimity,  and  zeal,  which  may  trans- 
mit their  names  Avith  glorv  to  the  remotest  ages,  and  through 
the  grace  of  the  gospel  entitle  them  to  more  distinguished  ho- 
nours in  the  church  above,  than  any  constitution  or  prince  upon 
earth  can  confer  ! 

To  conclude  all,  the  mention  of  what  in  this  connection 
may  easily  present  itself  to  our  mind, 

VIII.  Let  the  occasion  of  this  day's  assembly  lead  our 
thoughts  to  that  universal  peace  of  the  church,  which  we  ex- 
pect in  the  latter  day,  and  to  the  complete  peace  of  the  hea- 
venly world. 

How  delightful  is  it  to  think,  that  whatever  blemishes  we 
for  the  present  lament  in  churches,  whatever  desolations  in 
states  and  kingdoms,  there  is  a  time  approaching  when  all  shall 
be  remedied  ;  a  glorious  long  expected  time,  for  the  manifesta- 
tion of  which  The  whole  creation  seems  to  travail  and  be  in 
painX  ;  when  The  earth  shall  be  filed  with  the  knowledge  of 
the  Lord,  as  the  waters  cover  the  channel  of  the  sea  §,  and  the 
world  shall  learn  by  happy  experience,  what  Christianity  is,  and 
what  the  invaluable  blessings  with  which  it  is  pregnant.     Let  us 

*  See  Col.  Gardiner's  Life,  §.11.  f  Zcch.  ii.  8. 

X  Rom.  uii.  22,  §IIab.ii.  l^. 


63  ON  A  DAY  OF  GENERAL  THANKSGIVING.  SeR.  III. 

cheer  our  hearts  with  the  lovely  and  glorious  prospect  of  that 
day  of  grand  and  final  pacification,  when,  once  for  all,  those 
who  have  been  armed  for  the  destruction  of  each  other,  Shall 
beat  their  swords  into  plow-shares ^  and  their  spears  into  pruning- 
hooks,  when  nation  shall  not  lift  up  sword  against  nation,  neither 
shall  they  learn  war  any  more  *,  having  so  cordially  learnt  the 
gospel  of  peace.  Glorious  period,  when  the  religion  of  Jesus 
shall  universally  prevail  over  the  whole  human  race,  and  disarm 
their  fierce  passions,  and  regulate  their  exorbitant  desires,  and 
inspire  the  most  benevolent  and  generous  sentiments  !  When 
men  shall  regard  their  fellow-men  of  all  nations  as  their  brethren, 
and  desire  to  see  all  around  them  as  happy  as  themselves  ;  for- 
getting, with  a  nobleness  of  heart  which  nothing  but  the  gospel 
of  Christ  can  inspire,  every  personal,  yea  I  will  add,  every  na- 
tional interest,  which  appears  inconsistent  with  the  happiness  of 
the  whole  human  species  I 

But  Who  shall  live,  when  God  doth  this  f  ?  When  this  great 
miracle  shall  close  the  scene  of  wonders,  which  the  christian  re- 
velation has  opened  ?  Probably  a  distant  generation,  by  whom 
our  names  shall  be  forgotten,  though  the  event  itself  be  as  cer- 
tain as  the  divine  oracles  can  render  Jt.  We  will  at  least,  with 
the  first-fruits  of  a  temper  which  shall  then  so  universally  pre- 
vail, rejoice  in  the  expected  happiness  of  those,  who  shall  not 
so  much  as  know  that  we  ever  existed. 

And  if  some  regard  to  personal  engagements  will,  as  it  is 
so  natural  and  so  just,  mingle  themselves  with  sentiments  like 
these,  let  me  on  this  good  occasion  call  your  thoughts  to  the 
much  nearer  and  more  important  prospects  of  the  eternal  world  ; 
prospects,  which  I  hope  are  familiar  to  the  minds  of  many  among 
us,  and  to  which  so  many  sad  spectacles  as  daily  present  them- 
selves here,  concur  to  lead  us.  It  is  painful  to  a  truly  benevo- 
lent spirit,  especially  to  one  who  considers  the  remoter  conse- 
quences of  things,  to  look  round  on  what  is  generally  the  state 
of  the  present  world,  and  to  look  back  on  the  history  of  man- 
kind in  preceding  times,  ancient  or  modern.  There  is  no  branch 
of  science,  with  respect  to  which  it  may  be  so  truly 'said,  He 
•who  increaseth  knowledge  increaseth  sorrow  X  in  proportion  to 
it.  In  this  respect,  they  seem  to  have  the  greatest  advantage, 
who  know  only  the  story  of  their  own  personal  and  domestic 
afflictions,  and  those  of  a  little  circle  of  near  neighbours.  Yet 
so  is  our  nature  constituted,  that  we  delight  and  wish  to  know, 
how  it  fares,  and  has  fared  with  others,  though  at  the  expencc 

*  Isa.  ii.  4.  f  Num.  xxiv.  23.  |  Eccl.  i.  13. 


The  Conduct  of  Divine  Providence.  69 

of  a  sad  sympatliy  :  "But  it  is  most  comfortuljlc  to  reflect,  tliat 
where  God  has  given  such  a  sensibility  of  heart  founded  on  true 
principles  of  piety  and  charity,  he  hath  appointed,  that  the 
soul  in  which  it  dwells  should  not  long  inherit  the  inhrmities  and 
sorrows  of  human  flesh,  nor  multiply  ycdv^,  in  the  provinces  of 
calamity  and  misery.  He  did  not  send  those  heaven-born  graces 
down  to  earth,  merely  to  teach  men  to  weep  the  tears  of  hu- 
manity, though  they  have  their  intermingled  sweetness  too. 
Unfeigned  universal  love  shall  infallibly  be  the  source  of  joy. 
Yet  a  little  while,  and  God  will  draw  a  veil  over  all  these 
mournful  spectacles  ;  or  rather,  he  will  raise  us  beyond  the  view 
of  them,  to  a  high  and  serene  situation,  from  whence  the  pene- 
trating eye  shall  command  an  ample  prospect,  beyond  the  pre- 
sent stretch  even  of  thought,  and  nothing  shall  strike  it  but 
sights  of  bliss. 

In  the  mean  time,  let  our  eyes  be  lifted  up  towards  hea- 
ven, in  humble  hope,  and  in  fervent  prayer,  for  the  public 
prosperity,  for  the  prevalency  of  true  Christianity  in  the  whole 
"world,  especially  in  our  own  country  ;  and  above  all,  as  it  is 
that  in  which  we  are  first  and  most  intimately  concerned,  for  its 
prevalency  in  our  own  hearts ;  that  we  may  steadily  retain  it, 
that  we  may  faithfully  practise  it,  that  we  may  daily  advance 
in  our  conformity  to  it.  So  shall  we  understand  the  loving-kind- 
ness of  the  Lord,  in  the  general  conduct  of  present  affairs  ;  and 
though  there  may  be  mysteries  of  providence  which  we  cannot 
particularly  explain,  shall  assuredly  beheve,  that  all  the  paths 
of  it  are  mercy  and  truth,  and  find  the  truest  and  the  securest 
peace  in  our  passage  to  everlasting  joy.    Amen. 


VOL.  III. 


A  HYMN 

SUNG    AFTER   THE    SERMON, 


I. 

In  ow  let  our  songs  address  the  God  of  peace. 

Who  bids  the  tumult  of  the  battle  cease. 
I'he  pointed  spears  to  pruning-hooks  he  bends, 
"  And  the  broad  faulchion  in  the  plough-share  ends.** 
His  powerful  word  unites  contending  nations 
In  kind  embrace  and  friendly  salutations. 
II. 
Britain,  adore  the  Guardian  of  thy  state; 
Who  high  on  his  celestial  throne  elate. 
Still  watchful  o'er  thy  safety  and  repose, 
Frown'd  on  the  counsels  of  thy  haughtiest  foes: 
Thy  coasts  secur'd  from  ev'ry  dire  invasion 
Of  fire  and  sword,  and  spreading  desolation, 
III. 
When  rebel-bands  with  desperate  madness  join'd. 
He  wafted  o'er  deliverance  with  his  wind  ; 
Drove  back  the  tide  that  delug'd  half  our  land. 
And  curb'd  their  fury  with  his  mightier  hand  : 
Till  dreadful  slaugljter  and  the  last  confusion 
Taught  those  audacious  sinners  their  delusion. 
IV. 
He  gave  our  fleets  to  triumph  o'er  the  main» 
And  scatter  terrors  'cross  wide  ocean's  plain  ; 
Opposing  leaders  trembled  at  the  sight, 
Nor  found  the  safety  in  th'  attempted  flight : 
Taught  by  their  bonds,  how  vainly  they  pretended 
Those  to  distress  whom  Israel's  God  defended. 
V. 
Fierce  storms  were  summon'd  up  in  Britain's  aid. 
And  meagre  famine  hostile  lands  o'erspread: 
By  sufferings  bow'd,  their  conquests  they  release. 
Nor  scorn  the  overtures  of  equal  peace. 

Contending  powers  congratulate  the  blessing. 
Joint  hymns  of  gratitude  to  heaven  addressing. 
VI. 
While  we  beneath  our  vines  and  fig-trees  sit. 
Or  thus  within  thy  sacred  temples  meet ; 
Accept,  great  God,  the  tribute  of  our  song. 
And  all  the  mercies  of  this  day  prolong  ! 
Then  spread  thy  peaceful  word  through  every  nation. 
That  all  the  earth  may  hail  thy  great  salvation. 


THE  GUILT  AND  DOOM  OF  CAPERNAUM 

Seriously  recommended  to  the  consideration  of  the  Inhabitants  of  London: 
A  Sermon  preached  at  Sailers  Hall,  August  20,  \1VJ,on  Occasion  of 
the  late  Alarm  by  the  second  Shock  of  an  Earthquake,  March  8,  1749-  50. 


PREFACE. 


This  plain  sermon  which  I  now  offer  to  the  public,  was  preached  to  a  very 
large  and  attentive  auditory,  the  last  Lord's  day  that  I  spent  in  London,  from 
such  hints  as  my  many  engagements  in  town  would  permit  meto  prepare ;  and 
it  was  delivered,  with  thosegenuinemarksof  deep  impression  on  my  ownmind, 
which  often  do  more  to  command  regard  to  a  preacher,  than  any  accuracies 
of  composition.  It  was  judged  so  suitable  to  the  state  of  things  in  that  city, 
by  some  who  had  long  enjoyed  opportunities  of  knowing  it  much  better  than 
myself,  and  for  whose  judgment  I  had  a  great  regard,  that  I  was  immediately 
desired  witii  some  importunity  to  send  it  to  the  press:  But  1  thought  I  had 
then  sufficient  reasons  for  putting  a  negative  upon  that  request ;  especially 
arising  from  my  desire  of  dispatching,  with  all  convenient  speed,  the  remain- 
ing volumes  of  the  Family  Expositor;  a  work,  which  having  finished  in  short- 
hand lam  now  transcribing  for  the  press,  and  wiiich  I  never  intermit  for  one 
day.  But  what  has  so  lately  passed  in  London,  has  renewed  such  a  solicitous 
concern  in  my  mind  for  its  inhabitants,  amongst  whom  I  have  so  large  a  num- 
ber of  valuable  friends,  that  it  has  suggested  to  me  the  thought,  and  after  a 
little  deliberation  the  resolution,  of  doing  that  unasked,  which  before  I  had 
resolutely  declined. 

Considering  the  lethargic  state  of  so  many  souls,  I  have  long  thought  it 
the  prudence  of  christian  ministers,  to  improve  those  public  alarms,  which  re- 
markable providences  may  excite  in  the  minds  of  considerable  numbers,  by 
renewing  those  plain  and  earnest  remonstrances,  which  in  calmer  life  men  are 
so  ready  to  neglect.  I  doubt  not,  but  whilst  1  was  yesterday  representing 
these  things  to  my  own  congregation,  that  many  of  my  brethren  in  the  city, 
and  I  look  on  all  the  ministers  of  Christ  as  my  brethren,  were  wisely  availing 
themselves  of  the  consternation  into  which  so  many  were  thrown  on  Thursday 
morning;  and  that  very  suitable  things  were  said,  of  which  some  will  soon  be 
made  public.  Yet  I  cannot  but  hope,  that  the  perusal  of  what  so  many  hun- 
dreds heard,  before  an  earthquake  was  thought  of  by  them  or  by  me,  and 
when  there  was  nothing  uncommon  to  awaken  an  attention,  may  have  its  pe- 
culiar weight.  I  hope,  it  will  renew  the  impressions  which  were  formerly 
made  on  the  hearers,  and  communicate,  as  such  truths  are  now  so  evidently 
suitable,  the  like  impressions  to  many  more.  I  know  not,  tiiat  I  have  myself 
been  more  awfully  affected  with  any  sermon  I  have  published  or  preached:  I 
may  say  in  a  literal  sense,  tJiat  i  have  transcribed  it  IKitk  tears  and  tranl/liiKt 

12 


72  PREFACE. 

and  that  horror  hath  taken  hold  upon  me  *  in  the  review  of  what  is  here  repre* 
sented.  1  am  not  aware  of  having  made  any  material  alteration  in  the  sub- 
stance of  the  discourse,  especially  in  its  most  interesting  parts;  though  I  can- 
not pretend  to  answer  for  it,  that  every  sentence  is  just  as  it  was  delivered. 
-But  I  hope  that  I  shall  be  excused,  if  in  the  remainder  of  this  preface,  I  add  a 
kind  of  supplement  to  the  sermon,  and  address  myself  to  the  inhabitants  of 
London,  for  whom  1  am  under  so  many  obligations  to  be  tenderly  concerned, 
in  such  a  manner  as  I  might  have  done,  had  this  discourse  been  delivered 
among  tliem  immediately  after  that  shock,  by  which  I  assuredly  know  that 
many  were  thrown  into  such  great  and  just  consternation. 

You  have  now.  Sirs,  very  lately  had  repeat'^land  surprising  demonstra- 
tions of  the  almighty  power  of  that  infinite  and  adorable  Being,  whom,  in  the 
midst  of  your  various  hurries  and  amusements,  you  are  so  ready  to  forget.  His 
hand  hath  once  and  again  within  these  five  weeks  lifted  up  your  mighty  city 
from  its  basis,  and  shook  its  million  of  inhabitants,  in  all  their  dwellings.  The 
palaces  of  the  great,  yea  even  of  the  greatest,  have  not  been  exempted  ;  that 
tJie  Pnnces  of  the  land  might  be  xvise,  and  its  judges  and  lawgivers  might  re 
ceire  instruction  f.  And  is  not  the  voice  of  this  earthquake  like  that  oi  the 
Angel  in  the  a.pocahpse,fj^i7ig  in  the  midst  of  heaven,  and  having  the  everlast- 
ing gospel,  saying  ivith  a  loud  voice,  fear  God,  and  give  glory  to  him,  and  ivor- 
ship  hi/n  that  made  heaven  and  earth  %!  Who  would  not  indeed  fear  him,  who 
Lookelh  on  the  earth,  andit  tremhleth  §,  and  In  tvhose  hand  are  its  deep  places  \\  t 

I  suppose  what  you  have  so  lately  felt  to  be  the  result  of  natural  causes; 
but  remember,  they  were  causes  disposed  by  him,  who  from  the  day  in  which 
he  founded  our  island,  and  laid  the  foundations  of  the  earth,  knew  every  cir- 
cumstance of  their  operation,  with  infinitely  more  certainty,  than  the  most 
skilful  engineer  the  disposition  and  success  of  a  mine,  which  he  hath  prepared 
and  directed,  and  which  he  fires  in  the  appointed  moment.  And  do  not  your 
hearts  Meditate  terror  %?  Especially  when  you  consider,  how  much  London 
hath  done,  and  even  you  yourselves  have  done,  to  provoke  the  eyes  of  his  holi- 
ness, and  awaken  the  vengeance  of  his  almighty  arm  ?  The  second  shock  was 
it  seems  move  dreadful  than  the  first;  and  may  not  the  third  be  yet  more 
dreadful  than  the  second?  So  that  this  last  may  seem  as  a  merciful  signal  to 
prepare — for  what  may  with  the  most  terrible  propriety  be  called  an  untimely- 
grave  indeed  ;  a  grave  that  shall  receive  the  living  with  the  dead  !  Have 
■\ou  never  read  of  streets,  and  towns,  and  cities  overthrown  in  a  few  moments, 
and  of  many  thousands  of  inhabitants  great  and  small,  who  have  gone  doivli 
(dive  into  the  pit  f  And  can  you  be  secure,  because  these  horrible  devasta- 
tions have  liitherto  happened  chiefly  in  more  southern  climates,  that  they  shall 
be  confined  entirely  to  them?  Can  any  of  you  be  secure,  even  while  you  are 
reading  these  lines,  that  the  ground  may  not  trembleand  reel  under  you ;  that 
the  houses  already  twice  shaken  within  these  few  weeks,  may  not  even  now 
fall  and  crush  you  beneath  their  ruins?  And  will  any  of  you  go  on  to  forget 
God,  and  to  make  light  of  that  eternal  salvation  which  has  so  awful  a  counter- 
part in  eternal  destruction?  Oh,  think  of  what  you  have  lately  felt!  And 
think,  whether  in  that  amazing  moment  you  could  have  done  any  thing  ma- 
terial to  prepare  for  another  world,  if  eternity  had  depended  upon  that  mo- 
mentary preparation  !  A  shriek  of  wild  consternation,  a  cr);  as  you  were  sink- 
jug — the  Lord  have  mercy  upon  us! — would  probably  have  been  of  very  little 
significancy  to  those,  that  have  so  long  despised  mercy,  and  would  not  have 

*Psal.  cxix.  53.  fPsal.  ii.  10.  +  Rev.  xiv.  6, 7,         §  Psal.  civ,  33. 

II  Psal.  xcv.  4.  ^Isa.  xxxiii,  18. 


PREFACE.  73 

Ihoiiglit  of  asking  it  but  in  ilic  last  extremity:  And  yet  nothing  more  could 
have  been  expected,  in  the  circunistinct*  we  have  been  supposing. 

Let  me  then  beseech  those  that  have  neglected  religion,  to  think  more 
attentively  of  it;  and  those  that  tritle  in  it,  more  seriously  to  lay  it  to  lieart. 
Let  me  beseech  ihe  families  that  call  not  iiponGod's  mane,  to  think  how  riglite- 
ouslv  judgment  might  be  commissioned  to  enter  tlie  houses,  where  prayer 
cannot, alter  all  tlie  importunity  sooften  used,  be  admitted  as  a  guest.  While 
yet  vuu  seem  as  it  were  to  feel  your  whole  city  moving,  lot  me  take  so  un- 
common an  opportunity  of  reminding  you  all,  how  important  it  is  to  secure 
a  kingdom  that  cannot  be  moved,  to  secure  everlasting  hal)ilations  to  receive 
you  there,  since  your  dwellings  here,  how  strong  and  magnificent  soever,  are 
thus  evidently  precarious.  1  am  well  aware,  that  terrors  alone  are  not  suffi- 
cient to  introduce  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  and  the  elficacy  of  his  gospel,  into 
your  hearts:  But  like  the  awful  ministry  of  Johnthe  Baptist, tliey  may  prepare 
his  xvay.  An  external  reformation  they  may  more  probably  produce ;  and  what- 
ever some  may  have  incautiously  asserted  to  the  contrary,  1  cannot  but  think, 
that  is  one  considerable  step  towards  the  other.  If  therefore  this  alarming 
convulsion  of  the  earth,  which  has  made  your  houses  totter,  may  so  far  shake 
your  hearts,  as  to  procure  a  remedy  to  the  most  crying  evils,  I  shall  hope,  not 
only  that  the  farther  judgments  of  God  on  so  sinful  a  nation  may  be  diverted, 
but  that  many  who  have  been  Disobedient  to  the  zcisdom  of  ihe  just,  may  be 
found  in  the  noblest  and  most  important  sense  a  people  prepared  unto  (he  Lord*. 

We  may  cheerfully  hope  it, if  the  great  will  exert  themselves  to  remedy 

the  visible  contempt  of  public  and  domestic  worship,  the  undisguised  viola- 
tion of  the  sabbath  both  at  home  and  abroad,  and  that  licentiousness  of 
behaviour  so  common  among  their  servants,  wliich  generally  renders  those 
profligate  creatures  the  shame  of  their  masters  iiouses,  the  nuisance  of  the 
neighbourhood  around  them,  and  the  scourge  and  ruin  of  the  families  tiiey 
afterwards  form; — If  magistrates  maintain  the  decorum  of  their  own  charac- 
ters and  vigorously  exert  themselves  to  chastise,  and  so  far  as  the  strenuous 
execution  of  the  law  may  effect  it,  to  eradicate  those  audacious  enormities, 
vliicli  seem  to  glory  in  a  superiority  to  it;  enormities  so  affronting  to  God  and 
(o  our  rulers,  so  infamous  to  our  country,  and  so  pernicious  to  public  order  and 

private  safety  ? If  ministers  laying  aside  those  subtil  trifles,  which  so  soon 

evaporate  into  air,  and  sometimes  generate  very  noxious  vapours,  will  deal 
plainly  and  earnestly  with  their  hearers,  as  with  persons  who  are  daily  upon 
the  borders  of  eternity,  and  will  carry  that  ardent  concern  for  their  salvation, 
which  should  always  breathe  from  their  pulpits^  into  the  families  they  visit; 
If  the  rising  generation  be  diligently  instructed  in  the  genuine  principles  of 
religion,  guarded  against  the  effeminacy,  luxury,  and  vanity  of  the  age,  and 
inured  from  tender  years  to  habits  of  frugality,  sobriety,  and  industry; — In  a 
word,  if  that  eager  resort  to  places  of  public  entertainment,  in  which  so  many 
Iieads  of  fanjilies  are  shamefullyconsuming  their  time,  s(|uandering  away  their 
substance,  if  it  be  indeed  tiieirs,  and  daily  increasing  their  disinclination  to 
business,  and  servitude  to  pleasure,  be  forborne  by  themselves,  be  forbidden  to 
their  dependants. 

Would  men  be  persuaded  to  live  like  rational  creatures,  we  should  be 
encouraged  in  our  hope  of  their  becoming  sincere  christians:  ^^oul{lthey 
practise  the  rules  of  prudence  and  virtue,  objections  against  religion  would  fail 
off  like  withered  leaves^  remonstrances  in  its  favour  would  be  heard  with  al- 

*Lukci.  17. 


74  PREFACE. 

tention,  and  our  winter  would  soon  be  changed  into  a  delightful  spring.  It  is 
for  this  purpose,  that  The  voice  of  the  Lord  crieth  to  the  city  *,  by  these  re- 
peated earthquakes,  which  have  so  peculiarly  affected  it,  and  the  sound  of 
which  has  been  so  terrible :  For  this  doth  it  cry  to  the  country,  in  the  grievous 
distemper  that  continues  to  rage  among  our  cattle;  in  consequence  of  which 
so  many  pastures  are  desolate,  so  many  industrious  families  of  the  poor  ruin- 
ed, and  the  rich  themselves  greatly  distressed,  while  their  estates  are  thrown 
untenanted  upon  their  hands;  and  considerable  landholders  in  some  of  the 
breeding  counties,  know  not  where  to  get  beasts  for  their  money  to  stock 
them.  For  these  purposes  indeed,  doth  the  voice  of  the  Lord  in  each  of  these 
dispensations  cry  to  us  all ;  for  neither  is  the  city  unconcerned  in  the  interests 
of  the  country,  nor  the  country  in  those  of  the  city :  The  man  of  wisdom  will 
hear  it ;  the  man  of  true  piety  and  benevolence  will  be  willing  in  his  proper 
sphere  to  echo  it  back. 

The  connections  in  which  providence  has  placed  me,  and,  I  would  men- 
tion it  with  all  humble  thankfulness,  the  unexpected  blessing  with  which  God 
has  been  pleased  to  crown  some  of  my  writings,  have  led  me  to  think  it  my 
duty  to  concur  with  my  brethren  in  this  attempt,  and  to  hasten  what  little  I 
could  do  in  it  as  much  as  possible.  It  may  be,  that  this  commotion  of  the 
vaters  may  bring  some  draught  under  the  net  of  the  gospel:  It  seems  at  least 
a  time  for  the  Jishers  of  men  to  be  active;  and  if  in  a  day  of  such  general  in- 
sensibility, peradventure  one  soul  may  be  caught  by  this  labour  of  a  night,  as 
it  is  very  little  more,  I  shall  not  esteem  it  a  small  matter;  for  no  everlasting  in- 
terest is  small.  JNIy  work  at  least  is  with  the  Lord,  to  whom  I  trust  my  mo- 
tives are  approved ;  and  my  mind  could  not  have  been  easy,  had  so  remark- 
able a  crisis  been  entirely  neglected  by  me.  1  commit  it  with  all  humility  to 
the  blessing  of  God,  and  the  piayers  of  my  christian  friends,  especially  of 
those  resident  in  the  city,  for  whose  benefit  it  was  peculiarly  intended. 

P.  doddhwqe.^ 

Northampton,  March  12,  1749-30. 

*  Micah  vi.  9, 


The  Guilt  and  Doom  of  Capernaum.  15 


SERMON  IV. 


Mat,  xi.  23,  Si. — yind  tliou  Capematim,  tvhich  art  exalted  unto  heaven,  shalt  he 
hrojigld  dozin  to  hell:  for  if  the  mighty  works  uhich  haze  been  done  in  tliee, 
had  been  done  in  Sodont,  it  would  have  remained  until  this  day  :  But  I  say 
unto  you,  that  it  shall  be  more  tolerable  for  the  land  of  Sodom  in  tlue  day  of 
judixmaii,  than  for  thee. 

JLJ'O  any  of  you,  Sirs,  ask  who  it  is,  that  speaks  in  tliis  awful, 
in  this  majestic  language  ?  Who  it  is,  that  menaces  a  city  of 
Israel  with  judgments  more  tremendous  than  those  of  Sodom  ? 
You  may  on  a  little  reflection  answer  yourselves.  It  is  A  pro^ 
phet  mighty  in  word  and  deed*,  the  greatest,  beyond  all  com- 
parison the  greatest,  of  all  the  prophets,  even  the  Son  of  God, 
whose  peculiar  prerogative  it  was  To  take  the  book  of  the  divine 
decrees  and  to  open  its  seals  f.  It  was  he,  to  whom  Authority 
was  given  to  pronounce  and  to  execute  judgment  X  ;  from  whom 
Sodom  and  Capernaum  were  to  receive  their  final  doom,  and  from 
whom  we  also  are  to  expect  ours.  Let  us  hear  him,  as  their 
Judge,  and  as  our  own  :  And  oh  that  this  tremendous  message 
may  awaken  us  to  implore  his  favour,  may  awaken  as  many 
of  us  as  are  in  danger  of  The  wrath  to  come,  to  flee  to  him 
that  we  may  be  delivered  from  it  §,  before  The  word  be  gone 
forth  in  righteousness  ||,  before  the  sentence  be  sealed  ! 

You  can  none  of  you  imagine  the  subject  I  am  now  pro- 
posing to  your  meditations,  unsuitable  to  the  age  in  which  w9 
live,  unsuitable  to  the  circumstances  of  our  native  country  in 
general,  or  of  the  place  in  Avhich  I  now  stand  :  But  you  may 
perhaps  be  more  fully  aware  of  the  suitableness  of  it,  before  I 
come  to  the  close  of  the  discourse. 

If  a  very  attentive  enquiry  has  not  deceived  me,  these  words 
were  spoken  bj'-  our  Lord,  towards  the  close  of  the  second  year 
of  his  ministry,  that  is,  between  the  second  and  the  third  of  the 
passovers  which  occurred  during  the  course  of  it ;  a  little  before 
he  set  out  on  that  circuit,  for  which  he  sent  out  the  twelve  to 
prepare  his  way.  A  very  considerable  part  of  his  time  before 
this  period  had  been  spent  in  Galilee,  and  especially  in  those 

*  Luke  xxiv.  19.     f  Rer.  v.  9.     ♦  Jolui  v.  27.      §  1  Thess.  1.  10.      |j  L<a.  xlv.  23, 


76  ON  THE  SHOCK  OF  AN  EARTHQUAKE.  SeR.  IV» 

parts  of  it  -which  were  near  to  the  Sea  of  Tiberias.  On  this 
occasion  Chorazin  and  Bethsaida  had  been  frequently  blessed 
■with  his  presence  ;  but  Capernaum  liad  been  distinguished  from 
all  the  rest  by  this  inestimable  privilege^  as  you  will  afterwards 
hear,  it  is  no  wonder  therefore,  that  jie  thought  proper  to  up- 
braid all  these  cities  for  their  continued  unbelief  and  impeni- 
tency  ;  and  that  Capernaum  which  had  been  so  distinguished  by 
the  favours  he  had  conferred  upon  it,  should  be  threatened  with 
distinguished  calamity  and  ruin.  He  began  to  upbraid  the  cities 
tn  which  most  of  his  mighty  works  were  done^  because  they  re- 
pented not ;  Woe  unto  thee,  Chorazin  !  Woe  unto  thee,  Bethsai- 
da !  for  if  the  mighty  works  which  were  done  in  you,  had  been 
done  in  lyre  and  Sidon,  they  would  have  repented  long  ago  in 
sackcloth  and  ashes :  But  I  say  unto  you,  It  shall  be  more  tolera- 
ble for  Tyre  and  Sidon  at  the  day  of  judgment,  than  for  you. 
This  was  saying  much  ;  but  as  the  privileges  of  Capernaum  had 
been  still  greater,  its  doom  is  yet  more  awful :  And  thou  Caper- 
•fiaum,  which  art  exalted  unto  heaven,  shalt  be  brought  down  to 
hell;  for  if  the  mighty  xvorks  zohich  have  been  done  in  thee,  had 
been  done  in  Sodom,  it  would  have  remained  until  this  day  :  But 
J  say  unto  you,  that  it  shall  be  more  tolerable  for  the  land  of 
Sodom  in  the  day  of  judgment,  than  for  thee*.  In  which  words 
it  may  be  proper  for  us  to  consider, 

I.  The  privileges  Capernaum  had  enjoyed,  and  the  distinc- 
tions Avhlch  had  been  made  in  its  favour. 

II.  Its  ungrateful  abuse  of  these  distinguised  favours  of 
providence  and  of  grace. 

III.  The  dreadful  doom  which  it  righteously  incurred  by 
that  abuse.     And  after  the  survey  of  these  particulars,  we  shall 

Conclude  with  a  few  hints  of  plain  and  serious  application. 

And  you  men  of  Britain,  and  inhabitants  of  London,  judge 
I  pray  you  this  day  between  Christ  and  Capernaum  ;  and  say, 
whether  there  was  any  unjust  severity  in  the  sentence  he  passed 
upon  it.  Hear  attentively,  and  judge  impartially ;  but  take 
heed,  lest  Avhile  you  judge  others,  you  condemn  yourselves. 
Let  us  consider, 

I.  The  privileges  Capernaum  had  enjoyed,  and  the  distincr 
tions  which  had  been  made  in  its  favour. 

And  here  I  would  observe,  It  had  been  distinguished  by 
temporal  advantages, — but  much  more,  by  spiritual  privilege? 
and  opportunities. 


*Mat.xi.  20,  21,22. 


The  Guilt  and  Doom  of  Capernaum.  77 

1.  It  liad  been  distinguished  by  the  temporal  advantages  pf 
a  rich  and  flourishing  city. 

Such  we  are  told  it  was  ;  and  in  this  sense  it  was  Exalted 
unto  heaven ;  a  phrase,  by  whicli  the  greatness  of  Nebucliad- 
ncijzar's  kingdom  is  described  *. 

Tlie  land  of  Israel  in  general,  Avas  a  rich  and  pleasant  land, 
which  the  all-surveying  eye  of  God  Had  spied  outfy  as  he  him- 
self expresses  it,  for  his  favourite  people  :  And  this  elegant  city 
lay  upon  the  confines  of  Zebulon,  and  of  Napthali  ;  concerning 
the  former  of  which  tribes  it  was  foretold,  that  it  should  Suck  of 
the  abundance  of  the  sea,  and  the  treasures  hid  in  the  sandX  ; 
and  concerning  the  latter,  that  it  should  Be  satisfied  with  fa- 
vour, and  full  with  the  blessing  of  the  Lord^  ;  possessing  by 
this  situation  the  west  and  the  south,  though  it  lay  towards  the 
north-east  part  of  the  land.  A  prophecy  remarkably  verified 
by  those  advantages  which  Jordan  and  the  sea  of  Galilee  gave 
it,  for  maintaining  a  commerce  with  those  parts.  It  lay  also  in 
the  near  neighbourhood  of  Asher,  of  whom  it  was  predicted, 
tha.t  his  bread  should  be  fat,  that  he  should  yield  royal  dain- 
ties \\,  And  dip  his  feet  in  oil  *^. 

And  what  is  particularly  worthy  of  our  present  notice,  Ca- 
pernaum was  situated  in  the  land  of  Gennesareth,  one  of  the 
most  delicious  spots  of  ground  in  the  whole  Jewish  territories. 
Josephus  has  given  us  a  very  particular  description  of  it,  which 
shews  how  properly  that  tract  of  land  had  the  name  of  Genne- 
sareth, which  may  well  signify  the  pardon  of  a  prince,  accord- 
ing to  the  import  of  gen  sar,  from  whence  it  seems  to  be 
derived  :  For  he  tells  us**,  "  That  it  was  plentifully  watered 
by  a  most  delicious  spring,  that  went  by  the  name  of  Caper- 
naum, and  every  thing  flourished  about  it :  The  air  seemed, 
not  only  to  nourish,  but  to  preserve  the  fruits  produced  there, 
so  that  there  were  figs  and  grapes  for  ten  months  in  the  year, 
and  other  kind  of  fruits  all  the  year  round  ;  and  by  a  very  pe- 
culiar fehcity,  nuts,  palms,  and  figs,  and  olives,  though  they 
required  generally  a  very  different  situation,  all  abounded  there 
in  great  plenty." 

To  this  we  may  add,  that  it  had  also  some  particular  ad- 
vantages for  commerce,  being  situated,  according  to  the  most 
accurate  geographer,  near  that  mouth  of  Jordan,  by  which  it 
emptied  itself  into  the  sea  of  Galilee  ;  the  city  of  Capernaum 

*  Dan.  iv.  22.     +  Ezek.  xx.  6.     +  Deut.  xxxiii.  19.   §  Vcr.  23.    ||  Gen.  xlix.  -20. 
^  Deut.  xxxiii.  24.    ♦*  .loseph.  de  Bell.  Jud.  lib.  iii.  cap.  10,  §  8. 

VOL.  HI.  K 


78  ON  THE  SHOCK  OF  AN  EARTHQUAKE.  Ser.  IV 

lying  on  its  western  shore,  as  Chorazin  its  opposite  neighbour 
did  on  its  eastern.  In  consequence  of  this,  it  would  lie  directly 
in  the  way  of  those,  Avho  came  from  Damascus,  and  Csesarea 
Philippi  to  Jerusalem  and  the  southern  parts  of  the  country  ;  or 
of  those  that  went  from  thence,  to  those  very  celebrated  cities, 
and  others  in  their  much  frequented  neighbourhood. 

It  is  therefore  no  wonder,  if  with  all  these  advantages  it 
became  a  very  flourishing  place  ;  no  wonder,  if  its  buildings 
were  magnificent,  its  inhabitants  rich,  its  gardens  delicious,  and 
its  manners  polite  ;  no  wonder,  if  they  that  dwelt  in  Capernaum 
thought,  The  lines  were  fallen  to  them  in  pleasant  places  *.  They 
had  special  reason  to  do  so,  if  we  consider, 

2.  How  much  more  eminently  it  was  distinguished  by  spi  ■ 
ritual  privileges. 

It  had,  we  find,  its  synagogues  for  public  worship  ;  but 
what  was  its  peculiar  glory,  it  had  Jesus  to  preach  in  them, 
and  to  confirm  his  doctrine  by  wonderful  works.  There  is 
hardly  a  place  in  the  whole  land,  except  it  be  Jerusalem,  of 
which  we  read  so  much  in  the  account  which  the  evangelists 
have  given  us  of  our  Saviour's  life.  He  went  down  to  Caper- 
naum^ with  his  mother i  and  brethreUt  o^^d  disciples  \i  and  con- 
tinued there  a  while,  in  the  very  opening  of  his  ministry,  after 
he  had  turned  the  water  into  wine  at  the  neighbouring  town  of 
Cana  in  Galilee.  It  is  not  improbable,  he  took  it  in  his  M'ay  from 
Judea  to  Nazareth,  when  he  was  returning  from  his  first  pass- 
over  ;  and  we  are  expressly  told,  that  Leaving  Nazareth,  when 
so  base  and  ungrateful  an  attempt  was  made  upon  his  life  there, 
he  came  and  dwelt  in  Capernaum  %-  And  though  he  left  that 
place  quickly  after,  when  importuned  to  stay,  that  he  might 
pursue  his  business  in  other  parts  of  Galilee  §;  yet  when  that 
circuit  was  done,  he  returned  thither  again  |1,  continuing  there 
as  it  seems  till  his  second  passover.  We  find  him  in  that  neigh- 
bourhood again,  presently  after  that  passover  ^;  and  such  was 
his  love  to  it,  that  notwithstanding  the  impenitence  he  here  la- 
ments, he  afterwards  visited  it  again  and  again**. 

During  these  repeated  sojournings  amongst  them,  we  may 
assure  ourselves,  that  he  gave  them  the  most  excellent  instruc- 
tions. Preaching  repentance,  as  the  kingdom  of  heaven  was 
approaching  ff.  We  know,  that  He  spake  as  never  man 
spake  XX;  and  here  no  doubt,  as  every  where  else,  his  words 

*Psal.  xvi.  6.  fJohnii.  12.  J  Mat.  iv.  13.  §  Mark  i.  37— 39. 

II  Mark  ii.  I.  ^  Luke  vii.  1.  **  Luke  viii.  41.  Mark  vi.  1.  John  vi.  59. 

ft  Mat.  iv.  17,  J{  John  vii.  46. 


The  Guilt  and  Doom  of  Capernaum.  79 

were  as  awful,  as  they  were  gracious  and  endearing.  We  like- 
wise know,  that  his  instructions  were  every  where  illustrated  by 
the  commiuiding  force  of  a  most  amiable,  and  in  him  a  most 
perfect  example.  And  to  all  this,  to  the  discourses  he  delivered, 
and  the  consummate  pattern  which  he  gave  of  universal  good- 
ness, was  added  the  weight  of  many  most  astonishing  miracles  ; 
with  reference  to  which  it  seems,  that  no  other  place  was  equally 
distinguished. 

Tlic  wonderful  works  which  Christ  had  done  at  Capernaum, 
arc  spoken  of  by  himself,  as  known  to  all  the  inhabitants  of 
Nazareth  ;  who  were  therefore  ready  to  say,  Whatsoever  nee 
have  heard  done  in  Capernaum^  do  also  here  in  thine  own  coun- 
try *:  And  many  more  were  done  after  that.  At  Capernaum 
he  healed  the  nobleman's  son  f,  while  he  was  himself  at  a  dis- 
tance in  Cana  :  At  Capernaum  he  Cast  out  a  devil  %  in  the  pub- 
lic synagogue  on  a  sabbath  day  .  At  Capernaum  he  cured  Peter's 
wife's  mother  of  a  fever  §;  At  Capernaum  they  brought  to  him 
All  that  were  diseased^  and  them  that  were  possessed  with  de- 
vils II;  yea.  All  that  had  any  sick  with  divers  diseases  brought 
thejn  unto  him ;  and  he  laid  his  hands  oji  every  one  of  them, 
and  healed  theiri  ^;  At  Capernaum  it  was,  that  The  power  of 
the  Lord  was  present  to  heal  great  numbers,  before  the  Phari- 
sees and  doctors  of  the  law,  who  were  come  thither  out  of  every 
town  of  Galilee  and  Judea  **  to  a  place  which  was  become  so 
illustrious :  And  it  was  here,  and  in  the  midst  of  this  assembly, 
that  he  cured  the  Paralytic,  who  was  let  down  by  cords 
into  the  place,  to  which  they  could  get  no  other  access  but 
from  the  top  of  the  house  ff:  It  was  here  also  at  Capernaum, 
that  he  cured  The  Centurion's  servant  Xtt  before  he  came  un- 
der the  roof  where  he  Avas :  And  in  another  visit,  some  time 
after  these  words  in  the  text  were  spoken,  it  was  here  that  he 
cured  the  Woman  by  the  touch  of  his  garment,  and  raised  the 
daughter  of  Jairus  to  life  ^. 

This  is  a  brief  and  imperfect  view  of  the  advantages  Ca- 
pernaum enjoyed  :  How  justly  therefore  with  respect  to  these 
might  it  be  said,  it  was  exalted  unto  heaven  I  How  reasonably 
might  it  have  been  expected  then,  that  Capernaum,  thus  di- 
vinely taught,  thus  miraculously  relieved,  should  have  been 
remarkable  for  its  diligent  attention  to  the  doctrines  of  our  Lord, 

*Lukeiv.23,  f  Jolin  ir.  46,  &,  seq.     +  Mark  i.  23— 26.  §Ver.30,ai. 

II  Ver.  n2.  ty  Luke  iv.  40.  **  Luke  v.  17.  ft  Vcv.  18— 26. 

X\  Luke  vii.  1—10.  §§  Luke  viii.  41,  &  seq. 

K2 


80  ON  THE  SHOCK  OF  AN  EARTHQUAKE,  SeR.  IV. 

and  its  ready  obedience  to  his  gospel !  But  alas,  we  cannot 
forget  the  connection  in  Avhich  these  advantages  have  been 
surveyed  ;  and  it  must  be  the  business  of  our  next  general,  to 
consider, 

II.  The  abuse  of  these  privileges ;  for  wretchedly  abused 
they  weie. 

It  is  expressly  said  here,  that  They  repe7ited  not  *;  Which 
implies, — that  many  sins  were  to  be  found  among  them  ; — and 
that  they  would  not  be  reformed  under  all  the  endeavours  which 
the  Son  of  God  himself  thought  proper  to  use  for  that  pur- 
pose. 

1.  It  is  certain,  that  many  sins  were  to  be  found  among 
them. 

They  could  not  otherwise  have  stood  in  such  need  of  re- 
pentance, as  to  have  been  obnoxious  to  so  dreadful  a  sentence 
for  their  impenitence.  Guilty  they  undoubtedly  were  of  many 
evils,  but  we  cannot  certainly  pronounce  as  to  the  particulars  : 
Probably  they  were  such  as  are  commonly  to  be  found  in  opu- 
lent and  elegant  cities,  where  the  materials  of  luxury  abound, 
and  temptations  to  it  are  multiplied. 

We  may  reasonably  suppose,  that  irreligion  led  on  the 
train  here,  as  it  does  wherever  iniquity  abounds.  Perhaps  the 
worship  of  God,  might  be  neglected,  and  that  neglect  lay  at  the 
door  of  every  other  evil  and  enormity.  The  synagogues  might 
be  unfrequented,  especially  by  the  rich  and  the  great ;  unless 
when  curiosity  drew  them  thither,  on  the  same  principles  as 
those  on  which  it  might  have  drawn  them  to  a  theatre  :  And 
though  the  terrors  of  the  law  that  hung  over  their  heads, 
might  prevent  that  breach  of  the  sabbath,  which  it  pronounced 
a  capital  offence,  yet  it  is  highly  probable,  that  it  might  be  a 
day  of  idleness  and  diversion,  and  in  no  other  view  might  be 
CalUd  a  delight  f;  so  that  being  perverted  from  its  original 
•  purpose,  it  turned  into  an  occasion  of  mischief,  rather  than  of 
benefit,  and  left  them  more  sensual  and  vicious  than  it  found 
them. 

Perhaps,  amidst  their  many  Merchants,  the  balances  of 
deceit  might  be  in  their  hands  X;  the  arts  of  dishonest  gain 
might  be  practised,  till  every  sense  of  their  infamy  was  lost, 
amidst  the  numbers  by  which  they  were  countenanced  ;  till 
their  palaces  were  cemented  by  the  tears  of  oppressed  widows 
and  orphans.  The  stone  crying  out  of  the  xvall,  and  the  beam 
from  the  timber  answering  it  §. 

fMat.  xi.  20,  f  Isa.  Iviii.  13.  1  Hos,  xii.  7.  §Hab.ii,ll. 


The  Guilt  ajid  Doom  of  Capernaum.  81 

More  certainly  still  may  Ave  rcclcon  upon  it,  that  the  fatal 
arts  of  luxury  reigned  in  Capernaum:  Ostentatious  ornaments 
of  dress  and  furniture,  exquisite  food,  rich  wines,  and  not  im- 
probably, concerts  of  music  and  otlier  theatrical  entertainments, 
which  we  know  Herod  introduced  into  some  of  their  cities, 
drawing  the  world  after  them,  and  employing  the  great,  when 
their  minds  should  have  been  occupied  about  the  affairs  of  the 
public  ;  perhaps  too  intoxicating  those  in  common  life,  and 
leading  them  to  forget  the  cares  and  interrupt  the  labours,  upon 
which  their  own  subsistence  and  that  of  their  families  depended, 
and  so  bringing  upon  their  families  a  ruin  that  Avould  not  have 
So  much  as  the  consolation  of  being  pitied  ;  at  once  exhausting 
the  substance,  and  corrupting  the  taste  of  the  rising  genera- 
tion. Wretched  offspring  of  cruelly-indulgent  parents  !  who 
instead  of  being  trained  up  in  the  fear  of  the  Lord,  in  the  me, 
thods  of  a  wise,  virtuous,  and  pious  education,  might  have  their 
minds  broken  by  effeminacy,  and  a  thousand  artificial  wants 
created,  when  perhaps  there  might  hardly  be  enough  left  from 
the  ravages  of  luxury,  to  supply  the  necessities  of  nature.  They 
would  no  doubt  grow  up  exorbitant,  petulant,  and  audacious ; 
ignorant  of  every  art  but  that  of  corrupting  and  injuring  others, 
of  every  science  but  that  of  deriding  the  little  remainder  of  re- 
ligion and  virtue,  that  might  be  found  in  the  midst  of  so  general 
a  wreck.  Alas,  what  an  inheritance  laid  up  for  them  !  But  what- 
ever the  offences  of  Capernaum  were,  it  is  to  be  remembered, 

2.  That  they  would  not  reform  under  all  the  efforts  which 
Christ  used  with  them  for  that  purpose. 

The  Son  of  God  himself  Avas  among  them  ;  A  wise  Re- 
prover, but  it  Avas  on  disobedient  ears  *.  Neither  his  remon- 
strances, nor  his  example,  nor  his  miracles,  would  make  any 
lasting  impression  upon  them.  Perhaps  there  Avere  those,  Avho 
Avould  not  condescend  to  give  him  the  hearing  .-  They  thought 
themselves  Avise  and  polite  in  looking  Avith  contempt  upon  the 
man  of  Nazareth,  and  Avould  not  give  themselves  the  trouble 
of  enquiring  into  what  seemed  to  them  so  incredible  a  tale,  as 
that  of  his  miracles;  or  if  the  evidence  forced  itself  upon  their 
minds,  and  laid  down  certain  favourite  maxims  to  themselves, 
and  resolved  to  reject  every  thing  inconsistent  Avith  them,  Avhat- 
evcr  Avretched  shifts  they  might  make  to  do  it  :  Nay,  it  seems 
manifest,  that  here  that  blasphemous  suggestion  Avas  advanced, 
that  he  Cast  out  devils  by  the  prince  of  the  devils  f .  There 
plight  be  others  more  decent,  AA'ho  yet  heard  in  vain  ;  If  they 

*  Ppv.  XXV.  12.  t  Mat.  xii.  24. 


S2  ON  THE  SHOCK  OF  AN  EARTHQUAKE.  SeR.  IV. 

Wondered  at  the  gracious  words  which  jyroceeded  out  of  his 
mouth  *,  those  words  were  To  thern  but  as  the  lovely  song  of 
one  that  hath  a  pleasant  voice,  and  can  play  well  on  an  instru- 
ment f ;  they  heard  them,  but  they  would  not  do  them  :  Or  if 
any  impressions  were  made,  they  quickly  Avore  them  off  again, 
and  were  enchanted  back  into  the  same  circle  of  pleasure  or  bu- 
siness. So  that  on  the  whole,  they  rejected  the  gospel  which 
was  so  well  calculated  to  reform  them,  and  grew  more  hopeless 
under  it  than  ever.  Jf  he  had  not  come  and  spokeii  unto  them, 
they  would  in  comparison  have  had  no  sin  ;  but  now  they  had 
no  cloak  for  their  sin  %:  And  the  interpretation,  that  he  him- 
self with  all  his  unequalled  candour  was  obhged  to  pass  upon 
their  conduct,  with  whatever  indignation  they  might  reject  the 
charge,  was  this,  that  They  had  both  seen,  and  hated,  both  him 
and  his  Father  §.  What  could  be  expected  then  from  such  ag- 
gravated and  incorrigible  wickedness,  but 

III.  The  doom  pronounced  upon  them  ;  that  dreadful 
doom,  which  we  are  next  to  consider,  that  having  been  exalted 
unto  heaven,  they  should  be  brought  down  to  hell ;  and  it  should 
be  more  tolerable  for  the  land  of  Sodom  in  the  day  of  judg- 
ment, than  for  them. 

You  will  easily  observe  a  strong  and  beautiful  opposition 
in  the  former  clause  of  the  sentence  ;  and  both  that,  and  the 
latter,  may  express — their  temporal  ruin,  but  much  more  cer- 
— their  future  condemnation. 

1.  It  may  perhaps  express  their  temporal  ruin. 

We  know  that  this  is  sometimes  signified  by  this  expres- 
sion, being  brought  down  to  hell.  The  destruction  of  Babylon 
is  foretold  by  Isaiah  by  this  very  phrase,  to  shew  How  the  oppres- 
sor should  cease,  and  the  golden  city  cease ;  Thou  hast  said  in  thine 
heart,  I  will  ascend  into  heaven.  Twill  exalt  my  throne  above  the 
stars  of  God  :  Yet  thou  shall  be  brought  down  to  hell  \\;  that  is, 
thou  shalt  be  utterly  destroyed  and  buried  in  thy  own  ruins.  And 
such,  we  know,  was  the  doom  of  Capernaum.  Many  of  the  vices, 
which  we  have  naturally  enough  supposed  to  have  abounded  in  it, 
would  in  their  own  consequences  have  led  it  on  to  certain,  though 
to  slower  rum :  But  God,  as  is  frequently  his  method,  interposed 
to  execute  this  fair,  yet  abandoned  criminal,  before  she  died  of 
her  own  debaucheries. 

I  do  not  remember,  that  we  read  any  thing  particular  con- 
cerning the  circumstances  of  the  ruin  of  Capernaum  :  But  as 

*  Luke  iv.  22.  f  Ezek.  xxxiii.  32.  %  John  xv.  22. 

§Ver.  24.  I|  Isa.  xiv.  4,  13,  15. 


The  Guilt  and  Doom  of  Capcnwian.  SZ 

all  the  country  about  the  Galilean  sea  was  over-run  by  the 
Roman  army  in  the  war  that  quickly  happened,  it  undoubtctily 
shared  the  fate  of  its  neighbours,  of  whose  terrible  destruction 
Josephus  gives  a  most  aflTecting  description  in  the  third  and 
fourth  books  of  the  Jewish  Mar.  It  was  then  plundered  of  its 
wealtii,  and  in  all  probability  its  streets  and  palaces  were  filled 
with  the  dead  bodies  of  its  slaughtered  inhabitants  ;  as  the  his- 
torian says  expressly,  *'  that  the  lake  on  which  the  city  stood, 
after  a  terrible  sea-fight  there,  was  covered  with  the  floating 
corpses  of  the  slain,  which  almost  poisoned  all  the  country  round 
by  the  insufferable  stench  the}'  emitted,  while  they  remained 
unburied  *."  The  country  being  thus  subdued  and  trodden 
down  by  the  Gentiles,  who  became  its  absolute  Lords,  Caper- 
naum must  have  soon  lost  all  its  glory  ;  so  soon  indeed,  that 
many  of  the  young  people,  who  had  been  present  while  Christ 
preached  in  their  synagogues  and  wrought  miracles  among 
them,  must  in  a  course  of  nature  have  lived  to  share  the  deso- 
lation. Thus  the  sword  of  the  enemy  entered  into  those  hearts 
which  had  been  impenetrable  to  that  Two-edged  sword  that 
went  out  of  the  mouth  of  the  Son  of  God  f .  And  so  entire  was 
the  ruin  of  the  place,  that,  as  we  learn  from  Jerom,  in  his 
time,  which  was  less  than  400  years  after  Christ,  *'  AH  that 
remained  of  the  magnificence  and  glory  of  Capernaum,  was  six 
or  seven  poor  fishermen's  cottages  t ;"  and  modern  travellers  can 
hardly  find  a  trace  of  it :  So  literally  is  it  grown,  like  the  much 
more  celebrated  city  of  Tyre,  Like  the  tap  of  a  rocky  a  place  to 
spread  nets  upon\.  Such  is  the  ancient  Tyre  ;  such,  after  all 
the  privileges  it  enjoyed,  Capernaum  now  is;  and  such  the 
proudest  city  upon  earth  shall  be,  if  God  but  mark  it  out 
for  the  like  ruin.  But  more  than  this,  these  awful  words  of  our 
blessed  Redeemer  did  certainly  express, 

2.  Their  future  and  final  condemnation. 

It  shall  be  more  tolerable  for  the  land  of  Sodom  in  the  day 
of  judgment  f  in  the  great  day  of  final  retribution,  than  for  thee. 
You  see,  the  day  of  judgment  is  introduced,  that  great  and 
terrible  day  of  the  Lord.  And  it  is  very  necessary,  that  the 
memory  of  it  should  be  kept  up  in  the  world,  that  men  Know- 
ing the  terror  of  the  Lord  may,  if  possible,  be  awakened  and 
persuaded  ||.  Our  blessed  Redeemer  himself,  who  was  Anointed 
to  proclaim  the  acceptable  year  of  the  Lord,  considered  it  also  as 
a  part  of  his  commission  to  declare  the  day  of  vengeance  of  our 

*  Joseph,  de  Bell.  Jud.  lib.  iii.  cap.  10.  §.  9,     f  Rev.  i.  16.     +  De  Loc.  Hekr. 
§  Ezek.  xxvi,  U.  II  Q  Cor.  v,  11. 


84  ON   THE  SHOGK    OF  AN    EARTHQUAKE.  SeR.  IV. 

God  *  •    And  nothing  is  so  awful  as  the  language  in  which  he 

describes  it.     But  we  are  here  to  observe,  it  is  impHed, ■ 

that  Sodom  and  Gomorrah  sliould  have  a  part  in  it, — but 
that  their  part  should  be  less  dreadful  than  that  of  the  people 
of  Capernaum. 

It  is  implied,  **  that  Sodom  and  Gomorrah  should  have  a, 
part  in  the  day  of  judgment."  You  well  know,  that  God 
executed  his  vengeance  upon  them  in  the  most  tremendous 
manner,  for  those  detestable  crimes,  which  have  rendered  the 
name  of  Sodom  so  infamous  to  these  very  distant  ages  :  And  the 
history  of  their  ruin  is  so  circumstantially  described,  that  it  is  evi- 
dent, God  intended  it  should  never  be  forgot.  Let  me  call  you 
all,  let  me  call  especially  the  impenitent  sinners  that  hear  me  this 
day,  to  pause  for  a  few  moments  on  the  case  of  these  wretched 
men.  When  the  rising  sun  in  all  its  beauty  and  glory  was  on  a 
sudden  obscured  to  them,  fatally  and  for  ever  obscured,  by  that 
storm  of  wrath  ;  when  the  awful  moment  came,  in  which  God 
had  determined  to  Main  upon  them  snares,  fire,  and  brimstone, 
and  a  horrible  tempest  f  ;  Snares  indeed,  that  took  them, 
wherever  they  might  attempt  to  fly  :  Endeavour  to  conceive; 
as  you  can,  though  you  can  but  imperfectly  conceive,  what 
must  be  the  consternation  of  these  wretches,  that  felt  the  eartl^ 
reeling  under  them,  and  saw  at  the  same  time  the  heavens 
thundering  upon  them,  and  pouring  a  vast  shower  of  burning 
brimstone  instead  of  rain,  firing  their  habitations,  and  tortur- 
ing with  far  more  than  the  agonies  of  common  flame  the 
bodies  they  had  so  delicately  pampered,  so  infamously  abused. 
For  a  few  minutes  they  remained,  either  stupid  and  dumb  with 
amazement,  or  shrieking  out  in  torment  and  despair,  and  Blas- 
pheming the  God  of  heaven  because  of  their  pain  % ;  the  most 
lively  image  of  hell,  that  earth  oversaw,  or  shall  see  ;  till  down 
they  sink  into  the  opening  ground,  the  city  and  its  inhabitants 
vanished  in  a  moment,  and  nothing  remained  of  their  country, 
which  just  before  was  Like  the  garden  of  the  Lord^,  but  a 
smoaking  sulphurous  lake  :  For  so  it  is  expressly  said,  that  Abra- 
ham Beheld,  and  lo,  its  smoke  went  up  as  the  smoke  of -a  fur- 
nace II .  Thus  they  became  a  sign  and  a  proverb  ;  for  when 
God  would  describe  the  most  entire  destruction  that  can  be  con- 
ceived, it  is  by  this  emblem.  As  the  Lord  overthrew  Sodom  and 
Gomorrah  ^. 

*  Isa.  L\i.  1,  2.  f  Psal.  xi.  6.  +  Rev.  xvi.  11.  §  Gen.  xiii.  10.  ||  Gen. 
xix.  28.  ^  Compare  Deut.  xxix.  23.  xxxi.  32.  Isa.  i.  7 — 10.  iii.  9.  xiii.  19. 
Jer.  xxiii.  14.  xlix.  18.  Lam.  iv.  6.  Amos  iv,  11.  Zeph.  ii.  9.  Mat.  x.  15,  and 
Rev.  xi.  8. 


The  Guilt  and  Boom  of  Capernaum.  85 

Tliclr  momori;il  is  now  perished  ;  except  it  be  tli:it  memo- 
Tial  which  is  preserved  of  thc;in  in  the  book  of  God,  where  they 
are  marked  out  in  so  dreadful  a  manner :  And  yet,  all  their  pu- 
nishment is  not  over.  Our  Lord  tells  us,  that  in  the  day  of 
judgment  they  shall  be  remembered  and  visited  :  And  we  may 
assure  ourselves,  that  their  doom  then  shall  be  more  terrible,  than 
that  whicli  they  sutVered  from  the  sulphurous  rain,  the  earth- 
quake, and  the  /?//,  into  which  many  of  them  no  doubt  went 
doii'u  alive.  ^V'hatever  their  ang'uish  and  their  terror  then  was, 
it  shall  in  the  i^reat  dav  be  far  exceeded  :  For  we  can  never 
imagine,  that  God  would,  bring  them  into  final  judgment,  to 
punish  them  less  in  that  tremendous  solemnity,  than  they  had 
formerly  been  punisiied  ;  and  we  may  be  confident,  that  to 
Depart  aecursed  into  everlasting  fire,  prepared  for  the  devil  and 
his  angels  *,  to  be  cast  into  that  Lake  which  burns  far  ever  xcith 
fire  and  briynstone  \ ,  must  be  infinitely  more  terrible  than  the 
momentary  pain,  imder  the  anguish  of  which  they  would  soou 
have  expired,  and  from  which  sutiocation  would  probably  much 
sooner  deliver  them. 

But  is  this  the  sentence  of  Sodom  and  Gomorrah  only  ?  And 
shall  this  dreadful  climate,  he  inhabited  onl}^  by  them  ?  Nay, 
but  it  is  the  doom  of  Capernaum  too  ;  and  what  is  most  terrible 
of  all,  it  is  expressly  said,  ii  shall  be  more  tolerable  for  Sodom 
and  Gomorrah  in  the  day  of  judgment,  than  for  Capernaum. 
And  thus, 

It  is  implied,  "  that  their  part  shall  be  less  dreadful  in  the 
day  of  judgment,  than  that  of  the  people  of  Capernaum."  And 
it  is  reasonable  that  it  should  be  so.  Sodom  and  Gomorrah 
were  righteously  condemned  :  They  abused  the  light  of  nature, 
Avhich  strongl}'  witnessed  against  wickedness  monstrous  like 
theirs:  They  rejected  the  preaching  of  Lot,  by  whom  they 
might  have  learnt  the  knowledge  of  the  true  God,  and  the  way 
to  serve  him  with  acceptance.  But  though  they  violated  the 
dictates  of  reason,  though  they  abused  the  bounties  of  provi- 
dence, though  they  despised  the  preaching  of  Lot  ;  yet  they 
heard  not  the  gospel  of  the  Son  of  God.  A  much  greater  than 
Lot,  was  in  the  midst  of  thee,  O  Capernaum  !  Justly  there- 
fore are  thy  children,  who  would  not  receive  his  doctrine,  who 
Avould  not  obey  his  charge,  who  would  not  regard  his  miracles, 
doomed  to  a  severer  vengeance,  to  a  more  intolerable  condemna- 
tion :  so  as  to  look  with  envy  upon  the  milder  tortures  in^ 
tlicted  upon  those  egregious  sinners  against  their  own  souls. 

>=  iMat.  x.\v.  41.  tRcT.  xxi.  8. 

VOL.  m  T 


86  ON  THE  SHOCK  OF  AN  EARTHQUAKE.     SeR.  IV. 

But  this  is  not  said  of  them  only :  It  touches  us  nearly  ; 
and  Oh  that,  as  we  are  so  often  reminding  you  of  it,  5'^ou  may 
all  seriously  consider  it  I  What  our  Lord  asserts  concerning  Ca- 
pernaum, he  elsewhere  says  concerning  all,  who  will  not  receive, 
embrace,  and  obey  the  gospel :  For  these  are  his  words  to  the 
first  messengers  of  it,  fVhosoever  shall  not  receive  you^  nor  hear 
your  words,  'verihj  I  say  unto  you,  It  shall  be  more  tolerable  for 
the  land  of  Sodom  and  Gomorrah  in  the  day  of  judgment,  than 
for  that  city* ;  and  by  a  parity  of  reason,  for  every  city,  for  every 
town,  for  every  village,  for  every  soul,  by  whom  the  gospel 
shall  be  rejected,  after  having  been  pjlainly  and  faithfully  laid 
before  them.  Oh  !  hear  it  again  !  It  shall  be  more  tolerable  for 
Sodom  and  Gomorrah  in  the  day  of  judgment,  than  for  them. 

And  now,  methinks,  I  am  ready  to  interrupt  my  discourse, 
and  could  rather,  were  I  sure  you  would  attend  me  in  it,  sit 
down,  and  cover  my  face,  and  weep.  For  if  these  are  indeed 
the  words  of  the  Son  of  God,  they  are  big  with  a  terrible 
tempest ;  and  it  hangs  over  what  we  call  the  christian  world  ; 
it  hangs  over  this  island,  which  is  in  many  respects  thft 
glory  of  it.  And  have  "we  no  forebodings,  where  the  heaviest 
part  of  it  might  justly  fall  ?  Is  there  no  city  that  rises  to  our 
thoughts,  far  superior  to  Capernaum  in  its  wealth  and  mag- 
nificence, and  in  some  respects  more  than  equal  to  it  in  its 
guilt?  Oh  London,  London  ! — dear  city  of  my  birth  and  edu- 
cation,— seat  of  so  many  of  my  friends, — seat  of  our  princes 
and  senators, — centre  of  our  commerce, — heart  of  our  island, 
Avhich  must  feel  and  languish,  must  tremble,  and,  I  had  almost 

said,  die   with   thee  ! How  art  thou   lifted  up  to  heaven  / 

How  high  do  thy  glories  rise  ;  and  how  bright  do  they  shine! 
How  great  is  thy  magnificence  !  How  extensive  thy  commerce! 
How  numerous,  how  free,  how  happy,  thy  inhabitants  !  How 
happy  above  all,  in  their  religious  opportunities  I  In  the  imcor- 
rupted  gospel,  so  long,  so  faithfully,  preached  in  thy  syna- 
gogues !  displayed  in  so  many  peculiar  glories,  which  were  but 
beginning  to  dawn  when  Jesus  himself  dwelt  in  Capernaum, 
and  preached  repentance  there!  But  while  we  survey 'these 
heights  of  elevation,  must  we  not  tremble,  lest  thou  shouldst 
fall  so  much  the  lower,  lest  thou  shouldst  plunge  so  much 
the  deeper  in  ruin  ? 

My  situation.  Sirs,  is  not  such,  as  to  render  me  most  capa- 
ble of  judging  concerning  the  moral  character  of  this  our  justly 
celebi-ated  metropolis.     But  Avho  can  hear  what  seem  the  most 

*M4.  X.  14,15. 


The  Guilt  and  Doom  of  Capcrnaiun.  87 

credible  reports  of  it,  yea,  I  will  add,  who  can  walk  its  streets 
but  for  a  few  days  with  any  other  observation,  and  not  take 
an  alarm,  and  be  ready  tomeditate  terror  ?  Wliose  spirit  must 
not,  like  that  of  Paulat  Athens,  be  stirred*,  when  he  sees 
the  city  so  abandoned  to  profaneness,  luxury,  and  vanity  ? 
Is  it  indeed  false,'  all    that  Ave  hear  ?  Is  it  indeed  accidental, 

all   that    we  see?    Is  London  wronged,    when  it  is  said, 

That  great  licentiousness  reigns  among  most  of  its  inhabitants, 
and  great  indolence  and  indifference  to  religion  even  among 
those  that  are  not  licentious  ? — That  assemblies  for  divine  wor- 
ship are  much  neglected,  or  frequented  with  little  appear- 
ance of  seriousness  or  solemnity  ;  while  assemblies  for  plea- 
sure are  thronged,  and  attended  with  such  an  eagerness,  that 
all  the  heart  and  soul,  secnis  to  be  given  to  them,  rather  than 
to  God  : — That  most  of  its  families  are  prayerless,  wanting 
time  it  seems,  or  rather  wanting  heart,  for  these  social  devo- 
tions ;  Avhile  many  hours  of  every  day  can  be  given  to  recrea- 
tions and  amusements  at  home,  if  by  any  accident  that  it  is  im- 
practicable to  seek  them  abroad  : That  the  sabbath,  instead 

of  being  religiously  observed,  is  given  to  jaunts  of  pleasure  into 
neighbouring  villages,  or  wasted  on  beds  of  sloth,  or  at  tables  ot 
excess  : — That  not  only  persons  in  the  highest  ranks  of  life,  but 
that  the  trading  part  of  its  citizens,  atfect  such  an  excessive 
gaiety,  and  grandeur,  and  delicacy,  the  very  reverse  of  that 
frugality  of  our  ancestors,  Avho  raised  the  city  to  what  it  is  : — 
That  men  in  almost  every  rank  are  ambitious  of  appearing  to 
be  something  more,  than  those  who  stand  in  the  next  rank  above 
them  could  conveniently  allow  themselves  to  appear  ;  and  in 
consequence  of  this,  are  grasping  at  business  they  cannot  ma- 
nage, entering  into  engagements  for  what  they  catmot  answer, 
and  so,  after  a  vain  and  contemptible  blaze,  drawing  bankruptcy 
upon  themselves,  and  exposing  to  the  danger  of  it,  honest,  in- 
dustrious persons,  who  are  won  by  that  suspicious  face  of 
plenty  which  they  put  on,  to  repose  a  confidence  in  them,  on 
that  very  account  so  much  the  less  reasonable  and  safe  : — That 
the  poorer  sort  of  the  people  are  so  grossly  ignorant,  as  to 
know  hardly  any  thing  of  religion,  but  the  sacred  names, 
which  they  continually  profan--  ;  so  wretchedly  depraved,  as 
to  cr  i;sume  their  time  and  strength  in  reaching  at  those  low 
and  pernicious  luxuries  which  they  may  hope  to  attain  ;  and 
60  abandoned,  as  to  sink  unchastiscd  into  the  most  brutal  sen- 
Acts  xvii.  16. 
L  2 


^^  ON   THE   SHOCK   OF    AN    EARTHQUAKE.  Ser.  IV, 

sualities  and  impurities:  While  tliose  Avho  -would  exert  any 
remarkable  zeal  to  remed}^  these  evils,  by  introducing  a  deep  and 
warm  sense  of  religion  into  the  minds  of  others,  are  suspected 
and  censured  as  whimsical  and  enthusiastical,  if  not  designing 
rnen: — In  a  word,  That  the  religion  of  our  divine  Master  is  by 
multitudes  of  the  great  and  the  vulgar  openly  renounced  and 
blasphemed;  and  by  others  but  coldly  defended,  as  if  it  were 
grown  a  matter  of  mere  indifference,  which  men  might  without 
any  great  danger  of  mischief,  reject  at  their  pleasm'e;  5'ea,  as  if 
it  were  a  matter  of  great  doubt  and  uncertainty,  whether  men's 
souls  Avere  immortal,  or  whether  they  were  extinguished  with  so 
empt}^  and  insignificant  a  life.  Men  and  brethren,  are  these 
things  indeed  so  ?  I  take  not  upon  me  to  answer  absolutely,  that 
they  are;  but  I  will  venture  to  say,  that  if  they  are  indeed  thus, 
London,  as  rich,  and  grand,  and  glorious  as  it  is,  has  reason  to 
tremble,  and  to  tremble  so  much  the  more  for  its  abused  iiches, 
grandeur,  and  glory. 

There  is  indeed,  as  has  often  and  justly  been  observed,  one 
token  for  good  amongst  these  symptoms  of  danger ;  J  mean,  a 
variety  of  charitable  foundations  and  institutions  amongst  3^ou, 
so  far  as  I  know,  unequalled  through  the  whole  world  ;  as  well 
as  a  freedom  from  persecution  and  oppression,  those  detestable 
evils,  which  wherever  the\-  arc  to  be  found,  cry  so  loud  for  ven- 
geance, and  for  which  it  is  expressly  said,  that  Babvlon, Nineveh, 
and  Jerusalem  were  destroyed.  There  are  also,  blessed  be  God, 
not  a  few  inhabitants  of  this  city,  who  reverence  God;  who  be- 
lieve, and  obey,  and  adorn  his  gospel;  who  dare,  in  the  midst  of 
so  many  contrary  examples,  to  stand  up  for  the  honour  of  Chris- 
tianity with  resolution  and  zeal ;  and  who  are  solicitous  to  infuse 
a  deep  sense  of  its  excellency  and  importance,  into  the  minds  of 
their  rising  offspring,  and  of  others  whom  providence  has  placed 
under  their  care  and  influence:  These  of  whatever  denomina- 
tion, and  with  whatever  modesty  and  silence  their  designs  are 
conducted.  Are  the  salt  of  the  earth*,  that  hinder  the  corrup- 
tion from  becoming  universal:  They  are  the  guardians  of  the 
city  in  which  they  dwell,  and  stand  in  that  breach,  at  which 
judgment  would  otherwise  pour  in  like  a  torrent.  Let  such  be 
established,  encouraged,  and  quickened,  by  representations  like  . 
those  I  have  now  been  making.  The  eyes  of  the  Lord  are  upon 
them  especially  at  a  crisis  like  this;  and  his  ears  will  be  open  to 
their  cri/f.  Let  them  be  exhorted,  to  exert  themselves  with  a 
growing  zeal  for  a  general  reformation,  so  fur  as  their  influence 

*  Mat.  V.  31.  t  Psal.  xxxiv.  15. 


The  Guilt  and  Doom  of  Capernaum.  89 

may  extend.  Let  them  by  their  examples  go  on  to  plead  this 
important  cause  ;  and  let  every  art  and  labour  of  pious  education 
be  attended  to,  that  the  minds  of  youth  may  be  rescuetl  from 
the  growing  eontagion,  and  stored  with  those  seeds  of  virtue  and 
piety,  whicli  may  make  the  next  generation  much  happier  than 
the  present :  And  to  tliese  labours  of  love  let  such  join  tiieir 
fervent  prayers,  which  have  already,  I  doubt  not,  been  in  some 
cases  cfHcacions,  and  which,  in  proportion  as  they  grow  more 
frequent  and  importunate,  may  be  yet  more  so.  All  that  love 
Zion,  will  say  amen  to  them  ;  and  may  the  Lord  our  God  say 
so  too! 

To  the  rest,  who  swim  with  the  stream,  who  follow  the  mul- 
titude, and  who  argue  themselves  into  security,  either  from  epi- 
curean principles,  or  from  not  having  yet  felt  tiiose  scourges  of 
God,  under  which  so  many  other  cities  and  nations  have  fallen  ; 
to  those  who  disregard  providence,  as  well  as  neglect  and  des- 
pise the  gospel; — I  shall  only  at  present  address  that  awful 
oracle  of  God  by  Zephaniah,  which  ought  to  have  its  weight 
wherever  circumstances  resemble  what  are  there  supposed  :  It 
shall  come  to  pass,  saith  the  Lord,  that  I '[till  search  Jerusalem 
•with  candles,  and  punish  the  vien  that  are  settled  on  their  lees, 
that  say  in  their  heart,  the  Lord  will  not  do  good,  neither  will  he 
do  evil:  Therefore  their  goods  ghall  become  a  booty,  and  their 
houses  a  desolation.  80  it  may  really  be,  peaceful  as  the  present 
appearances  are.  God  can  raise  up  enemies,  where  we  least 
expect  them;  nor  does  he  need  the  weapons  of  war  to  chastise, 
or  its  engines  to  overthrow  a  guilty  city.  But  however  its  im- 
penitent inhabitants  may  escape  such  temporal  judgments,  con- 
cerning the  probability  of  which  we  can  but  very  uncertainly 
denounce;  I  will  take  up  the  parable,  and  say  in  the  sublimest 
sense,  the  following  words  can  admit,  and  in  such  a  light  as  the 
awful  denunciation  of  mv  text  throws  upon  them.  The  great  day 
of  the  Lord  is  near,  it  is  nearer  and  hasteth  greatly,  even  the 
voice  of  the  day  oj  the  Lord;  which  shall  be  ushered  in  by  the 
voice  of  the  archangel,  and  with  the  trump  of  God  ;  when  the 
heavens  as  well  as  the  earth  shall  be  shaken,  and  pass  away  with 
a  great  noise,  and  the  elements  shall  melt  with  l\;rvent  heat ;  the 
day,  in  Avhich  the  mighty  man,  the  boldest  and  the  haughtiest 
sinner,  shall  cry  bitterly  :  That  day  of  wrath,  that  day  of  trouble 
and  distress,  that  day  of  wasteness  and  desolation,  that  day  of 
darkness  and  gloominess,  that  day  of  clouds  and  thick  darkness, 
which  no  description  even  of  a  prophet's  pen  can  paint  m  colours 
sufficiently  terrible  ;  that  day  of  the  trumpet  and  alarm,  that 
shall  bring  distress  upon  men,  because  they  have  sinned  against 


90  ON    THE    SHOCK    OF    AN    EARTHQUAKE.  SeR.  IV. 

the  Lord.  They  may  trust  in  their  strength,  they  may  boast  in 
their  riches  ;  but  the  fenced  cities,  and  the  high  towers,  shall  be 
brought  down  ;  neither  their  silver  nor  their  gold  shall  be  able  to 
deliver  them  zw  the  day  of  the  Lord's  wrath,  when  the  whole 
land,  when  the  whole  earth,  shall  be  devoured  by  the  fire  of  his 
jealousy  *.  This  alarm  I  leave  with  you ;  and  Oh  that  it  may 
operate  to  produce  the  great  effect,  in  which  all  our  ministry,  if 
we  understand  our  own  true  interest  and  yours,  ought  to  center, 
even  that  of  leading  you  to  him,  whose  great  prerogative  and 
office,  whose  glory  and  joy,  it  is,  to  deliver  from  the  wrath  to 
come!    Amen. 

*Zeph,i.  12—18, 


COMPASSION  TO  THE  SICK 

RecomniendeJ  and  urged :  A  Sermon  preached  at  Northaynplon,  Septeinher 
4,  174:5,  in  favour  of  a  design  then  opening  to  erect  a  Counij/  Jnjir7nary 
there  Jor  tlic  relief  of  the  PooVy  Sick  and  Lame, 


TO    THE 

RIGHT  HONOURABLE  THE  EARL  OF  HALIFAX. 


MY    LORD, 

The  generous  and  active  zeal  with  which  you  Iiave  espoused  the  charily 
this  sermon  is  intended  to  recommend,  and  the  assiduity  with  which  you 
have  vouchsafed  to  preside  in  tlie  committee  appointed  for  ripening  the  ge- 
neral scheme,  and  bringing  it  into  elfect,  migiit  justly  have  iniitled  your 
Lordship  to  this  application  ;  had  your  various  abiUties  been  much  ii*ss  oon- 
spicuous,  and  the  otiier  parts  of  your  cliaracter,  incomparably  more  valuable 
tlian  any  abiHlies,  been  less  known  to  the  author,  or  less  reverenced  by  him. 
Yet  I  am  very  sensible,  that  the  plain  and  liasty  discourse,  whicli  1  iiave  now 
the  honour  of  presenting  to  jour  Lordship,  might  fear  the  review  of  an  eye 
so  accustomed  to  all  that  is  eloqu  "it,  beautiful,  and  linisiied  in  antiquity,  did 
it  not  trust  to  that  kind  prejudice;  ^'"cijyour  attachment  to  its  general  design 
vill  naturally  give  you  in  its  favour. 

I  am  sensible,  how  impertinent  it  would  be  in  me  on  this  occasion,  to 
give  myself  a  liberty  of  saying  all  the  respectful  things,  which  from  my  lieart 
1  think  ot  the  Earl  of  Halifax,  or  to  imagine,  that  his  general  permission  of  in- 
scribing this  sermon  to  him  would  authorize  the  doing  it.  But  it  would  bo  over 
rigorous  in  your  Lordship  to  prohibit  my  intimating  that  pleasure  I  haveshared 
with  so  many  more  discerning  persons  than  myself,  in  observing  that^accurate 
judgment,  that  steady  application,  that  im[)artial  equity,  and  that  engaging 
address,  with  which  your  Lordship,  under  the  character  of  our  chairman,  has 
conducted  the  counsels  and  affairs  of  the  committee.  1  know,  that  I  speak  the 
sentiments  of  several  of  its  members,  and  I  believe  1  speak  the  sentiments 
of  all  ;]when  I  say,  that  in  the  fatigue  of  that  close  attendance,  which  we  have 
thought  it  our  duty  to  give  on  tliis  good  occasion,  we  have  often  been  re- 
lieved by  reflecting,  as  it  was  mo>t  natural  to  do,  on  the  benefit  which  the 
public  must  receive  from  such  talents,  when  exerted  in  the  highest  assembly 
of  our  nation.  There  your  Lordship  finds  a  sphere  of  action  more  amply 
proportioned  to  the  largeness  of  your  heart,  and  suited  to  tiiat  high  sense  of 
liberty,  and  benevolent  concern  for  the  general  good,  which  is  the  brighest 
ornament  of  a  Peer,  and  of  a  Briton. 

Go  on,  my  Lord,  to  shine  in  this  ornament  more  and  more.  Animated 
by  every  principle,  which  humanity,  and  nobility,  and,  what  is  most  humane, 
and  most  noble,  true  Christianity  can  suggest ;  goon  to  exert  the  distinguished 
capacities  of  usefulness,  with  which  providence  has  blessed  you,  in  sucli  scr- 

2 


92  DEDICATION. 

■vices,  and  by  exerting  to  increase  them  ;  and  with  them  to  increase  that  ve- 
neration and  alFection,  which  every  worthy  heart  will  pay  you  as  a  just  tri- 
bute, and  that  infinitely  more  important  anddivine  pleasure,  which  your  own 
•will  lind,  in  the  consciousness  of  having  acted  well.  A  pleasure  indeed 
worthy  of  the  most  ardent  pursuit;  and  on  which  heaven  sets  so  high  a  value 
that  it  allows  it  not  to  be  treated  with  by  proxy ;  nor  will  grant  any  thing 
like  it,  to  the  most  illustrious  birth,  the  most  ample  fortune,  or  the  most  ele- 
vated genius,  unless  the  possessor  of  them  all  will  go  to  the  price  of  it  by  a 
resolute  exercise  of  personal  virtue. 

I  rejoice,  not  for  myself  alone,  but  for  my  country,  that  our  civil,  and 
sacred  liberty  hath  one  such  guardian  among  the  rising  nobles  of  our  age:  I 
hope,  it  has  many  ;  and  I  pray  God,  their  number  and  their  virtues  may 
be  increased  ;  and  that  wherever  they  are,  they  may  be  rewarded  with  a  rich 
variety  and  a  long  succession  of  external  blessings,  joined  with  that  inward 
satisfaction  which  is  inseparable  from  such  a  character. 

May  your  Ixjvdship  especially,  not  only  have  the  sublime  joy  of  behold- 
ing Great-Britain  distinguished  among  the  iiations  by  public  honour  and 
prosperity,  but  see  every  thing,  which  can  conduce  to  your  personal  and  do- 
mestic happiness,  added  in  private  life  !  And  in  particular,  when  you  conde- 
scend to  turn  your  thoughts  towards  Northampton,  a  town  under  hereditary 
obligations  to  your  Lordship's  family,  which  I  hope  it  will  never  be  so  un- 
grateful as  to  forget,  may  you  soon  and  long  have  the  satisfaction  to  see 
its  county  hospital,  which  you  are  now  so  kindly  cherishing  in  its  infant- 
weakness,  grown  up  to  full  maturity,  and  giving  more  certain  presages  of 
being  an  extensive  blessing  to  generations  yet  to  come ! 

I  sincerely  congratulate  your  Lordship,  and  the  other  illustrious  nobles 
and  worthy  gentlemen,  who  are  exerting  themselves  in  this  good  work,  on  a 
capacity  of  doing  greatly  for  its  service,  while  my  narrow  sphere  will  allow 
me  little  more  than  to  wish  it  well.  Yet  it  is  a  comfort  to  me  to  think,  that 
this  discourse,  in  which,  imperfect  as  it  is,  I  flatter  myself  there  will  be  found 
traces  of  an  honest  and  a  tender  heart  not  easily  to  be  counterfeited,  will  be 
some  memorial  of  tlie  affection  with  which  I  have  endeavoured  to  serve  it, 
and  at  the  same  time  of  the  unfeigned  and  profound  re&pect  with  which  i  am> 

My  Lord, 

Your  Lordship's  niostfaiihful, 

Most  obedient,  and  most  obliged  hwnble  servant, 

P,  DODDRIDGE. 


COMPASSION  TO  THE  SICK  RECOMMENDED  AND  l-RGED. 


PREFACE. 


The  great  desire  whlcli  I  have  to  promote  that  noble  and  amiable  charity 
vhifh  is  now  bCt  on  foot  among  lis,  lias  engaged  me  to  comijly  with  the  re- 
quest of  some  of  my  friends  in  publishing  this  sermon,  which  was  delivered 
on  too  little  notice  to  allow  of  much  preparation.  But  indeed  very  little 
reflection  is  necessary,  wiicre  tlie  arguments  in  its  favour  are  so  obvious ;  and 
little  art  can  be  required  to  plead  a  cause,  which,  as  soon  as  it  is  admitted  to 
a  short  hearing,  speaks  so  loudly  and  so  eloquently  for  itself. 

The  only  plausible  objections,  which  I  remember  to  have  heard  against 
it,  are  these  two  :— That  the  distant  parts  of  the  country  can  expect  little  be- 
nefit by  it;— and  tliat  any  private  house,  which  can  be  taken  for  the  purposes 
of  a  Coun'ty  Hospital,  can  bear  but  little  proportion  to  what  the  necessi- 
ties of  so  large  a  county  will  require.  But  1  hope,  neither  of  these  objections 
will  be  found  unanswerable  ;  and  if  every  objector  will  do  his  part  towards 
removing  them,  I  am  sure  they  cannot  be  found  so. 

I  apprehend  piyself  tohave  no  right  tospeak  hereof  the  particular  pre- 
cautions, which  the  committee  has  taken  Aith  regard  to  the  first  of  these; 
but  shall  refer  the  reader  to  the  statutes  of  the  intended  Hospital,  when  they 
shall  be  published,  as  they  ([uickly  will,  But  it  may,  and  ought  to  be  taken 
for  granted,  till  the  contrary  appear,  which  1  persuade  myself  it  never  will, 
that  the  rules  for  the  admission  of  patients  will  be  so  constituted  among  us, 
as  well  as  elsewhere,  that  patients  coming  from  distant  parts  will  have  some 
preference  given  them,  to  those  that  are  near  home.  And  as  none  but  chro- 
nical cases  are  likely  tooffer  from  a  distance,  if  due  precautions  be  taken  in  writ- 
ing and  answering  letters,  in  the  representation  of  cases,  and  in  bringing  patients, 

I  cannot  see  any  probability  of  frequent  disappointments.  If  the  contrary 
be  suspected,  let  gentlemen  and  others,  who  are  willing  to  act  for  the  en- 
couragement of  the  charity,  if  it  be  duly  ordered,  favour  us  with  their  pre- 
sence at  our  next  general  ineeting  of  subscribers,  and  there  let  them  examine 
what  the  committee  will  then  oiler  on  this  head,  as  well  as  on  others,  and  if  Ihey 
are  not  satisfied  with  what  is  already  adjusted,  let  them  propose  any  more 
ertectual  methods  of  making  them  easy  on  this  head  :  They  will  no  doubt  be 
heard  with  all  due  regard,  and  the  assistance  of  their  counsels  be  thanktully 
acknowledged  by  all  who  have  the  interest  of  the  Hospital  at  heart. 

As  for  the  second  objection,  the  force  of  it  cannot  be  thoroughly  judged 
of,  till  the  house  intended  for  the  reception  of  patients  iJt  known,  and  the 
projected  alterations  in  it  are  examined.  If  after  this  it  be  still  insisted  upon, 
that  we  should  build,  then  let  those,  who  are  in  that  senliment,  sub>cribe  their 
respective  benefactions  for  that  purpose  ;  and  there  can  be  no  doubt,  but  the 
\vork  will  be  joyfully  undertaken,  assoon  as  there  appears  any  fund  socoiisider- 
«ble  as  to  render  it  sale.  But  in  the  mean  time  it  would  surely  be  most  unreason- 
able to  clamour  against  any  governors,  or  committee,  wiio  may  beestablislied, 
for  not  attempting  it,  while  they  have  no  stock  for  so  great  an  undertaking, 
in  any  tolerable  degree  proportionable  to  it.  This  county,  so  well  cultivated 
VOL.  III.  M 


94 


PREFACE. 


a(  d  inhabited,  and  celebrated  for  llie  seats  of  so  many  of  the  nobility  and 
gentry,  is  capable  of  doing  great  things  if  it  pleases,  and  may,  like  Devon- 
shire, without  feeling  any  sensible  burden,  command  a  spacious  and  com- 
modious edifice  to  arise  for  this  purpose  in  a  few  months ;  and  if  no  unex- 
pected providence  obstruct  it,  1  know  not  what  should  forbid  us  to  hope  and 
expect  it.  Good  examples  are  already  given,  great  patrons  are  engaged*, 
and  measures  are  entered  into  for  soliciting  the  county  in  the  most  prudent 
and  engaging  metiiods  that  could  be  contrived.  The  effects  will  soon  be 
seen  ;  and  then,  not  till  then,  the  managers  will  be  able  to  judge  what  they 
can  at  first  safely  attempt,  and  will,  1  dare  say,  greatly  rejoice  to  see  a  much 
grander  scheme  practicable,  than  they  have  allowed  themselves  particularly 
to  project. 

It  is  with  great  pleasure,  tliat  I  see  persons,  who  have  been  listed  under 
opposite  parties,  and  who  bear  different  denominations,  cordially  uniting  to 
advance  this  generous  scheme,  and  consulting  to  make  each  other  as  easy  as 
possible  in  the  execution  of  it.  There  is  very  little  in  the  following  sermon, 
which  is  no  matter  of  common  concern,  as  we  are  christians,  and  as  we  are 
men  ;  and  I  am  not  aware  of  one  word,  which  can  reasonably  give  offence  to 
any:  And  therefore  I  hope,  the  name  of  the  author  will  be  no  prevailing 
prejudice  against  its  acceptance  and  usefulness.  I  cannot  think  an  attempt 
of  this  kind  out  of  character  in  present  circumstances.  I  have  peculiar  obli- 
gations to  love  a  county,  where  I  have  spent  so  many  agreeable  years,  and  in 
the  various  parts  of  which  I  have  the  pleasure  of  enjoying  a  personal  friend- 
ship with  so  many  deserving  people.  But  had  1  been  only  an  occasional 
resident  in  it  for  a  few  months  or  weeks,  I  could  not  have  refused  what  little 
I  might  have  had  an  opportunity  of  doing,  in  subserviency  to  a  design  so 
friendly  to  human  nature  as  this.  Homo  sum,  humani  nihil  k  mealienum  puto, 

P.  D. 

*  This  refers  to  the  honour,  which  his  Grace  the  Duke  of  Montague  and  the 
Earl  of  Northampton  have  done  xis,  the  former  in  accepting  the  office  of  grand 
visitor  of  the  hospital,  and  the  latter  that  of  perpetual  president ;  as  well  as  to  the 
important  assistances,  which  the  Earl  of  Halifax  has  given,  and  is  giving,  as  in 
every  other  generous  and  zealous  service  to  the  design,  so  especially  in  presiding  aa 
chairman  in  the  present  committee  for  drawing  up  the  statutes  of  the  Hospital,  and 
taking  other  preparatory  measures  for  putting  the  plan  into  the  most  speedy  and  ef- 
fectual execution  :  Circumstances,  which  in  so  happy  a  concurrence,  have  given 
a  spirit  and  a  weight  to  its  resolutions,  which  it  is  hard  to  imagine  how  they  could 
otherwise  have  had.  I  mention  not  the  names  of  several  others  of  the  nobility, 
gentry,  and  derg-y,  who  have  distinguished  themselves  on  this  occasion  :  The  list, 
when  published,  will  speak  the  generosity  of  their  subscription  ;  and  other  sen-ices, 
not  capable  of  being  represented  there  or  here,  will,  no  donbt,  live  in  the  grateful 
memory  of  all  who  liave  particularly  known  them,  without  any  such  records. 


The  Duty  of  Compassion  to  the  Sick.  95 


SERMON  V. 


Psalm  xli.  1,  3. — Blessed  is  he  that  considereth  the  Poor ;  the  Lord  xvill  deiiver 
him  in  Tinte  of  Trouble  :  The  Lord  zvill  streni^then  I  urn  upon  the  Bed  of 
Languishing  :   Thou  zvilt  make  all  his  Bed  in  his  Sickness. 


I 


T  is  matter  of  certain  observation,  and  of  delightful  reflec- 
tion, that  under  the  administration  of  a  -wise  and  gracious  pro- 
vidence, even  tiie  distresses  of  human  nature  are  so  over-ruled, 
as  to  occasion  some  of  its  most  exquisite  pleasures.  Our  own 
have  this  effect,  when  generously  encountered  in  a  good  cause  ; 
or  when,  from  whatever  source  they  arise,  Ave  bear  them  with 
a  calm  resignation  to  the  great  Governor  of  all,  animated  by  an 
Imnible  confidence  in  his  goodness.  And  the  calamities  of  others, 
deeply  as  they  wound  every  compassionate  heart,  are  the  acci- 
dental cause  of  a  proportionable  satisfaction  attending  every 
humane  attempt  for  their  relief.  This  is  what  I  am  persuaded, 
manv  of  you,  to  whom  1  now  speak,  have  often  experienced 
already  ;  and  I  hope,  that  experience  will  now  be  largely  and 
happily  renewed.  I  am  confident  it  will,  if  what  I  am  about 
to  lay  before  you  in  favour  of  the  scheme,  which  is  now  open- 
ing upon  us,  for  a  County  Infirmary  to  be  erected  here,  be  re- 
garded in  such  a  manner,  as  1  have  great  reason  to  hope  it  will ; 
considering  how  noble  a  charity  it  suggests,  and  how  ready  I 
have  ever  found  you  to  comply  with  every  call  of  providence 
to  contribute  liberally  for  the  assistance  of  the  necessitous. 

That  important  branch  of  christian  charity,  which  consists 
in  giving  alms  to  the  poor  and  indigent,,  has  been  the  subject 
of  so  many  of  my  discoun.es,  that  almost  every  topic,  and 
every  argument,  whieii  I  could  think  of  to  enforce  it,  has  been 
warmly  and  frecjuently  urged  upon  you  ;  and  the  fairest  exam- 
ples of  such  a  disposition  have  been  particularly  illustrated,  that, 
charmed  with  the  beauty  of  them,  you  might  go  and  do  like- 
wise. Especially  you  have  been  often  pressed  by  that  noblest 
and  tenderest  of  all  arguments,  which  arisei  from  tb«  infinite, 

M  2 


96  FOR  NORTHAMPTON  COt^NTY  INFIRMARY.  SeR.  V, 

compassion  and  benevolence  of  the  blessed  Jesus,  and  the  dis- 
tinguished genius  of  his  religion  ;  as  having  charity  for  its  de- 
clared end,  and  rising  above  all  other  religions,  as  much  in  the 
excellence  of  its  tendency,  as  it  doth  in  the  dignity  of  its 
Author.  And  therefore,  without  so  much  as  recapitulating 
what  I  have  said  on  such  occasions,  I  shall  make  it  the  whole  of 
my  present  work,  to  suggest  such  things,  as  may  have  a  pecu- 
liar suitableness  to  that  particular  kind  of  charity  which  we  have 
now  in  view  :  And  I  think  myself  exceedingly  happy  in  this 
opportunity  of  offering  you  a  set  of  thoughts,  which  would 
never  before  have  been  equally  seasonable  here.  Many  of  them 
■will  naturally  arise  from  the  words  which  I  at  first  read,  as  the 
foundation  of  my  discourse  ;  blessed  is  he  that  considereth  the 
poor,  S(c. 

It  would  perhaps  be  too  bold  a  criticism,  to  pretend  to 
determine  the  particular  distemper,  under  which  David  had 
been  labouring,  just  before  he  composed  this  admirable  Psalm. 
But  I  think  it  is  in  general  abundantly  evident,  that  it  M-as  oc- 
casioned by  a  violent  and  dangerous  fit  of  sickness  ;  in  which  he 
met  Avith  most  inhuman  treatment  from  some  base  and  wicked 
men,  who  had  pretended  great  affection  to  him.  *'  Mi7ie  e?ie- 
mies,  says  he,  speak  evil  of  me,  saying,  when  shall  he  die  and 
his  name  perish  ?  They  think  the  distemper,  terrible  as  it  is, 
does  its  work  too  slowly,  and  would  gladly,  if  they  durst,  aid 
its  victory  by  murder.  And  as  for  him  who  is  the  chief  of 
them,"  by  whom  some  suppose  he  meant  Absalom,  whose  un- 
natural rebellion  might  be  ripened  by  the  concurrence  of  this 
circumstance,  "  if  he  come  to  see  me,  as  he  frecjuently  does 
under  specious  pretences  of  duty  and  affection,  yet  in  all  his 
most  respectful  condolences,  he  speaks  vanity  and  falsehood, 
and  his  heart  is  in  the  mean  time  gathering  iniquity  ,  is  making 
one  malignant  remark  or  another,  which,  when  he  goeth  away 
out  of  my  apartment,  he  proclaims  abroad  to  increase  the  dis- 
affection he  is  endeavouring  to  sow  among  my  subjects.  And 
their  mischievous  counsels  are  quickened  and  emboldened  hereby, 
while  they  say,  an  evil  disease  cleaveth  fast  unto  him,  as  a 
peculiar  judgment  of  heaven  upon  him  ;  and  now  that  he  lieth 
disabled  in  his  bed,  he  shall  arise  no  more.  Yea,  mine  own  fa- 
miliar friend,  in  whom  I  trusted  to  have  given  me  the  surest 
assistance  in  my  pressing  affairs,  while  I  am  thus  rendered  inca- 
pable of  attending  to  them  myself,  even  he  who  did ->o]ong  eat 
of  my  bread,  and  had  a  place  at  my  table,  has  like  an  ungrateful 
bi-ute  that  strikes  at  his  feeder,  lifted  up  his  broad  hed  against 


The  Duty  of  Coynpassion  to  the  Sick.  97 

»;2^,"  as  the  oritrinal  imports  *,   **  and  endeavoured  to  do  me 
all  the  miseliief  in  his  power." 

This  Av.is  knig  David's  unhappy  circumstance  in  his  illness, 
as  roval  dignity  can  neither  secure  the  continuance  of  health,  or 
the  fidelity  of  friendship,  nor  fortify  the  heart  against  the  sting 
of  ingratitude;  esj)ecially  in  such  a  concurrence  of  afflicting  cir- 
cumstances. On  his  recovery  he  described  it  in  the  most  lively 
colours ;  and  to  represent  how  much  it  impressed  him,  he  speaks 
of  the  scene,  as  if  it  were  actually  present :  And  that  a  proper 
contrast  might  set  it  off  the  more  forcibly,  he  begins  the  psahn 
with  an  atVectionate  reflection  on  the  beauty  of  a  contrary  charac- 
ter, and  on  the  happiness  to  which  the  possessor  of  it  was  en- 
titled. Blessed  is  he  who  considereth  the  poor.  The  original  is 
yet  more  emphatical  and  extensive  :  Oh  the  blessedness,  or  the 
various  felicities  of  that  man  n'ho  wiselij  reflects  on  the  case,  and 
circumstances  of  him  that  is  brought  low\.  The  margin  ren- 
ders it,  him  that  is  weak  or  sick:  And  another  translation  gives 
it  thus,  blessed  is  the  man  that  providcthfor  the  sick  and  needy; 
■which  is  a  sense  undoubtedly  comprehended  in  the  words,  though 
I  cannot  think  them  limited  to  it.  They  speak  of  a  person  re- 
duced2ir\&  brought  low,  whether  by  poverty,  or  oppression,  or 
sickness,  or  any  other  calamity,  affecting  mind,  body,  or 
estate  I :   From  whence  it  will  clearly  follow,  that  where  several 

\  They  who  can  consult  the  original,  and  will  give  themselves  the  trouble  of 
tracing  the  etymology  from  771,  and  examining  the  many  places  in  which  this  word 
is  used,  will  soon  see  the  justice  of  this  remark.  It  most  frequently  signifies  poor, 
and  accordingly  is  often  opposed  to  rich;  as,  Exod.  xxx.  15.  Rutli  iii.  10.  Job 
xxxiv.  19.  Prov.  x.  15.  xix.  4.  xxviii.  11.  It  is  sometimes  rendered  6ro«^A/ /ow 
in  our  version  ;  as,  Psul.  Ixxix.  8.  cxlii.  6.  and  cxvi.  6,  in  which  last  place  the  con- 
nection shews,  it  relates  to  skknrns.  II  is  sometimes  applied  to  streams  cmjitird 
end  dried  up,  Job  xxviii.  4.  Isa.  xlx.  6.  and  sometimes  it  signifies  emaciated, 
Isa.  xvii.  4.  and  is  in  that  sense  applied  to  Pharoah's  lean  kine,  Gen.  xli.  19.  and 
to  Amnon  when  pining  away  for  Tamar  j  2  Sam.  xiii.  4.  agreeably  to  which  HvlD 
derived  from  the  same  root  is  rendered  pining  sickness,  Isa.  xxxviii.  11.  And  it  is 
elsewhere  used  to  express  a  veuhnrss  in  the  eyes  and  limbs  :  Compare  Isa.  xxxviii, 
14.  where  CZ31~1Q/  '3'y  l/T  should  be  rendered,  7ninc  eyes  are  so  weakened,  i.  e. 
by  languishing  ilhiess,  t/uit  I  am  not  able  to  look  up.  And  Prov.  xxvi.  7.  which 
verse  might  most  naturally  be  translated,  As  the  legs  of  the  lame  sink  under  him, 
(nODD  CD'pIi*  V/T)  so  doth  a  parable  in  the  mouth  of  fools  :  Solomon  thereby 
beautifully  expressing  hoxv  feehle  the  sublimest  discourses  on  moral  and  religious 
subjects  are  in  the  mouth  of  a  vicious  man.  I  know  many  critics  have  produced  these 
two  last  texts,  as  instances  in  which  //T  signifies  to  be  lifted  up  ;  but  1  believe,  if 
most  of  the  places,  in  which  tiie  same  Hebrew  word  is  said  to  signify  contrary 
things  were  accurately  weighed,  they  would  be  found  as  little  to  the  purpose  of 
proving  tiiat  very  improbable,  and  ia  many  instances  raischierous  asicrtion,  as 
these  two. 


9S  KOR    NORTHAMPTON    COUNTV    INFIRMARY.        SeR.  V. 

of  these  causes  join,  as  the  circumstance  is  peculiarly  worthy  of 
compassion,  the  virtue,  and  therefore  the  blessedness^  of  him 
who  is  ready  to  pity  and  relieve  it,  must  be  proportionably  great. 
The  word  which  we  render  considereth,  is  sometimes  used 
for  taking  an  intelligent  view  of  a  thing,  and  sometimes  for 
acting  in  a  prudent  and  reasonable  manner,  suitable  to  such 
views  *.  And  accordingly  it  well  expresses  the  character  of  one, 
who  examines  into  the  circumstances  of  the  afflicted  creature  of 
whom  David  speaks,  and  upon  that  takes  wise  and  proper  mea- 
sures for  giving  him  the  most  convenient  and  effectual  assistance 
he  can.  And  as  on  the  one  hand,  it  may  be  intended  to  recom- 
mend the  use  of  discretion  in  directino;  and  manasrino;  our  chari- 
ties ;  so  on  the  other,  it  may  intimate,  that  where  men  overlook 
those  that  are  brought  low,  it  is  an  evidence  of  a  narrow  inatten- 
tive mind,  that  takes  up  with  short  and  superficial  views  of 
things ;  whereas  if  men's  sentiments  were  juster,  their  affections 
and  actions  would  be  kinder  and  more  beneficent.  They  would 
find,  that  nature,  and  duty,  and  interest  too,  if  rightly  consider- 
ed, and  justly  estimated,  would  all  dictate  the  same  thing  on 
such  occasions. 

This  will  especially  appear,  when  it  is  considered,  in  how 
gracious  and  condescending  a  manner  the  blessed  God,  the 
supreme  disposer  of  all  events,  is  pleased  to  interest  himself  in 
the  cause  of  the  indigent  and  distressed,  and  the  kind  notice 
which  he  takes  of  the  man  that  appears  as  a  patron  of  such  per- 
sons. The  Lord  will  deliver  him  in  time  of  trouble,  or,  as  it 
might  more  literallj'^  be  rendered,  in  the  day  of  calamity  f  :  As 
if  it  had  been  said,  "  There  is  a  revolution  in  human  affairs,  as 
well  as  in  the  returning  seasons  of  day  and  night,  of  summer  and 
winter.  Calamity  will  have  its  day,  and  the  time  will  come, 
when  they,  who  are  now  most  prosperous,  will  find  themselves 
surrounded  with  dark  and  gloomy  schemes.  And  then  may  the 
generous  and  charitable  man  hope  to  receive  the  compassion  he 
hath  extended;  or,  as  we  elsewhere  read,  With  the  merciful 
thou.  Lord,  wilt  shew  thyself  mercifulX^  And  indeed  one  can- 
not without  astonishment,  as  well  as  delight,  reflect  on  what  is 
so  suitably  and  so  te,nderly  added  in  the  third  verse,  to  express 
the  divine  care  of  such  a  person.  The  Lord,  Jehovah  himself,  in 
Avhom  is  everlasting  strength  §,  and  who  bears  up  the  pillars  of 

*  vDti'  has  plainly  the  former  signification,  Neh.  viii.  13.  Job  xxxiv.  27, 
55.  Psal.  xiv.  2.  Jer.  ix.  24.  Dan  i.  4.  and  the  latter,  1  Sam.  xviii.  14,  15,  30. 
Psal.  cvi.  7.     Amos  v.  13. 

I T]'^"!  nDV2  %  Psal.  xviii.  25.  §  Isa.  xxvi.  4. 


The  Duty  of  Compassion  to  the  Sick.  99 

heaven,  IVill  strengthen  him  upon  the  bed  of  languishing,  or  as 
itinio;lit  1)0  rendered,  will  support  him,  ov  hold  him  up  there*: 
Thou  wilt  make  all  his  bed  in  his  sickness\:  Some  would  literally 
render  it,  thou  wilt  change  his  bed,  and  explain  it  of  turninj^  a 
bed  of  pain  and  distress  into  a  couch  of  pleasure  and  delight ; 
supposing  it  alludes  to  their  custom  of  lying  on  couches  in  their 
banquets.  But  I  think  the  image  which  our  translation  suggests 
equally  suits  the  original,  and  is,  on  account  of  its  tenderness, 
greatly  to  be  preferred.  The  good  man  is  now  supposed  in  his 
turn  to  be  brought  low  by  illness,  so  exceeding  low,  that  he  is 
riot  able  so  much  as  to  sit  up  in  his  bed ;  and  God  does  not  dis- 
dain to  represent  himself  under  the  image  of  an  aft'ectionato 
friend,  or  parent,  Avho  holds  him  up  in  his  arms  ;  and  himself 
assists  in  turning  his  bed,  and  making  it  easy  to  him,  wdien,  be- 
ing too  weak  to  rise,  he  is  only  able  to  shift  the  sides. 

Amazed  and  charmed  with  an  expression  of  so  much  con- 
descension and  endearment,  1  set  myself,  w  ith  additional  plea- 
sure, as  in  the  presence  of  this  compassionate  God,  to  open  mv 
mouth,  and  plead  the  cause  of  the  poor  and  the  alHicted  ;  and 
would  attempt  to  cultivate  in  your  minds,  and  in  my  own,  the 
temper  which  the  words  recommend.  That  I  may  do  it  in  the 
most  suitable  and  useful  manner,  I  shall, 

I.  Represent  the  reasonableness  of  a  compassionate  tem- 
per, towards  those  in  general,  who  are  languishing  on  beds  of 
sickness. 

II.  Shew  how  wise  and  happy  a  method  of  expressing  our 
compassion  towards  such,  that  which  is  now  recommended  to  us 
is  likely  to  prove  :  And, 

III.  Conclude  with  the  mention  of  some  circumstances  ia 
the  present  situation  of  affairs,  by  which  the  design  is  peculiarly 
recommended  to  us  at  this  time. 

I.  Let  me  represent  in  general  how  reasonable  it  is,  that  we 
should  feel  compassion  in  our  hearts  towards  those,  who  languish 
under  the  burden  of  bodily  disorders,  and  particularly  are  con- 
fined to  beds  or  chambers  of  sickness. 

And  this  you  will  not  only  see,  but  feel  too,  if  you  reflect — • 
on  the  calamity  of  their  state ; — on  the  tender  sense  they  naturally 
have  of  the  treatment  they  meet  with  in  it ; — and  how  liable  we 
ourselves  are  to  the  same  circumstances  of  distress. 

1 .  Consider  the  calamity  of  their  state. 

Some  of  you  know  it  by  familiar  acquaintance,  by  dear- 


100  FOR   NORTHAMPTON   COUNTY   INFIRMARY.         SeR.  V. 

bought  personal  experience,  and  must  have  The  worm-wood  and 
the  gall  in  a  long  and  painful  reynembrance*.  Go  back  in 
3^our  thoughts  to  those  chambers,  which  you  were  almost  ready 
to  consider  as  your  sepulchres,  and  those  beds,  from  whence  per- 
haps you  expected  to  rise  up  no  more,  or  which  seemed  as  racks, 
if  not  as  graves,  to  you ;  and  then  say,  whether  you  were  not 
objects  of  compassion  yourselves,  and  whether  others,  in  the 
like  circumstances,  must  not  necessai-ily  be  so.  Others  of  you 
have,  no  doubt,  been  conversant  with  the  sick  and  the  pained: 
Reflect  on  what  you  then  saw  and  heard  ;  and  let  your  eye,  and 
your  ear  affect  your  heart. 

There  are  indeed  some,  who  seem  solicitous  to  keep  as 
much  as  possible  from  the  sight  of  such  mournful  objects;  as  if 
they  were  afraid,  that  in  such  a  circumstance  an  involuntary 
kind  of  humanity  should  invade  their  hearts,  and  force  them  on 
a  sudden,  and  as  it  were  before  they  are  well  aware  of  it,  to  do 
something  more  generous  than  they  care  to  allow  themselves  in. 
But  no  man,  who  hath  lived  any  time  in  the  world,  can  be  such 
a  stranger  to  human  nature,  and  to  human  life,  as  not  to  know 
something  of  the  various  distempers  and  accidents  to  which  we 
are  liable  in  this  feeble  state,  and  of  the  sad  symptoms  of  sorrow 
that  attend  them:  Fatal  effects  of  the  entrance  of  sin  into  this 
world  of  ours,  and  aM^ful  monuments  of  the  divine  displeasure 
against  the  first  instance  of  it  | 

I  am  not  indeed  learned  enough  to  run  over  the  tenth  part 
of  those  names,  which  physicians  have  given  to  the  various  ma- 
ladies under  which  their  aid  is  demanded.  But  the  fever,  the 
dropsy,  the  gout,  the  stone,  the  rheumatism,  the  choUc,  the 
asthma,  the  cancer,  the  palsy,  consumptions,  and  the  like,  are 
words  of  dreadful  import;  to  the  general  signification  of  Avhich 
few  are  strangers,  though  perhaps  none,  Avho  have  not  them- 
selves laboured  under  them,  can  distinctly  understand  how  much 
terror  they  express. 

Let  us  however  think  a  little  closely,  for  the  thought  may 
have  an  apparent  tendency  to  humble  and  to  humanize  our 
hearts,  into  how  sad  an  object  the  greatest,  the  richest,  the 
strongest,  and  the  fairest  of  mankind  is  reduced  in  a  few  weeks 
or  days,  when  attacked  by  any  of  these,  and  crushed,  as  it  were, 
into  an  early,  and  an  untimely  old  age.  When  thou,  Lord,  with 
thy  rebukes  dost  correct  man/or  his  ini(juity,  how  dost  thou  causa 
his  beauty  and  his  vigour  to  consume  away  like  a  inothf,  Avhich 
moulders  under  the  lightest  touch !   How  are  all  the  services  of 

*  Lam.  ili.  19,  20.  f  Psal.  xxxix.  11. 


The  Duly  of  Compassion  to  the  Sick.  101 

life  obstructed,  and  all  its  choicest  ])lcasincs  blasted  at  once,  as 
the  o|)eninfr  blossoms  ot"  spring  by  the  severity  of  \vinds  and 
frosts  !  According  to  that  most  natural  description  of  Job,  when 
a  man  is  Chastened  with  pain  upon  his  bed,  and  theviultitudeof 
his  hones  until  strong  pain,  how  does  his  life  abhor  bread,  and 
his  soul  dainty  meat;  so  that  his  flesh  is  consumed  away,  that  it 
cannot  be  seen,  and  his  bones,  which  were  not  seeji,  stick  out* ! 
In  some  distempers,  what  convulsive  strugglings,  what  terrible 
lieavings  and  pantings  for  breath !  In  others,  what  deep  sighs 
do  we  observe,  what  piercing  groans,  what  doleful  cries!  Or 
in  persons  of  a  more  resolute  temper,  amidst  a  painful  silence, 
what  earnest  speaking  looks,  while  perhaps  large  droi)s  of  sweat 
are  trickling  down  the  face,  and  nature  seems,  as  it  were,  to  be 
weeping  its  distress  at  every  pore !  And  in  cases  less  acute  than 
these,  what  Months  of  vanity  are  many  active  souls  made  to 
possess,  and  what  ivearisome  nights  are  appointed  to  themf! 
How  slowly  do  the  hours  and  the  moments  roll  away,  while  Jn 
the  evening  they  say,  would  to  God  it  were  morning;  and  in  the 
vwrning,  would  to  God  it  were  evening %!  But  fmd  themselves 
equally  disappointed  in  their  expectations  of  relief,  from  the 
silence  of  the  night,  or  the  amusements  of  the  daj':  Till  at 
length  perhaps  nature  is  weakened  to  such  a  degree,  that  it  can 
scarce  bear  the  voice  of  the  dearest  friend,  if  a  little  louder  than 
a  whisper,  or  endure  so  much  light  as  shall  discover  his  coun- 
tenance !  God  only  knows,  how  many  are  at  this  moment  in  a 
condition  sadder  than  I  have  described,  while  we  are  ourselves 
At  ease  in  Zion  §,  and  Are  too  little  grieved  for  the  aj/iictions  of 
our  brethren  ||.  Yet  surely,  if  we  have  any  thing  of  the  man, 
and  the  christian,  we  cannot  be  wholly  unmoved,  but  must  feel 
some  tender  solicitude  rising  in  our  hearts,  and  must  be  casting 
about  in  our  thoughts  for  some  proper  manner  of  expressing  it; 
especially  when  we  consider, 

2.  The  peculiar  tenderness  of  the  spirits  in  such  circum-f 
stances  as  these,  and  that  exquisite  sensibility,  either  of  regard, 
or  neglect,  which  is  almost  inseparable  from  them. 

Such  is  the  vanity  of  human  friends,  that  they  can  do  much 
to  wound,  where  they  can  do  very  little  to  heal ;  their  negligence 
can  greatly  afflict,  where  their  most  solicitous  care  can  adminis- 
ter very  little  comfort.  And  this  is  more  especiallv  the  case  in 
sickness.     When  the  blood  is  impoverished,  when  the  animal 


♦Jobxxxiii.  19,  20,  21. 

t  Job  vii.  3. 

J  Deut.  xyviii.  67. 

§  Amos  vi.  1. 

II  Amos  vi.  6. 

VOL.  III. 

N 

102  FOR    NORTHAMPTON    COUNTY   INFIRMARY.        SeR.  V. 

spirits  are  weakened,  and  when  melancholy  humours  prevail  in 
the  body,  little  things  impress  with  a  very  disproportionate 
weight.  Solomon  hath  observed  long  ago,  that  when  Heaviness 
in  the  heart  of  a  man  maketh  it  stoop,  then  a  good  word  maketh 
it  peculiarly  glad*.  And  by  a  parity  of  reason,  then,  any  thing 
that  looks  like  unkindness  in  a  friend  pierces  much  deeper,  than 
at  another  time ;  when  nature  is  in  all  its  vigour,  and  the  business 
and  amusements  of  life  divert  the  mind  from  pausing  on  such 
things,  and  the  imagination  from  dressing  them  up  in  colours  of 
its  own,  which,  unnatural  as  they  often  are,  appear  to  the  dis- 
tempered mind  inherent  in  the  objects  themselves.  Sick  people 
hkewise,  conscious  to  themselves  that  they  cannot  but  be  less 
agreeable  than  at  other  times,  easil}-  conclude,  that  they  grow 
insupportably  burdensome  to  those  about  them :  And  if  great 
care  be  not  taken  to  prevent  it,  they  will  be  very  ready  to  infer, 
that  their  friends  are  wearied  out  with  them  ;  and  perhaps  will 
secretly  suspect,  they  wish  them  out  of  the  way,  that  they  may 
be  eased  of  their  burden  :  While  they  imagine,  like  Job,  that 
were  their  friends  in  such  an  ajfiicted  state  as  themselves,  they 
should  study  all  opportunities  of  softening  their  sorrows,  bv  every 
circumstance  of  the  most  tender  address  f.  And  then  they  be- 
moan themselves,  and  think,  surely  it  is  enough  to  bear  all  this 
illness  and  pain,  without  having  the  unkindness  of  such  and  such 
a  friend  added  to  it:  And  so  perhaps,  the  saddest  complaints  of 
Job:j:,  David  §,  and  Heman  ||,  are  thought  over  as  applicable  to 
their  sorrowful  condition. 

This  is  indeed  very  often  their  infirmity ;  but  we  should 
bear  it,  and  pity  it,  and  study,  as  well  as  we  can,  to  accommo- 
date ourselves  to  it:  For  it  undoubtedly  makes  their  case  much 
more  afflicted,  and  therefore  more  compassionable.  And  it  will 
especially  appear  so,  if  we  reflect, 

3.  How  liable  we  ourselves  are,  to  share  in  these  sorrows 
and  these  infirmities. 

This  thought  is  beautifully  touched  upon  by  the  apostle, 
when  he  says,  Remember  those  that  suffer  affliction,  as  being 
yourselves  also  in  the  body^:  As  if  he  should  have  said,  "  In 
necessary  consequence  of  being  in  the  body,  you  are  yourselves 
obnoxious  to  the  like  affliction;  and  therefore  should  readily 
impart  to  your  afflicted  brethren  such  assistances,  as  you  in  a 
change  of  circumstances  would  reasonably  desire," 

And  is  it  not  most  evidently  the  case  here  ?  What  are  We 

*Prov.  xii,  25.  fJob  vi.  14.  xvi.  5,  +  Job  vi.  15.  xiii.  4,  13.  xvi.2,  20. 
xix.  2,3,  14—22.  §Psal.  xxxviii.  11.  Iv.  12,  13.  Ixix.  8,  20.  cxlii.  4.  |[  Psal. 
Ixxxviii.  8,  18.       ^  Heb.  xiii.  3. 


The  Duiju  of  Compassion  to  the  Sick.  103 

Sirs,  better  than  ourjathers-?  Better  than  our  brethren?  Better 
than  those,  who  have  drooped,  and  sunk,  and  died,  under  such 
burdens  as  those  I  have  described  ?  Is  our  strength  the  strength 
of  stones,  or  is  our  flesh  of  brass  ft  that  we  should  plead  an  ex- 
emption iVoni  sorrows  and  complaints  common  to  our  species  ? 
In  all  j)robability,  they  await  us ;  and  would  await  us,  if  we  Avere 
nobles  and  princes  of"  the  earth  :  And  God  only  knows,  how 
soon  we  are  to  begin  our  encounter  with  them,  or  how  soon  they 
may  complete  their  victory  over  us,  and  bring  us  beyond  the 
reach  of  being  helpful  to  men,  or  receiving  help  from  them. 

And,  which  is  peculiarly  interesting,  these  are  probably 
some  of  our  last  scenes.  When  we  have  done  with  our  mer- 
chandise, our  husbandry,  or  our  studies ;  when  we  have  finished 
our  journies,  our  \  i;iits,  our  sports,  and  our  feasts,  we  must, 
unless  death  surprise  us  with  a  very  sudden  blow,  retire  into  our 
chambers  of  illness  to  come  out  no  more,  but  languish  away  the 
remainder  of  our  days  there,  till  the  moment  of  our  exit  from 
hfe  shall  come.  There  shall  wo  need  the  compassion,  we  are 
now  exhorted  to  extend;  shall  need  all  the  relief,  which  a  ge- 
nerous heart  may  tlien  feel,  in  a  consciousness  of  having  been, 
in  its  better  days,  an  helper  to  the  afflicted ;  and  above  all,  shall 
need  that  divine  consolation,  which  God  is  ready  to  impart  to 
that  blessed  man,  who  has  considered  him  that  is  brought  low,  so 
graciously  expressed  in  the  text,  by  holding  him  up  on  his  btd 
of  languishing ,  and  by  making  all  his  bed  in  his  sickness. 

And  therefore,  in  the  conclusion  of  this  head,  let  me  intreat 
3^ou  to  Suffer  the  wordof  exhortationX,  and  to  bear  away  in  your 
hearts  a  firm  resolution  of  doing  all  you  can,  to  be  helpful  to  the 
sick,  whatever  their  other  circumstances  in  life  be,  as  provi- 
dence may  give  you  an  opportunity  and  call.  Consider  those 
that  are  brought  low;  Reflect  seriously  and  tenderly  on  their 
condition  ;  i'or  they  sometimes  suffer  a  great  deal  from  the  mere 
inattention  of  those  about  them,  who  yet  could  not  bear  on  any 
terms  deliberately  to  do  what  they  apprehended  cruel  or  un- 
kind. Let  us,  as  afflicted  Job  expresses  it,  (for  afflicted  persons 
know  best  how  to  s^ieak  of  afflictions,)  Put  our  souls  into  their 
souls'  steady.  Let  us  inwardly  commiserate  their  melancholy 
case ;  and  let  our  behaviour  express  that  commiseration  in  the 
most  natural  and  genuine  manner.  Let  us  be  ready,  where  it 
may  be  useful  to  tiicm,  to  visit  thcvi ;  for  visiting  the  sick  is, 
you  know,  mentioned  among  those  acts  of  charity,  which  Christ 

♦  1  Kings  xix.  4.  fjob  vi.  12.  J  Hcb.  xiii.  22.  §  Job  xvi.  4. 

N2 


104  FOR  NORTHAMPTON  COUNTY  INFIRMARY.  SeR.  V. 

assures  us  he  will  commemorate  with  peculiar  honour,  even 
Upon  the  throne  of  his  glory  *.  Let  us  patiently  bear  those 
instances  of  fretfulness  and  peevishness,  into  which  under  such 
a  pressure  they  may  be  ready  to  fall  ;  imputing  them  to  their 
distemper,  and  not  to  themselves.  Let  us  avoid  every  thing 
rough  and  boisterous  in  our  behaviour,  near  the  apartments  in 
■which  they  are  ;  and  let  nothing  be  done,  which  might  give  the 
poor  patient  reason  to  sigh  on  his  bed,  and  say,  "  Alas  they  do 
not  regard  me  !  they  little  think  what  it  is  to  be  ill !"  Shew  in 
all  your  conduct  a  concern  for  their  comfort  and  happiness : 
Shew  it,  above  all,  by  endeavouring  by  wise  and  pious  dis- 
courses to  lead  them  into  the  best  improvement  of  their  afflic- 
tions, and  to  form  their  minds  to  such  sentiments  and  charac- 
ters, that  through  divine  grace  they  may  be  entitled  to  the  no- 
blest supports  ;  those  which  arise  from  a  sense  of  the  divine 
favour,  from  pardoned  guilt,  and  from  a  comfortable  prospect  in 
the  invisible  and  eternal  world  ;  that  so  they  may  not  struggle  at 
once  with  the  agonies  of  a  distempered  body,  and  a  wounded 
spirit  ;  but  rather,  As  the  outward  man  declines,  may  find  the 
inward  daily  renewed  i .  And  to  shew  how  sincerely  you  are 
concerned  for  their  spiritual,  neglect  not  their  temporal  interest. 
If  they  are  poor,  extend  your  alms  to  them,  and  endeavour  to 
procure  for  them  such  medicines,  food,  attendance,  and  oth(;r 
accommodations,  as  may  promote  their  recovery,  or  at  least 
alleviate  their  sufferings.  It  is  what,  I  question  not,  many  of  you 
are  often  doing,  and  you  now  have  an  opportunity  of  doing  it 
with  some  peculiar  advantages  ;  as  you  will  evidently  perceive 
by  what  I  have  to  offer  under  my  second  general,  the  business 
of  which  is, 

n.  To  shew  how  wise  and  happy  a  way  of  expressing  our 
compassion  to  the  sick  and  infirm,  that  which  is  now  proposed 
to  us  is  likely  to  prove. 

You  apprehend,  that  I  mean  our  concurrence  in  this  scheme 
for  establishing  a  county  hospital  in  this  town,  for  the  relief  of 
the  poor,  Avho  are  sick  or  wounded  ;  into  which,  in  extreme 
cases,  they  may  be  freely  received,  and  in  which  they  may  be 
properly  assisted,  without  expence  to  themselves,  or  the  families 
to  which  they  belong. 

The  very  mention  of  this  design  might  seem  sufficient  to 
recommend  it  to  every  intelligent  and  generous  person  ;  and  I 
am  sure  none  who  have  perused  the  printed  paper  in  favour  of  it, 
which  has  been  generously  published  and  spread  over  the  whole 

♦  Mat.  XXV.  31.  ,         f  2  Cor.  iv.  16. 


The  Duty  of  Compassion  to  the  Sick.  105 

county,  can  be  uninformed  on  this  subject :  Nevcrtlicless,  as 
it  may  be  new  to  some,  and  others  may  have  reik-ctetl  but 
sUghtly  upon  it,  I  shall  say  something  briefly  on  the  head,  and 
I  hope  a  few  words  may  sulHce  ;  since  the  schcnic  wears  so 
beautiful  an  aspect,  if  only  viewed  in  its.lirst  appearances  :  as 
well  as  appears  so  fruitfid  of  good,  when  attentively  examined  in 
its  remoter  consecjuenccs. 

1.  Vou  will  easily  see,  that  the  scheme  wears  a  very  beau- 
tiful aspect,  if  viewed  only  in  its  first  ajipearances. 

It  promises,  in  its  most  obvious  and  direct  design,  relief  to 
the  poor  in  their  sickness  ;  and  their  case  is  attended  with 
many  circumstances  to  recommend  it  to  our  com])assi()n,  which 
have  not  yet  been  touched  upon  in  the  preceding  branch  of  my 
discourse.  What  I  have  said  before  might  be  suiHcient  to  prove, 
and  one  day's  experience  of  our  own  might  in  a  yet  more  con- 
vincing manner  demonstrate,  that  sickness  of  itself  is  a  burden 
heavy  enough,  though  we  languish  upon  beds  of  down,  and 
have  all  the  relief  Ave  can  derive  from  the  skill  of  physicians, 
the  attendance  of  servants  and  friends,  withevery  olheradditional 
accommodation  which  the  most  plentiful  fortune  can  furnish  out. 
What  tlien  must  it  be  to  bear  all  this,  and  perhaps  more  than 
this,  in  the  want  of  all  things  !  What  must  it  be  for  a  person, 
uho  perhaps  found  it  hard  enough  to  live  when  he  was  in  all  the 
vigour  of  nature,  and  His  own  hands  ministered  to  his  necessi- 
ties *,  to  find  himself  under  his  languor,  perhaps  under  his 
agony,  destitute  of  medicines,  destitute  of  attendance,  and  it 
may  be,  destitute  of  convenient  food,  with  hardly  any  thing 
but  inclination,  in  these  cases  no  certain  guide,  to  direct  him 
what  is  so.  Or  if  pressed  with  a  sense  of  urgent  necessity,  af- 
ter long  delay,  he  calls  in  such  assistance,  and  procures  Jt,  per- 
h:ips  it  is  at  such  an  expence,  that  his  spirits  are  broken  with  the 
thouglits  of  the  debt  he  is  contracting,  which  e.ther  prevents,  or 
retards,  or  embitters  his  recovery  ;  and  when  it  is  perfected, 
ainuist  tempts  him  to  wish  he  had  (juitted  the  world,  rather  than 
survived  under  such  an  insupportable  pressure. 

But  so  tar  as  the  scheme  now  opening  upon  us  succeeds, 
this  additional  load  of  misery  will  be  taken  off.  The  patient  will 
be  encouraged  to  seek  for  timclv  assistance,  before  his  illness 
becomes  n)veterate,  the  neglect  of  which  is,,  no  doubt,  yearly 
the  destruction  of  thousands  :  And  when  his  case  is  so  bad,  as  to 
require  his  bemg  taken  into  the  infirmary,  he  will  he  kept  clean 
and  warm,  with  convenient  accommodations  of  food,  phasic, 

*  Arts  XX.  34- 


lOtJ  FOR  NORTHAMPTON  COUNTY  INFIRMARY.  SeR.  V. 

and  lodging  :  He  will  be  kept  under  proper  regimen  and  go- 
vernment, which  may  shelter  him,  on  the  one  hand,  from  be- 
coming a  prey  to  ignorant  pretenders,  whose  chief  merit  seems 
to  be,  to  sell  diseases  and  death  at  reasonable  rates  ;  and  on  the 
other,  he  will  be  protected  from  imprudence,  which  is  often- 
times more  fatal  than  the  disease  ;  while  according  to  the  rules 
of  the  house,  it  is  put  out  of  his  own  power  to  indulge  himself, 
or  to  be  indulged  by  over  fond  friends,  if  such  he  have,  in  what 
would  be  pernicious  to  his  health. 

In  consequence  of  this  we  see,  that  many  are  recovered  in 
such  houses  as  these,  who  have  long  languished  in  their  own, 
under  tedious  and  extremely  dangerous  distempers  ;  some  of 
them,  perhaps,  after  having,  like  the  poor  woman  in  the  gospel, 
Consumed  all  their  living  on  physicians,  and  been  nothing  the 
better,  but  rather  the  worse  *. 

Facts  impress  the  mind  more  strongly,  than  any  reasonings 
unsupported  by  them.  I  therefore  think  it  proper  here  to  tell 
you,  tiiat  I  have  made  the  most  careful  observations  I  could, 
on  those  yearly  accounts  of  other  hospitals  which  have  come  to 
my  hands,  viz.  those  of  Winchester,  Bath,  Exeter,  York,  Bris- 
tol, and  the  London  and  Westminster  infirmaries.  Few  of  these 
have  reached  back  farther  than  three  years,  and  some  have  ex- 
tended only  to  one  ;  and  I  find  on  the  whole,  that  we  have  an 
account  of  seven  thousand  three  hundred  and  thirty,  who  are 
known,  or  supposed  to  be  cured,  and  only  of  seven  hundred 
and  eighty-four,  who  have  died,  or  been  discharged  as  incura- 
ble :  So  that  it  should  seem  by  this  hasty  and  imperfect  calcula- 
tion, for  such  I  confess  it  to  be,  that  near  ten  patients  have  been 
relieved  for  one  who  has  failed  of  success. 

I  find  palsies,  dropsies,  consumptions,  fevers,  leprosies, 
rheumatisms,  cholics,  stone,  as  Avell  as  multitudes  of  ulcers, 
fractui-es,  dislocations,  and  the  like,  on  the  list  of  those  calami- 
ties from  which  these  poor  creatures  have  been  relieved  :  And  it 
farther  appears,  that  great  numbers  ot"  these  had  been  languish- 
ing under  their  distempers  two  years,  others  five,  ten,  twelve, 
fourteen,  and  a  few  twenty  years  ;  and  this  after  some  of  them 
had  been  reduced  to  so  low  an  ebb,  that  their  admission  was 
blamed  as  an  hopeless  attempt,  yet  a  few  months  have  turned 
their  captivity,  and  they  have  gone  out  from  those  gates  vigo- 
rous and  cheerful,  into  which  they  were  brought  almost  like 
corpses  borne  on  men's  shouldersf  . 

*  Markv.  26.     Luke  viii.  43. 
f  I  am  credibly  informed,  that  at  Exeter  there  has  been  an  instance  or  two  of 
persons,  who  on  account  of  their  extreme  weakness  were  brought  into  the  hospital 
laid  in  their  coffins,  who  have  gone  out  carrying  their  coffins,  on  their  backs. 


The  Duly  of  Cow  passion  to  the  Sick.  107 

What  heart  does  not  feel  a  secret  pleasure  at  hearing  sncli 
an  article  !  Who  would  not  rejoice,  if  even  large  (contributions 
could  be  the  means  of  procuring  so  happy  effects !  But  it 
ouo-ht  farther  to  be  considered  in  favour  of  this  desicrn,  tliat 
there  is,  in  proportion  to  the  good  to  be  expected  from  it,  great 
fruo-ality  and  liberality  so  dispensed.  For  it  is  certain,  as  many 
have  observed  on  such  occasions,  that  a  small  sum  thus  managed 
will  go  farther,  than  a  much  larger  given  to  relieve  the  sick 
j)oor  at  their  own  houses ;  as  the  same  person  may  attend  on 
different  patients  at  the  same  time  ;  and  as  the  medicines  and 
provisions  to  be  used  in  the  house  may  be  bought  at  the  best 
hand  ;  whereas  it  is  often,  and  I  fear,  too  justly  said,  that  the 
poor  generally  pay  dearer  than  others  for  Avhat  they  have  *. — 
What  is  thus  given  is  also  much  securer  from  being  misapplied, 
cither  by  the  persons  themselves,  or  by  others,  who  might  be 
base  enough  to  make  a  prey  of  them. — Nor  can  I  forbear  men- 
tioning it,  as  another  most  agreeable  circumstance  attending  the 
charity  proposed,  that  it  often  shelters  the  person,  who  receives 
the  benehtof  it,  from  the  mortification  of  coming  to  a  parish- 
allowance  ;  and  perhaps  of  being  consigned  over  to  a  Avork- 
house  :  Whicii  is  generally  a  terrible  sort  of  infirmary  indeed, 
where  we  have  reason  to  fear,  there  is  seldom  sufficient  care 
taken  to  secure  the  cleanliness,  the  quiet,  or  the  morals  of  those, 
who  are  so  unhappy  as  to  be  brought  thither  ;  though  perhaps 
some  of  them  have  lived  creditably  and  comfortably  in  families 
of  tlieir  own,  have  long  contributed  to  the  support  of  the  poor 
around  them,  and  have  been  at  last  reduced  by  the  afflictive 
hand  of  providence,  without  any  visible  crime  of  theirs,  or 
any  remarkable  imprudence.  A  state,  which,  when  sickness  is 
added  to  it,  appears  one  of  the  most  desolate  and  deplorable 
which  can  be  imagined  :  So  that  it  is  no  wonder,  the  very  pros- 
pect and  apprehension  of  it  should  press,  in  a  very  painful 
manner,  on  an    honest  and   tender  spirit,  and  greatly  increase 


*It  has  been  spoken  of,  in  the  STipplement  to  the  account  of  Exeter  hospital, 
pag;e  3,  as  a  tJiinp:  universally  confessed,  that  more  remedies  maybe  administered  for 
ten  pounds  in  this  way,  tlian  for  fifty  in  another.  And  the  truly  reverend  and  excel- 
lent Dr.  Alured  Clarke,  whose  memory  will  ever  be  dear  to  all  good  men  who  knew  his 
character,  says  in  tiio  preface  to  his  seniion  at  the  opening  of  Winchester  iiospital, 
page  5,  "  If  half  tlie  money  that  is  given  should  really  be  perverted,  which  I  hope 
there  is  not  the  least  reason  to  suspect,  tlure  would  still  be  more  good  done  by  it 
than  by  any  otlier  possible  way  of  distributing  to  the  necessities  of  the  poor:  So  that 
every  wise  man  would  think  it  worth  his  while  to  exert  his  endeavours  in  this  way, 
out  of  mere  good  husban.'ry  to  himself  and  the  public."  He  afterwards  add>,  pai^'e  9, 
10, "  It  is  well  known,  that  several  thousands  arc  relieved  in  these  hospitals  at  a  less 
expcnee,  than  can  be  afforded  for  so  many  iiundreds  in  any  other  way." 


I  OS  FOR  NORTHAMPTON  COUyTY  INFIRMARY.  SER.  V. 

the  force  of  any  bodily  disorder,  which  seems  to  threaten  so  sad 
an  event. 

Reflect,  christians,  on  such  considerations  as  these  ;  and  add 
to  all,  that  you  are  the  disciples  of  that  benevolent  Jesus,  who 
xi'ent  about  doing  good  *,  and  who  particularly  expressed  the 
tenderness  of  his  generous  compassion,  by  Healing  all  manner 
of  sickness,  and  all  manner  of  disease  among  the  people  f.  This 
was  the  calamity  of  human  nature,  which  seems  of  all  its  temporal 
evils  to  have  impressed  him  most  ;  and  I  am  sure,  if  we  have 
any  thing  of  his  spirit  and  temper,  without  which  we  are  none 
of  his,  we  must  necessarily  wish  well  to  a  design  of  this  kind, 
if  it  were  only  considered  in  reference  to  those,  who  receive  in 
their  own  persons  immediate  relief  from  it.  But  I  am  to  add, 
that  as  the  scheme  appears  thus  amiable  in  its  most  obvious  as- 
pect, so  likewise, 

2.  It  will  appear  more  abundantly  fruitful  of  future  good, 
when  attentively  weighed  in  its  remoter  consequences. 

The  benefit  extends  much  farther  than  the  persons  thus  re- 
lieved. It  evidently  affects  others  of  their  families,  who  have 
that  time  and  labour  to  employ  in  the  business  of  their  respec- 
tive callings,  which  must  otherwise  have  been  taken  up  in  at- 
tending the  sick.  It  extends  also  to  all  those,  to  whom  the  pa- 
tients themselves  ma}- be  useful  when  recovered  from  their  illness ; 
Avhether  their  near  relations  and  friends,  who  have  any  depend- 
ance  upon  them  ;  or  the  public,  who  owe  much  more,  than  we 
are  generally  aware,  to  the  labours  of  the  poor,  and  upon  that 
account  are  under  great  obligations  to  them,  which  I  fear  are 
seldom  considered.  Not  to  say,  that  in  many  cases,  the  very 
existence  of  those  yet  to  be  born  may,  under  God,  depend  on 
such  cures. 

I  shall  not  now  insist  on  the  advantage  which  others  may 
receive  in  their  illness,  by  the  improved  skill  of  physicians  and 
surgeons,  in  consequence  of  their  attendance  on  such  hospitals  ; 
though  it  is  evidently  a  very  possible  thing,  that  the  lives  of 
very  useful  and  valuable  persons  may  be  so  preserved.  It  is  yet 
more  obvious  and  certain,  that  many  other  poor  may  be  re- 
lieved in  the  respective  parishes  to  which  they  belong,  by  that 
money  from  the  parish  stock,  which  must  otherwise  have  been 
employed  upon  the  sick :  Or  if,  in  consequence  of  being 
discharged  from  this  burden,  the  parish  rates  be  lessened,  as 
perhaps  in  many  places  they  sensibly  may  be,  the  subscribers 
of  that  parish  are  then  paid  in  specie  ;  and  after  the  honour  and 

*  Acts  X,  38.  f  Mat.  iv.  23. 


The  Duty  of  Compassion  to  the  Sick,  109 

pleasure  of  bestowing  their  bounty,  a  part  of  it  immediately  flows 
back  upon  them  again.  And  liow  much  may  so  flow  hack,  and 
with  what  large  accessions  of  blessing,  God  only  knows  ;  as  he 
only  can  tell,  what  casualties  and  diseases  are  warded  o(T,  what 
prosperity  and  success  in  affairs  may  be  allotted,  as  the  token 
of  his  favourable  regard  to  this  pious  munificence. 

Neither  can  it  be  improper  for  me  to  add  upon  this  head, 
that  what  was  more  directly  intended  as  a  benefit  tp  the  body, 
may  prove  a  blessing  to  the  soul.  For  dissolute  persons,  by  this 
means  being  brought  for  a  while  under  regular  discipline,  may 
perhaps  be  broken  and  reclaimed  :  The  good  instructions  they 
receive  from  ministers  who  attend  them,  especially  while  the 
rod  of  God  is  upon  them,  and  his  sword  may  seem  to  hang  over 
them  ;  the  spectacles  of  mortality  frequently  before  their  eyes  ; 
too-ether  with  regularity  and  good  order  to  which  in  such  places 
th?y  will  be  accustomed,  and  their  being  sheltered  from  many 
temptations,  from  which,  in  some  kinds  of  sickness,  the  patient 
is  not  necessarily  secure  ;  may  all,  under  the  influence  of  divine 
grace,  prove  the  means  of  sowing  the  seeds  of  true  religion  in 
their  hearts,  and  of  infusing  into  their  minds  that  noblest  of  al 
cordials,  an  antidote  against   the   servile  fears  of  the  second 

death. 

Nor  does  it  appear  to  me  a  contemptible  eftcct  ot  this 
charity,  that  as  it  is  necessarily  concerted  upon  a  plan,  in  which 
all  parties  and  denominations  are  equally  concerned,  it  will  pro- 
bably be  a  means  of  promoting  more  candid  and  catholic  senti- 
ments, in  consequence  of  repeated  opportunities  of  mutual 
converse.  This'  wears  out  that  narrowness  and  bigotry  of  spi- 
rit, which,  where  it  prevails,  renders  the  christian  so  unlike 
himself;  and  which  is  generally  the  elTect  of  ignorance,  and 
arises  from  viewing  our  brethren  through  false  mediums,  which 
represent,  what  may  in  itself  be  regular  and  fair,  in  a  distorted 
and  disacrreeable  form.  As  interviews  with  each  other  have  a 
general  tendency  to  rectify  such  mistaken  apprehensions,  that 
tendency  is  peculiarly  evident,  where  this  circumstance  is  added, 
that  all  are  associated  in  the  same  good  design,  and  have  agreed 
on  layiuT  aside  every  party  view  in  pursuing  it.  This  may 
promote  something  of  that  unity  of  heart,  under  a  variety  ot 
professions,  which  goo  I  men  on  all  sides  wish  ;  and  which, 
amidst  such  an  unavoidable  diversity  of  sentiments,  is  the  only 
method  of  securing  the  honour  of  Christianity,  and  the  peace 
of  the  church. 

1  must  by  all  means  add,  that  whatever  good  consequeaces 

VOL.  111.  O 


110  FOR   NORTHAMPTON   COUNTY   INFIRMARY.        SeR.  V. 

this  scheme  may  produce,  which  are  many  more  than  I  have 
enumerated  above,  our  engaging  lieartily  in  it  may  render  them 
both  extensive  and  lasting.  It  is  probable,  that  neighbouring 
counties  may  quickly  learn  to  imitate  our  example,  Avhen  they 
see  in  fact  that  it  is  no  impracticable  design  :  An  apprehension, 
■which  I  suppose  has  hitherto  been  the  chief  obstruction,  where 
its  obvious  benefits  have  been  at  all  thought  of.  At  length  it  may 
spread  from  county  to  county,  till  perhaps  there  will  not  a 
parish  be  found  in  Britain  which  shall  not  have  an  interest 
in  some  such  charitable  foundation  ;  to  Avhich  they  may  send 
their  sick  in  the  most  obstinate  chronical  cases,  with  some  pros- 
pect of  relief.  Thus  the  remotest  regions  of  our  land  may  have 
reason  on  this  account  to  call  us  blessed;  and  I  will  add,  the  re- 
motest generations  may  also  have  reason  to  do  it.  Reflect  how 
many  hundreds  are  at  this  day,  enjoying  the  benefits  of  those 
wise  and  charitable  foundations,  which  our  nation  owes  to  the 
pious  and  beneficent  king  Edwai'd  the  Sixth,  of  truly  sacred  and 
immortal  memory.  So  would  I  hope,  that  in  this  place,  when 
our  children,  and  our  grand-children  are  in  their  graves,  their 
remotest  descendants,  which  arise  in  their  stead,  and  God  only 
knows,  what  revolutions  may  bring  any  of  them  to  need  it,  may 
have  cause  to  reflect  on  this  year  1743,  as  the  happy  ffira  of  an 
establishment,  to  M'hich  many  around  them  may  owe  their  health, 
their  comfort,  their  usefulness,  and  possibly,  under  God,  their 
christian  principles,  and  their  immortal  hopes.  Whatever 
streams  may  in  the  mean  time  have  flowed  into  it,  and  God 
grant,  they  may  be  as  large  as  shall  be  needed,  the  fountain  will 
be  traced  up  hither ;  and  blessings  will  be  pronounced  on  the 
memory  of  those,  who  have  opened  to  these  refreshing  and  heal- 
ing waters  so  free  and  so  pleasant  a  course. 

These  considerations  I  lay  before  you,  not  to  extort  any 
thing  from  you,  as  against  your  wills,  by  mere  importunity; 
but  to  convince  you  of  what  I  hope  will  be  abundantly  sufficient 
to  engage  5'our  concurrence  in  the  design;  I  mean,  that  it  is 
eminently  calculated  for  extensive  usefulness.  I  wish  you  may 
heartily  join  in  it,  because  I  wish  your  present  happiness,  and 
your  future  comfort.  It  is  observable,  that  Avhen  our  blessed 
Redeemer  sent  forth  his  apostles,  as  sheep  among  wolves ,  he  gave 
them  this  consolation  in  the  midst  of  their  poverty  and  affliction, 
that  though  as  for  silver  and  gold  they  had  none,  they  should  be 
able  to  command  one  of  the  noblest  delights  which  riches  could 
purchase,  in  being  the  means  of  Healing  ike  sick  *.     This  was, 

•  Mat.  X.  8. 


The  Duty  of  Compassion  to  the  Sick.  J 1 1 

if  r  may  be  allowed  the  fiiniiliarity  of  the  expression,  one  of  the 
great  perquisites  which  he  pcnnitted  to  these  his  most  favourite 
servants  ;  that  their  hearts,  rendered  no  doubt  by  his  grace  ex- 
<]uisitely  sensible,  should  have  the  God-like  pleasure  of  beliold- 
ing  from  time  to  time  the  ciiecrful  countenances  of  those,  who 
liad  lately  been  among  the  most  lamentable  spectacles  of  humaa 
nature,  and  now  under  God  owed  their  health,  their  limbs,  and 
thcMr  Iiv(;s  to  them  ;  and  of  seeing  the  joy  of  families  and  neigh- 
bourhoods, made  happy  by  the  recovery  of  those  who  were 
dear  to  them.  I  wish  you,  my  brethren,  beloved  in  the  Lord, 
a  pleasure  something  like  this  of  the  apostles  ;  and  may  I  not 
add,  of  their  master  too,  so  far  as  a  diversity  of  circumstances 
will  admit.  And  it  is  not  onl}'  in  compassion  to  the  afflicted, 
but  in  the  overflowings  of  the  sincerest  friendship  to  you,  that  I 
go  on,  unnecessary  as  it  may  almost  seem,  in  the  conclusion  of 
niy  discourse, 

III.  To  touch  on  some  circumstances  peculiar  to  the  pre- 
sent season,  which  may  especially  recommend  this  scheme  to 
our  immediate  regard. 

And  here  it  is  obvious  to  think  of  the  war  in  whicli  we  are 
now  engaged,  of  the  mercies  of  the  harvest  which  we  have  lately 
reaped, — and  of  the  crisis  to  which  the  scheme  is  now  brought, 
■which  therefore  must  be  immediately  supported,  or  sunk  beyond 
all  probable  hope  of  future  recovery. 

1 .  The  consideration  of  the  war,  in  which  we  are  embarked, 
may  properly  be  introduced  as  what  should  have  some  weight 
with  us  on  this  occasion. 

This  should  engage  us  as  a  nation,  to  conduct  ourselves  in 
as  virtuous  and  pious  a  manner  as  possible  ;  as  the  most  probable 
way  of  drawing  down  the  divine  blessing  upon  our  arms  ;  Xow 
it  is  very  reasonable  to  suppose,  that  acts  of  pul)lic  charitv, 
being  in  their  own  nature  so  peculiarly  pleasing  to  the  gracious 
Father  and  Governor  of  the  universe,  must  have  a  great  tendency 
to  this.  An  ancient  Jewish  writer  expresses  this  in  terms  re- 
markably adapted  to  the  present  purpose:  "  Help  the  poor," 
says  he,  *'  for  the  commandment's  sake  •,  and  shut  up  alms,  as 
it  were,  in  thy  store-house  ;"  almost  as  if  he  had  said,  raise  hos- 
pitals for  mafrazines  :  "  And  it  shall  fight  for  thee  against  thine 
enemies,  better  than  a  mighty  shield,  or  a  strong  spear  ;"  that 
is,  than  any  kind  of  defensive  or  olTensive  armour.  Nav  au 
inspired  prophet,  when  giving  advice  to  him,  who  was  then  the 
greatest  monarch  upon  earth,  Nebuchadnezzar  king  of  Babvlon, 
expresses  himself  thus :   Oh  King,  let  my  counsel  be  acceptable 

O  3 


112  FOR  NORTHAMPTON   COUNTY   INFIRMARY.         SeR.  V, 

uyito  thee :  Break  off  thy  sins  by  righteousness ^  and  thine  ini- 
quities by  shewing  mercy  to  the  ■poor  i  if  it  may  be  a  lengthen- 
ing  out  of  thjy  tranquility  *. 

And  as  a  view  to  our  future  interest,  especially  in  this  nice 
conjuncture  of  affairs,  may  require  such  a  care  ;  so  it  will  be  a 
very  proper  expression  of  our  gratitude,  for  the  assistance  which 
God  has  lately  given  us.  The  victory  at  Dettingen  was  a  very 
remarkable  and  seasonable  appearance  of  providence  in  our  fa- 
vour, which  we  have  been  solemnly  acknowledging  again  and 
again  in  our  public  devotions.  Let  us  also  acknowledge  it 
in  our  actions.  Let  us  present  some  grateful  tribute 
toward  this  good  work,  as  a  thank-offering  to  him,  who  Giveth 
sahation  to  kings  f,  for  having  so  graciously  guarded  the  life, 
the  liberty,  and  safety  of  our  sovereign,  king  George.  Had 
The  breath  of  our  nostrils,  the  anointed  of  the  Lord,  been 
taken  in  the  snares  of  the  enemy :};,  And  our  glory  in  any 
sense  been  delivered  into  their  hand^,  expences  of  a  very 
different  nature  might  have  been  occasioned,  and  have  fallen 
upon  our  broken  spirits  with  a  very  afflictive  weight.  But  I 
Avill  not  dwell  on  so  melancholy  a  thought.  We  are  presenting 
our  daily  prayers  for  his  majesty's  security  and  prosperity, 
Avhile,  with  a  generosity  which  I  hope  our  nation  will  never 
forget,  he  is  Hazarding  his  life  for  us  in  the  high  places  of  the 
-field  II  •  Let  our  alms  rise  w-ith  our  prayers,  if  we  desire  they 
should  Come  up  as  a  grateful  inemorial  before  God*^. 

2.  The  mercies  of  the  harvest  ma}?^  likewise  properly  be 
mentioned,  as  rendering  the  charity  I  have  been  proposing  pecu- 
liarly seasonable. 

God  has  remarkably  appeared  for  us,  to  Crown  the  year 
•with  his  goodness  **,  and  to  load  the  earth  with  his  bounty ;  and 
he  has  added  this,  to  complete  the  favour,  that  he  has  reserved 
to  us,  in  as  agreeable  a  manner  as  we  could  ourselves  have 
wished.  The  appointed  weeks  of  the  harvest  ff.  More  season- 
able weather  on  such  an  occasion  has  not,  so  far  as  I  can  learn, 
been  known  in  the  memory  of  man  :  Seasonable  in  this  respect, 
that  as  The  bottles  of  heaven  have  been  so  restrained  XX)  that 
there  have  been  no  violent  rains  in  the  time  of  harvest,  to  sweep 
away  or  corrupt  the  fruits  of  the  earth  ;  so  for  several  of  the 
most  busy  and  important  days,  God  has  spread  his  cloud  over 
the  heavens,  so  as  to  shelter  the  reaper  in  the  midst  of  his  toil 
from  those  excessive  heats,  which  often  render  autumn  much 

*  Dan.  !r.  27.         +  Psal.  cxliv.  10.         J  Lam.  iv.  20.         §  P.sal.  Ixxviii.  61. 
II  Judg.  V.  18.         ^  Acts  X.  4.  **  Psal.  Ixv.  11.   ft  Jer.  v.  24. 

+J  Job  xxxviii.  37. 


The  Duty  of  Compassion  to  ilic  Sick.  1 1  ?> 

more  sickly  than  it  would  otherwise  be.  Since  then  God  hath 
made  such  provision  for  Satisfying  our  poor  with  bread  '^,  and 
for  preserving  oxn  hi;alth  too,  he  may  seem  thereby  to  call  upon 
you,  by  the  gentlest  voice,  to  give  him,  in  this  pious  work,  a 
part  of  that  substance  with  which  he  hath  replenished  you. 
And  surely  you  must  feel  yourselves  drawn,  as  by  the  cords  of  a 
waUy  to  lay  out  this  way  some  of  the  stores  which  he  has  with 
so  liberal  a  hand  poured  in  upon  you,  and  which  in  sparing 
your  health  he  has  both  spared  ajid  sweetened.  Honour  the 
Lord,  therefore,  xiHth  your  substance,  aiul  with  the  first-fruits  of 
all  your  increase  \  J  as  a  thankful  acknowledgment  of  what  he 
hath  already  done  ;  and  then  you  may  by  his  promise  be  en- 
couraged to  hope,  that  in  future  instances,  Your  barns  shall  be 
filed  with  plenty,  and  your  presses  burst  out  with  new  wine  [. 
Kwow,  my  fri(Mids,  tfuit  God  hath  given  you  your  corn,  and 
your  wine,  and  your  oil^,  and  hath  multiplied  3'bnr  wool  and 
your  flax  Lay  by  therefore  for  charitable  uses,  as  God  hath 
prospered  you  \\,  and  as  vou  hope  and  desire  he  should  prosper 
you  in  years  to  come  •  Otherwise  you  may  chance  to  have  cal- 
culated your  interests  very  wrong,  and  mify  find  to  your  cost, 
that  as  There  is  that  scatter tth,  and  yet  greatly  increaseth,  so 
there  is  that  withholdeth  more  than  is  meet,  but  it  tendeth  only 
to  poverty  %.     Once  more, 

3.  Let  me  plead  from  the  particular  crisis,  to  which  this 
affair  is  now  brought,  which  is  such,  that  it  must  be  deter- 
mined by  what  is  immediately,  or  at  least   quickly,   done. 

The  scheme  of  a  county  hospital  among  us  was  thought 
of,  and  hinted  at  long  ago ;  but  it  was  then  looked  upon  as  a 
thing  to  be  wished,  rather  than  attempted  and  hoped.  The 
attempt  is  now  courageously  and  vigorously  made,  and  no  in- 
considerable sum  has  already  been  subscribed  for  that  pur- 
pose :  And  Avhat  is  much  more  important  than  any  subscrip- 
tion yet  made,  many  of  the  nobility  and  gentry  of  the  county 
who  have  not  yet  ascertained  particulars,  have  declared  their 
approbation  of  the  general  design,  and  their  resolution  to 
favour  it.  It  is  greatly  for  their  honour  to  have  done  it,  and 
we  may  have  reason  to  bless  God  who  hath  put  it  into  their 
hearts  :  But  it  would  be  most  ungenerous  and  unreasonable, 
to  leave  the  whole  burden  upon  them.  It  is  the  general 
concurrence  of  the  inhabitants  of  this  county,  which  must 
give  the  greatest  strength,  stability  and  extent  to  the  scheme. 

*Psal.  cx-xxii.  15.  f  Prov.  iii.  9.  +  Prov.  iii.  10,  §  IIos.  ii.  8. 

II  1  Cor.  xvi.  3.  ^  Prov.  xi.  !2V. 


114  FOR    NORTHAMPTON    COUNTY    INFIRMARY.        SeR.  V. 

Let  me  therefore  intreat  your  cheerful  and  resolute  concurrence. 
Suffer  not  this  amiable  infant,  (if  I  may  be  allowed  the  expres- 
sion,) to  be  deserted,  and  die,  for  want  of  due  support  in  its  ten- 
derest  state;  nor  let  it  be  said,  in  Hezekiah's  words,  that  when 
brought  to  the  birth,  there  was  not  strength  and  assistance  to 
bring  itjorth^.  Lend  your  charitable  aid  now,  if  you  ever 
purpose  to  do  it  at  all ;  for  if  it  drop  now,  we  cannot  expect 
ever  to  see  it  revived  :  Since  the  defeat  of  this  attempt,  so  far 
advanced,  and  so  warmly  solicited,  will  be  looked  upon  as  a 
demonstration  to  many,  that  the  thing  cannot  be  effected ;  where- 
as it  is  most  evident,  that  if  it  miscarry,  it  must  not  be  charged 
on  providence,  but  on  ourselves.  Nothing  surely  can  prevent 
its  success,  humanly  speaking,  but  such  dispositions,  as  I  am 
tmwilling  on  this  occasion  so  much  as  to  name,  in  those  whq 
should  be  leaders  in  every  good  work. 

It  these  shameful  causes  should  prevail  to  frustrate  all,  we 
love  our  neighbours,  our  brethren,  and  the  public  too  well,  not 
to  lament  it.  But  let  us  at  least  have  so  much  regard  to  the 
credit  of  our  characters,  and  the  peace  of  our  consciences,  as  to 
shew,  that  it  fails  not  for  want  of  our  concurrence.  I  know,  it 
is  but  very  little  m  comparison  that  we  can  do.  We  are  by  no 
means  distinguished  for  our  wealth,  and  we  have  of  course  our 
burdens  and  expences  peculiar  to  us,  as  a  society  of  dissenters* 
Nevertheless,  let  us  judge  equitably,  as  to  what  we  are  able  to 
contribute,  and  let  us  do  it  cheerfully :  Rejoicing  in  this,  that 
■we  act  in  the  presence  of  a  most  gracious  and  merciful  father, 
w'ho.  Where  there  is  a  willing  7nind,  accepts  a  man  according  to 
what  he  hath,  and  not  according  to  what  he  hath  not  f. 

Let  not  therefore  any  of  the  poorer  part  of  mankind,  who 
often  have  as  generous  and  as  compassionate  hearts  as  any 
•which  are  to  be  found  on  earth,  be  discouraged,  because  they 
have  not  their  guineas,  or  even  their  crowns  to  give  on  this  no-. 
ble  occasion.  Were  great  numbers  to  join  their  smaller  contri- 
butions through  such  a  county  as  this,  it  would  swell  to  a  very 
considerable  sum.  And  which  is  the  most  agreeable  thought  of 
all,  each  would  have  his  part  in  the  honour  and  pleasure  of  doing 
something  towards  helping  forward  so  worthy  a  design.  And  I 
am  sure,  it  is  the  part  of  humanity  to  wish,  that  those,  who  move 
in  a  lower  sphere,  may  share  with  the  wch  and  great  in  such 
pleasures  as  these ;  though  they  cannot  in  many  others,  much 
more  expensive,  yet  not  equally  exquisite  and  refined.  The 
joys  of  liberalit}'^,  and  the  delights  of  benevolence,  were  intend- 

*  2  Kings  xix.  3.  f  2  Cor.  viii.  12^ 


The  Duty  of  Compassion  to  the  Sick.  1 1 3 

ed  by  the  great  author  of  our  nature,  like  the  hght  of  the  sun, 
to  be  the  portion  of  the  Avhole  species,  and  to  extend  themselves 
to  the  lowest  of  mankind. 

I  hope  therefore  that  all,  who  can  without  great  incon- 
venience to  themselves  and  their  families  afford  it,  will  do  some- 
thing to  promote  this  generous  scheme.  But  1  would  remind 
those  of  you  in  particular,  who  are  in  more  distinguished  cir- 
cumstances of  life,  that  you  are  in  the  sight  of  God  and  man 
obliged  to  distinguish  yourselves  in  the  various  exercises  of 
lib^'ralitv.  I  have  a  great  authority  to  warrant  me  to  do  it,  and 
1  think  it  one  of  the  truest  offices  of  friendship  which  a  minister 
can  perform  to  sucli,  to  Charge  them  that  are  rich  in  this  world , 
that  they  trust  not  in  uncertain  riches,  but  in  the  living  God; 
and  that,  as  they  desire  any  well-grounded  trust  in  him,  they 
practicall}'  acknowledge  him  as  the  great  Lord  of  all,  by  being 
r/c/i  in  good  works,  ready  to  distribute,  willing  to  co7nniunicate, 
so  laying  up  in  store  for  themselves,  a  goodfoundation  against  the 
time  to  come,  that  they  may  lay  hold  on  eternal  life  *.  And  if 
there  are  any  of  you  whose  riches  God  hath  lately  increased, 
either  by  causing  your  grounds  to  bring  forth  plentifully,  or  by 
giving  a  favourable  turn  to  the  commodities  in  Avhich  you  deal, 
or  by  any  other  methods  of  sudden  prosperity  ;  as  I  may  say  to 
you,  I  come  in  a  good  day,  so  I  should  think,  you  had  reason  to 
fear  that  ver}^  prosperity  were  a  curse,  and  might  be  the  means 
of  destruction  to  you,  if  you  did  not  feel  your  hearts  as  it  were 
melted  by  it,  and  disposed  to  flow  forth  in  the  streams  of  large 
and  cheerful  beneficence.  I  would  rather  hope,  that  God  has 
been  providing  an  easy  and  abundant  accession  for  this  public 
charity,  by  the  accession  he  has  been  making  to  your  capacity 
of  supporting  it. 

I  would  also  particular! 3'  beseech  those  of  you,  who  are  of 
tender  constitutions,  and  know,  by  your  own  frequent  ex- 
perience, the  calamity  of  illness,  to  pity  the  sorrows  you  have  so 
often  felt,  and  to  shew  a  readiness  to  relieve  the  poor  who  are 
labouring  under  them ;  as  you  desire  that  the  eye  of  mercy  may 
be  directed  toward  you, and  that  the  arm  of  God  mav  be  extend- 
ed for  your  support,  if  such  distresses  should  return  upon  you. 
And  I  hope,  any  whom  God  may  lately  have  raised  up  to  life ' 
and  health,  when  they  seemed  in  the  extremest  danger  of  he- 
\x\^  deprived  of  the  residue  of  their  years,  w\\\he^Y  how  loudly 
lie  calls  upon  them,  to  present  a  tliank-offering,  so  suitable  to 
the  nature  of  that  favour  which  they  have  received. 

♦1  Tim.  vi.  17—19. 
2 


116  FOR    NORTHAMPTON   COUNTY    INFIRMARY.        SeR.  V. 

To  conclude  all,  I  Avould  beseech  every  one  of  you  who 
hear  me  this  day,  both  high  and  low,  rich  and  poor  together, 
that  they  aid  this  good  work  by  their  prayers:  A  contribution, 
by  which  some  of  the  poorest  may  be  eminently  helpful ;  for 
such  are  often  peculiarly  Rich  in  faith*  y  and  high  in  the  favour 
of  the  King  of  heaven. 

And  may  he,  the  great  Patron  of  the  afflicted,  and  of  those 
that  pity  them,  say  Amen  to  our  united  petitions!  May  he  gra- 
ciously guide  the  minds  of  those,  who  are  concerting  the  scheme, 
and  ripening  it  for  fuller  execution !  May  he  open  the  hearts  of 
those,  who  shall  be  applied  to,  that  they  may  give  freely  and 
cheerfully,  in  full  proportion  to  what  he,  the  only  perfect  judge, 
certainly  knows  to  be  their  respective  abilities  !  And  may  he 
abundantly  reward  all,  who  from  worthy  principles  shall  assist 
in  so  excellent  a  Avork,  with  health  in  their  persons,  prosperity 
in  their  famihes,  peace  in  their  minds,  and  at  length,  through 
the  merits  and  grace  of  the  great  Redeemer,  with  an  eternal 
abode  in  that  world,  where  the  great  physician  of  souls  having 
fully  accomplished  his  healing  purposes.  The  inhabitants  shall 
not  say,  I  am  sick ■[!  Nevertheless,  the  grace  of  Charity  shall 
live  and  reign  there  J;  though  such  methods  of  expressing  it,  as 
I  have  now  been  recommending,  be  happily  superseded  :  Nor  is 
it  at  all  improbable,  that  some,  whom  we  have  for  a  few  days 
lodged  in  our  house  of  mercy  here,  may  there,  as  our  Lord  him- 
self expresses  it,  Receive  us  into  everlasting  habitations^.  Amen, 

*  James  ii.  5.        f  Isa.  xxxiii.  24,        %  1  Cor.  xiii.  S.        §  Luke  xvi.  9. 


1  KB 

ABSURDITY  AND  INIQUITY 


OF  PERSECUTION  FOR  CONSCIENCE-SAKE 

In  all  its  Kinds  and  Dtgvccs. 

CONSIDERED    IN    A    SERMON    PREACHED    AT    NORTHAMPTON. 


PREFACE. 


I  HE  emissaries  of  the  Roman  see  are  so  far  from  giving  up  their  cause  in 
tins  kingdom  as  lost,  that  the  most  distant  prospects  of  sucx'ess  produce  new 
and  vigorous  efforts  to  promote  it.  Some  time  since,  they  were  very  busy  in 
town,  and  in  many  places  in  the  country,  perverting  the  common  people, 
and  making  proselytes.  These  bold  steps  awakened  the  attention  of  those 
who  have  always  manifested  a  warm  and  disinterested  zeal  for  the  reforma- 
tion ;  and  gave  occasion  to  that  seasonable  attempt,  wliich  was  made  the 
last  year,  by  several  eminent  ministers,  in  a  Course  of  Lectures  at  Salters- 
Ilall,  to  prevent  the  growth  of  popery.  Our  fathers  beheld  that  mystery  of 
iniquity  with  abhorrence  and  terror;  but  the  present  generation  were  nol/6o 
well  acijuaiiited  with  its  fatal  tendency.  It  would,  therefore,  have  been  an 
inexcusable  neglect,  if,  while  the  enemies  were  sowing  tares,  the  servants  had 
slept,  or  had  not  faithfully  warned  the  rising  age  of  their  gross  errors  in 
doctrine,  and  of  that  superstition  and  idolatry  with  which  they  corrupt  and 
delile  the  christian  worship. 

I  observed,  with  pleasure,  that  those  sermons  met  witli  general  accep- 
tance, 'llie  vast  demand  for  them,  amongst  persons  of  a  different  taste  and 
education,  is  a  full  evidence  of  the  masterly  manner  in  which  tliat  important 
design  was  executed.  And  1  cannot  but  look  upon  it  ai  a  singular  happiness 
to  the  public,  that  the  work  fell  into  the  hands  of  men  who  understood  the 
true  principles  of  liberty,  and  steadily  pursued  them  through  the  whole  per- 
formance ;  which  has  not  always  been  tlie  case  of  those  who  have  gone  before 
them  in  that  controversy.  The  secular  powers  were  not  called  upon  to  inter- 
pose with  their  authority  ;  but  a  calm  and  sober  appeal  was  made  to  the  holy 
scriptures,  and  to  the  reason  of  mankind,  as  the  only  proper  judges  in  these 
debates. 

On  a  careful  perusal  of  the  following  discourse,  I  conceived  it  might  be 
of  service  to  publish  it ;  and  since  it  attacks  one  of  the  principal  bulwarks  of 
the  popish  usurpation,  I  apprehended  it  could  not  appear  with  greater  ad- 
vantage, than  as  an  appendix  to  the  above-mentioned  lectures,  if  my  worthy 
brethren  concerned  should  approve  of  it  in  that  view. 

It  has  been  the  great  unhappiness  of  many  protestant  dissenters,  that 
they  have  entertained  too  narrow  sentiments  of  the  right  of  private  judgment ; 

VOL.  III.  P 


^ ' ^  PREFACE. 

^vitllout  which  a  separation  from  an  establishment  can  never  be  rationally  de- 
ft-ndecJ.  The  writings  on  tiiat  argument,  in  which  the  question,  in  all  its 
circumstances,  is  examined,  are  so  large,  and  the  reasoning  so  abstracted,  that 
I  have  long  wished  for  something  more  immediately  calculated  for  popular 
use  :  and  so  much  the  rather,  as  pious  and  well  disposed  minds  have  been  too 
much  impressed  with  the  pretences  urged  to  justify  religious  severities,  without 
considering  the  consequences  to  which  they  lead. 

My  known  affection  to  the  author  may  perhaps  incline  some  to  con- 
clude, tliat  I  am  prejudiced  in  his  favour,  and  will  readily  recommend  every 
composure  which  he  offers  to  the  world:  but  so  far  as  I  am  capable  of  judg- 
ing ot  this  discourse,  it  is  the  best  I  have  ever  seen  on  the  subject  in  so  narrow 
a  compass;  the  case  of  persecution  is  so  clearly  stated,  the  absurdity  and 
iniquity  of  it  so  fully  exposed,  and  the  reasons  advanced  in  its  defence, 
especially  those  drawn  from  tlie  penal  laws  amongst  the  Jews,  are  so  well 
answered,  that,  I  am  willing  to  believe,  it  will  give  satisfaction  to  all  im- 
partial and  candid  readers. 

It  is  with  a  great  deal  of  concern,  that  I  have  taken  notice  of  some  un- 
wary expressions,  dropt  by  our  writers  of  the  last  age,  which  countenance 
restraints  inconsistent  with  toleration  in  its  largest  extent.  These  have  been 
industriously  collected  to  upbraid  and  condemn  us.  And  it  has  been  artfully 
and  maliciously  insinuated,  that  when  we  are  pleading  for  liberty,  we  are 
only  struggling  for  power  to  deprive  others  of  the  privileges  we  claim  for 
ourselves.  I  hope  tiie  ensuing  pages,  in  concurrence  with  that  ample  testi- 
mony which  has  been  borne  to  the  same  cause,  by  the  most  considerable 
persons  amongst  us,  will  silence  our  adversaries,  and  wipe  off  so  unjust  and 
invidious  a  reproach. 

D.  SOME, 
liarborough,  Feb.  17,  1735-6, 


The  Jniqiiiti/  of  Persecution.  119 


SERMON  VI. 


Luke  ix.  55,  hC.—But  he  turned,  mid  rebuked  them;  and  smd,ye  knov:  not  vJiut 
manner  of  Spirit  ye  are  of;  for  ttte  Son  of  Man  is  not  come  to  destroy  Men's 
Lives,  but  to  save  them. 

Ak  popcM-y  be  considered  in  a  religious  view,  it  must  appear  the 
just  object  of  our  contempt,  as  -well  as  our  abhorrence  ;  but  it 
■we  regard  it  as  a  political  contrivance,  to  gratify  the  avarice, 
and  ambition  of  the  clergy,  it  will  appear  very  artfully  adapted 
to  answer  that  end.  The  wisdom  of  the  serpent  eminently  pre- 
vailed, when  the  innocence  of  the  dove  had  long  been  lost.  Cun- 
ning ecclesiastics,  who  were  by  their  office  obliged  frequently 
to  converse  with  persons  imder  awakenings  of  conscience,  and 
serious  impressions,  laid  hold  on  that  opportunity  of  improving 
themselves  in  an  acquaintance  with  human  nature;  and  on  that 
foundation  they  gradually  formed  and  completed  a  scheme, 
dexterously  adapted  to  make  the  minds  of  their  people  easy,  by 
the  same  notions  and  forms  by  which  the  clergy  inriched  them- 
selves,  and  secured  that  temporal  dominion  and  grandeur,  tor 
which  they  were  contented  to  exchange  true  Christianity,  and 
to  make  merchandise  of  the  souls  conuiiitted  to  their  care. 

Some  of  these  principles  were  so  evidently  absurd,  that  the 
common  sense  of  mankind,  however  bribed  in  their  favour,  must 
often  have  risen  up  in  open  opposition  to  them,  had  freedom  of 
inquiry  been  allowed,  and  the  scriptures  been  left  in  the  hands 
of  the  people.  It  was  therefore  one  of  their  most  important  arti- 
fices to  take  away  that  key  of  knowledge,  and  to  put  out  that 
light  which  would  have  exposed  the  folly  and  wickedness  of  their 
conduct.  And  farther,  to  support  that  Babel  Avhich  must  other- 
wise have  sunk  under  its  own  weight,  the  powers  of  this  world 
were  brought  in,  and  its  rulers  taught  to  think  it  their  highest 
honour  to  emplov  their  sword  against  those  obstinate  miscreants 
who  were  disobedient  to  the  faith,  as  the  priests  thougiit  fit  to 
explain  it.  To  injure  the  weaker  part  of  their  subjects  hi  their 
religious  rights,  was  represented  as  an  ample  atonement  for 
violating  the  civil  liberties  of  them  all ;  and  thus  the  mouths  of 
gainsavers  were  most  easily  and  ctVettually  stopped.     From 

P2 


1*90        AT  NORTHAMPTON  ON  A  FIFTH  OF  NOVEMBER.        SeR.  VI. 

some  countries  the  reformation  was  utterly  excluded,  in  others 
it  was  stifled  in  its  very  infancv,  and  in  some  rooted  out,  after  it 
had  for  a  while  been  happily  advanced. 

This  is  undoubtedly  the  grand  bulwark  of  popery,  even  to 
this  very  day  ;  and  were  it  removed,  the  anathemas  of  the 
church  would  become  as  incapable  of  giving  terror,  as  they  are 
of  doing  any  real  mischief.  And  therefore  one  of  the  most  ef- 
fectual methods  which  can  be  taken  to  secure  and  promote  the 
reformation,  is  to  convince  men,  if  possible,  of  the  absurdity  and 
ini(juity  of  persecution  for  conscience-sake,  in  all  its  kinds  and  in 
all  its  degrees. 

This  is  what,  by  the  divine  assistance,  I  purpose  to  attempt 
this  day  ;  nor  could  we  at  any  time  more  properly  examine  the 
subject*;  since  it  is  to  the  repeated  deliverances  of  this  day, 
that  we  owe  our  exemption  from  those  usurpations  and  inhu- 
manities, which  would  have  deprived  us  of  the  liberty  of  argu- 
ing, or  even  of  complaining.  How  justly  the  church  of  Rome 
Ts  charged  with  persecuting  principles  and  practices,  you  have 
heard :  and  blessed  be  God  that  you  have  only  heard  it  f.  How 
absurd  those  principles,  and  how  criminal  those  practices  are,  I 
am  now  to  shew  you.  And  amongst  a  variety  of  scriptures, 
which  might  have  been  prefixed  to  such  a  discourse,  I  could 
think  of  none  more  proper  than  this  which  I  have  now  been 
reading. 

Our  Lord  was  now  going  up  to  Jerusalem,  at  one  of  the 
great  feasts  ;  probably  that  of  tabernacles  :  and  as  he  then  came 
from  Galilee,  he  thought  it  proper  to  pass  through  Samaria. 
This  was  the  directest  road,  which  it  was  then  perhaps  necessary 
for  him  to  take,  in  order  to  his  being  at  Jerusalem  in  due  time. 
You  well  know  that  in  this  country,  i,  e,  on  mount  Gerizim,  there 
was  a  temple  built  as  a  rival  to  that  on  mount  Zion,  to  which 
the  Samaritans,  who  after  their  way  kept  the  three  great  annual 
feasts  appointed  by  Moses,  were  probably  at  this  time  prepar- 
ing to  resort.  But  as  our  Lord  appeared  to  be  passing  by  this 
temple,  and  setting  his  face  towards  that  where  the  Jews  wor- 
shipped, these  bigotted  Samaritans  denied  him  the  common  rites 
of  hospitalit}^  and  would  not  suffer  him  and  his  attendants  so 

*  N.  B.  This  sermon  was  preached  November  5, 1735. 

f  N,  B,  This  particularly  refers  to  a  sermon  on  the  persecuting  principles  and 
practices  of  the  churcli  of  Rome,  with  which  the  author  had  concluded  his  course  of 
lectures  against  popery  last  year.  What  is  most  important  in  that  discourse  may 
be  seen,  with  much  s^reater  advantage,  in  Dr.  Grosvenor's  sermon  at  Salters-Hall,  on 
the  same  subject ;  wliich  is  full  of  tiiat  easy,  but  penetrating  and  convincing  elo- 
quence, of  which  he  is  so  eminent  a  master. 


The  Iniquity  of  Persecution.  121 

much  as  to  rcfrcsli  tliinnsclvc^s  at  any  of  their  inns  ;  \vhich  seems 
to  be  all  tin;  favour  they  now  asked.  This  was  indeeil  very  out- 
rageous and  inhumane  treatment,  and  the  apostles  James  and 
John,  ^vho  were  now  present,  resented  it  with  a  great  deal  of 
■warmth.  Full  of  zeal,  and  as  they  imagined  of  piety  and  of 
faith  too,  they  only  ask  leave  of  our  Lord  to  command  lire  from 
heaven  upon  these  unreasonable  and  wicked  men,  assuring  them- 
selves that  if  an  aftVont  offered  to  the  prophet  Elijah,  even  by 
the  express  comn)and  of  the  king  of  Israel,  were  once  and  again 
thus  severely  avenged,  the  artillery  of  heaven  would  be  3et  more 
ready  to  plead  the  cause  of  the  Son  of  God,  -when  thus  affronted, 
perhaps  by  some  of  the  meanest  of  the  people. 

How  far  they  Avould  have  extended  the  execution,  if  our 
Lord  had  favoured  their  motion,  we  cannot  certainly  say :  per- 
haps it  had  reached  farther  than  the  persons  from  whom  the  of- 
fence directly  came,  and  might  have  laid  the  whole  city  in  ashes. 
It  is  certain,  that  a  judgment,  inflicted  in  such  a  miraculous 
way,  would  have  been  less  liable  to  objection,  than  if  secular 
power  had  been  armed  on  the  occasion.  Yet  our  gentle  and 
compassionate  Redeemer,  far  from  indulging  their  request,  very 
faithfully  reproves  it,  and  expressly  says,  Ye  knoxv  not  what  man- 
ner of  spirit  ye  are  of ;  i.  e.  *'  You  neither  consider  the  dif- 
ference which  there  is  between  the  genius  of  the  Mosaic  and  the 
christian  dispensation,  nor  do  you  sufficiently  weigh  the  seci*et 
motives,  which  influence  you  on  this  occasion  ;  for,  if  you  did, 
you  would  see  there  is  something  of  pride,  and  personal  revenge, 
minghng  itself  with  your  zeal  for  God,  j^our  affection  tome, 
and  my  kingdom.  Your  proposal  is,  on  the  whole,  most  un- 
suitable ;  and,  as  such,  I  absolutely  reject  it.  For  the  son  of 
man  is  not  come  to  destroy  men^s  lives,  but  to  save  them.  The 
general  design  of  my  appearance  is  most  benevolent  and  gra- 
cious, and  I  am  determined  still  to  act  agreeably  to  it,  and  to 
exert  my  miraculous  power  in  works  of  kindness,  rather  than  of 
terror;  for  the  preservation  of  mankind,  and  not  for  their  de- 
struction." 

Now,  surely,  if  our  Lord  thus  severely  rebuked  his  disciples 
for  the  proposal  they  here  made,  he  would  have  censured  them, 
with  much  greater  displeasure,  if  they  had  talked  of  using  his 
interest  amongst  the  Jews,  to  raise  an  army  to  ravage  Samaria 
by  fire  and  sword  ;  and,  on  the  same  principle,  to  spread  desola- 
tion over  the  face  of  the  whole  earth,  wherever  they  and  their 
doctrine  had  not  met  with  a  favourable  reception.  The  artju- 
ment  urjred  in  the  text  would  have  concluded  against  this  with 


122         AT   NORTHAMPTON  ON  A  FIFTH  OF  NOVtM^ER.      SeR.  Vl. 

equal  and  superior  force:  The  son  of  man  came  not  to  destroy 
viol's  lives,  but  to  save  them. 

You  see  then,  how  properly  these  words  may  be  used,  to 
introduce  a  discourse  against  persecution  on  any  religious  ac- 
count: I  shall  therefore,  Avitliout  any  farther  preface,  go  on, 

I.  To  state  Avhat  I  apprehend  to  be  the  christian  doctrine 
on  this  head,  as  opposed  both  to  the  tenets  and  practices  of  the 
Romish  church,  with  regard  to  it. 

II.  To  shew,  by  some  plain  arguments,  the  absurdity  and 
iniquity  of  persecution,  for  conscience-sake. 

III.  To  answer  some  of  the  most  plausible  considerations 
which  have  been  urged  in  defence  of  it.     After  which  I  shall, 

IV.  Conclude  with  some  practical  improvements  of  the 
whole* 

I  should  abundantly  exceed  the  limits  of  a  single  discourse^ 
if  I  were  not  to  content  myself  with  a  few  short  bints  on  each  of 
these  heads,  which  have  furnished  out  copious  matter  for  several 
large  voUimes.  And  I  hope,  those  who  have  had  an  opportunity 
of  enquiring  most  accurately  into  the  subject,  and  of  perusing 
what  has  been  written  upon  it,  by  some  of  the  most  celebrated 
persons  of  our  age  and  nation,  will  not  be  displeased  wdth  such 
a  short  survey  of  what  seems  most  material  on  both  sides  tjie 
question.  And  it  may  be  highly  necessary  for  others,  who  have 
not  such  leisure  or  abilities,  and  who,  for  want  of  having  the 
matter  fairly  and  clearly  stated,  may  fall  into  sentiments  very 
in'iurious  to  the  honour  of  their  profession,  and  the  peace  of  their 
minds. 

I.  I  am  to  propose  what  I  take  to  be  the  christian  doctrine 
on  this  head ;  and  to  offer  some  previous  remarks  toward  stat- 
ing the  question  aright,  and  preventing  mistakes  which  often 
embarrass  it. 

I  say,  the  christian  doctrine,  lest,  if  I  call  it  the  protestant, 
any  should  question  the  propriety  of  the  expression.  It  is  in- 
deed too  plain,  that  our  first  reformers,  when  they  separated 
from  other  corruptions  of  the  Romish  church,  retained  this  un- 
happy principle  :  That  error  and  heresy  are  to  be  extirpated  by 
violence;  and  that  the  conduct  of  some  pious  princes  amongst 
the  Jews,  in  destroying  idolaters,  is  to  be  a  model  for  christian 
magistrates."  This  was  not  the  opinion  of  the  pious  Calvin 
alone,  whatever  pleasure  some  may  noAv  take  in  heaping  dis- 
tinguished infamy  on  him  ;  but  it  is  much  easier  to  make  a  large 
catalogue  of  those  in  England,  as  well  as  abroad,  who  maintain- 
ed this  tenet,  than  of  those  who  opposed  it.     Nor  indeed  can  we 


The  Iniquity  of  Persecution.  J23 

justly  wonder,  that  the  whole  system  of  truth  did  not  break  in 
upon  them  at  once.  We  have  great  reason  to  be  thankful,  that 
they  were  enabled  to  lay  such  a  foundation,  and  that  others,  ia 
succeeding  agt;s,  have,  in  any  measure,  raised  and  improved  the 
superstructure:  yet  I  will  not  presume  to  say,  that  all  protestants 
are  now  agreed  in  what  I  take  to  be  the  truth  here  ;  it  would  be 
much  for  the  credit,  and  nmch  for  the  interest  of  their  cause,  if 
they  were  :  and  we  ought  earnestly  to  pray,  tfiat  God,  by  his 
Spirit  of  goodness  and  love,  would  jmrge  out  the  remainder  of 
that  old  leaven,  which  still  sours  the  hearts  of  some.  But,  I 
persuade  myself,  I  am  about  to  represent  sentiments,  in  which 
multitudes  of  worthy  and  excellent  men,  of  all  parties  amongst 
us,  concur;  and  they  seem  to  be  breaking  in  on  men's  minds 
Avith  a  growing  light :  May  it  shine  more  and  more,  nutil  the 
perfect  day  !  The  protestant  doctrine  on  this  head,  so  far  as 
protestants  are  consistent  with  themselves,  seems  plainly  to  be 
this :  "  That  none  are  to  be  subjected  to  any  kind  or  degrees  of 
civil  penalties,  morel}'  on  account  of  their  religions  opinions,  or 
for  any  practices  arising  from  them,  if  those  practices  l)e  not 
detrimental  to  the  peace  of  society,  which  the  magistrate,  by  his 
office,  stands  engaged  to  preserve." 

We  readily  allow,  that  if  any  man's  religious  principles 
carry  him  on  to  any  actions  injurious  to  others,  in  their  persons 
or  properties,  he  is  to  be  restrained  and  punished,  as  any  other 
ollender  might  be.  Should  any  man,  for  instance,  offer  his  son 
as  a  sacrifice  to  Moloch,  he  would  justly  be  treated  as  a  murderer, 
notwithstanding  any  plea  of  conscience  which  he  miglit  pretend 
to  make.  For  the  magistrate  has  no  business  with  conscience, 
which  is  entirely  imder  the  jurisdiction  of  God,  but  nuist  never 
be  allowed  as  an  excuse  for  an  action  injurious  to  others;  for 
this  very  obvious  reason,  that  if  it  should  be  so  allowed,  there 
would  be  no  room  for  any  penal  laws  at  all,  and  consequently 
all  civil  government  would  be  overthrown.  For  a  bold  and  im- 
pudent malefactor  would  never  fail  to  have  recourse  to  this  easy 
and  unan-^werablc  apology,  il  his  judges  were  so  weak  as  to  ad- 
mit it.  Nor  can  we  indeed  imagine  any  blacker  villainies,  than 
those  which  some  have  pretended  to  commit  for  conscience-sake. 

We  likewise;  grant,  on  the  sanie  principle  as  before,  that  il 
any  man's  religion  necessarily  subject  him  to  the  obedience  of  a 
foreign  prince,  the  government  under  which  he  is  born  and  pro- 
tected, has  a  right,  by  the  grand  law  of  self-preservation,  to  in- 
sist on  some  more  than  ordinary  security  for  his  good  behaviour 
in  such  cir<:umstances.  And  this  is  evidently  the  case  ot  the  [)a- 
pists  amongst  us.     They  are  imder  such  obligations  in  conscience 


124         AT  NORTHAMPTON  ON  A  FIFTH  OF  NOVEMBER.        SeR.  VI. 

to  obey  the  pope,  and  to  submit  themselves  to  whatsoever  prince 
he  shall  see  fit  to  establish  here,  that  they  are  at  best  but  very 
precarious  subjects  to  that  royal  family  which  the  gracious  pro- 
vidence of  the  Almiohty  has  been  pleased  to  fix  on  the  throne  of 
these  nations;  esj)ccially  while  there  is  a  pretender  to  that 
throne  devoted  to  the  see  of  Rome,  and  espoused  by  it.  Justly 
therefore  may  the  present  government  insist  on  such  security 
from  them,  as  it  does  not  demand  from  other  subjects.  And  if 
in  consequence  of  this,  some  hardships  should  fall  on  a  few  peace- 
able and  well-disposed  persons,  who  are  too  wise  and  honest  to 
act  to  the  utmost  of  what  their  own  principles  would  warrant, 
it  must  be  borne  as  an  inconvenience  inseparable  from  present 
circumstances.  And  perhaps  it  is  an  inconvenience  less  than 
those  very  persons  might  suffer,  from  the  establishment  of  a  re- 
ligion so  oppressive  and  tyrannical,  as  popery  always  appears, 
when  it  comes  to  be  arrayed  with  the  robe  of  the  magistrate,  and 
armed  with  his  sword.  However,  it  is  a  pleasure  to  every 
good-natured  protestant,  to  think,  that  what  they  can  suffer  by 
the  laws  put  in  execution  against  them,  is  not  very  extreme ; 
and  that  they  suffer  this,  not  for  believing  transubstantiation,  or 
purgatory,  nor  for  praying  to  saints,  or  bowing  down  before 
images  ;  but  merely  for  acknowledging  the  supremacy  of  the 
Pope,  a  doctrine  so  hurtful  to  all  other  supreme  authority,  that 
it  is  amazing  all  the  princes  in  Europe  have  not  long  ago  re- 
nounced it  with  the  utmost  disdain. 

Allowing  for  such  cases  as  these,  which  are  not  properly 
exceptions,  we  still  maintain  our  proposition  in  its  utmost  extent ; 
and  assert,  that  unless  God,  the  searcher  of  hearts,  is  pleased  to 
interpose  by  a  special  revelation,  which  there  is  now  no  reason 
to  believe  he  will  ever  do,  taking  the  matter  on  the  principle  of 
human  reason,  or  of  the  christian  religion,  no  man  is  to  suffer 
the  least  degree  of  punishment,  either  in  his  person  or  property, 
on  account  of  his  religious  opinions,  or  of  any  practice  conse- 
quent upon  them,  which  is  not  an  overt  act,  plainly  inconsistent 
with  the  public  peace,  and  punishable  in  another  subject.  They 
who  are  for  a  toleration  limited,  as  good  Mr.  Baxter  used  un- 
happily to  express  it,  "  to  errors  which  are  not  quite  intoler- 
able ;"  and  would  have  such  punished  at  least  with  fines  and 
imprisonments,  if  not  Avith  greater  severities,  seem  not  to  be 
aware  of  the  consequences  of  their  OAvn  scheme:  and,  as  Dr. 
Owen  very  forcibly  speaks,  in  his  excellent  Treatise  of  Tolera- 
tion*, "  They  had  need  to  examine  their  light ;  for  their  tenet 

*  Which,  by  the  way,  goes  on  as  large  principles,  as  Mr.  Locke's  afterwards 
did,  and  contains  what  is  most  essential  in  the  controversy. 

3 


The  Iniquili/  of  Persecution.   ,  125 

must  lead  down  to  the  chambers  of  blood."  We  do  not  indeed 
pretend  to  suy,  tliat  the  Mat^istrate  is  obhged  to  make  such 
])rovision  lor  maintaining  and  accommodating  those  wh(nn  he 
apprehends  to  be  teachers  of  error,  as  he  may  for  those  who  are 
of  his  own  sentiments,  and  consequently,  whom  he  beheves  on 
the  side  of  truth.  This  would  be  carrying  matters  to  an  excess; 
hut  surely,  he  has  no  right  to  intiict  any  penalties  upon  them, 
nor,  in  any  degree,  to  abridge  them  in  those  liberties,  which 
})uacoable  subjects  are  entitled  to.  And  if  he  may  exclude  any 
Irom  such  places  of  civil  trust,  as  their  capacity,  experience  and 
iidelity  might  otherwise  qualify  them  for,  merely  because  their 
religious  persuasions,  and  their  modes  of  worship,  differ  from  his 
own,  it  is  upon  principles,  which  I  am  yet  to  learn  ;  nor  can  I 
perceive  at  present,  how  they  are  to  be  reconciled  with  those  of 
a  christian,  and  aprotestant. 

You  will  easily  imagine,  what  reason  I  had  to  be  thus  par- 
ticular in  stating,  and  in  guarding  my  proposition.     I  proceed, 

II.  To  offer  some  obvious,  but  important  considerations,  for 
the  proof  of  it. 

And  here  I  shall  particularly  shew,  that  persecution,  for 
conscience-sake,  in  all  its  kinds  and  degrees,  is  built  on  the 
absurd  supposition,  that  one  man  has  a  right  to  judge  for  another, 
in  matters  of  religion  ; — That  it  contradicts  the  grand  principle 
ofdoino-  to  others,  as  we  Avould  think  it  reasonable  they  should 
do  to  us  ; — That  it  is  by  no  means  calculated  to  answer  the  end 
pretended  to  be  aimed  at  by  it  ; — but,  on  the  other  hand,  tends 
to  introduce  a  great  deal  of  mischief  and  confusion,  and  to  over- 
throw truth  and  religion  in  the  world. — On  these  accounts,  it  is 
inconsistent  with  natural  rehgion ; — and  it  appears  from  the 
whole  tenor  of  the  christian  revelation,  that  it  is  most  contrary 
to  that. 

1.  Persecution  for  conscience-sake,  i,  e.  inflicting  penalties 
on  men,  merely  for  their  religious  principles  or  worship,  is 
plainly  founded  on  an  absurd  supposition,  that  one  man  has  a 
right  to  judge  for  another,  in  matters  of  religion. 

How  absurd  this  supposition  is,  has  been  fully  proved  at 
large,  by  many  excellent  writers  in  this  controversy  ;  and  you 
have,  no  doubt,  often  heard,  how  contemptibly  weak  those 
arguments  are,  by  which  the  Romish  church  would  appropriate 
this  right  to  itself.  Nevertheless,  absurd  as  their  pretence  to 
infallibility  is,  I  confess  there  is  much  more  consistency  in  the 
persecutions  of  those  who  claim  such  a  privilege,  than  of  those 
who  acknowledge  they  are  destitute  of  it.     Can  any  man,  with 

VOL.  III.  Q, 


126         AT  NORTHAMPTON  ON  A  FIFTH  OF  NOVEMBER.       SeR    VI. 

the  least  colour  of  reason,  pretend  that  I  have  a  right  to  judge 
for  m^'self,  and  j^et  punish  me  for  using  it  ?  That  is,  for  doing 
that  Avhich  he  acknowledges  I  have  a  right  to  do.  To  plead  for 
It,  would  be  a  direct  contradiction  in  terms.  And  if  it  should 
be  said,  as  some  have  most  weakly  asserted,  that  the  erroneous 
are  to  be  punished,  not  for  their  opinions,  but  for  their  actions 
inconsequence  of  those  opinions,  I  would  then  enquire,  for  what 
actions  ?  And  how  are  these  actions  condemned  ?  Not  on  ac- 
count of  their  tendency  to  disturb  and  annoy  the  public  ;  for 
that  case  has  already  been  excluded  from  the  charge  of  perse- 
cution :  and,  when  that  is  excluded,  I  repeat  the  question.  How 
are  those  actions  condemned  ?  Why,  the  persecutor  must  say, 
*'  I  know  them  to  be  contrary  to  the  divine  law."  But,  how 
do  you  prove,  that  j'-ou  are  not  mistaken  ?  If  you  allow  of  ar- 
gument on  the  head,  you  give  up  the  cause  of  persecution  so 
far.  If  you  wave  argument,  you  only,  in  eflPect,  say,  "The 
actions  are  wrong,  because  I  condemn  them;  i.e.  in  other  words, 
I  am  infallible,  I  am  to  judge  for  myself  and  you  ;  and,  by  a 
parity  of  reason,  for  all  the  world  besides."  And  who  might 
not  make  that  pretence  ?  Or,  how  should  it  ever  be  decided  but 
by  the  sword,  in  the  present  circumstances  ? 

2.  Persecution  is  most  evidently  inconsistent  with  that 
obvious  and  fundamental  principle  of  morality,  That  we  should 
do  to  others,  as  we  could  reasonably  desire  they  should  do  to  us. 

This  is  a  rule  which  carries  its  own  demonstration  along 
with  it ;  and  it  was  intended  on  purpose  to  take  off  that  bias  of 
self-love,  which  would  draw  us  aside  from  the  strait  line  of 
equity,  and  lead  us  to  be  partial  judges  between  our  neighbours 
and  ourselves.  Now,  I  would  ask  the  advocate  of  wholesome 
severities.  How  he  -would  relish  his  own  arguments,  if  they 
vere  turned  upon  himself!  What  if  he  were  to  go  abroad  into 
the  world,  amongst  papists,  if  he  be  a  protestant ;  amongst  ma- 
hometans,  if  he  be  a  christian  ?  Supposing  he  was  to  behave  like 
an  honest  man,  like  a  good  neighbour,  like  a  peaceable  subject ; 
avoiding  whatever  would  injure  and  provoke,  and  taking  all  op- 
portunities to  serve  and  oblige  those  about  him  :  -would  he 
think  that,  merely  because  he  refused  to  follow  his  neighbours 
to  their  altars,  or  their  mosques,  he  should  be  seized  and  im- 
prisoned, his  goods  confiscated,  and  his  person  condemned  to 
tortures,  or  death  ?  Undoubtedly,  he  would  complain  of  this  as 
a  very  great  hardship.  And  what  if  one,  Avho  heard  him  plead 
for  religious  severities  at  home,  were  to  remind  him  of  it,  would 
he  not  be  wounded  with  his  own  arrows  ?  What  could  he  an- 
swer ?  "  I  am  in  the  right  and  these  people  are  in  the  wrong.'* 


The  Iniquity  of  Persecution.  127 

Nay,  would  the  inquisitor,  or  tlic  Turk,  cry  full  as  loudly  as  he, 
**  But  we  are  in  the  ri^rlit :"  and  they  mii^ht  justly  add,  "  With 
Avhiit  face  can  you  complain  of  us,  for  treatintij  you  in  such  a 
manner,  as,  you  must  confess,  you  should  think  yourself  bound 
in  conscience  to  treat  >js,  if  Ave  were  in  your  power,  as  yon  are 
in  ours  r"  Sin-ely,  a  man  would  see  the  ahsin-dity  and  injustice 
of  such  a  treatment,  when  it  fell  upon  him  ;  when,  with  such  mea- 
sure as  he  had  meted  to  others,  it  was  measured  to  him  again. 
And  accordingly,  I  must  observe,  as  many  have  done,  that  the 
cflect  of  tliis  argument  is  so  cogent,  that  those  who,  when  they 
have  had  the  power  in  their  own  hands,  have  been  least  willing 
to  tolerate  others,  have  immediately  found  new  light  breaking  in 
upon  them,  as  soon  as  thev  have  needed  toleration  themselves. 

?).  Persecution  is  evidentl}'  absurd,  as  it  is,  by  no  means, 
calculated  to  answer  the  end  wliich  its  patrons  profess  to  intend 
by  it. 

I  say,  Avhich  they  profess  to  intend  :  for  if  the  priests  do 
really  intend  to  make  the  laitv  slaves,  that  they  may  exalt  their 
own  empire,  and  increase  their  possessions,  it  may  indeed  very 
probably  answer  that  end  ;  and  these  holy  men  may  make  them- 
selves fat  with  the  sin  and  plunder  of  the  peo[)le,  and  pvuxhase 
church-lands  with  the  price  of  their  blood.  But, to  save  appear- 
ances at  least,  they  profess  to  intend  the  glory  of  God,  and  the 
salvation  of  men  ;  for  so  you  know  the  forms  of  the  inquisition 
run,  ♦*  To  answer  to  sundry  questions  relating  to  their  s(ud's 
health,  as  well  as  the  correction  of  their  manners  and  excess." 
Now,  I  beseech  you,  let  it  be  seriously  considered,  how  perse- 
cution can  be  like  to  do  good  to  men's  souls. 

To  be  sure,  if  it  does  them  good  at  all,  it  must  be,  by 
making  them  truly  religious.  But  what  is  true  religion  ?  Is  it  to 
repeat  a  creed,  or  subscribe  a  confession,  to  wear  a  name,  or 
perform  a  ceremony  ?  If  it  be,  I  am  sure  religion  is  much 
changed  from  v.hat  it  was,  when  the  scriptures  were  writ : 
and  the  nature  of  God  must  be  entirely  changed  too,  before 
such  a  religion  can  be  acceptable  to  him,  or  before  it  can 
have  the  least  value  in  his  sight. 

True  religion  must  be  founded  in  the  inward  conviction 
of  the  mind,  or  it  is  impossible  it  should  be  what  yet  it 
must  be,  a  Reasonable  service  *.  And  pray  let  it  be  consi- 
dered what   violence    and    persecution  can  do,   towards  pro- 

*  Rom.  xii.  I. 

a  2 


128         AT  NORTHAMPTON  ON  A  FIFTH  OF  NOVEMBER.    SeR.  VI. 

ducing  such  an  inward  conviction.  It  cannot  to  be  sure  do  it 
immediately  by  its  own  power  ;  because  it  is  a  demonstration, 
that  will  at  the  same  moment  suit  both  the  parts  of  a  contra- 
diction. And  it  is  certain  a  man  might  as  reasonably  expect 
to  bind  an  immaterial  spirit  with  a  cord,  or  to  beat  down  a 
wall  by  an  argument,  as  to  convince  the  understanding  by 
threats  or  by  tortures.  They  may  indeed  make  a  man  mad, 
but  it  is  the  hardest  thing  in  the  world  to  imagine  how  they 
should  ev^er  make  him  wise. 

Not  immediately,  you  will  say  :  we  grant  that.  But  me- 
diately they  may  ;  as  by  these  severities  his  mind  may  be 
awakened  to  attend  to  arguments ;  thus  a  rational  conviction 
may  be  introduced :  and  The  rod  and  reproof  may  give 
ti'isdom  '*.  But  T  confess  I  cannot  see  how  a  man  is  the  more 
likely  to  judge  of  an  argument  because  he  hears  it  on  the 
rack,  or  because  he  sees  the  lash,  or  perhaps  the  sword  over 
his  head,  and  trembles  lest  he  should  not  believe  it.  Far 
from  opening  the  mind  to  fair  conviction,  methinks  it  should 
rather  prejudice  a  man  against  it ;  as  it  would  give  him  some 
aversion  even  to  a  draught  otherwise  agreeable,  to  have  it  forced 
down  by  such  methods  as  a  drench  is  given  to  a  horse.  There 
is,  if  you  will  pardon  the  expression,  a  kind  of  an  elasticity  in 
the  human  mind  ;  and  the  more  violently  it  is  pressed  down  and 
bent,  the  more  forcibly  does  it  endeavour  to  expand  itself  again. 
But  if  this  were  to  be  put  out  of  the  question,  we  may  depend 
upon  it  that  none  will  ever  have  the  better  opinion  of  any  re- 
ligion because  it  makes  its  professors  very  bad  men  ;  and  so  they 
will  undoubtedly  think  their  persecutors  to  be. 

Nay,  indeed,  I  should  rather  think  that  if  they  were  pretty 
well  satisfied  in  the  religion  of  their  country  before,  the  very 
thought  of  its  being  defended  and  obtruded  on  others  in  this 
brutish  and  unnatural  way,  Avould  be  enough  to  raise  some 
secret  suspicions  to  its  disadvantage  f  :  Suspicions  which  per- 
haps might  prevail,  and  impress  the  mind  more  strongly,  \vhere 
men  were  not  allowed  to  give  any  vent  to  them  ;  or  even  to 
propose  their  doubts,  lest  it  should  be  looked  upon  as  a  crafty 
■way  of  insinuating  their  heresies,  and  should  be  a  word  spoken 
against  their  estates,  or  perhaps  against  their  lives.  On  the 
whole,  as  you  have  often  been  told,  persecution  is  much  more 
likely  to  make  men  hypocrites  than  sincere  converts.     They 

*  Prov.  xxix.  15. 
f  If  there  be  on  earth  a  way  to  render  the  most  sacred  truth  suspected, 
ii  is  supporting  it  with  threats,    and  pretending  to  tenifv  men  into  the  belief 
of  it.  Shafts.  Char.  Vol.  III.  p.  107. 


The  Iniquity  of  Persecution.  1 29 

may  perhaps,  if  they  have  not  a  firm  integrity,  aiul  heroic 
courage,  change  tlieir  prolcssion,  wliile  they  rttain  tlieir  senti- 
ments ;  and,  supposing  tiiem  before  to  have  been  unwarily  in 
the  wrong,  may  learn,  I  will  not  say,  to  barter  away  honesty  for 
truth,  though  that  were  a  traffic  which  no  wisen)an  would  covet, 
but  rather  to  add  falsehood  and  vilhiiny  to  error,  ilow  glo- 
rious a  prize  after  all !  es{)ecially,  when  we  consider,  at  what 
an  expence  it  is  gained.     Which  leads  me  to  add, 

4.  That  persecution  evidently  tends  to  produce  a  great 
deal  of  mischief  and  confusion  in  the  world. 

It  may  truly  be  said,  where  persecution  is,  and  that  zeal, 
and  rage  which  is  inseparable  from  it.  There  is  confusion,  and 
every  evil  uorfc  *.  It  is  mischievous  to  those  on  uhom  it  falls, 
and  in  its  conscque-uces  mischievous  to  others  too  ;  so  mis- 
chievous, that  one  would  wonder,  that  any  wise  princes  should 
ever  have  admitted  it  into  their  dominions  ;  or  that  they  should 
not  iuunediately  banish  it  thence.  This  follows,  in  part,  from 
"what  I  said  under  the  former  head  of  my  discourse  ;  even  where 
it  succeeds  so  far,  as  to  produce  a  change  in  men's  forms  of  wor- 
ship, it  generally  makes  them  no  more  than  hypocritical  pro- 
fessors of  what  they  do  not  believe  ;  and  this  must  imdoubtedly 
debauch  their  characters  :  so  that  having  been  villains  in  one 
respect,  it  is  very  probable  they  will  be  so  in  another ;  and 
liaving  brought  deceit  and  falsehood  into  their  religion,  they 
will  easily  bring  it  into  their  conversation  and  commerce. 

This  effect  persecution  will  have  where  it  is  yielded  to. 
In  other  respects,  it  will  be  yet  more  immediately  and  appa- 
rently mischievous  where  it  is  opposed.  And  it  is  probable  it 
will  be  often  opposed,  by  those  who  have  certainly  a  title  to 
the  greatest  protection  and  favour  of  the  government  ;  I  mean 
upright  and  conscientious  men.  An  honest  mind,  zealous 
for  what  it  apprehends  to  be  the  cause  of  truth,  and  animated 
by  the  thoughts  of  the  divine  presence  and  protection,  will 
learn  to  say  of  bonds  and  imprisonments,  and  even  of  tortures, 
as  St.  Paul  did,  None  of  these  things  move  me,  in  such  a  cause, 
neither  count  I  my  life  dear  unto  me  ■\.  As  Mr.  Boyle  very  justly 
and  finely  expresses  it:j::  *'  Personal  sufferings,  which  a  well- 
meaning  man  undergoes  for  his  conscience,  are  but  such  a  kind 
of  burden  to  his  mind,  as  feathers  to  an  eagle  or  a  falcon  ;  which 
though  in  themselves  considered  they  have  a  weight,  in  the 
situation  in  which  they  are  placed  about  him,  enable  him  to 
soar  towards  heaven,  and  to  reach  a  height  which  makes  him 

*  James  iii.  16.  f  Acts  xx.  24.  %  Occas.  Medit.  p.  147. 

3 


130        AT  NORTHAMPTON  ON  A  FIFTH  OF  NOVEMBER.     b£R.  Vl. 

praised  and  -wondered  at  by  beholders."  Nay,  perhaps  where 
there  is  no  true  religion,  a  native  sense  of  honour  in  a  generous 
mind  may  encourage  it  to  endure  some  hardships  for  the  cause 
of  truth;  not  to  say  that  sometimes  on  the  principles  Ave  hinted 
above,  "  Obstinacy  may  rise  as  the  understanding  is  oppressed, 
and  continue  its  opposition  for  a  while,  merely  to  avenge  the 
Ciiuse  of  its  injured  liberty  *." 

And  it  is  farther  to  he  remembered,  that  where  the  perse- 
cution is  not  very  extreme,  and  sometimes  even  where  it  is, 
spectators  are  brought  to  judge  more  favourably  of  the  cause 
thus  violently  opposed,  when  they  observe  the  fortitude  with 
which  the  patrons  of  it  endure  hardships  and  sev^erities,  from 
which  they  might  otherwise  deliver  themselves  at  so  easy  a  rate. 
Thus  Tertullian  boasts  to  Scapula,  under  all  the  butcheries  he 
exercised  at  Carthage  ;  "  Our  sect,  says  be,  is  built  up  by  your 
endeavours  to  destroy  it.     The   very  sight  of  our  patience  in 
snffcrings  awakens  men's  consciences  to  encjuire  into  the  cause 
of  it ;  and  that  enquiry  leads  them  to  discover  the  truth,  and  em- 
brace it,  even  though  it  expose  them  to  the  same  sufferings  f ." 
This  made  the  blood  of  the  martyrs,  what  it  was  so  often  called, 
the  seed  of  the  church.     And  something  of  the  same  spirit  has 
appeared  in  succeeding  ages.     Now  in  proportion  to  the  degree 
in  which  a  prohiinted  religion  spreads,  persecution  must  spread 
and  propagate  itself,  and  its  desolations.     And  at  this  rate,  if 
the  persecution  be  severe,  as  it  must  be  in  order  to  a  A'ictory, 
how  many  persons,  how  many  families,  must  be  undone  by  it  ? 
For  it  is  apparent,  that  in  many  instances  what  one  suffers  for 
the  case  of  his  conscience,  draws  ruin  on  a  family,  perhaps  on 
many  families  dependent  on   him,    wherein   some  may  hardly 
know  their  right-hand  from  their  left.     I  might  also   mention 
the  encouragement  hereby  given  to  informers,  who  generally 
in  such  cases  are  the  vilest  and  most  infamous  of  mankind  :  and 
might   discourse  copiously  on     the  animosities  hcreb)^  raised 
amongst   neighbours, on  the  discouragement  of  honest  industry', 
and  the  injury  done  to  trade  and  commerce  |.     But  I  rather 

*  Ludolph's  Ethiop.  p.  55S. 

f  Nee  t^men  deficiet  ha;c  sccta  quam  tunc  magis  aadificari  scias  cum  caedi 
videtur.  Quisque  enim  tantam  tolcraiitium  spectans,  ut  aliquo  sorupulo  percussus 
&  inquirere  accenditur,  quid  lit  in  causa,  &  ubi  cognoverit  veritatcm,  &  ipse  statim 
sequitur.— Tert.  ad  Soap,  ad  fin. 

I  I  doubt  not  but  on  this  occas-ion  many  of  my  readers  will  recollect  that  the 
Dutch  were  some  of  the  first  protestant  states  which  allowed  a  universal  tolera- 
tion; to  which,  as  Sir  William  Temple  most  justly  observes,  "  they  owe  the  con- 
tinued and  undisturbed  peace  of  their  government,  and  the  mighty  increase  of  their 
people ;  wherein  will  appear  to  consist  chiefly  the  vast  growth  of  their  trade,  and 
riches  j  and  consequently,  the  strength  and  greatness  of  their  state." 

Temple's  Netherl.  C.  v.  p.  208. 


The  Iniqidt}/  of  Persecution.  131 

cbuse  to  refer  these  ami  many  more  calamities,  vhich  stream 
forth  iVom  this  bitter  t'ountuin,  to  your  own  reflection,  wliich 
may  easily  enlarge  on  the  melancholy  sul)|ect. 

NoAv  when  so  much  must  be  sacrificed  to  public  orthodoxy 
and  uniformity,  who  can  wonder  ifsuch  a  degree  of  oppressi(JH 
make  a  wise  man  mad,  and  force  multitudes  mto  desperate  mea- 
sures, most  destructive  to  the  conununity  ?  Who  can  wonder  if 
an  injured  and  persecuted  jjeople  rise  up,  I  will  not  say  in  re- 
bellion, for  it  deserves  not  that  infamous  name,  but  in  a  just  and 
generous  vindication  of  their  liberties  ;  and  even  when  the  event 
is  most  hazardous,  chuse  rather  to  die  warm  with  their  swords  in 
their  hands,  than  to  perish  perhaps  by  the  artificial  cruelties  of 
a  lingering  execution,  or  to  starve  in  the  darkness  and  solitude 
of  a  dungeon  ? 

How  many  wars,  and  how^  great  confusions  have  by  this 
means  arisen  in  Great  Britain,  Ireland,  France,  Germany,  the 
Low  Countries,  and  various  other  places,  even  since  the  opening 
of  the  reformation  ;  it  is  not  for  a  few  moments,  or  indeed  a  few 
hours,  to  recount.  But  I  take  it  for  granted,  that  few  of  you 
arc  entirely  unacquainted  with  these  things,  which  make  up  one 
of  the  most  instructive,  though  at  the  same  time,  the  most  me- 
lancholy parts  of  histor3\  As  the  consequence  of  all,  it  has 
generally  been  found  both  at  home  and  abroad,  that  ecclesiastical 
and  civil  tyranny  has  been  either  established  or  expelled  to- 
gether;  and  that  wherever  this  dragon  has  kept  its  seat,  it  has 
devoured  the  glory  of  the  land  around  it,  and  heaped  infamy  and 
misery  on  its  inhabitants.  It  has  marked  its  way  by  desolations  ; 
so  that  one  may  well  apply  to  the  bands  of  persecutors,  what 
Joel  says  of  the  armies  of  locusts  and  caterpillars,  when  the 
country  is  Like  the  garden  of  Eden  before  thevh  it  is  behind  them 
a  desolate  wilderness  - .  And  surely  were  not  the  remainder  of 
their  wrath  to  be  restrained,  religion  and  truth  would  be  buried 
in  the  ruins.     Which  leads  me  to  add, 

5.  The  christian  religion,  which  we  here  suppose  to  be  the 
causeof  truth,  must,  humanly  speaking,  be  not  only  obstructed 
but  destroyed,  should  persecuting  principles  universally  prevail. 

Let  us  for  argument's  sake  suppose,  what  I  am  sure  we  have 
no  reason  to  believe,  that  in  some  particular  countries  it  might  be 
a  means  of  promoting  and  establishing  the  purity  of  the  gospel, 
yet  it  must  surely  be  a  great  impediment  to  its  progress.  What 
■wise  prince,  who  was  a  heathen  or  a  mahometan,  would  cvcx 
admit  christian  preachers,  if  he  knew  that  it  was  a  principle  of 

*  Joel  ii,  3. 


132  AT  NORTHAMPTON  ON  A  FIFTH  OF  NOVEMBER.      SeR.  VI. 

their  religion,  that  as  soon  as  the  majority  of  the  people  were 
converted  by  arguments,  the  rest,  and  himself  amongst  them,  if 
he  continued  obstinate,  must  be  proselyted  or  extirpated  by  fire 
and  sword  ?  Surely  if  this  were  known  to  be  the  case,  the  se- 
cular power  would  at  once  seize  on  such  missionaries  as  public 
enemies,  and  condemn  the  whole  sect  on  this  single  tenet,  what- 
ever their  other  doctrines  or  precepts  might  be. 

Nay  farther,  if  it  be,  as  the  advocates  for  persecution  ge- 
nerally suppose,  a  dictate  of  the  law  of  nature,  that  the  true 
religion  is  to  be  propagated  by  the  sword,  then  it  is  certain  that 
a  mahometan  or  an  idolater  with  the  same  notion,  supposing 
himself  to  have  truth  on  his  side,  as  no  doubt  many  of  them  do 
suppose,  and  also  admitting  the  principle  we  contest,  must  think 
himself  obliged  in  conscience,  if  he  have  an  opportunity  to  do 
it,  to  arm  his  powers  for  the  extirpation  of  Christianity.  Thus  a 
holy  war  must  commence  over  the  face  of  the  whole  earth,  in 
which  nothing  but  a  miracle  could  render  christians  successful 
against  so  vast  a  disproportion  in  numbers.  Now  I  think  it  hard 
to  believe  that  to  be  a  truth,  which  would  naturally  lead  to  the 
extirpation  of  truth  in  the  world ;  or  that  a  divine  rehgion  should 
carry  in  its  bowels  the  principle  of  its  own  destruction. 

If  these  reasonings  be  admitted,  then  persecution  will  by  the 
light  of  nature  appear  so  absurd,  so  unjust,  and  so  mischievous  a 
tiling,  that  it  ought  to  be  rejected  Avith  abhorrence  ;  unless  it 
should  be  warranted  and  required  by  a  divine  revelation,  which 
had  such  degrees  of  evidence  as  should  be  sufficient  to  over- 
balance that  strong  objection  against  it,  which  would  arise 
from  the  consideration  we  have  now  been  urging.  But  on  this 
head  we  need  have  no  apprehension,  for  I  am  to  shew  you, 

6.  That  persecution  is  so  far  from  being  required,  or  en- 
couraged by  the  gospel,  that  it  is  most  directly  contrary  to 
man}^  of  its  precepts,  and  indeed  to  the  whole  genius  of  it. 

A  mahometan  may  perhaps  prove  from  his  Alcoran  *,  that 
the  true  faith  is  to  be  propagated  by  the  sword,  and  that  here- 
tics and  unbelievers  are  lo  be  cut  off  or  made  tributary  ;  but  if  a 
christian  plead  in  favour  of  persecution,  while  he  has  his  New 
Testament  in  his  hand,  in  an  intelligible  language,  he  must  be 
condemned  out  of  his  own  mouth.  It  is  condemned  by  the 
example  of  Christ,  Who  "went  about  doing  good  ft  who  came  not 
tQ  destroy  merHs  lives  but  to  save  them  :  who  waved  the  exercise 
of  his  miraculous  power  against  his  enemies,  not  only  in  this 
instance  in  the  text,  but  even   when  they  most   unjustly  and 

*  Alcoran,  Cap.  2,4,  5j  ad  pass.  f  Actsx.  38. 


The  Iniquity  of  Persecution.  133 

fcruelly  assaulted  him*;  and  never  exerted  it  ia  one  single  in- 
stance that  we  read  of,  to  iiiHict  death  or  any  corporal  punish^ 
nient  even  on  tliose  who  had  ahnost  justly  deserved  it  :  iiis 
doctrine  also  as  well  as  his  example  has  taught  us,  to  be  harm- 
less as  doves,  to  Love  oar  enejuiesy  to  do  good  to  them  that  hate 
xis,  and  to  praj/ /or  than  that  dcspitcfuUy  use  us  and  persecute 
usf.  And  will  a  maxim  like  that  allow  us  to  persecute  others  ? 
When  Peter  desired  leave  to  smite  with  the  sword,  though  drawn 
in  so  just  a  cause,  Christ  commanded  him  to  Put  it  up  in  its 
sheath  again  | ;  and  he  declared  before  Pilate,  that  His  kingdom 
was  not  of  this  'Xorld  §  ,■  which  he  expressly  mentions  as  a  reason 
why  he  did  not  arm  secular  power  to  plant  or  to  defend  it. 

As  for  the  apostles  they  declared,  agreeably  to  the  ex- 
ample and  precepts  of  their  master,  that  the  power  they  had 
received  was  For  edification  and  not  for  destruction  \\,  that  The 
•u'eapons  of  their  xcarfare  were  not  carnal^.  And  that  the  servant 
of  the  Lord,  the  christian  minister,  was  not  to  strive,  but  in  meek' 
iiess  to  instruct  those  who  opposed  themselves  **.  They  inculcat- 
ed it  as  of  the  highest  importance,  that  religion  must  be  a  Rea^ 
sonable  service-^^^  and  that  Bodily  exercise^  which  is  the  utmost 
persecution  can  extort,  profited  but  little  XX,  and  was  a  thing  of 
a  most  ditlerent  nature  from  true  godliness.  That  the  strong 
ought  to  bear  with  the  ijifirmities  of  the  weak  ^.  And  in  a  word, 
that  christians  must  in  the  whole  of  their  conversation  be  Ilann^ 
iess,  as  well  as  holy  and  undefded,  in  the  midst  of  a  crooked  and 
perverse  generation,  shining  aynongst  them,  by  these  amiable 
examples,  as  lights  in  the  world,  and  so  hoiiX  forth  the  word  of 

You  well  know,  that  these  passages  are  but  a  little  specimen 
of  those  which  might  be  produced  on  such  an  occasion.  Most 
prudently  therefore  do  the  popish  clergy  wrest  the  New  Testa- 
ment out  of  the  hands  of  their  people,  before  they  venture  to 
arm  them  with  a  sword,  to  destroy  others  for  their  religious 
ophiions. 

These  are  the  principal  arguments  against  persecution 
which  have  occurred  to  my  mind.  You  easily  see  thev  are 
chicHy  pointed  at  high  severities;  but  if  you  consider  them  at- 
tentively, you  will  hnd  that  they  proportioiublv  conclude  against 

*Johnviiii.  6.  tMat.v.44.  +  Jolui  xviii,  11.  §  John  Y>Ui.  3o. 

li 2  C.r.  X.  8.  •yo  Cor.  x.  4.  ♦* 2  Tim.  ii.  24,  2 i.      ff  »«»•  Sii-  1. 

;tlTim.  iv.  3.  §^R(ia.  xv.  I.  ||!|  Phil,  ii.  15, 16, 
VOL.    111.  R 


J  34-        AT  NORTHAMPTOK  ON  A  FIFTH  OF  NOVEMBER.       SeR.  Vl. 

every  degree  of  it,  not  excepting  the  lightest  pecuniary  fines, 
or  civil  incapacities.     I  am, 

III.  To  touch  on  the  chief  arguments  -which  are  urged  in 
defence  of  penal  Jaws  enacted  ior  the  pretended  security  and 
advunceiiient  of  rehgion. 

Persecution  is  so  harsh  and  so  infamous  a  word,  that  few 
■^vill  defend  it.  Bftt  under  this  milder  name  they  maintain  the 
thing,  by  pleading  the  glory  of  God  and  the  good  of  mankind, 
{sacred  prostituted  names)  the  penal  laws  of  the  Jewish  constitu- 
tion, and  a  few  tortured  passages  of  the  New  Testiiment;  which 
one  would  think  mentioned  to  expose  the  cause,  rather  than 
seriously  to  serve  it. 

1 .  The  glor}'  of  God  is  generally  pleaded  as  an  apology 
for  persecution. 

The  time  is  come,  when  those  that  slay  his  servants  are  sup- 
posing they  offer  him  an  acceptable  service.  "  God,  say  tliey, 
is  the  God  of  truth;  and  therefore  the  cause  of  truth  is  his 
Cause;  and  the  magistrate,  who  is  in  his  sphere  the  Minister  of 
God^i  is  to  be  a  Nursing  Father-]-  to  his  churrh,  and  to  point 
the  sword  he  has  received  from  him  against  those  impious  per- 
sons, who  will  no  otherwise  be  restrained  from  perverting  the- 
tight  ways  of  the  Lord!''' 

Now  it  is  most  evident,  this  is  taking  for  granted  the  in- 
nocence and  morality  of  the  thing  in  the  general,  as  Avell  as  the 
infallibility  of  the  magistrate,  or  of  the  priest,  whose  executioner 
he  must  be.  But  if,  as  we  have  endeavoured  to  prove  above, 
persecution  in  general  is  contrary  to  the  light  of  nature  and  to 
the  christian  revelation,  it  must  be  great  impiety  to  pretend  to 
consecrate  it  to  the  dii  ine  glory.  And  a  man  might  on  the  same 
principle  lie  and  plunder,  or  even  murder  his  neighbour,  could 
lie  but  persuade  liimself  that  God  uould  be  honoured,  as  the 
trutli  might  be  promoted  by  it,  and  take  it  for  granted  that  the 
goodness  of  the  end  must  sanctify  the  badness  of  the  means, 
J'aul  evidently  determines  the  matter  otherwise,  when  he  intro- 
duces a  man  as  excusing  his  own  lie,  by  its  tendency  to  promote 
the  truth  of  God;  and  overrules  th^itplea  by  observing,  that  if  it 
were  allowed,  we  might  Do  evil  that  good  may  come.  Which  he 
aqcounted  so  abominable  a  maxim,  that  hesaj's  that  the  damna" 
iionofsucJi  isjustX- 

Yet,  after  all,  if  the  preceding  arguments  were  to  be  waved, 
and  we  were  to  begin  our  enquiry  with  examining  what  would 
be  most  for  the  glory  of  God,  and  the  advancement  of  truth,  I 

*  Horn.  xiii.  4.  f  Isa.  xiix.  23.  J  Rom.  iii.  8, 


The  I niiiuity  of  Persecution.  135 

am  fully  persuadod,  that  persecution,  instead  ofhelntr  establish- 
ed, must,  on  this  foundation,  be  exploded,  and  condemned.  For, 
not  to  repeat  what  I  said  above,  of  the  improbability  of  fixing 
anv  rational  conviction  by  this  means;  it  is  plainly  a  dishonour 
to  truth,  and  therefore  to  God,  to  suppose,   that  it  needs  the 
supports  of  secular  terrors,  and  that  its  enemies  must  be  sup- 
pressed by  violence.     We  then  SanctiJ)j  the  Lord  our  God  in 
our  hearts,  wlien  we  arc  ready  to  give  an  answer  to  those  that 
enquire  into  the  foundations  of  our  religion,  and  our  hope,  with 
meekness  and  fear*;   and   uhen   we  use  those   methods  witU 
others,  which  are  likely  most  ettectually  to  engage  them  to  ren- 
der him  a  rational  service.     But  when  we  drag  men  to  his  altars, 
as  unwilling  victims,  and  attem))t  to  bind  them  otherwise  than 
With  the  cords  of  a  man,  and  the  bonds  of  love  \ ,  he  may  surely 
reject  our  forward  and  officious  zeal,  as  an   affront ;  and  say, 
JVho  has  required  these  things  at  your  hands  X?   The  same  answer 
Avill,  in  a  great  measure,  serve  for  the  second  plea  in  favour  of 
persecution:  whichis, 

2.  That  it  may  tend  to  promote  the  happiness  of  mankind. 
If  we  will  believe  those,  who  have  sometimes  a  crocodile's 
tear  to  shed  over  those  whom  they  arc  devouring,  all  the  se- 
verity they  use  to  men's  bodies,  is  in  mere  mercy  to  their  souls. 
But  it  is  hard  to  say,  how  this  can  be  an  argument  for  putting 
them  to  death,  in  what  they  call  a  damnable  error ;    as  an  ill- 
natured  man  may  call  any  error,  and  an  inquisitor  must,  of 
course,  call  that  which  he  makes  capital.     I  know  they  will  an- 
swer, it  is  for  the  good  of  others,  that  they  may  be  deterred 
from  the  like  pestilent  heresy.     But  1  endeavoured  to  shew  be- 
fore, that  such  a  course  was  much  more  likely  to  prejudice  and 
to  exasperate,  and  to  debauch  men's  minds,  than  to  recover  or 
secure  them.     And  here  their  most  plausible  answer  is,  that 
though  it  should  be  granted,  that  the  iirst  converts  of  violence 
are  insincere,  yet  at  least  succeeding  generations,  being  educat- 
ed in  the  bosom  of  the  church,  and  the  forms  of  the  true  reli- 
gion, mav  ( ordially  imbibe  it,  even  to  their  everlasting  salvation. 
A  rich  equivalent,  as  some  may  think,  for  the  present  incon- 
veniences  to  others !    But  I  see  not  that  we  can  be  obliged  to 
introduce  so  much  confusion  and  misery  in  our  own  days,  out  of 
regard  to  posterity,  any  more  than  to  burn  up  the  produce  of 
our  own  fields  and   plantations,  that  the  ashes  may    meliorate 
the  soil,  and  render  it  more  fruitful  to  those  that  come  after  us. 

*  1  Peter  iii.  15.  t  n«s.  xi.  4.  X  '^»-  »•  ^'• 

H2 


13(5        AT  NORTHAMPTON'  ON  A  FIFTH  OP  NOVEMBER.      SeR.  VI. 

If  such  an  expedient  were  not  like!}-  to  answer,  even  that  end, 
it  illustrates  the  subject  so  much  the  more.  For  we  may  natural- 
ly  expect  to  find,  in  the  hearts  of  children,  a  deep  resentment 
of  the  wrong  done  to  their  parents,  and  even  to  their  remoter 
ancestors:  nor  is  it  any  uncommon  case  at  all,  for  an  aversion  or 
attachment  to  particular  notions  and  forms,  to  prove  hereditary; 
especially  when  young  persons^  so  exceedingly  jealous  of  tljeir 
libert}',  as  at  their  age  they  are,  apprehend  a  religion  to  be 
forced  upon  them,  contrary  to  that  which  their  ancestors  bravely 
defended,  at  tlie  expence  of  their  estates  and  their  lives ;  or 
•^vhich  they  unwiilingl}'  seemed  to  renounce,  for  the  preservation 
of  them.  It  is  exceeding  probable,  that  the  penal  laws,  by 
"which  idolatry  Avas  imposed  on  the  Jews,  in  some  years  of  the 
Babylonish  captivity,  might  contribute  greatly  to  give  them 
that  aversion  to  it,  which  has  been  transmitted  through  so  many 
following  ages.  And  the  contempt,  which  both  the  Spaniards 
and  Portuguese  put  on  those  whom  they  call  new  christians, 
that  is,  whose  ancestors,  mostof  tliem  above  two  hundred  j'ears 
ago*,  were  obliged,  by  violence,  to  profess  christianit}'^,  seems 
plainly  to  intimate,  that  they  secretly  suspect  them  to  be  Jews 
or  Mahometans  in  their  hearts,  as  many  of  themselves  declare 
themselves  to  be,  when  they  escape  into  a  land  of  liberty  f 

Yet,  perhaps,  many  of  more  pious  dispositions,  and  more 
tender  tempers  than  those  of  whom  I  have  been  now  speaking, 
may  be  ready  to  plead,  that  unlimited  toleration  will  leave  room 
for  writing  and  publishing  the  most  pernicious  books;  whereby 
the  principles  of  young  and  unexperienced  minds  may  easily  be 
corrupted,  and  heresy  and  profaneness  introduced  into  the  rising 
generation;  and,  with  it  that  licentiousness  of  practice,  which 
generally  attends  such  an  apostacy  from  the  truth. 

I  acknowledge,  that  the  plea  seems  to  have  a  considerable 

*  The  Moriscos  were  expelled  Spain,  A.  D.  1792,  and  the  inquisition  erected 
about  four  yoars  after. 

•f-  It  is  very  remarkable  to  this  purpose,  that  Orobio  the  jew,  in  liis  conference 
with  Limborcl),  freely  acknowledges,  That,  in  Spain  and  Portugal,  all  the  monaste- 
ries and  nunneries  are  full  of  jews  :  that  many  canons,  inquisitors,  and  bishops, 
keinc:  descended  from  Jewish  parents,  are  still  jews  in  their  hearts  :  though,  for  tem- 
poral advantacres,  they  profess  to  be  christians.  Some  of  tliese,  he  says,  repent,  and, 
iftlieycan,  escape  into  other  countries  ;  of  which  he  himself  was  one  2  who  con- 
fesses, he  had  often  complied  with  the  idolatries  of  the  place. — Ego  qui  toties  miser 
jrenua  Baali  flcxi,  peccatum  meum  ego  recorder,  &c,  Jud.  Script.  Test.  No.  4.  p. 
inc.  And  Tjmborch  afterwards  declares,  that  Orobio  had  himself  owned,  that  tJie 
Jews  in  Spain  are  taught  by  their  parents,  that,  in  order  to  escape  the  inquisition,  it  is 
lawful  to  profess  Christianity,  wliile  they  deny  it  in  their  hearts  ;  and  to  confirm  tiiat 
profession  by  s;\earing  on  the  cross,  and  by  eating  swine's  flesh,  &c.  Limb.  Rcsp. 
ad  Scrip.  III.  Cap.  V.  p.  178. 


The  Ijiiquiiy  of  Persecution.  137 

weip^lit;  but  I  desire  it  may  be  seriously  examined,  whether  the 
mischief  of  such  a  restraint  be  not  yet  greater  tiian  the  advan- 
tiiges  of  it  ?  Might  not  the  most  excellent  and  useful  writings  of 
the  best  men  be  suppressed  on  this  principle  ?  Nay,  is  it  not  on 
this  principle,  that  the  bible  itself  is  prohibited  in  popish  coun- 
tries ?  Some  inconveniences  arise  from  every  imaginable  con- 
stitution ;  it  is  the  part  of  wisdom  to  choose  that  wiiich  is  attend- 
ed by  the  fewest  and  the  least,  and  to  apply  the  most  proper  re- 
medies to  them.  If  toleration  be  abused,  as  the  moans  of  sow- 
ing tares  amongst  the  wheat,  let  it  teach  all,  and  especially 
those  who  have  the  care  of  young  persons,  to  be  so  much  the 
more  watchful  over  their  charge,  to  keep  them  out  of  the  way  of 
infection,  or  to  furnish  them  with  proper  antidotes  against  it. 
But  let  not  those,  who  would  approve  themselves  the  patrons  of 
truth,  act  as  if  they  thought  religion  such  a  scandalous  cause, 
that  it  must  suffer  by  the  freedom  of  inquiry,  and  could  only  be 
safe  under  the  covert  of  darkness. 

On  the  whole,  lot  the  friends  of  the  truth  fairly  propose  its 
evidences,  and  shew  its  influence  too,  by  the  candor  of  their 
temper,  and  the  benevolence  and  usefulness  of  their  lives  ;  and 
if  its  enemies  raise  objections,  as  against  what  cause  may  not 
objections  be  raised  ?  Let  us  give  them  a  fair  consideration,  and 
endeavour  to  expose  the  sophistry  and  weakness  of  them,  in  a 
plain,  rational  and  convincing  manner,  in  the  spirit  of  meekness 
and  serenity.  We  may  then  hope,  through  the  concurrent  in- 
fluences of  divine  grace,  that  the  souls  of  men  will  be  established, 
even  by  the  attempts  made  to  pervert  them  ;  and  that,  in  ano- 
ther sense  than  the  apostle  originally  intended  the  phrase.  The 
trial  of  that  faith,  which  is  far  more  precious  than  the  purest 
gold,  fu'liich,  in  succeeding  ages,  perishes  and  wears  out,  though 
it  have  been  tried  in  the  fire)  will  be  found  to  praise  ayid  glory  *. 
And  if,  Avhich  may  very  probably  be  the  case,  some  who  will  ea- 
gcrl}'  listen  to  every  objection  against  the  truth,  will  not  have  the 
patience  to  hear  or  examine  its  defence,  we  must  leave  them  to 
the  final  judgment  of  Him,  who  searches  the  hearts,  and  tries  the 
reins  oi  the  children  of  men  f.  With  so  dishonest  a  temper, 
a  name,  or  a  form,  whatever  it  had  been,  could  have  done  them 
but  verv  little  good.  It  is  impossible  for  us  to  save  men  against 
their  own  wills:  and  I  cannot  see,  that  it  will  be  any  part  of 
christian  charity,  to  put  out  their  eyes,  or  tie  up  their  hands,  lest 
tbey  should  use  them  to  the  injury  of  themselves  or  others. 

If  any  should  pretend,  that  we  are  to  punish  heretics,  and 

*  1  Pet.  i.  7.  f  Jer.  xi,  20.     Rev.  ii.  23. 


133         AT  NORTHAMPTON  ON  A  FIFTH  OF  NOVEMBER.     SeR.  VI. 

infidels,  that  we  may  not  make  ourselves  partakers  of  other 
men's  sins,  and  draw  down  the  judgments  of  God  on  the  nation 
in  which  we  live  :  I  answer,  that  this  argument  so  evidently 
takes  it  for  granted,  that  persecution  is  for  the  glory  of  God, 
and  will  be  a  proper  expedient  for  promoting  the  true  religion, 
that  what  I  have  said,  under  the  former  heads,  is  an  abundant 
answer  to  it.  I  shall  not  therefore  enlarge  on  this  as  a  distinct 
topic,  but  proceed  to  another  of  much  greater  importance. 

3.  The  most  plausible  argument,  in  favour  of  the  doctrine 
we  oppose,  is  taken  from  the  penal  laws,  which  made  a  part  of 
the  Jewish  constitution. 

It  is  urged  here,  that  God  did,  in  the  strongest  terms,  ex- 
pressly appoint,  that  all  who  taught  or  practised  idolatry  amongst 
the  Jews,  should  be  punished  with  death*;  and  that  many  se- 
vere executions  were  accordingly  done  on  this  statute  :  not  only 
by  the  prophet  JEltjah-f,  an  extraordinary  divine  messenger, 
but  likewise  by  Jehu  X,  and  Josiah  §,  and  other  princes  amongst 
them  II  ;  who,  far  from  being  censured,  were  applauded  and  re- 
warded on  this  account. 

If  we  answer  here,  as  we  most  easily  and  naturally  do,  that 
the  merciful  genius  of  the  christian  dispensation  is  so  different 
from  the  rigour  and  severity  of  the  Mosaic  law,  that  no  argument 
can  be  drawn  from  the  one  to  the  other  ;  it  is  pleaded,  that  this 
will  at  least  serve  to  overthrow  the  greater  part  of  our  discourse, 
which  was  intended  to  prove  the  natural  absurdity  and  immo- 
rality of  persecution  ;  unless  we  will  allow,  Avhat  surely  no  chris- 
tian can,  that  a  natural  immorality  was  made  an  essential  part 
of  a  divine  institution. 

It  will  be  proper,  therefore,  to  examij^  this  matter  a  little 
more  largely  ;  which  I  shall  the  rather  do,  because  I  think  it  has 
seldom  been  handled  with  the  accuracy  which  it  requires.  No\t, 
I  apprehend,  the  solution  of  this  difficulty  will  depend  on  con- 
sidering, on  the  one  hand,  the  limitations  attending  these  penal 
laws  ;  and,  on  the  other,  the  peculiar  circumstances  of  the  Jews, 
to  whom  they  were  given. 

1.  Let  us  consider  the  limitations  which  attended  these 
penal  laws. 

They  affected  only  the  inhabitants  of  the  land  of  Canaan ; 
and  animadverted  only  on  some  overt  act,  whereby  they  pub- 
licly declared  a  revolt  from  God  to  idols. 

There  was  no  commission  given  to  the  Jews,  to  arm  them- 
selves for  the  propagation  of  their  faith  amongst  their  heathen 

*  Deut.  xiii.  6,  18.  f  l  Kings  xviii.  40.  %  2  Kinjs  x.  25. 

§  2  Kings  xxiii,  20.     '  |(2  Kings,  xi,  18. 


The  Iniquiti/  of  Persecution.  J  39 

noiglibours  ;  nor  wus  there  any  express  law,  to  pursue  any 
Israelite  with  tlie  sworil,  wlio  settling  among  idolaters  in  foreiga 
countries,  should  contorm  to  the  religion  of  them.  'I'hough, 
for  reasons  afterwards  to  be  mentioned,  his  part  in  the  land  (jf 
Israel  would  undoubtedly  have  been  forfeited.  And,  it  is  far-- 
tlier  to  be  remembered,  tliat  even  with  regard  to  the  inhabitants 
themselves,  the  law  only  took  eognizance  of  some  overt  act  of 
revolt.  Had  God  given  a  large  confession  of  faith  to  the  Jews, 
to  every  article  of  which  he  had  required  them,  on  some  high 
penalties,  to  subscribe  their  assent,  a  much  stronger  objection 
against  what  I  have  advanced  would  have  arisen  Irom  such  a 
constitution.  But  this  was  so  far  from  being  the  case,  that  the 
Sadducees,  erroneous  as  tbey  were  in  some  of  the  most  important 
articles  of  natural  as  well  as  revealed  religion,  were  not  only 
tolerated,  but,  without  any  direct  violation  of  the  Mosaic  law, 
were  frecjuently  promoted  lo  offices  of  high  dignity  and  au- 
thority. Now  there  is  a  most  evident  diHerence  between  a  law 
thus  limited,  and  an  universal  allowance  of  religious  severities, 
to  Jews  or  others,  in  any  such  circumstance  as  they  should 
tliink  fit.  And,  Avere  the  particular  reasons  ever  so  unknown, 
the  former  might  be  allowed,  as  consistent  with  the  divine  per- 
fections, without  laying  a  foundation  to  infer  that  the  latter 
might  be  so.  As  there  was  an  apparent  dili'erence  between 
God's  requiring  Abraham  to  sacrifice  Isaac,  and  his  publishing  a 
general  declaration,  allowing  any  parents  whatsoever  to  sacrifice 
their  children,  whenever  they  should  suppose  that  the  glory  of 
God,  and  the  interest  of  religion,  would  be  advanced  by  it. 
Thus  the  limitation  of  these  penal  laws  destroys  the  argument 
•which  might  be  drawn  from  them,  in  favour  of  persecution  in 
general.  And,  if  it  still  appear  a  difficulty,  that,  even  with 
these  limitations,  they  should  be  enacted,  I  hope  the  point  may 
be  yet  more  fully  cleared  up,  by  considering, 

2.  The  peculiar   circumstances    whci'eby    the  Jews   were 
distinguished  from  all  other  people. 

Now  here,  the  extraordinary  discoveries  which  God  made 
of  himself  amongst  them,  and  the  peculiar  manner  in  which  he 
stood  related  to  them,  as  their  king,  concur,  both  to  vindicate 
the  equity  of  the;  huws  in  question,  and  to  prove  that  no  reason- 
able consequence  can  be  drawn  from  them,  in  iavour  of  perse- 
cution, in  any  other  nation  upon  earth. 

It  is  surely  of  some  inqjortance,  to  recollect  the  extraordi- 
nary' discoveries  which  God  had  made  of  himself  to  them, 
though  the  whole  stress  of  the  point  does  not  lie  here.  The 
miracles  which  he  hud  wrought  amongst  them,  in  order  to  prove 


140       AT  NORTHAMPTON  ON  A  FIFTH  OF  NOVEMBER.      SeR.  VI, 

his  Deity,  and  tlie  vanity  of  idols,  were  of  the  most  awakening 
and  convincing  nature  ;  and  these  were  not  only  delivered  to 
them  by  credible  report,  as  they  are  now  delitercd  to  us  ;  but 
God  was,  from  age  to  age,  raising  up  prophets,  Avith  a  power  of 
renewing  these  wonders  before  their  eyes.  Nay,  he  had  inter- 
woven into  their  constitution,  certain  periodical,  and  most  ex- 
tensive and  obvious  miracles,  not  only  in  the  extraordinary 
fruitfulness  of  every  sixth  year,  when,  after  the  ground  had  been 
exhausted  in  the  five  preceding  years,  the  poorest  harvest  must 
naturally  have  been  expected ;  but,  also  in  the  safety  of  their 
borders,  though  surrounded  with  enemies,  when  all  the  males 
Avere  gone  up  to  worship,  even  in  the  very  heart  of  their  coun- 
try, as  they  were  obliged  to  do  three  times  in  the  year,  between 
the  beginning  of  March,  and  the  end  of  September ;  which  is 
the  most  proper  time  for  armies  to  be  abroad. 

Now,  God,  the  searcher  of  all  hearts,  might  know,  that 
nothing  but  obstinate  and  incorrigible  wickedness  could  make  a 
man  an  idolater,  in  such  circumstances  as  these.  And  conse- 
quently, he  might  righteously  condemn  him  to  death,  and  ap- 
point his  fellow-creatures  to  execute  the  sentence.  But  no  argu- 
ment can  be  drawn  from  thence  for  inflicting  the  like  punish- 
ment on  another  person,  who  is  not  as  expressly  sentenced  by 
the  divine  law,  and  whose  opportunities  of  better  knowledge  are 
not,  and  cannot  be  entirely  the  same. 

But  it  is  farther  to  be  considered,  as  of  the  utmost  weight 
in  the  present  argument,  that  God  also  stood  in  a  peculiar  rela- 
tion to  the  people  of  Israel,  as  he  was  their  temporal  king,  as 
well  as  their  God.  Tlieir  government,  as  you  well  know,  was 
different  from  that  of  all  other  nations :  it  was  indeed  aTheocracy, 
as  Josephus  very  justly  calls  it;  their  whole  system  of  civil  laws 
being  enacted  by  God,  and  their  magistrates  appointed  by  him. 
And  when  they  came  to  have  kings,  as  other  nations  had,  yet 
even  these  kings  were  to  be  considered  but  as  the  viceroys  of 
God :  as  appears  by  their  being  obliged  to  transcribe  his  law, 
when  they  begun  their  reign  ;  to  consult  his  oracle  on  all  ex- 
traordinary exigences  ;  and,  from  his  interposing  in  various  cases 
both  in  Judah  and  Israel,  to  transfer  the  crown  from  one  person 
and  famil}',  to  another. 

Now,  in  consequence  of  this  peculiar  system  of  govern- 
ment, God  thought  it  proper,  as  it  apparently  Avas,  to  annex 
certain  temporal  privileges  to  tlicir  obedience  to  him  ;  and  they 
held  their  estates,  and  possessions  in  the  fine  country  they  inha- 
bited, not  by  one  absolute  donation  to  them,  and  their  heirs  for 
ever ;  but  tlu'ough  succeeding  generations,   as  tenants  to  thg 


The  Iniguiti/  of  Persecution.  141 

crown,  upon  an  express  condition  of  certain  homages  to  be  paid 
to  God,  as  the  great  })roprietor ;  renouncing  all  dependance 
xipoii,  and  all  subjection  to  any  of  his  competitors.  Now  it  was 
plainly  equitable,  that,  as  the  counterpart  of  these  advantages, 
they  should  be  subjected  to  some  peculiar  temporal  punishments ; 
if,  while  they  claimed  these  privileges,  they  falsified  that  allegi- 
ance which  was  the  condition  of  them ;  in  which  case  they  suf- 
fered, not  merely  as  idolaters,  but  as  traitors. 

I  will  further  add,  that  as  God  was  determined,  in  the  course 
of  his  providence,  to  send  national  judgments  upon  them,  in  case 
of  a  national  revolt  to  idolatry,  which  he  accordingly  always 
did,  it  was  a  merciful  as  well  as  just  severity,  thus  to  animadvert, 
upon  the  first  appearances  of  this  aggravated  crime,  to  wliich 
they  were  strongly  inclined;  and  by  which,  if  it  prevailed 
amongst  them,  they  must  be  universally  undone. 

But,  as  all  these  circumstances  were  peculiar  to  the  Jews, 
I  hope  you  are,  by  this  time,  fully  convinced,  that  it  is  most 
absurd  to  draw  an  argument  in  favour  of  religious  severities  in 
general,  from  the  penal  laws  of  the  Mosaic  institution*.  I  have 
been  so  large  on  this  head,  that  I  must  only  hint  at  those  weak 
and  contemptible  arguments  which  are  brought, 

4.  From  some  abused  passages  in  the  New  Testament. 

And  indeed  I  should  hardly  mention  them,  but  to  expose 
them;  and  to  shew  to  what  wretched  straits  ingenious  and  in- 
terested men  must  be  brought,  when  they  Avill  condescend  to 
make  use  of  such  arguments  :  for,  after  all,  to  their  shame  1  must 
say,  the  cliief  texts  which  I  find  produced  for  their  purpose,  by 
popish  writers,  are  two;  which  I  am  persuaded,  a  wise  and 
honest  man  mijrht  have  read  a  thousand  times  before  he  had  ever 
dreamt  of  such  a  consequence  from  them.  Christ  gave  Peter 
a  commission  to  feed  his  sheep  f;  and  that  must,  say  some,  im- 
ply a  power  in  the  church,  and  especially  in  the  pope,  as  the 
head  of  it,  to  kill  wolves,  that  is,  heretics.  As  if  an  argument, 
from  this  figurative  expression,  to  so  distant  a  circumstance, 
could  be  allowed  against  such  strong  evidence,  both  of  scripture 

*  I  have  not  mentioned  the  argument  w  hich  some  have  brought  from  Job's  say- 
in^',  that  idolatry  is  a  •j.'ickrdnrss  to  be  punished  by  the  jitdf^e,  Job  xxxi.  28.  because  it 
in  so  evident  that  Job  speaks  unadvisedly  with  his  lips,  in  some  instances,  as  he  him- 
self owns,  Job  xl.  3— 8.  xhi.  3 — 6.  And  1  think,  if  we  grant  there  were  in  his  days 
siwh  a  law  in  Arabia,  as  made  idolatry  capital,  it  can  never  bo  proved  of  divine  in- 
stitution from  these  words,  any  more  than  it  can  be  argued  from  Judah's  sentence 
against  Taniar,  Gen.  xxx\iii.  24,  that  there  was  theu  a  divine  law  for  executin' 
women  while  they  were  big  with  cbilS. 
tJohnxxj.  15—17. 
VOL.  III.  S 


143       AT  NORTHAMPTON  ON  A  FIFTH  OF  NOVEMBER.      SeR.  VI. 

and  reason.     But  I  must  do  them  the  justice  to  say,  their  grand 
argument  is  behind  :  and  it  is  couched  in  those  words,  Compel 
them  to  come  in*.     But,  what  compulsion  and  violence  must 
be  offered  to  these  words,  before  they  will  be  of  any  service  in 
the  cause  of  persecution  !   How  often  have  they  been  told,  that 
this  relates  only  to  friendly  importunity,  like  that  which  the  dis- 
ciples used  to  engage  Christ  to  spend  the  evening  with  thenri  at 
Emmaus,  when,  as  the  evangelist  expresses  it,  They  constrained 
kimf?  And  how  absurd  it  would  be  to  suppose  servants  sent 
out  with  sword  in  hand  to  force  in  guests  to  an  entertainment, 
I  think  you  will  easily  apprehend  X,     Another  argument  a  little 
more  specious  than  either  of  these  might  be  brought  from  the 
corporal  punishments  inflicted  on  blasphemers  in  the  apostle's 
times  §,  but  it  is  to  be  considered  that  these  were  the  effects  of  a 
miraculous  power,  and  consequently  had  a  proper  tendency  to 
convince  the  understanding  of  the  sufferers  and  spectators,  of  the 
divine  mission  of  those  with  whom  the  hand  of  the  Lord  thus  re- 
markably was.     It  is  therefore  most  absurd  to  talk  of  substitut- 
ing the  power  of  the  magistrate  instead  of  these  extraordinary 
penalties,  unless  the  magistrate  can  inflict  them  the  same  way  ; 
and  then  we  will  acknowledge  they  merit  not  the  name  of  perse- 
cution, but  come  under  that  singular  exception  which  we  ad- 
mitted in  the  beginning  of  the  discourse. 

I  have  the  pleasure  to  assure  you  that  these  wretcbed  argu- 
ments, or  rather  empty  shadows  of  argument,  are  the  most  ma- 
terial which  I  have  seen  produced  from  the  New  Testament  in 
favour  of  religious  severities.  It  is  the  glory  of  that  sacred 
book,  that  it  affords  no  better  arguments  in  so  infamous  a  cause. 
And  I  cannot  forbear  observing,  that  the  silence  of  the  New 
Testament  on  this  head  is  a  strong  argument  against  persecu- 
tion, and  would  have  been  so,  had  the  apostles  omitted  the 
many  passages  before  quoted,  in  which  they  seem  directly  to 
oppose  it. 

I  know  it  may  be  said,  the  sacred  writers  did  not  advise  the 
primitive  christians  to  use  violence,  because  their  religion  was 
then  in  its  infancy,  and  they  had  no  power  in  their  hands.  Yet, 
one  would  imagine,  that  if  the  apostles  would  have  approved 

*  Luke  xiv.  23.  f  Luke  xxiv.  29. 

X  I  think  the  word  avayxa^w  occurs  but  nine  times  in  the  New  Testament, 
Mat.  xiv.  22.  Mark  vi.  45.  Luke  xiv.  23.  Acts  xxvi.  2.  xxviii.  19.  2  Cor.  xii. 
31.  Gal.  ii.  3, 14.  vi.  12.  It  is  only  in  the  4th  and  5th  of  these  places,  that  it  can 
refer  to  the  use  of  secular  power.  Tla^uSta^ofjLai  is  used  twice,  Luke  xxiv.  29. 
Acts  XTi.  15.  and  in  both  those  places  can  signify  no  more  than  friendly  importunity. 
§ActsT.  5,  10.    xiii.  11.     1  Cor.  v.  13.     1  Tim.  i.  20. 


The  Iniquity  of  Persecution.  1 43 

themselves  honest  men  on  the  scheme  we  oppose,  they  should 
have  laid  in  some  directions  for  future  times,  and  have  instruct- 
ed christians  in  the  use  of  their  secular  power,  when  it  was  ob- 
tained ;  as  the  Jews  were  particularly  directed  in  the  manage- 
ment of  theirs.  Especially  since  this  is  a  case  in  which  the 
wrath  ofmayi,  u^hich  wor/ceth  not  the  righteousness  of  God,  is  so 
ready  to  throw  about  firebrands,  arrows  and  death. 

Nor  will  it  here  be  improper  to  remind  you  that  there  was 
at  least  one  prince  converted  to  Christianity  in  the  apostles'  time ; 
I  mean  ScrgiusPaulus,  proconsul  of  Cyprus:  yet  we  do  not  find 
St.  Paul  exhorting  him  to  proselyte  his  subjects  by  violence,  or 
even  to  inflict  any  penalties  on  Elymas  the  sorcerer,  though  he 
had  been  convicted  of  error  in  so  miraculous  a  way,  and  though 
an  inspired  apostle  had  called  him,  in  his  presence,  a  Childofthe 
devil  and  an  enemy  of  all  righteousness  *. 

I  must  also  add  here,  that  it  is  well  known,  masters  amongst 
the  Greeks  and  Romans  had  an  unlimited  power  over  the  per- 
sons and  lives  of  their  slaves.  Now  if  corporal  severities  were 
ordinarily  to  have  been  used  to  promote  the  gospel,  we  might 
have  expected  that  the  apostles  writing,  as  they  so  often  do,  of 
the  duty  of  masters,  should  have  added  some  exhortations  to 
them  to  compel  their  slaves  to  embrace  it.  Yet  nothing  of  that 
kind  occurs,  which  I  think  makes  the  negative  arguments  as 
strong  as  one  can  well  suppose  a  negative  argument  to  be. 

fv.  I  must  conclude  my  discourse  with  touching  on  those 
reflections  which  I  have  left  myself  but  Uttle  time  to  enlarge 

upon. 

1 .  Let  us  bless  God  that  we  are  free  from  the  guilt  of  perse- 
cuting others,  and  the  misery  of  being  persecuted  ourselves. 

Had  we  been  born  in  Spain  or  Portugal,  education  and  ex- 
ample might  have  corrupted  our  judgment  so  much,  that  with- 
out farther  inquiry  we  might  have  taken  it  for  granted,  as  a  first 
principle,  as  many  there  seem  to  do,  that  heretics  are  to  be 
punished  with  death.  And  on  this  foundation  we  might  have 
practised  or  applauded  the  greatest  inhumanities,  perhaps  to- 
wards the  best  of  men.  We  might  have  been  presenting  to  God 
what  is  much  worse  than  robbery,  even  murder  for  a  burnt-ofi'er- 
ing  :  and  trusting  in  that  for  the  expiation  of  our  other  offences, 
which  is  itself  in  the  number  of  the  greatest  enormities  which 
human  nature  can  commit.  In  such  a  case  I  fear  the  blindness 
and  ignorance  of  our  zeal  would  not  have  been  allowed  as  aa 

♦  Atta  xiii.  10. 
S2 


144        AT  NORTHAMPTON  ON  A  FIFTH  OF  NOVEMBER.     SeR.  VI. 

excuse  for  its  pernicious  consequences.  St.  Paul  calls  himself 
the  Chief  of  sinners  for  those  severities  which  he  exercised  on 
christians  ignorantly  *,  and  while  he  Verilij  thought  that  it  was 
his  duty  to  do  many  things  against  the  name  of  Jesus  of  Naza- 
rethf.  And  indeed,  as  Mr.  Baxter  well  expresses  it,  in  his  mas- 
culine and  lively  manner  |,  "  If  charity  be  a  grace  most  neces- 
sary to  salvation,  then  certainly  it  will  not  keep  any  man  from 
damnation,  that  he  had  malice  and  uncharitableness  enough  to 
persuade  him,  that  the  members  of  Christ  were  children  of  the 
devil,  though  he  persecuted  them  under  that  notion." 

Let  us  be  tliankful  that  we  are  preserved  from  that  guilt, 
and  let  us  also  acknowledge  it  as  an  instance  of  the  divine  good- 
ness to  us,  that  we  are  not  suffering  by  persecution  ;  that  we 
are  not  plundered  and  banished,  or  perhaps  imprisoned  and  tor- 
tured for  conscience-sake  ;  and  so  brought  under  a  formidable 
temptation,  to  make  shipwreck  of  that  as  well  as  of  faith.  Let 
this  day  remind  us  of  the  frequent  dangers  of  this  kind  to  which 
we  have  been  exposed  :  and  let  us  gratefully  own  God's  watch- 
ful care  over  us,  and  that  powerful  hand  exerted  in  our  favour, 
to  which  we  owe  it,  that  Our  soul  is  escaped  as  a  bird  out  of  the 
snare  of  the  fowlers,  which  was  once  and  again  spread  for  our 
lives,  the  snare  is  broken  and  we  are  escaped  §.  Let  the  memory 
of  those  who  were  the  glorious  instruments  of  our  deliverance 
be  ever  dear  to  us,  and  the  persons  of  those  who  under  God  are 
the  great  guardians  of  our  civil  and  religious  liberties,  be  regard- 
ed with  becoming  reverence,  affection  and  obedience. 

2.  Let  us  envy  none  that  liberty  of  conscience  which  they 
enjoy,  on  such  equitable  principles. 

While  we  rejoice  in  a  toleration  ourselves,  we  Avere  inexcus- 
able if  we  were  grieved  that  many  who  most  widely  differ  from 
us  share  in  the  same  common  benefit.  A  variety  of  opinions 
must  be  expected,  and  debates  will  unavoidably  arise  from  it ; 
but  when  we  are  pressed  by  the  arguments  of  our  opponents, 
or,  it  may  be,  provoked  by  what  we  think  their  obstinacy ;  let 
us  not  indulge  even  a  secret  wish,  that  there  were  a  sword  in 
our  hand  to  slay  them,  or  a  chain  to  bind  them.  Far  from  com- 
plaining of  it  as  an  evil,  let  us  rather  rejoice  in  it  as  the  pecuHar 
glory  and  happiness  of  our  age  and  country,  perhaps  beyond 
any  other,  that  our  neighbours,  as  well  as  we,  enjoy  a  freedom 
of  choosing  their  religion  for  themselves  j  and  amidst  all  the 

*  1  Tim.  i.  13— 15.    tActsxxvi.  9.    :J  Baxt.  Piact.  Works,  Vol.  I.  p.  612, 
§  Psalm  cxxiv.  7. 


The  Iniquity  of  Persecution.  145 

diversity  of  that  clioice,  Sit  every  one  under  his  own  vine  and 
fig-tree  J  and  iiave  none  on  that  account  to  jnake  them  afraid^. 

And  I  will  add,  let  not  private  malice  and  uncharitaljleness 
assume  the  place  of  public  severities.  Let  those  who  are  in  the 
superior  relations  of  life,  lay  aside  a  rigorous  and  imposing 
temper,  towards  those  who  are  under  their  care.  In  matters  ot 
conscience  let  not  the  husband  pretend  to  determine  for  the 
wife,  nor  the  parent  for  the  child,  nor  the  master  for  the  ser- 
vant ;  but  if  fair  argument  and  love  will  not  fix  a  conviction  on 
their  mind  in  favour  of  what  we  apprehend  to  be  right,  let  us 
leave  them  to  worship  God  in  their  own  way,  without  absolutely 
insisting  upon  it  that  they  should  do  it  in  ours. 

Once  more,  let  not  neighbours  and  equals  be  severe  on  one 
another  upon  account  of  religious  differences,  but  make  the 
most  candid  allowances  which  the  case  will  bear  for  the  errors 
and  weaknesses  of  each  other.  B'ar  from  injuring  and  reviling 
each  other,  and  refusing  the  mutual  offices  of  humanity  and 
friendship,  let  us  study  to  abound  in  them  more  and  more.  Let 
us  pray,  that  if  any  are  otherwise  minded  than  truth,  reason 
and  scripture  would  teach,  God  would  in  his  own  method,  and 
time  reveal  unto  them  whatever  it  may  be  of  importance  for 
them  to  know  ;  and  in  the  mean  time  let  us  endeavour  to  act  on 
the  great  principles  of  virtue  and  benevolence,  which,  blessed 
be  God,  are  not  peculiar  to  any  distinguishing  forms  of  rehgious 
profession  amongst  us.  And  I  heartily  pray,  that  domestic  per- 
secution may  never  be  the  guilt  or  the  misery  of  any,  who  by 
the  laws  of  our  country  are  protected  from  public  violence. 

Lastly,  Let  us  be  very  cautious  that  we  do  not  abuse  that 
religious  liberty  which,  by  the  singular  favour  of  providence, 
we  enjoy. 

Let  us  remember,  that  as  the  best  blessings  may  be  per- 
verted, it  is  too  possible  that  even  this  may  be  turned  into 
licentiousness.  It  is  true,  that  our  consciences  are  under  no 
human  jurisdiction,  but  let  it  be  considered  they  are  not  without 
law,  but  under  law,  to  God.  He  who  searches  men's  hearts, 
knows  how  to  judge  of  the  sincerity  and  impartiality  of  our  in- 
<iuiries  into  truth,  though  none  else  can  do  it.  Let  us  there- 
fore be  wary  in  our  determinations  in  matters  of  importance, 
and  let  us  earnestly  pray  for  the  enlightening  influences  of  God's 
Holy  Spirit,  to  preserve  us  from  erroneous  principles,  and 
superstitious  worship. 

*  Mic.  IT.  4. 
'  3 


146        AT  NORTHAMPTON  ON  A  FIFTH  OF  NOVEMBER.      SeR.  VI. 

And,  once  more,  let  us  be  very  careful  that  we  do  not  abuse 
our  religious  liberties  by  trifling  with  opportunities  for  spiri- 
tual improvement,  either  absenting  ourselves  from  them,  or 
attending  them  in  a  careless  and  unprofitable  manner.  Let  us 
remember,  The  servant  who  knows  his  mastefs  will,  and  pre- 
pares  jiot  himself  to  act  according  to  it,  will  be  beaten  with 
many  stripes  *.  The  freest  profession  of  the  purest  religion  on 
earth  will  signify  nothing,  if  it  be  no  more  than  a  profession  ; 
and  all  that  zeal  for  liberty  which  is  consistent  with  being  the 
slave  of  sin,  is  only  a  natural  haughtiness  of  spirit,  which  will 
aggravate  a  man's  guilt  rather  than  extenuate  it.  The  Lord 
grant  that  none  of  us  may  reject  the  truth,  and  that  none  may 
hold  it  in  unrighteousness :  lest  the  time  come,  when  we  wish 
for  that  excuse  which  they  will  have,  who  have  known  the  re- 
straints and  discouragements  of  persecutions  ;  and  another  day 
reflect  with  horror,  even  on  those  repeated  deliverances,  for 
which  we  are  this  day  returning  our  public  acknowledgments. 

*  Luke  xii.  47. 


SERMONS 


t)cUverance  cut  of  the  Hands  of  our  Emmies.         1 4" 


SERMON  VII. 


DELIVERANCE  OUT  OF  THE  HANDS  OF  OUR  ENEMIES, 
Urged  as  a  Motive  to  Obedience,  in  the  Substance  of  two  Sermom;  preodicd 
at  Northampton,  Februarys,    1715-6,  on  Occasion  of  the  precipitate 
l- light  of  the  Rebels  from  Stirling  a  je-iu  Days  before. 


Luke  i.74,  15.— That  he  luould grant  unto  us,  that  ice,  being  deUvend  out  of 
the  hands  of  our  enemies,  viight  serve  hitn  ivithout  feca-,  in  holuiess  and 
7  ightcousness  btfore  him,  all  the  days  of  our  life. 

JL  SHOULD  think  myself  inexcusable,  if,  after  having  ad- 
dressed you  with  so  nianv  admonitions,  and  so  many  encourage- 
ments, through  the  whole  period  of  our  late  public  alarms,  I 
should  be  silent  as  to  the  favourable  turn,  which  our  affairs  seem 
now  to  be  taking  ;  and  did  not  lead  you  to  greet  these  first 
openings  of  deliverance  which  God  is  giving  us,  with  your  ear- 
liest hymns  of  grateful  praise.  Far  be  it  from  any  of  us  to  re- 
semble the  nine  lepers  *,  who  though  they  had  been  so  loud  in 
their  cries  for  mercy  under  their  affliction  as  to  be  heard  afar 
off,  yet  having  received  their  cure  returned  not  to  give  glory  to 
God.  1  am  indeed  sensible,  that  our  deliverance  is  not  yet 
complete.  Though  our  enemies  are  fled  with  so  much  precipi- 
tation before  our  forces,  led  on  by  that  heroic  prince  <\'hom  pro- 
vidence has  raised  so  gloriously  to  command  them,  we  are  not 
as  yet  'putting  off  our  harness  f.  But  we  have  reason  to  hope, 
that  the  end  of  girding  it  on  is  in  a  great  measure  answered  ;  and 
it  is  certain,  that  a  becoming  acknowledgment  of  these  begin- 
nings of  mercy,  will  be  the  most  probable  means  to  secure  the 
full  accomplishment  of  our  hopes.  I  have  therefore  chosen  the 
■words  before  us,  with  a  particular  view  to  this  great  and  happy 
event ;  and  it  is  obvious,  that  they  will  naturally  lead  me  into 
suitable  and  important  reflections  upon  it. 

Vou  will  easily  recollect,  that  they  are  part  of  that  cele- 
brated song,  in  which  Zacharias,  the  father  of  John  the  Baptist, 

*  Luke  xvii.  12—18,  t  ^  Kings  xx.  11. 

VOL.  III.  T 


148       ON  THE  FLIGHT  OF  THE  REBELS  FROM  STIRLING.    SeR.  VII, 

TitteVed  his  joys  and  liis  hopes  on  the  birth  of  such  a  son,  and  in 
which  he  emplo3-ed  and  consecrated  the  first  accents  of  his 
recovered  speech.  This  venerable  priest,  under  the  influence 
of  the  prophetic  Spirit,  blesses  the  God  of  Israel,  who  had 
raised  up  a  horn  of  salvation,  that  is  who  was  just  raising  a 
powerful  Saviour, /or  thevi,  in  the  house  of  his  servant  David  ;^ 
whose  office  and  glory  it  should  be,  to  perform  the  mercy  pro- 
viised  to  their  fathers ,  the  substance  of  which  he  comprehends 
in  the  words  of  my  text  ;  and  thus  to  complete  what  he  had  so 
often  engaged  in  effect,  though  not  in  express  words,  that  Israel 
under  his  auspicious  government,  being  delivered  out  of  the 
hajids  of  their  enemies,  and  of  all  them  that  hated  them,  should 
serve  him  without  fear,  in  a  steady  course  of  holiness  and 
righteousjiess  before  him. 

I  will  not  take  upon  me  to  determine  the  exact  idea, 
which  Zacharias  himself  had  to  these  words  ;  whether  he  meant 
to  refer  to  that  great  salvation  from  our  spiritual  enemies,  which 
Christ  gives,  and  to  those  influences  of  his  Spirit  on  the  hearts 
of  his  people,  whereby  they  are  effectually  engaged  to  a  perse- 
vering course  of  holiness  and  righteousness ;  or  whether  he 
might  have  his  eye  to  some  expected  conquest  over  that  Gen- 
tile power,  by  which  Israel  was  then  held  in  subjection,  and  to 
a  temporal  kingdom  to  be  established  in  consequence  of  it,  in 
which  righteousness  should  reign  in  a  more  remarkable  manner, 
than  it  had  ever  before  done  among  the  children  of  men.  He, 
like  others  of  the  prophets,  after  having  delivered  their  divine 
oracles,  might  have  need  of  Searching  what  the  Spirit  of  Christ 
did  particularly  signify  therein  *.  But  it  is  evident,  that  whe- 
ther we  take  it  in  the  one  or  the  other  of  these  views,  it  will 
afford  us  a  just  foundation  for  two  remarks,  most  suitable  to  our 

present  circumstances  : That  to  be  delivered  out  of  the  hands 

of  our  enemies  is  a  great  favour  of  divine  providence  ; and 

that  it  loudly  calls  for  a  course  of  steady  and  cheerful  obedience 
to  God  as  our  gi-eat  benefactor. 

It  will  therefore  be  very  agreeable  to  the  general  senti- 
ments expressed  in  these  words,  that  I  should. 

First,  Endeavour  to  make  you  sensible  of  the  greatness  of  this 
deliverance,  which  God  has  now  granted  us  out  of  the  hands 
of  oitr  enemies.     And, 

Secondly,  Represent  and  enforce  that  return,  which  he  most 
reasonably  demands  from  us,  and  to  which  the  text  may  na- 
turally direct  our  thoughts. 

*1  Pcti.  10,  11. 


Deliverance  out  of  the  llayids  of  our  Enemus.         1  \9 

Such  representations  arc  undoubtedly  necessary :  I  pray 
God,  they  may  in  this  instance  be  as  cHectual,  as  they  are  sin- 
cere.    I  am, 

First,  To  endeavour  to  make  you  sensible  of  the  greatness  of 
this  deliverance,  which  God  lias  now  granted  us,  by  the 
panic  with  wliich  he  seems  to  have  struck  the  leaders  and 
abettors  of  that  unnatural  rebellion,  which  he  hath  per- 
mitted to  arise  amongst  us;  that  so  our  hearts  may  be  dis- 
posed  to  those  returns  of  gratitude  which  he  demands. 

Now  to  this  purpose  I  shall  consider  it, first,  in  a  more 

general  view ; and  then,  in  some  particular  circumstances, 

which  may  farther  heighten  our  grateful  sense  of  it. 

I.  I  would  consider  tlie  deliverance  out  of  the  hands  of  our  ene- 
mies, which  God  is  now  opening  upon  us,  in  a  more  gene- 
ral view. 

Here  I  shall  take  a  view  of  it  in  general,  with  regard  to  the 

aspect  which  it  has upon  our  substance, our  liberties, 

our  religion, and  our  posterity.     And  each  view  will 

convince  us  of  its  importance,  and  do  its  part  towards  awaken- 
ing our  gratitude. 

To  make  you  more  sensible  of  this,  let  me  now  lead  you  to 
imagine,  though  the  imagination  is  painful  and  shocking,  what 
must  have  been  our  case,  if  the  progress  of  the  rebellious  arms 
of  our  enemies  had  been  carried  on  with  a  rapidity,  like  that 
which  the}'^  at  first  boasted  ;  if  they  had  been  siipported  by 
powerful  succours  from  abroad  ;  and  if,  according  to  their  vain 
hopes,  considerable  numbers  from  the  southern  part  of  our  island 
had  joined  them  ;  so  that  they  had  marched  on  to  our  capital, 
and  taken  possession  of  it,  either  destroying  or  driving  away  that 
illustrious  prince  whom  God  has  set  over  us,  and  those  numerous 
branches  of  his  royal  family  around  him,  whom  we  have  so  long 
beheld  with  delight  as  the  pledges  of  peace  and  happiness  to 
succeeding  generations.  Consider,  how  our  possessions,  and 
liberties,  our  religion,  at\d  posterity,  would  have  been  affected 
by  such  an  evetit ;  and  then  judge,  what  an  aspect  our  deliver- 
ance has  upon  each. 

1 .  As  to  our  worldly  siibstance. 

This,  among  so  many  dearer  names,  may  seem  less  worthy  of 
our  mention.  A  generous  and  manly  spirit  will  indeed  bear  the 
diminution  of  it  with  a  calm  steadiness;  and  the  true  Christian 

T  2 


150      ON  THE  FLIGHT  OF  THE  REBELS  FROM  STIRLING.     SeR.  VII. 

will  be  conscious  of  a  better  and  a  more  enduring  substance*, 
laid  up  beyond  the  reach  of  violence  and  rapine.  Yet  some 
value  is  justly  to  be  set  on  what  we  here  possess,  as  the  gift  of 
providence,  and  as  that  by  which  we  are  enabled,  not  only  to 
make  some  comfortable  provision  for  those  whom  God  has  com- 
mitted to  our  immediate  care,  but  likewise  to  do  good  to  many 
others,  by  a  variety  &f  humane  and  charitable  actions,  which 
ma>'  greatly  adorn  our  religious  profession.  And  whether  our 
wealtli  be  the  acquisition  of  our  own  industry,  or  have  descend- 
ed to  us  by  inheritance  from  our  fathers,  there  is  something  in 
each  of  these  considerations,  which  makes  the  loss  of  it  grievous; 
how  gradually  soever  it  may  be  impaired,  and  though  no  cir- 
cumstance of  external  violence  deprive  us  of  it,  but  we  seem, 
according  to  the  remarkable  expression  of  the  prophet.  To  put 
our  money  into  a  bag  with  holes  f.  Much  more  grievous  then 
must  it  be,  to  be  stripped  on  a  sudden,  and  above  all,  in  such  a 
way  ;  to  see  our  enemies  possessed  of  what  we  just  before  call- 
ed our  own,  and  perhaps  taking  a  malicious  pleasure,  not  only 
to  use,  but  to  destroy  it  before  our  eyes. 

The  great  Author  of  our  nature,  who  most  fully  knows  its 
frame,  does  sometimes  mention  this  among  the  saddest  conse- 
quences of  invasion  and  conquest.  So  the  distress  and  vexation 
of  it  is  pathetically  represented,  in  the  message  he  sent  to  Israel 
by  Moses,  Thine  ox  shall  be  slain  before  thine  eyes,  and  thou 
shalt  not  eqt  thereof;  thine  ass,  the  usual  beast  of  burden  among 
them,  and  answering  to  our  ordinary  horses,  shall  be  violently 
taken  away  before  thy  face,  and  shall  not  be  restored  to  thee  : 
Thy  sheep  shall  be  given  to  thine  enemies,  and  thou  shalt  have 
none  to  rescue  them  :  The  fruit  of  thy  lajid,  and  all  thy  labours, 
shall  a  nation  which  thou  knowest  not,  eat  up:  So  that  thou  shalt 
he  mad,  for  the  sight  of  thine  eyes  which  thou  shalt  seeX. 

While  our  enemies  have  been  traversing  the  northern  part 
of  our  island,  and  penetrating  even  to  its  centre,  thousands  have 
known  the  literal  accomplishment  of  these  words.  And  I  hope, 
Me  shall  never  forget,  that //ig  cwj5  was  just /jamw^  to  us :  So 
that  had  not  God,  and  that  brave  prince  whom  he  made  the 
instrument  of  our  dehverance,  turned  them  back,  they  had  in  a 
few  hours  entered  our  houses  with  haughty  violence  :  And  had 
we  staid  till  they  arrived  there,  we  might  have  beheld  our  pro- 
visions greedily  devoured,  yea  profusely  wasted  ;  perhaps  too, 
bad  we  not  been  sufficiently  obsequious  to  these  detestable  in- 
mates, our  furniture  wantonly  destroyed  ;  our  houses  plundered  ; 

*Heb.  X.  31.  fHag.  i.  6,  +  Deut.  xxviii.  3l,33,  34. 


Deliverance  out  of  the  Hands  of  our  Enemies.        1 5 1 

our  very  garments  stripped  ofl';  and  beyond  all  peradvcnture, 
heavy  contributions  levied,  the  amount  of  which  in  one  day 
might  have  been  much  greater,  than  the  necessary  taxes  w  hich 
the  legislature,  though  with  reluctance,  are  compelled  for  the 
public  safety  to  demand  ;  or  than  charity  to  the  families  of 
those  who  are  gone  out  to  fight  our  battles^  inclines  us  voluntarily 
to  advance  for  their  support.  This  might  have  been  our  iafe, 
in  their  march  towards  our  capital  ;  and  in  a  more  extreme  de- 
gree, in  their  return.  And  when  this  tumultuous  scene  had 
been  over,  what  could  we  have  expected,  but  much  heavier 
exactions,  than  even  the  present  distress  requires  ?  With  this 
painful  difference,  that  instead  of  advancing  our  money  for  the 
assistance  of  those  who  guard  and  defend  us,  it  must  then  have 
been  given  as  a  reward  to  our  oppressors  and  spoilers ;  I  liad 
almost  said,  as  a  fee  to  our  executioners.  When  therefore  you 
enter  your  peaceful  habitations,  when  you  sit  down  to  your 
plentiful  tables,  and  repose  yourselves  asunder  your  own  vines 
and  fig-trees,  remember  to  whom  you  owe  it,  that  you  can  call 
them  your  own,  and  be  thankful  iov  this  deliverance  out  of  the 
hands  of  your  enemies  :  A  deliverance,  which  will  be  felt  in 
proportion  to  the  degree  in  which  it  is  considered  j  and  which 
we  are  next  to  view, 

2.  In  the  aspect  which  it  bears  on  our  liberties. 

As  bondage  renders  plenty  and  magnificence  tasteless  to  a 
generous  spirit ;  so  poverty  itself  puts  on  a  cheerful  smile  under 
the  blessings  of  liberty,  which  makes,  if  I  may  allude  to  the 
words  of  David,  A  little  ?A«^  a  freeman  hath,  better  than  the 
abundance  of  many  slaves*.  Were  liberty  the  portion  of  the 
whole  human  race,  and  would  to  God  that  it  were,  each  of 
them  should  prize  it  as,  next  to  religion,  his  choicest  treasure. 
But  it  is  well  known,  that  by  the  proud  usurpation  of  princes  or 
priests,  and  generally  by  their  collusive  combination  to  support 
the  tyranny  of  each  other,  it  has  been  almost  entirely  banished 
from  the  Continent,  and  seems,  if  not  to  have  sought  its  last 
refuge,  at  least  to  have  fixed  its  favourite  abode,  in  the  British 
dominions  ;  where  it  now  reigns,  in  the  person  of  our  gracious 
Sovereign,  as  its  guardian  genius,  who  understands  the  rights 
and  honours  of  royalty  so  well,  as  to  make  it  his  chief  glory  to 
be  so.  It  is  here,  if  I  may  be  permitted  so  to  speak,  the  law 
that  rules  supreme  ;  and  the  greatest  and  best  of  our  princes 
Ijiost  justly  esteem  it  the  noblest  point  of  their  ambition,   to  be 

*  Psal.  xxxvii.  L6. 
3 


152       ON  THE  FLIGHT  OF  THE  REBELS  FROM  STIRLING.     SeR.  Vll. 

its  protectors  and  vicegerents :  As  it  is  indeed  a  glorious  ambi- 
tion to  defend  a  system  of  wise  and  equitable  laws,  which  the 
inhabitants  of  Britain  from  age  to  age,  in  their  own  persons,  or 
by  their  representatives,  have  chosen  to  impose  on  themselves 
and  their  posterity,  for  their  common  security  and  happiness. — 
And  could  Ave  have  borne  to  see  them  insolently  trampled  under 
foot,  and  arbitrary  will  established  in  their  stead  ?  I  hope,  we 
could  not  have  endured  it,  while  heaven  had  left  us  any  force  to 
oppose  it ;  but  that,  according  to  the  animated  expression  of  a  ce- 
lebrated writer,  "  we  should  rather  have  chosen  to  die  the  last 
of  British  freemen,  than  to  live  the  first  of  British  slaves."  Yet 
Avhat  but  slavery  could  we  have  expected,  had  our  throne  been 
filled  by  one,  trained  up  in  the  oppressive  maxims  of  the  French 
and  the  Roman  courts  ?  Who  had  also  so  many  arrears  to  dis- 
charge, that  it  is  absolutely  impossible  he  should  have  done  it, 
without  impoverishing  us  to  a  degree  which  only  a  nation  of 
slaves  could  have  submitted  to  :  For  surely  we  must  have  been 
bound,  before  we  could  have  permitted  ourselves  to  have  been 
stripped  so  bare. 

Great  reason  indeed  have  we  to  believe,  notwithstanding  all 
his  empty  and  absurd  pretences  "  of  establishing  us  in  the 
possession  of  what  we  never  lost  *,"  that  if  we  should  ever  be 
so  unhappy  as  to  see  the  pretender  possessed  of  the  power  he  so 
unreasonably  claims.  The  manner  of  our  King  would  be  like 
what  Samuel  so  strongly  describes  to  the  men  of  Israel  f  ;  by 
whom,  he  tells  them,  their  children  would  be  abused,  and  their 
estates  taken  away.^  or  the  product  of  them  subjected  to  such 
impositions,  that  they  who  retained  the  titulary  right  to  them, 
would  be  little  better  than  tenants  and  servants  to  their  haughty 
monarch.  Had  we,  like  the  Israelites,  ourselves  concurred  in 
making  such  a  king,  we  might  like  them  have  reasonably  ex- 
pected, that  when  we  hadcriedout  under  this  load  of  oppression, 
the  Lord  should  not  have  heard  us. 

Let  us  always  remember,  that  it  is  our  indispensable  duty, 
to  exert  ourselves  to  the  utmost  to  prevent  so  fatal  a  change  in 
our  constitution:  And  let  us  bless  God  every  day  of  our  lives,  that 
they  who  were  weak  or  wicked  enough  to  attempt  it,  have  found 
themselves  Unable  to  perform  their  enterprize  % ;  and  that, 
through  the  special  care  of  divine  providence.  Our  soul  is  escap- 
ed as  a  bird  out  oj  the  snare  of  the  fowlers ;  that  the  snare, 
which  would  have  hampered  us,  not  only  to  our  vexation,  but 

*  See  that  incomparable  Discourse,  intitled,  The  Occasional  Writer ;  or  an 
Answer  to  the  Pretender's  Second  Manifesto,  &c. 

f  1  Sam.  viii.  11 — 18.  1  Job  v.  12. 


Deliverance  out  of  the  Hands  of  our  Enemies.         1 53 

to  our  destruction,  is  happily  broken,  and  we  are  escaped  free 
and  unhurt*.  A  simile,  which  in  this  application  of  it  will 
appear  more  evidently  just,  when  we  survey  our  deliverance, 

3.  In  the  aspect  which  it  has  upon  our  religion. 
If  religion  be  any  thing  at  all  significant  to  a  man,  it  is 
beyond  all  comparison  more  than  every  thing  else.     A  nation 
does  not  easily  change  its  Godsf,  be  they  what  they  will :  And 
to  have  merely  some  particular  forms  of  a  religion,  in  the  main 
acknowledged  to  be  true,  obtruded  contrary  to  u  man's  relish, 
and    especially   contrary   to  his  conscience,  is  an   insufferable 
evil.     What  then  must  it  be,  to  have  our  religion  violently  torn 
away  from  us,  so  far  as  it  can  be  torn  away  ;  to  see  it  at  least  in- 
jured, oppressed,  and  insulted,  if  not  immediately  borne  down 
and  extirpated  ?  That  pure,  holy,  and  perfect  religion,  which 
Christ  and  his  apostles  planted  upon  earth  ;  and  which  our  pious 
forefathers  have  delivered  down  to  us,  in  all  its  evidence,  with 
such  faithful  care,  sealed  with  the  blood  of  so  many  martyrs 
and  confessors  ! — To  exchange  this,  (or  to  be  urged  at  ien<nb 
by  penal,  perhaps  by  sanguinary  laws,  to   exchange  it,)  "and 
for  so  erroneous  and  superstitious,  so  absurd  and  idolatrous  aheap 
of  tenets,    ceremonies,  and  usages,  that   it  seems  almost  pro- 
faning the  word  to  call  it  a  religion  :  To  give  up  our  bibles  to 
the  flames  ;  to  lay  aside  this  rational  and  devout  manner  of  wor- 
shipping God  (as  we  assuredly  beheve)  in  the  most  scriptural 
and  acceptable  way,  for  the  unintelligible  jargon  of  a  mass  • 
to  bow  down  to  images,  as  if  we  had  been  trained  up  in  the  most 
stupid  heathenism  ;  and  to  adore  a  piece  of  bread,  us  the  Saviour 
of  the  world  !  How  much  is  the  thought  worse  than  death  ? 
Yea,  how  beautiful  must  death  appear,  as  met  in  opposition  to 
such  a  change  ? 

And  is  the  supposition  I  am  now  making  at  all  unnatural  ? 
We  will  make  all  the  most  candid  allowances  :  We  will  suppose 
the  disposition  of  all  the  branches  of  the  aspiring  family,  which 
urges  its  divine  right  to  rule  us,  to  be  ever  so  gentle  :  We  will 
grant,  (what  indeed  I  verily  believe,)  that  many  who  have  been 
bred  up  in  popery,  would  abhor  the  cruelties  of  persecution,  and 
grieve  to  see  their  protestant  neighbours,  among  whom  many 
of  them  have  lived  so  long  unmolested,  perishing  in  gaols,  or 
expiring  in  flames.  Yet  were  that  corruption  of  Christianity 
restored  amongst  us,  it  would  not  be  in  their  power  to  prevent 
it.     The  iniquity  is  established  by  a  law  ;  and  (as  several  ex* 

♦  P.^  cxxiv.  T.  I  jer.  ii.  IJ. 


1  54       ON  THE  FLIGHT  OF  THE  REBELS  FROM  STIRLING.   SeR.  VII» 

cellent  writers  have  of  late  very  seasonably  demonstrated  from 
the  most  authentic  authority*,  persecution  is  grown  into  the 
very  vitals  of  their  religion,  and  become  not  only  an  appendix 
to  it,  but  an  essential  part  of  it.  And  indeed  its  absurdities 
are  so  great,  that  it  is  difficult  to  imagine,  how  it  could  subsist,  if 
it  were  not  thus  supported.  At  least,  we  evidently  see  this  to  be 
fact,  that  wherever  popery  has  prevailed,  such  methods  have 
been  used  ;  and  if  any  protestant  churches  remain  within  its 
dark  domains,  it  is  plainly  for  want  of  power  to  destroy  them  : 
For  in  man}^  places  we  see,  they  have  been  barbarously  exter- 
minated, Avhere  every  consideration  of  honour  and  gratitude, 
of  public  faith  and  national  interest,  must  have  loudly  demand- 
ed, that  they  should  be  tolerated  and  sheltered. 

The  present  deliverance  therefore  strongly  calls  upon  us, 
in  testimony  of  the  gratitude  we  owe  unto  the  Lord  our  God,  to 
Enter  into  his  gates  with  thanksgiving,  and  into  his  courts  with 
praise  f  :  Since  we  have  so  much  reason  to  imagine,  that  if  he 
had  not  put  a  stop  to  their  designs,  our  enemies  would  have  been 
advancing  with  hasty  steps,  to  shut  up  those  gates,  and  to  make 
those  courts  desolate,  or  (which  is  far  worse  than  desolation) 
to  fill  them  with  idolatrous  altars.  And  if  any  should  suggest, 
that  ''  common  policy,  and  indeed  necessity,  might  have  ob- 
liged them,  even  if  they  had  been  conquerors,  to  proceed  by 
slow  degrees  in  their  attempts  to  compass  a  design  of  this  na- 
ture ;"  I  might  answer,  that  no  consideration  of  prudence  can 
curb  the  salHes  of  blind  zeal,  which  often  calls  it  piety  to  set 
wisdom  at  defiance.  I  might  also  plead,  that  the  first  attempts 
of  this  kind  must  be  grievous  to  every  good  man  ,  and  especi- 
ally to  such,  as  have  penetration  enough  to  see  whither  those  at- 
tempts would  naturally  lead.  And  this  remark  will  appear  to  us 
with  a  great  increase  of  weight,  when  we  consider, 

4.  The  happy  aspect  which  this  dehverance  Avears,  with 
respect  to  our  posterity. 

Should  we  suppose  it  possible,  that  Ave  ourselves,  w^hile 
groaning  under  so  many  injuries  and  oppressions,  might  have 
been  permitted  to  alleviate  our  sorrows,  by  attending  divine 
ordinances  in  a  pure  and  regular  administration  of  them  ;  yet 
ecclesiastical  tyranny,  the  inseparable  companion  of  civil,  might 
have  grown  strong  enough  to  have  prohibited  that  attendance  in 

*  See  the  Bishop  of  Oxford's  excellent  Sermon  on  Occasion  of  the  Rebellion  ; 
and  that  lively  and    useful  pamphlet,  entitled.  Great  Britain's   Memorial  against 
Popery  and  tl)o  Pretender, 
t  P.-^.  c.  4. 


Deliverance  out  of  the  Hands  of  our  Enemies.  155 

the  days  of  our  cliiklren.  Should  the  licry  trial  come  sooner,  as 
it  not  improbably  might,  lam  aycU  ])ersuadcd,  that  religion, 
degenerate  as  the  present  age  is,  would  not  want  its  martyrs,  of 
various  denominations,  agesj,  and  oireunistauces.  There  are 
undoubtedly  pastors  who  would  lead  on  tlieir  flocks  to  this 
glorious  combat,  and  multitudes  of  private  christians  who  would 
bravely  follow,  to  defend  the  cause  of  truth  and  piety  at  the 
stake,  when  they  could  no  longwv  defend  it  in  the  field,  and  to 
honour  it  with  their  blood,  though  unable  to  rescue  it.  But  our 
dear  offspring  in  the  tender  scenes  of  childhood  and  infancy, 
■what  would  they  do  ?  Into  whose  hands  would  their  education 
fall  ?  How  easily  might  their  unexperienced  eyes  be  struck  and 
enchanted  with  the  vain  glitter  of  superstitious  worship,  in  a 
ceremonial  which  looks  as  if  it  were  chiefly  intended  to  amuse 
children  !  How  easily  might  thoir  weak  minds  be  seduced  by  th« 
sophistry  of  error,  or  their  soft  hearts  intimidated  by  the 
threatnings  of  cruelty !  Yet  all  would  most  assuredly  be  tried 
upon  them.  And  perha])s,  before  the  parents  themselves  were 
driven  away  or  destroyed,  or  their  hearts  broken  by  other 
calamities,  the  inhumanity  so  lately  practised  in  France  might 
be  renewed  in  Britain.  Children  might  be  forced  out  of  their 
parents'  hands,  to  be  educated  in  what  is  so  unjustly  called  the 
ciitholic  faith  ;  and  those  words  of  the  Mosaic  threatning  might 
in  a  dreadful  sense  be  fulfilled  with  regard  to  them  :  TJnj  sons 
and  thy  daughters  shall  be  given  to  another  people,  and  thine, 
ej/esshalllook,  and  fail  -with  longing  for  them  all  the  day  long; 
and  there  shall  be  no  might  in  thine  hand-.  What  parent's 
heart  could  bear  the  prospect?  yea,  what  other  humane  and 
generous  heart  could  bear  it  ?  And  not  bleed  to  look  on  these 
innocent  victims,  which  must  on  that  supposition  so  soon  be 
devoted  at  idolatrous  altars,  and  pass  a  wretched  inslaved  life, 
amidst  temptations  arising  from  their  very  religion  itself,  whicli 
might  have  so  fatal  a  tendency  to  seduce  them  into  the  ways  of 
eternal  death  ! 

When  I  reflect  upon  all  these  particulars  in  their  connection 
with  each  other,  I  am  inclined  to  repeat  what  I  said  to  you  in 
public,  when  this  rebellion  first  broke  out :  "  That  considering, 
on  the  whole,  all  the  probable  consecjuences  of  things  as  to  both 
■worlds,  it  would  be  better,  that  our  whole  island  should  sink 
into  the  ocean,  and  all  its  inhabitants  perish  at  once  in  that 
general  wreck,   than  it  should  remain  to  be  through  succeeding 

*  Deut.  xxviii.  52. 
VOL,  III.  U 


156       ON  THE  FLIGHT  OF  THE  REBELS  FROM  STIRLING.    SeR.  VII. 

ages  the  theatre  of  such  scenes,  as  our  enemies  are  studying  to 
prepare,  and  labouring  to  introduce."     This  at  least  I  can  most 
deliberately  say,   "  That  had  their  designs  succeeded,  they  who 
seemed,  and  who  were  with  regard  to  external  blessings,    the 
happiest  of  mankind,  would  have  become  of  all  others  the  most 
miserable."     In  the  sad  situation  I  have  been  supposing,   the 
rich  might  envy  the  lot  of  those,  who  had  no  property  to  lose  : — 
They  who   had  been  educated  in  the  warmest  sentiments  of 
liberty,  might  think  those  comparatively  happy,  to  whom   the 
•weight  of  chains  was  grown  less  sensible,  by   having  been  worn 
from  their  infancy  : — And  the  parent  of  the  most  numerous  and 
amiable  family,  might  rather  have  Blessed  the  womb  that  never 
bare,   and  the  breasts  that  never  gave  suck*. — Only  the  sacred 
name  of  r-eligion,  amidst  all  our  miseries,  M^ould  still  be  delight- 
ful ;  and  the  happy  soul  that  has  felt  its  power,   would  in  po- 
verty, in  servitude,  in  captivity,  or  in  the  most  immediate  views 
of  martyrdom,  rejoice  in  the  unconquerable  supports  and  glori- 
ous  prospects  it  administers.      Yet   still,  by  such  a  one,  the 
desolation  of  God's  sanctuary,  the  slaughter  of  his  servants,   the 
seduction  of  the  rising  generation,  with  the  apparent  hazard  of 
the  protestant  cause,  when  the  strength  of  Great  Britain  was  not 
onlv  taken  from  it,  but  turned  against  it,   would  be  felt  with  the 
most  tender  agony,  and  make  a  more  painful  impression  than 
could  be   apprehended    even    from   all  the  engines  of  popish 
cruelty. 

Proportionable  to  the  grief  and  terror  of  such  a  prospect,  is 
the  joy  of  our  opening  deliverance,  when  considered  in  these 
general  and  most  important  views.  But  I  must  not  forget,  that 
I  am  to  remind  you, 

II.  Of  some  particular  circumstances,  which  may  serve  farther 
to  heighten  it. 

Deliverance  from  an  enemy  must  be  acknowledged  a  peculiar 
favour  of  providence, — when  his  character  is  savage,  and  his 
rage  exasperated  ; — when  his  heart  has  been  elevated  with  re- 
peated success  ; — when  deliverance  has  been  earnestly  sought 
by  prayer  ; — and  Aviien  it  is  at  last  given,  in  a  manner  that 
renders  the  hand  of  God  eminently  conspicuous.  A  few  words 
may  suffice,  to  shew,  that  each  of  these  considerations  is 
applicable  to  the  case  before  us. 

All  that  are  acquainted  with  the  character  of  our  rebellions 
enemies  from  Lochaber,  and  the  neighbouring  counties,  know 

*  Luke  xxiii.  2?. 


Tieliverance  out  of  the  Hands  of  our  Enemies.         1 37 

that  they  are  numbered  among  the  fiercest  and  most  barbarous 
of  the  llit^bland  clans.     Tl.ey  have  so  much  of  the  d.sposmoa 
of  banditti  in  their  very  nature,  that  it  had  been  terrible  to  have 
met  a  company  of  them  in  times  of  the  profoundest  peace ;  m  so 
much  that  their  neighbours  have  long  been  iorced  to  set  a  guard 
on  their  substance,  lest  these  wretches  should  have  broke  in  upon 
it,  and  carried  it  auay  :  So  that  the  words  of  Ezekiel  seem  the 
very  description   of  them;  Brutish  men,  slaljul  to  destroy^. 
And  to  whatever  distinguislied  politeness  our  neighbours  on  the 
Continent,  who  have  joined  them,  may  pretend    there  are  nu- 
merous  instances  in   which  it  has  app.=ared  in  fact,  that  their 
Tender  mercies  are  cruel  f.     The  nearly  desperate  situation  of 
tlie  pretender's  affairs,  of  whicli  they  well  knew  this  to  be  the 
decisive  crisis,  might  also  have  prompted  them  to  a  seventy  of 
rage,  sufficient  to  double  all  the  terrors  of  an  ordinary  war. 
The  disappointment  attending  a  former  rebel  ion,  with  the  death 
of  some  of  their  near  relations  who  fell  in  the  cause,  either  by 
the  sword  of  battle,  or  by  that  of  public  justice,  might  also  exas- 
perate particular  persons:  And  the  supposed  injuries  sus  ained 
Througli  so  long  a  series  of  years,  by  him  whom  they  call  thei 
prince,  whom  Vhey  have  seen  exiled,  disowned,  abjured,  and 
outlawed,  would  be  a  more  general  cause  of  indignation  against 
us  •  and,  so  far  as  the  views  of  policy  would  admit,  might  very 
probably  lead  them  to  consider  the  greatest  extremities  ot  mili- 
tary execution,  as  not  onlv  justifiable,  but  meritorious. 

The  success  thev  had  gained  in  the  ever  to  be  amented 
dav  of  Preston-Pans;  together  ^vith  the  advantage  which  they 
seemed  to  have  over  our  forces  in  the  late  action  at  Falkirk, 
would  naturallv  tend  to  make  them  more  insolent  ;  as  minds  so 
base  are  always  elated  by  prosperity,  to  an  outrageous  kind  ot 
madness.  At  the  same  time,  the  grief  into  which  we  were 
thrown  bv  our  repeated  disappointments,  of  which  their  escape 
into  Scotland  was  none  of  the  least,  does  farther  serve  to  render 
their  sudden  consternation  and  retreat  at  last,  though  their  num- 
bers are  said  to  have  amounted  to  above  nine  thousand,  matter 
of  more  agreeable  surprise,  and  more  pleasing  reflection.  And 
so  much  the  rather,  as  some  tender  minds  might  be  ready  to 
apprehend,  that  heaven  itself  had  declared  against  us  a  tew 
davs  before,  in  pouring  down  showers  of  wrath  upon  us  in  tlie 
day  of  buttle,  so  as  to  damp  our  fires ;  thereby  in  effect  disarm- 
ing us  of  the  weapons  in  which  we  trusted,  and  delivering  our 

^E.ek.xxl.  31.  tProv.Nli.lO. 

U2 


158       ON  THE  FLIGHT  OF  THE  REBELS  FROM  STIRLING.    SeR.  VII. 

artillery  into  the  enemies  hands.  A  double  pleasure  must  it  be 
in  such  a  circumstance,  to  view  the  appearance  of  a  return  of 
mercy  :  Especially, 

When  we  see  in  it  God's  gracious  answer  to  our  repeated 
prayers.  Often  have  we  Cried  to  the  Lord  in  our  ti^oiihle;  and 
he  is  now  saving  us  out  of  our  distresses*.  After  long  delay, 
he  has  seasonably  appeared,  and  given  us  reason  to  own,  that 
lie  hath  not  turned  away  our  prayer  from  him,  nor  his  mercy 
from  usf.  Justly  therefore  may  we  say,  We  will  love  the  Lord, 
because  he  hath  heard  our  prayer  and  supplication;  because  he 
hath  inclined  his  ear  unto  us,  there/ore  will  we  call  upon  him  as 
long  as  we  live  %■  And  once  more,  the  reflection  and  resolution 
are  more  evidently  just, 

As  the  hand  of  God  is  so  remarkably  apparent  in  the  issue 
of  this  aftiiir.  Long  has  he  seen,  and  seen,  I  doubt  not,  with 
iust  displeasure,  how  ready  we  are  to  ascribe  the  glory  of  success 
to  ourselves,  and  to  boast,  that  our  own  right  hand  and  arm 
have  gotten  us  the  victory.  He  hath  therefore,  if  I  may  use  the 
expression,  been  digging  deep  to  Hide  pride  from  us^i  seem- 
ing to  make  it  the  care  of  his  providence  to  prevent  such  arro- 
gance from  taking  place  :  And  the  mercy  is  great,  in  proportion 
to  that  care.  To  God  Ave  must  surely  ascribe  it,  that  our  ene- 
mies did  not  immediately  come  forward  on  their  first  success, 
•while  we  were  unprepared  for  our  defence,  and  take  advantage 
of  the  terror  they  had  spread,  before  the  arrival  of  our  forces 
from  abroad.  To  him  we  must  ascribe  it,  that  the  politics  of 
France  and  Spain  -were  so  infatuated,  that  they  did  not  attempt 
to  invade  our  coasts,  in  the  midst  of  that  consternation  which 
the  rebel  army  occasioned,  when  it  was  marching  into  the  heart 
of  our  country:  Or  if  the  delay  were  owing  to  the  damage 
which  their  ships  sustained  in  tlie  late  tempests,  we  owe  it  to  the 
Great  Sovereign  of  the  winds  and  seas.  And  to  his  powerful  in- 
fluence, Avhich  at  pleasure  takes  away  the  spirit  of  the  boldest, 
we  may  piously  ascribe  that  sudden  panic  which  seized  the  host 
of  our  enemies,  so  that,  though  so  lately  flushed  with  some  visi- 
ble advantage  gained  over  us,  they  did  not  dare  to  look  our 
army  in  the  face;  but  fled  with  the  utmost  precipitation,  des- 
troying their  artillery,  and  blowing  up  their  own  ammunition, 
though  not  without  some  circumstances  of  treacherous  cruelt^^ 
which  have  justly  increased  their  infamy. 

I  am  sensible,  tlicre  are  some  views  in  which  it  might  have 
appeared   more  desirable,  that  they  should  have  ventured  a 

*  Psal.  cvii.  13.       f  Psal.  Ixvi.  20.        |  psal.  cxvi.  1,  2.        §  Job  xxxiii,  17. 


Deliverance  out  of  the  Hands  of  our  Enemies.  159  , 

battle,  whicli  must  in  all  human  probability  have  proved  fatal  to 
them  :  But  on  the  otlier  hand,  not  to  insist  upon  the  possibility 
of  another  panic  on  our  side,  which,  in  circumstances  like  those 
in  Avliich  we  then  appeared,  we  had,  I  hope,  no  just  cause  to 
apprehend,  we  may  at  least  conclude,  that  many  auion<^  them 
would  have  sold  their  lives  dear  when  grown  desperate,  and 
have  fought  in  the  bitterness  of  their  hearts.  Now  sure  we  must 
allow,  tiiat,  after  the  deplorable  losses  we  have  already  sustained 
since  the  war  and  the  rebellion  began,  it  is  a  very  favourable 
circumstance,  that  the  foe  was  defeated  without  a  combat  ; 
and  especially  at  a  time,  wlien  every  brave  soldier,  and  much 
more  everv  valiant  and  experienced  officer,  is,  as  the  prophet 
speaks,  More  precious  than  the  gold  of  Ophir  *.  Your  owrt 
thoughts  prevent  me,  I  doubt  not,  in  appl^'ing  what  I  now  speak, 
to  that  heroic  and  amiable  branch  of  the  royal  family,  who  was 
to  have  led  our  forces  to  the  field,  and  whose  fafety  is  so  emi- 
nently, and  so  justly,  the  public  care.  Had  God  permitted  the 
liurtful  sword  to  have  approached  him,  and  how  many  sword<5 
would  have  been  pointed  at  him  !  surely  the  joy  of  complete 
victory  and  national  deliverance  would  hardly  have  been  felt, 
and  our  shouts  would  have  been  turned  into  one  universal  groan. 
But  God  has  preserved  him  from  the  hazards  of  the  field,  and 
given  him  to  vanquish  by  the  terror  of  his  name  f. 

I  hope,  your  hearts  glow  with  gratitude,  while  you  hear 
these  imperfect  hints  of  the  many  merciful  circumstances,  with 
which  God  hath  adorned  this  great  deliveran{;e,  and  are  sa:;retly 
crying  out,  what  shall  Ave  render  to  him  for  these  accumulated 
benefits  ?  I  have  not  left  myself  time  to  enlarge  on  the  answer  ; 
but  I  would  suggest  it  briefiy  under  the  other  general  head, 
where  I  am, 

Secondly,  To  represent  and  inforce  the  return,  which  God  may 
reasonably  expect  from  us,  and  which  the  text  hints  at  in 
^he  concluding  part :  That  we  might  serve  him  without 

*  Isai.  xiii.  12. 
*  Two  small  incidents  contributed  very  much  to  this  prcat  event.  One  was, 
that  Cameron  of  Loolieil,  the  head  of  one  of  the  cliief  clans,  was  wounded  in  Uie 
action  at  Falkirk,  and  cibli'^ed  to  <:o  home  ;  on  which  all  his  trihe  wont  off.  The 
other  was  yet  more  surprising:  Mac  Dunald  of  Glengary,  who,  if  I  mistake  not, 
commanded  in  the  action  at  Preston- Pans,  was  since  the  battle  killed  arcidentally 
by  one  of  his  own  men  ;  and  all  that  clan  going  off  on  the  l(»ss  of  Uieir  head,  a  great 
desertion  fallowed,  which  had,  no  doubt,  a  very  great  influence  on  that  precipitation 
with  which  the  rebel  army  fled:  Tliough  after  all,  it  was  the  terror  of  his  Royai 
Ilighncss's  name,  that  completed  their  consternation  ;  so  that,  as  a  person  of  great 
eminence  in  those  p.irts,  from  whom  I  had  the  favour  tii  be  informed  of  these  particu- 
lars, justly  observes,  he  mi^'htsay  mare  than  Ca?sar,  V'eni,  nun  vidi,vici. 


160      ON  THE  FLIGHT  OF  THE  REBELS  FROM  STIRLING.    SeR.  VII. 

fear,  in  holiness  and  righteousness  before  hhuy  all  the  days 

of  our  life. 

I  may  take  a  just  and  natural  occasion  from  hence,  to  ex- 
hort you to  consecrate  yourselves  to  the  service  of  God ; 

to  set  yourselves  to  walk  before  him  in  holiness  and  righteous- 
ness ; to  pursue  this  course  with  cheerfulness  ; and  to 

persevere  in  it  with  unwearied  constancy. 

1.  The  deliverance  Avhich  we  are  now  receiving,  calls  upon  us 

all  to  consecrate  ourselves  to  the  service  of  God. 

It  calls  upon  us,  to  be  truly  religious  ;  to  remember  the 
blessed  God  as  the  great  author  of  this,  and  every  mercy  ;  and 
in  consequence  of  this,  not  only  to  address  some  transient 
acknowledgment  to  hira,  but  to  serve  him  :  To  make  an  un- 
feio-ncd  regard  to  him,  the  foundation  of  all  our  virtues,  and 
the  principle  of  all  our  actions.  It  particularly  requires,  that, 
conscious  of  our  obligations  to  him,  and  our  dependance  upon 
him,  we  keep  up  a  grateful  commerce  with  him,  as  our  Creator, 
our  Redeemer,  our  Protector,  and  our  Father  ;  and  daily  address 
him  in  prayer  and  praise,  as  those  who  know  that  we  are  unto 
him  a  holy  priesthood,  and  a  peculiar  people  *.  Let  those  there- 
fore, who  have  neglected  these  important  and  delightful  exer- 
cises, set  themselves  to  approacli  the  blessed  God,  through  the 
great  Mediator,  and  make  a  dedication  of  themselves  to  him, 
that  their  services  may  be  accepted  :  Let  those  who  have 
already  done   it,    renew  it  with  pleasure  :  And  let  us  all, 

2.  Take  care  to  approve  the  sincerity  of  such  solemn  acts,  by 

walking  before  him  in  holiness  and  righteousness. 

As  the  God  to  whom  Ave  profess  to  devote  ourselves,  is  holy^ 
let  us  be  holy  in  all  tnannerof  conversation^^  ;  separating  our- 
selves from  every  pollution  both  of  the  flesh  and  of  the  spiritXy 
and  religiously  observing  righteousness  in  all  its  branches  ;  giv- 
ing in  the  first  place  to  the  blessed  God  his  due,  and  esteeming 
it  an  indispensable  duty  to  abound  in  all  the  offices  of  justice 
and  charity  to  our  fellow-creatures.  Thus  let  us  behave  our- 
selves, as  before  Him ;  remembering  that  we  are  continually 
ill  the  venerable  presence  of  that  glorious  being,  from  whom  no 
artifice  can  conceal  our  actions,  to  whom  no  specious  pretences 
can  disguise  them  ;  w?/jo  sees  our  ways,  and  counts  all  our  steps  ^. 

*  1  Pet.  ii.  9.       As  the  word  Xa.lpEi/?iv  is  used  in  the  text,  it  evidently  directs 
«iu-  thoughts  to  these  views.  I-  1  Pet.  i.  15.         j  '2  Cor.  vh.  1.        §  Job  xxxi.  4- 


Deliverance  out  of  the  Hands  of  our  Enemies.  1 6 1 

This  will  give  a  firmness  and  a  consistency  to  our  conduct, 
V  liicli  it  could  not  otherwise  have  ;  and  will  farther  dispose  us, 
as  we  are  required  in  tlie  text, 

3.  To  pursue  this  course  witli  a  holy  cheerfulness  and  alacrity  of 
spirit  ;  to  serve  him  without  fear. 

The  filiaiyVrtr  of  God  is  so  essential  a  part  of  true  religion, 
that  it  is  often  put  for  the  whole  of  it  ;  and  the  angel  which 
John  saw,  fij/ing  through  the  midst  of  heaven,  having  the  ever- 
lasting gospel  to  preach  to  them  that  dwell  on  the  earth,  de- 
manded it  aloud*.      But  there  is  a  certain  anxiety  and  servi- 
tude  of  spirit,  which  is  beneath  the  genius  of  Christianity  ;    a 
gloomy  and  ungenerous  conception  of  the  Deity,  which  is  a  kind 
of  heavy  chain  upon  the  mind  ;  which  makes  all  its  operations 
unwieldy,  and  painful.     This  the  gentle  encouraging  consti- 
tution of  the  gospel  was  intended  to  cure,  by  inspiring  us  with 
sentiments  of  gratitude,  hope  and  love.     Fear  hath  tonnent ; 
and  therefore  that  perfection  of  love,  to  which  so  gracious  a 
dispensation  was  intended  to  bring  us,  casteth  it  out  f.     Forxi^e 
have  not  received  the  spirit  of  bondage,  but  of  adoption  ;  and  full 
of  filial  aftcction  and  confidence,  under  the  influences  of  that 
spirit,  we  cry  abba.  Father  %'      Having  laid  hold  on  the  cove7mnt 
of  grace  and  peace  in  Christ,  having  secured  our  everlasting 
concerns  by  committing  our  souls  into  his  faithful  hand,  and 
listing  under  him  as  the  great  Captain  of  our  Salvation,  Ave  ought 
not  to  be  terrified,  as  if  we  every  moment  apprehended  some 
fatal  event  ;  but  should   march  on  with  cheerful   courage,  as 
those  that  expect  to  be  More  than  conquerors  §.       The  Lord  is 
^ny  light,  and  my  salvation,  whom  shall  J  fear?    The  Lord  is 
the  strength  of  my  life,  of  whom  shall  I  be  afraid  ?  Though  an 
host    should  encamp  against   me,  my    heart  shall  not  fear^. 
Renewed  deliverance  should  encourage  our  hope  and  confidence 
in  Him,  and  should  forbid  that  anxiety  of  spirit,  which  seasons 
of  public  alarm  are  too  ready  to  occasion.     Let  this  therefore 
be  our  character  and  temper  :  And  to  conclude  the  exhortation, 

4.  Let  us  constantly  persevere  in  it,  and  carry  it  through  all  the 
days  of  our  life. 

It  was  the  unhappy  character  of  Israel,  that  though  under 
the  first  impressions  of  his  merciful  appearances  for  them  they 
sang  God's  praise,  they  soonforgat  his  works  %     But  we  ought 

*  Rev.  xiv.  6,  7.         f  1  John  iv.  18.         %  Roiu.  viii.  15, 
§  Koai.  viii.  37-         ||  Pf,  xxvii.],  3.       *\  Ts,  oi.  12,  13. 
2 


162      ON  THE  FLIGHT  OF  THE  REBELS  FROM  STIRLING.    SeR.  VII. 

to  remember,  that  though  this  particular  interposition  and  act 
of  divine  providence  be  a  transient  thing,  the  effects  of  it  are 
solid  and  permanent.  If  (which  I  hope  will  be  the  case,)  we 
enjoy  future  tranquility  and  liberty  ;  if  our  religious  rights 
continue  unmolested,  even  to  the  end  of  our  lives  ;  and  our  pos- 
terity rise  up  to  the  same  blessings  after  us  ;  we  are  to  ascribe  it  to 
this  defeat  of  the  common  enemy.  It  ought  therefore  to  be 
our  care,  to  carry  the  substantial  proofs  of  our  gratitude  through 
every  remaining  day  of  life  j  and,  as  far  as  in  us  lies,  to  trans- 
mit the  impression  to  them  that  come  after  us  ;  as  it  is  the 
divine  pleasure,  that  One  generation  should  praise  his  works  to 
another,  and  should  declare  his  mighty  acts*.  And  indeed,  if 
the  gracious  hand  of  God  in  our  deliverance  be  forgot  ;  if  men 
either  attempt  no  reformation  at  all,  or  soon  return  to  their 
former  indolence  and  wickedness  ;  I  fear,  our  case  will  be  like 
that  of  the  wicked  dasm.oniac  in  the  parable,  to  whom  the  evil 
spirit,  M-hich  had  left  him  for  a  while,  returned,  with  seven 
confederate  spirits  warse  than  himself,  who  rendered  his  last 
state  more  miserable  than  theforjuerf. 

But  this  naturally  leads  me  to  mention  some  considerations, 
by  which  I  shall  farther  inforce  the  exhortation  I  have  been 
addressing  to  you.  And  you  will  easily  perceive,  that  they  are 
%ery  obvious  ;  and  the  importance  of  them  is  equally  apparent. 
— We  shall  otherwise  make  a  most  ungrateful  return  to  God  ; — 
we  shall  be  condemned  even  by  the  tenor  of  our  own  prayers  ;•— 
Ave  may  reasonably  expect,  that  God  should  renew  his  chas- 
tisements with  greater  severity  ;— or  we  may  be  assured,  that 
to  have  alienated  ourselves  from  his  service  after  such  a  delive- 
rance, will  be  matter  of  dreadful  account  at  last  to  every  par- 
ticular person,  however  God  may  be  pleased  to  deal  with  us  as 
a  nation. 

(1.)  Let  your  own  consciences  judge,  Avhether  it  were  not  a 
most  ungrateful  return  to  the  blessed  God  for  all  the 
benefits  we  have  received  from  him,  to  neglect  the  tem- 
per and  conduct  to  M^hich  we  have  been  exhorted. 
What  can  we  imagine  he  intended  by  this  train  of  pro- 
vidences ;  by  the  alarm  and  the  rescue  ?  Was  it  not  to  awaken 

us  ?  Was  it  not  to  engage  us  to  serve  him  ? What  other 

end  could  his  wisdom  and  goodness  propose  in  it  ?   Or  what 

so  worthy  end  can  we  ascribe  to  him  ? And  shall  we,  so 

tar  as  m  us  lies,  frustrate  this  gracious  design  of  providence  ; 

*  Ps.  cxlv,  4.  f  Mat.  xii.  43,-1 


Deliverance  out  of  the  Hands  of  our  Enemies.  163 

ii  design,  which  indeed  so  greatly  iiihanccs  the  value  of  tlie 
mercy  itself?  Shall  wc  go  on  in  our  sinSj  and  act  as  if  wc 
really  imagined,  that  we  were  Delivered,  on  purpose  to  re- 
]K\it  and  aggravate  our  abominations  *  ?  Surely  we  should 
think  of  it  with  detestation.  According  to  that  just  and  lively 
reasoning  of  the  pious  Kzraf,  Jfter  thou  hast  given  us  such 
a  deliverance  as  this,  should  we  again  break  thy  commandments? 
God  forbid. — \V'erc  tliis  to  be  our  conduct, 

2.  Wc  should  be  condemned  by  the  tenor  of  our  own  prayers. 

Let  me  on  this  occasion  seriously  remind  you,  of  our  late 
solemn  assemblies,  in  public,  and  in  private  ;  of  the  repeated 
and  earnest  supplications,  which  we  have  made  it  our  professed 
business  to  pour  out  in  the  divine  presence.  And  what  was 
then  the  language  of  our  lips,  and  of  our  hearts?  Could  we 
have  presumed  to  say,  "  Lord,  deliver  us,  that  we  may  go  on 
to  olfend  thee  !  And  lengthen  out  our  tranquility,  that  our  minds 
mav  be  as  vain,  our  passions  as  irregular,  and  our  lives  as  unpro- 
fitable as  before  !"  No,  far  from  this,  it  was  our  prayer,  that  God 
would  by  all  this  reform  us !  That  he  would  reform  us  as  a 
nation  !  And  what  vile  hypocrisy,  what  profane  contempt  of  the 
divine  Being  were  it,  to  pretend  to  desire  reformation  as  a 
nation,  while  we  are  unw  illing  to  bear  our  part  in  it  ;  nay, 
while  we  are  throwing  in  the  weight  of  our  example,  be  it  more 
or  less,  into  the  opposite  scale  !  Alas,  Sirs,  you  may  forget  your 
prayers,  as  soon  as  you  have  ended  them ;  you  may  disregard 
the  purport  of  them,  even  while  you  pretend  by  your  bodily 
posture  and  appearance  to  be  ottering  them  to  God  :  l>ut  they 
are  all  set  down  m  the  book  of  his  remembrance  ;  and  his  eye, 
Avhich  can  never  be  eluded  or  imposed  upon,  discerns  the  con- 
sistency or  inconsistency  of  vour  actions,  when  compared  with 
them  If  therefore  these  reasonable  and  grateful  returns  be  not 
made,  it  follows  by  a  natural  connection  with  the  former  con^ 
sideration, 

3.  We  may  justly  apprehend,  that  God  will  renew  his  chastise- 
ments with  greater  severity. 

Such  is  the  tenor  of  that  dreadful  scripture.  If  _ye  will  not 
he  reformed  by  me  by  these  things,  saith  the  Lord,  that  is,  by 
the  calamities  which  had  been  spoken  of  before,  but  will  still 
walk  contrary  to  me  ;  Then  will  I  also  walk  contrary  to  you, 
and  will  punish  you  yet  seven  times  more  for  your  sinsX.     And 

*  Jur.  vii.  10.  f  Ezra  ix.  13,  U.  J  Lev.  xxvi.  23,  24. 

VOL.  III.  X 


164      ON  THE  FLIGHT  OF  THE  REBELS  FROM  STIRLING.   SeR.  VIZ. 

let  US  not  imagine  this  impossible.  Let  us  not  act,  as  if  we 
thought,  what  it  is  certain  none  of  us  can  think,  that  God  hath 
no  weapon  but  the  sword,  by  which  he  can  chastise  us.  Those 
arrows  of  his  righteous  displeasure  which  he  is  discharging 
against  our  cattle,  such  as  in  some  instances  have  been  a  fore- 
runner to  the  most  terrible  of  all  temporal  judgments,  apestilence 
among  men,  may  sensibly  teach  us  the  contrar3^ — Nor  can  we 
imagine,  that  if  he  chose  to  make  the  sword  the  instrument  of 
his  justice,  he  has  no  other  hands  to  wield  it,  than  those  from 
■which  it  now  seems  to  be  falling.  Nay,  even  these  falling  hands 
can  he  strengthen.  His  almighty  breath  can  in  a  moment  blow 
up  the  dying  embers  into  a  flame,  which  shall  spread  from  our 
cities  to  our  villages,  and  consume  our  houses,  our  palaces,  and 
cur  churches. — It  is  very  observable,  that  when  Jerusalem  was 
just  going  to  be  destroyed,  first  by  the  Chaldeans,  and  several 
ages  afterwards  by  the  Romans,  that  a  few  months  before  the 
fatal  blow  came,  the  hostile  armies  which  were  encamped  against 
the  cit}',  on  a  sudden  rased  the  siege,  and  removed  to  some 
distance  ;  which  afforded  a  short  triumph  to  the  wretched  in- 
habitants *.  But  alas,  soon  did  they  return  with  redoubled 
terror,  and  execute  the  divine  judgments  upon  them,  Avith  a 
severity  hardly  to  be  equalled  in  the  history  of  any  othercountry. 
Let  Britain  hear  and  tremble  ;  lest  after  having  shared  with 
Jerusalem  in  the  rich  blessings  it  received  and  abused,  we  also 
share  with  it  in  a  proportionable  vengeance.  But  whether 
that  vengeance  fall  upon  us  as  a  kingdom,  or  not, 

(4.)  We  may  be  assured,  that  to  have  alienated  ourselves  from 
the  service  of  God,  after  having  received  such  and  so 
many  deliverances,  will  be  to  each  particular  person  mat- 
ter of  dreadful  account  before  the  tribunal  of  God  at  last. 

Remember  it,  Sirs,  the  day  is  near ;  that  awful  important 
day,  that  will  call  you  to  the  divine  bar:  And  are  not  many  of 
you  every  hour  liable  to  be  called  thither,  with  the  guilt  of  all 
your  sins  upon  your  heads  ?  Alas,  how  many  have  passed  into 
eternity  since  this  rebellion  broke  out,  even  of  those  who  have 
not  been  exposed  to  the  ravages  of  war,  and  the  terrors  of  the 
sword  !  How  many,  that  but  a  few  weeks  ago  were  as  inquisi- 
tive after  news,  and  as  impatient  to  hear  the  event  as  we,  have 
been  suddenly  cut  off  in  the  midst  of  ail  the  tumult  and  agitation 
of  their  various  passions;  and  found  perhaps,  that,  important  as 
the  affair  was  about  the  issue  of  which  they  were  so  solicitous, 

*See  Jcr.  xxxTii.  5, 10.  and  Joseph.  BeU.  Jud.  Lib.  ii.  cap.  19.  [al.  24,]§.  6,  1. 


Deliverance  out  of  the  Hayids  of  our  Enemies.         1 65 

there  Avas  another  of  infinitely  greater  moment  to  them,  which 
tliey  neglected ;  and  neglected  to  their  eternal  ruin  ! 

We  all  know,  that  we  must  shortly  be  among  the  dead .  And 
surely  when  we  have  that  solemn  interview  with  our  Judge,  he 
will  remember  through  what  a  scene  we  have  passed  ;  and  will 
distinctly  attend  to  every  circumstance,  in  his  conduct  towards 
«^^  And  how  justly  may  he  expostulate  with  us,  at  least  by  the 
voice  of  our  own  conscience,  in  some  such  language  as  this? 
"  What  could  I  have  done  more  for  you,  than  I  did  ?  What  me- 
thods did  I  not  try  upon  you  ?  By  my  kind  providence  you  were 
born  in  a  land,  for  its  civil  and  religious  privileges  the  glory  of 
all  lands.  You  grew  up  from  3'our  infimcy  in  a  profound  peace, 
and  only  heard  by  a  distant  report  of  the  calamities,  with  which 
other  nations  were  exercised.  On  you  I  tried  gentler  methods, 
Sending  to  you  all  my  servants,  rising  up  early  and  sending  th-em, 
with  messages  of  the  most  evident  importance ;  but  ye  xvouldnot 
hear*.  You  still  continued  Settled  on  your  lees  f:  And  there- 
fore, after  long  forbearance,  I  for  a  little  while  changed  the  deal- 
ings of  my  providence.  I  shook  my  rod  over  you:  I  permitted 
an  enemy  to  invade  you,  and  evil  to  rise  up  against  you  at  home : 
And  after  long  insensibility,  you  saw  your  danger  extreme.  But 
while  it  was  pressing,  you  were  too  busy  to  mind  religion.  It 
■was  judged  employment  enough,  to  prepare  for  your  security 
against  the  violence  of  man  ;  whereas  my  displeasure  was  not 
apprehended,  nor  any  serious  measures  taken  to  provide  against 
it.  I  bore  all  this  ;  and  by  a  sudden  turn  in  my  providence  I 
delivered,  and  estabHshed  you  again;  And  you  did  indeed  take 
some  notice  of  it.  You  enquired  into  the  circumstance  ;  you 
talked  of  it  for  a  M-hile,  as  a  remarkable  story  :  But  it  proved  a 
mere  amusement.  Your  hearts  were  not  struck  ;  you  Retui^ned 
not  unto  me:  No  man  repented  of  his  wickedness,  so  as  seriously 
to  say,  what  have  I  d.''d:-X?  Therefore  were  you  justly  given  up 
as  incorrigible.  I  had  reason  to  say,  JVhy  shouldye  be  stricken 
any  more  ?  ye  will  revolt  more  and  more  §.  Wonder  not  tiiere- 
fore,  that  you  are  now  given  up  to  destruction,  after  having  been 
thus  solicited  and  alarmed,  thus  rescued  and  intreated  again,  in 
vain." 

May  divine  grace  preserve  you  from  that  dreadful  sentence, 
which  must  succeed  to  such  a  remonstrance !  May  it  inspire  us 
all  with  better  sentiments;  that  we  may  not  only  learn,  Avhat 
these  insufferable  disorders  must,  I  think,  teach  the  most  stupid, 

♦  Jcr.  vii.  15, 1 Y  I  Zeph.  \.  U.  %  Jer.  viii.  6.  §  Isa.  i.  5. 

X   2 


166      ON  THE  FLIGHT  OF  THE  REBELS  FROM  STIRLING.   SeR.  VII. 

to  be  '.ensible  of  the  blessincjs  ^ve  enjoy  under  his  majesty's  hap- 
py administration,  and  most  loyally  to  exert  ourselves  to  the  ut- 
most in  its  defence  :  But  may  we  also  learn,  to  submit  ourselves 
most  constantlv  to  the  government  of  God  !  May  we  all  be  en- 
gaged to  Search  our  ways  and  our  hearts  *,  that  we  may  correct 
every  thing  that  is  amiss,  and  may  act  more  worthy  the  signal 
blessings  we  continue  to  enjoy,  and  the  gracious  providence  by 
which  we  arc  re-established  in  them  I 

I  shall  conclude,  with  one  more  general  reflection  and  in- 
ference ;  which  will  ever  be  seasonable,  and  which  most  directly 
suits  the  text  in  its  primary  design,  as  uttered  at  the  birth  of 
John  the  forerunner  of  our  Lord. 

How  incomparably  great  are  our  obligations  to  God,  for  that 
deliverance  which  he  hath  granted  us  by  his  Son  ;  and  how 
great  will  our  guilt  and  condemnation  be,  if  we  do  not  im- 
prove it  aright ! 

The  utmost  rage  of  human  enemies  can  only  Kill  the  body  f; 
but  those  spiritual  enemies  from  whom  Christ  delivers  us,  are 
aiming  at  the  everlastmg  destruction  of  the  soul.  By  him  God 
bath  condescended  to  give  us  the  most  complete  rule,  and  the 
most  amiable  example,  of  a  pious,  holy,  and  righteous  life;  in- 
forced  by  every  motive  that  can  strike  the  most  active  of  our  pas- 
sions. The  stupid  disregard  of  it  which  so  generally  prevails, 
is,  next  to  the  mad  opposition  which  men  of  corrupt  minds  are 
making  to  it,  the  basest  and  most  provoking  ingratitude  to  the 
divine  Being.  And  the  just  displeasure  of  God  against  it  will 
be  irresistibly  demonstrated,  wiien  he,  whom  men  Avillnot  now 
receive  as  a  deliverer^  shall  be  Revealed  in  flaming  fire,  taking 
vengeance  on  them  that  know  not  God,  and  that  obey  not  his 
gospel  %. 

But  I  hope,  many  of  us  have  been  engaged  by  divine -grace 
to  comply  with  its  design,  and  have  the  testimony  of  our  con- 
sciences tliat  we  are  "walking  before  God  in  holiness  and  righte- 
ousness. Let  such  of  us  be  animated  to  go  on  cheerfully  in  our 
uay.  Let  Our  souls  magnify  the  Lord,  and  our  spirits  rejoice 
in  God  our  Saviour  §,  persisting  in  his  service,  till  we  arrive  at 
that  world,  where  our  disposition  to  it,  and  our  happiness  in  it, 
shall  meet  with  no  interruption  or  allay  ;  even  at  those  peaceful 
and  blissful  regions,  where  no  mmie  of  an  enemy  shall  be  heard 
but  in  songs  of  triumph ;  and  where  the  utter  destruction  of  tha 
last  of  enemies,  shall  furnish  out  matter  for  those  songs. 

*  lam.  iii.  40,        f  Mat.  x.  28.        +  2  Thess.  i.  7,  8.        §  Luke i.  46, 47. 


rOSTSCRTPT. 


I  add  the  Hymn  which  was  sung  after  Sermon,  as  what  may  naturally  and 
plainly  express  those  devout  sentiments,  which  will,  I  hope,  rise  in  the 
mind  of  every  attentive  reader. 


I. 

Salvation  does  to  God  belong, 
His  power  and  grace  shall  be  our  song: 
His  hand  hath  dealt  a  secret  blow, 
And  terror  strikes  the  haughty  foe, 

11. 

The  Lord's  avenging  sword  is  nigh  ; 
In  uproar  wild  their  legions  fly  : 
And  stores,  so  late  their  boast  and  joy. 
Their  own  despairing  hands  destroy. 

III. 

Praise  to  the  Lord,  who  bows  his  ear. 
Propitious  to  his  people's  prayer ; 
And,  tho'  deliverance  long  delay. 
Answers  in  his  well-chosen  day. 

IV. 

Oh  may  thy  grace  our  land  engage, 
Resaicd  from  fierce  barbarian  rage, 
Ihe  tribute  of  its  love  to  bring 
To  thee,  our  Saviour  and  our  King ! 

V. 

Our  temples  guarded  from  the  flame. 
Shall  echo  thy  triumphant  name; 
And  every  peaceful  private  home 
lo  tliee  a  temple  shall  become. 

VL 

Still  be  it  our  supreme  delight, 
To  walk  as  in  tliine  honour'd  sight; 
Still  in  thy  precepts,  and  thy  fear, 
To  life's  last  hour  to  persevt-re ! 


SERMON  I. 


THE  TEMPER  AND  CONDUCT 


PRIMITIVE  MINISTERS  OF  THE  GOSPEL, 

JUustrated  and  recommended^  in  a  Sermon  preached  at  JVisbeach,  June  S, 
1737,  at  the  Ordination  of  the  Rev.  Mr.  William  Johnston. 


2  Cor.  iv.  5. — For  we  preach  not  ourselves,  but  Christ  Jesus  tlie  Lord;  and 
ourselves  your  servants  for  Jesus  sake, 

JL  HE  apostle  obsen^es,  that  what  liad  Happened  to  him  with 
regard  to  his  imprisonment  at  Rome,  though  it  seemed  to  bear 
so  melancholy  an  aspect,  yet  did  on  the  whole  fall  out  by  the 
special  providence  of  God  for  the  furtherance  of  the  gospel  *  ; 
and  we  may  justly  apply  the  same  reflection  to  several  other 
very  afflictive  circumstances  of  his  life,  and  particularly  to  the 
most  perverse  and  unjust  opposition  which  he  met  with  from 
those  factious  teachers,  especially  of  the  circumcision,  who 
gave  so  much  disturbance  to  him  and  the  churches.  The 
attack  which  they  made  upon  his  character  and  interest  at 
Corinth,  laid  him  under  a  necessity  of  saying  many  thino-s 
which  he  would  have  gladly  omitted,  and  of  mentioning  some 
circumstances  in  his  history,  which  had  otherwise  perhaps  re- 
mained luiknown,  at  least  could  never  have  appeared  with  equal 
evidence  and  spirit.  While  he  is  engaged  in  his  own  vindica- 
tion, and  entering  into  the  particulars  of  his  character  and  con- 
duct, he  drops  many  very  edifying  expressions,  which  are 
Avorthy  the  most  attentive  regard  beth  of  ministers  and  private 
christians  ;  of  which  the  words  I  have  now  been  reading  are 
none  of  the  least  considerable.  He  was  obliged  to  say  some- 
thing which  might  look  like  an  encomium  on  himself,  and 
therefore  chuscs  to  speak  in  the  name  of  all  his  faithful  brethren 

*  Phil.  i.  22. 


172  ORDINATION  OF  MR.  JOHNSTON.  SeR.  T. 

in  the  ministry,  as  well  as  his  own.  Now  after  he  had  declared 
that  they  had  Renounced  the  hidden  things  of  dishonesty ,  Avhich 
were  the  great  mysteries  of  the  heathen  priesthood,  and  probably 
the  secret  sprinjT  which  actuated  these  judaizing  teachers,  iN^odike 
them  walking  in  craftiness,  not  handling  the  word  of  God  deceit^ 
fully,  or  adulterating  it  with  any  foreign  and  corrupt  mixtures  ; 
but  acting  so  constantlyin  the  sight  of  God,  as  to  secure  to  them- 
selves a  secret  testimony  in  the  consciences  of  all  that  intimately 
knew  them,  and  accurately  observed  them  ;  he  adds,  For  we 
preach  not  ourselves,  but  Christ  Jesus  the  Lord ;  and  ourselves 
your  servants  for  Jesus  sake  *.  Oh  that  every  christian  minister, 
who  in  succeeding  ages  hath  read  these  words,  had  been  delivered 
into  the  mould  of  them  !  Oh  that  we  whom  God  hath  honoured 
with  this  high  and  holy  calling,  may  make  it  our  increasing  care 
to  form  ourselves  by  them;  and  Beholding  as  in  a  glass  the 
beautiful  model,  jnay  be  changed  into  the  same  image  from 
glory  to  glory. 

It  will  be  my  business  in  the  process  on  my  discourse  froni 
these  words, 

I.  To  illustrate  the  account  which  the  apostle  here  gives  of 
his  own  conduct,  and  that  of  his  brethren  in  the  christian  mi- 
nistry. 

II.  To  consider  the  principles  on  which  we  may  reasonably 
conclude  they  acted,  and  by  which  they  were  influenced  to  it, 

III.  I  shall  close  with  some  reflections  on  the  whole. 

I  chuse  to  throw  my  discourse  into  such  a  form,  as  it  will 
give  me  an  opportunity  of  suggesting  my  advice  and  exhorta- 
tions to  you,  my  dear  and  reverend  brother,  who  are  this  day 
giving  3^oursclf  up  to  this  excellent  work,  in  the  most  humble 
and  respectful  manner  ;  M'hich  I  am  now  the  more  solicitous  to 
do,  lest  I  should  seem  to  dictate  to  those  from  Avhom  I  shall 
always  be  ready,  Avith  great  pleasure  and  deference,  to  receive 
instructions. 

I.  I  am  to  consider  the  account  which  the  apostle  gives  of 
liis  own  conduct,  and  that  of  his  brethren  in  the  christian  mi- 
nistry :  We  preach  not  ourselves,  but  Christ  Jesus  the  Lord ;  and 
ourselves  your  servants  for  Jesus  sake.  In  which  words  he 
plainly  declares — that  they  did  not  make  themselves  the  chief 
end  of  their  ministry,  but  faithfully  devoted  it  to  the  service  of 
Christ  as  the  great  Lord,  whom  they  endeavoured  to  serve  by 
all  the  most  humble  and  affectionate  condescensions  to  those 
that  were  committed  to  their  ministerial  care. 

*  It  seems  evident  to  me,  that  ver,  3  and  4,  come  in  as  a  parenthesis. 
2 


Temper  and  Conduct  of  Primitive  Ministers.  173 

1.  The.  apostles  did  not  make  themselves  the  chief  end  of 
their  ministry. 

We,  says  St.  Paul,  pttach  not  ourselves.  It  is  to  be  feared 
tliat  some  did  so  even  in  those  early  days,  for  the  anti- 
clirisiian  spirit  began  to  work  betimes  ;  so  tiiat  it  gave  Paul  rea- 
son to  say,  that  they  served  not  Christ  Jesus,  but  their  own 
belly,  while  thev  preached  him  out  Of  contention  rather  tlian 
love,  supposing  to  add  ajjliciion  to  his  bonds  *;  insomuch  that  he 
coinjilams  of  it  as  a  general,  thougli,  blessed  be  God,  not  an 
universal  character,  AH  seeking  their  own  things,  not  the  things 
which  are  Jesus  Christ's  f .  But  this  was  far  from  being  the 
character  of  the  apostle,  or  any  faithful  disciple  of  Christ  ;  who 
must  have  learnt,  in  some  measure,  that  essential  branch  of  the 
christian  character,  to  Deny  himself,  and  taking  up  even  his 
cross  to  follow  his  master  to  crucitixion  itself,  should  he  lead  him 
on  in  that  painful  and  dangerous  way  |. 

It  may  be  worth  our  while  more  particularly  to  observe, 
tliat  these  good  men  did  not  seek  their  own  applause,  their  own 
interest,  or  their  own  power  and  authority,  as  the  chief  end  of 
undertaking  and  prosecuting  the  ministry  ;  for  each  of  these 
particulars  must  be  included  in  this  general  expression,  wc 
preach  not  ourselves,  and  it  will  be  our  wisdom  to  regard 
each. 

These  primitive  ministers  did  not,  in  preaching  the  gospel, 
aim  at  their  own  applause  and  reputation. 

The  greatest  men  amongst  the  heathens  did  it,  and  avowed 
it  ;  they  reckoned  the  love  of  fame  amongst  the  noblest  of 
passions,  and  the  pursuit  of  it  appeared  a  mark  of  the  most 
generous  mind.  But  christian  apostles  had  higherviews.  They 
considered  themselves  as  in  the  presence  of  God,  and  had  the 
truly  great  ambition  of  being  Accepted  of  hivi^,  and  then  hu- 
man applause  and  admiration  disap[)eared  as  less  than  nothing. 
It  is,  says  good  St.  Paul,  A  very  small  thing  to  vie,  the  smallest 
matter  one  can  imagine,  to  be  Judged  of  man" s  judgment,  Jor  he 
that  judgeth  me  is  the  Lord^.  On  this  principle  we  tind,  that 
when  he  came  to  Corinth,  though  it  were  so  learned  and  polite  a 
city,  he  did  not  affect  to  Come  with  the  excellency  or  loftiness 
of  speech,  and  the  persuasive  words  of  man's  wisdom  ^;  he  did 
not  labour  for  the  exactest  forms  of  expression,  nor  study  to 
compose  and  deliver  his  discourses  in  such  a  manner  as  might 

♦  Phil.  i.  IG.  fPhil.  ii.  21.  jMat.xvi.  24. 

§  2  Cor.  V.  9.  11  EX«x»5"oy,  1  Cor.  iv.  3.  ^  1  Cor.  ij.  1,  4. 

VOL.  in.  Y 


I7i  ORDINATION    OF    MR.   JOHNSTON.  SeR.  I. 

most  easily  have  gained  him  the  reputation  of  an  exact  orator, 
so  that  people  should  point  after  him  as  he  passed  through  the 
streets,  and  sa}^,  That  is  Paul  !  a  little  circumstance  with  which 
poor  Demosthenes  was  so  highly  delighted  ;  but  he  contented 
himself  with  preaching  the  plain  things  of  the  gospel,  in  a  plain 
and  serious,  a  rational  and  unaffected  manner,  whether  men 
would  hear,  or  whether  they  would  forbear.  And  indeed,  he 
was  rather  on  his  guard  against  too  pompous  and  tlorid  a  style, 
Jest  it  should  seem  that  a  man  who  was  so  studious  to  adorn  the 
doctrines  of  the  gospel,  did  not  thoroughly  believe  them  ;  and 
so  the  Cross  of  Christ  should  have  become  of  none  effect  *,  when 
an  apostle  seemed  so  little  penetrated  with  the  argument  drawn 
from  it,  as  to  be  at  leisure  for  trifles. 

Such  a  turn  of  mind  we  may  easily  perceive  in  his  epistles. 
They  appear  to  be  written  out  of  the  fulness  of  his  soul,  but 
without  any  anxiety  about  the  style,  or  any  very  exact  care 
even  to  range  the  ideas  according  to  the  most  methodical  order ; 
abounding  every  where  with  a  great  many  lively  and  beautiful 
digressions,  that  often  run  into  each  other  in  a  manner  which 
the  strictest  rules  of  polite  writing  will  hardly  allow.  In  a 
word,  we  eminently  see  in  St.  Paul,  perhaps  beyond  any  other 
writer  in  the  world,  A  good  vian  bringing  out  of  the  good  trea- 
sure of  his  heart  good  things  f^  with  a  kind  of  magnificent  neg- 
ligence. His  works  are  like  a  wilderness  of  beautiful  and 
fragrant  plants,  springing  up  promiscuously  out  of  a  happy  soil ; 
and  amidst  all  their  seeming  confusion,  producing,  to  a  natural 
taste,  a  finer  effect  than  if  they  were  drawn  out  with  a  solicitous 
care,  set  in  the  most  regular  figures,  and  cut  into  a  thousand 
artificial  forms. 

Again,  the  apostles,  and  their  fellow-labourers  in  the  gospel 
ministry,  were  not  governed  by  a  view  to  the  possessions  of  the 
present  life. 

These  holy  men  abhorred  the  very  thought  of  making  the 
<;hurch  of  Christ  a  kind  of  porch  to  the  temple  of  Mammon.  The 
circumstances  in  which  they  undertook  their  work,  were  such 
as  could  leave  no  room  to  suspect  that  they  sought  it  only  as  a 
gainful  trade.  On  the  contrary,  at  their  very  first  setting  out  in 
it,  they  left  ally  that  they  might  follow  their  master.  And 
though  it  may  be  objected  with  regard  to  some  of  them,  that 
their  all  was  little,  yet  they  had  at  least  food  and  raiment,  and 
a  habitation  which  they  could  call  their  own  ;  whereas,  when 
they  devoted  themselves  to  the  ministry  of  the  gospel,  one  of 

*  ICor.i.  17.  f  Mat.  xii.  35. 


Temper  and  Conduct  of  Primitive  Ministers,  115 

them  could  say  in  the  name  of  tlie  rest,  Even  to  this  day  t£e  are 
hungry  and  naked,  and  have  no  certain  dwellmg-place  *.  And 
tliis  was  St.  Piiul,  who  seems  to  have  resigned  very  great  pro- 
spects, which  his  hberal  education,  his  remarkable  proficiency 
and  zeal  in  the  Jewish  religion,  and  the  degree  of  favour  which 
lie  had  even  in  his  younger  davs  with  the  greatest  men  of  his 
nation,  might  tairlv^have  given  him.  But  Those  things,  -which 
utrc  Ijeforc  gain  to  him,  he  counted  loss  for  Christ  \  :  and  when 
lie  had  once  devoted  himself  to  his  service,  his  actions  as  well  as 
his  words  plainly  shewed,  that  he  was  crucified  to  the  world,hy 
the  cross  of  his  Redeemer.  He  could  therefore  appeal  to  the 
Corinthians,  that  his  conduct  liad  proved  he  sought  not  Theirs 
but  themX  ;  and  when  writing  to  the  Thessalonians,  could 
make  an  appeal  to  God  himself,  that  he  had  never  used  a  Cloak 
of  cffvetousncss  \\.  Nay,  when  leaving  the  Ephesians,  amongst 
whom  he  had  made  so  long  an  abode,  that  his  real  temper  must 
have  been  discovered,  he  could  assure  them,  and  they  them- 
selves could  testify  the  truth  of  it,  that  he  had  been  so  far  from 
Coveting  any  man's  silver,  or  gold,  or  apparel,  that  his  own 
hand  had  ministered  to  his  necessities^;  and  that,  in  order  to 
prevent  his  being  burdensome  to  them,  even  for  the  necessaries 
of  life,  he  had  sometimes  added  the  labour  of  the  night  to  that 
of  the  day. 

Nor  did  these  holy  men  arrogate  to  themselves  any  secular 
power,  or  pretend  to  any  authority  over  the  civil  liberties  of 
mankind. 

Grotius  supposes  this  to  be  the  direct  and  principal  mean- 
ing of  the  text ;  we  preach  not  ourselves  as  Lords,  but  proclaim 
Christ  Jesus  alone  under  that  character.  And  this  undoubtedly 
is  included  in  the  phrase,  though  I  can  see  no  imaginable  reason 
for  such  a  limitation  as  he  would  lay  upon  it.  These  primitive 
pastors  of  the  church,  according  to  that  excellent  advice  of  St. 
Peter,  so  peculiarly  forgotten  by  those  who  have  contended  for 
the  honour  of  heinghis  only  successors,  did  Not  behave  as  Lords 
over  God's  heritage  H  ;  and  though  they  insisted  upon  it,  that 
what  they  wrote  by  a  divine  revelation  and  direction,  should  he 
received -ds  The  commandmcfit  of  Christ**  ;  yet  Paul  himself 
expressly  renounces  all  claim  to  a  dominion  over  men's  faith : 
thereby  confessing  himself  not  to  be  the  master  of  the  family, 

♦  ICor.  iv.  11.  +Phil.  iii.7.  +2Cor.  xii.  14.    ||  1  Thcss.ii.  5.  §  Acts  xx.  33,34. 

^  1  Pet.  V.  :3.  Dr.  Latham's  eltgaiit  and  judicious  Discourse  on  this  clause  of  my 
text.at  the  ordination  of  Messrs.  Grejrory  and  Dodijo,  will  abundantly  supply  the 
deficiency  of  these  brief  remarks  of  mine  »ipon  it;  and  thither  I  do  with  groat  plea- 
sure refer  the  reader.  **  1  Cor.  xiv.  37. 

Y  2 


176  ORDINATION   OF   MR.    JOHNSTON.  SeR.  I. 

but  merely  a  servant  in  it,  who  desired  to  be  regarded  by  them 
no  farther  than  he  could  prove  that  he  spake  in  a  greater  name 
than  his  own.  Let  a  matiy  says  he,  so  esteem  of  lis  as  ministers 
of  Christy  and  stewards  of  the  mysteries  of  God,  of  whom  the 
great  thing  required  is,  that  we  be  found  faithful  to  h\m  whose 
commission  we  bear.  Nor  did  they  ever  pretend  that  this 
extraordinary  character  of  messengers  from  heaven  gave  them 
any  claim  to  secular  power  on  earth  ;  they  assumed  no  authority 
in  temporals  in  order  to  spirituals  ;  and  they  were  not  penetrat- 
ing enough  to  understand  the  doctrine  of  the  Two  swords  * ,  with 
which  many  have  since  been  so  fond  of  meddling,  I  fear  to  their 
own  wounding,  as  well  as  to  the  dishonour  of"  the  christian  name, 
and  the  destruction  of  many  of  their  fellow -creatures.  The 
•weapons  of  the.  apostle's  warfare  were  not  carnal^  but  spiritual^ 
as  it  was  necessary  they  should  be,  in  order  to  the  britiging 
every  thought  into  subjection  to  the  law  of  Christ  f.  Which 
leads  me  to  pass  on  from  this  negative  part  of  their  character, 
to  observe,  that  as  they  did  not  preach  themselves,  so  as  to 
make  their  own  reputation,  or  interest,  or  dominion  the  end  of 
their  labours  ;   so, 

2.  They  faithfully  devoted  their  ministry  to  the  service  of 
Christ, 

JVe  preach  Christ  Jesus  the  Lord ;  which  plainly  intimates, 
that  they  made  Christ  the  great  object  of  their  preaching,  and 
that  they  endeavoured  to  speak  of  him  in  such  a  manner,  as  to 
promote  his  empire  over  the  hearts  and  consciences  of  men. 

They  made  Christ  the  great  subject  of  their  preaching. 

So  they  declare,  JVe  preach  Christ  crucified ,  though  to  the 
Jews  a  stumbling-block y  and  to  the  Greeks  foolishness  %,  At 
Corinth  in  particular,  curious  as  it  was,  the  apostle  declares,  / 
determined  to  know,  i.  e.  to  make  known,  and  insist  upon  nothing 
among  you  save  Jesus  Christ,  even  that  crucified  person  § ;  with 
■whatever  scorn  and  contempt  such  a  subject  might  be  treated. 
And  therefore  it  is  observable,  that  preaching  Christ  is  some- 
times'  used  as  a  comprehensive  expression  for  all  that  the  apostles 
taught.  Not  that  Paul  or  his  brethren  neglected  the  great 
doctrines  of  natural  religion,  which  are  so  evidently  the  founda- 
tion of  the  gospel  itself,  that  it  is  perfect  madness  to  pour  con- 
tempt upon  them.  We  might  in  reason  conclude,  as  we  find  it 
to  have  been  fact,  that  when  they  came  amongst  gentile  and 
idolatrous  nations,   they   began  with   asserthig  the  being  and 

*  Luke  xxii.  38.  f  <i  Cor.  x.  4. 5.  j  1  Cor.  i.  23. 

§  1  Cor.  ii.  2.     Kai  raroy  sroM/pwfiEvcv. 


Temper  and  Conduct  of  Primitive  Ministers.  177 

attributes  of  the  only  true  God,  the  universality  ofliis  provi- 
dence, and  that  certainty  of  a  state  of  future  retribution,  which 
is  so  naturally  connected  with  it.  All  this  they  taught  ;  but 
they  did  not  stop  here,  for  they  well  knew  that  it  was  their 
duty  to  make  these  things  the  plan  on  which  to  raise  that  glori- 
ous superstructure  which  Christianity  hath  built  upon  theuj. 
They  served  God  with  their  spirit  in  the  gospel  of  his  Son,  and 
therefore  proclaimed  the  glory  of  the  Father,  as  reflected  from 
the  face  of  Christ  Jesus  the  Lord. 

They  established  the  truth  of  his  deity,  the  mystery  of  his 
incarnation,  the  necessity  of  his  atonement,  the  perfection  of 
his  righteousness,  the  riches  of  his  grace.  They  described  him 
as  living  on  earth  an  exatn[)le  of  universal  goodness,  as  dying  on 
the  cross  a  sacrifice  for  sin,  as  rising  from  the  dead,  and  ascend- 
ing into  heaven,  and  as  reigning  there  the  Lord  of  universal 
nature,  and  Head  overall  to  the  church'^.  You  cannot  but 
know,  that  these  are  the  darling  topics  on  which  they  most 
copiously  insist  in  their  sermons  and  writings  which  are  trans- 
mitted to  us  :  and  if  St.  Paul  at  Athens  f  seems  to  touch  more 
sparingly  than  usual  on  these  important  doctrines,  it  is  to  be 
considered,  that  we  have  only  the  beginning  of  a  discourse,  in 
which  the  rudeness  of  the  philosophers  interrupted  him,  before 
he  could  proceed  to  open  and  establish  those  doctrines  which 
were  peculiar  to  his  character  as  an  ambassador  of  Jesus.  And 
lam  persuaded,  that  whoever  impartially  peruses  the  epistles  of 
that  great  apostle,  and  observes  not  only  his  direct  arguments, 
but  his  lively  and  pathetic  digressions  on  this  glorious  subject 
when  it  comes  in  his  way,  will  not  only  see  that  Paul  was  de- 
lighted with  it,  but  will  himself  be  disposed  to  wish  that  every 
christian  minister  may  copy  after  this  great  original.  Especially 
when  it  is  considered. 

That  he  and  his  brethren  preached  Christ  in  such  a  manner 
as  might  most  effectuall}'  establish  his  empire  over  the  hearts  and 
consciences  of  men. 

We  preach  Christ  Jesus  the  Lord,  i.  e.  We  preach  him 
under  the  character  of  the  great  Lord,  the  ruler  and  governor 
of  his  church.  They  very  well  knew,  that  the  design  of  Chris- 
tianity was  not  merely  to  amuse  tlie  world,  but  to  reform  it: 
and  that  itssublimest  speculations  were  received  and  admitted  in 
vain,  if  the  life  were  not  regulated,  and  the  heart  subdued  by 
the  gospel.  Therefore  do  they  on  all  occasions  inculcate  it, 
that  God  had  exalted  Christ  to  be  a  prince  as  well  as  a  Saviour  %; 

*  Eph.  i.  22,  +  Acts.  xvlj.  22^31.  *  Acts  v.  31. 


178  ORDINATION    OF    MR.    JOHNSTON.  SeR.  I. 

had  ordained,  and  even  sworn  in  bis  holiness,  that  Every  knee 
should  bow  unto  him  *.  These  good  men  did  not  think  it  enough 
to  declare  the  grace  of  the  gospel,  and  then  leave  it  to  the  Spirit 
of  God,  by  his  own  immediate  agency,  to  draw  the  proper  con- 
sequences relating  to  duty  ;  but  they  expressly  draw  those 
consequences  themselves,  and  enter  into  a  very  large  and  par- 
ticular detail  of  those  duties.  They  insist  upon  it  with  great 
spirit  and  earnestness,  as  a  Faithful  saying,  that  those  who  have 
believed  in  God,  should  be  careful  to  maintain  good  works,  and 
direct  succeed  nig  ministers  to  affirm,  it  constantly  f.  They  de- 
flared,  that  it  M-as  the  very  purpose  for  which  the  Saving  grace 
of  God  had  appeared  icntu  all  men,  to  teach  them  to  deny  ungod- 
liness and  wordly  lusts,  and  to  live  soberly,  righteously  and 
godly  %.  They  urge  christians,  therefore  to  Yield  themselves  to 
God  as  alive  from  the  dead,  and  to  employ  their  members  as 
instilments  of  righteousness  §.  Beseechitig  them  by  the  meixies 
of  God  to  prcstnt  their  bodies  as  living  sacrifices,  holy  and  ac- 
ceptable to  God,  which  was  indeed  their  most  reasonable  service  ||. 
Nor  did  they  think  it  beneath  the  honour  of  the  evangelical  mi- 
nistry, sometimes  to  insist  on  arguments  taken  from  the  terrors 
of  the  law.  Knowing  tho'ie  terrors,  they  \d\yo\\xe(\  to  persuade 
men  by  them  ;  they  affectionately  warned  tliem,  that  The  ground, 
which  under  divine  cultivation,  brought  forth  nothing  but 
briars  and  thorns,  was  nigh  unto  cursing,  and  its  end  was  to  be 
burned^,;  that  to  those  Avho  did  not  Obey  the  gospel  of  Jesus 
Christ,  there  remained  a  certain  fearful  expectation  of  wraths 
andfiery  indignation,  which  should  devour  them,  yea,  that  they 
ahonldhepunished  with  everlastiiig  destruction,  from  the  presence 
of  the  Lord,  and  from  the  glory  of  his  power  -^'*.  This  was  the 
apostolic  method  of  preaching  Christ,  so  Warning  every  man, 
and  teachijig  every  man,  as  that  they  might,  through  the  divine 
blessing,  most  probably  hope  to  present  every  man  perfect  in 
Christ;  that  having  th&ix  fruit  unto  holiness,  their  end  might  be 
everlasting  lifeff. 

You  see  I  have  generally  expressed  these  things  in  scripture 
language,  that  the  illustration  and  proof  might  advance  to- 
gether. And  if  we  desire  to  approve  ourselves  faithful  in  the 
same  cause,  we  must  conduct  our  ministration  thus,  and  must 
also  imitate  these  good  men  in  the  third  particular  of  their  con- 
duct, which  alone  now  remains  to  be  considered  from  these 
words :  which  is, 

*Rom.  xiv.ll.       fTit.ili.  8.      J  Tit.  ii.  11, 12.      §Rom.  vi.  13.    ||  Rom.  xii.  1. 
^  Heb.  vi.  8.  **  '2Thess.  i.  8, 9.  Heb.  x.  27.       ff  Col.  i.  28.     Rom.  vi.  23. 


Tcviper  and  Conduct  of  Primitive  Ministers.  179 

3.  That  they  endeavoured  to  serve  their  prreat  master,  by 
the  most  humble  and  affectionate  condescension  to  those  that 
were  committed  to  tht^ir  care. 

So  far  were  they  from  Iordin<r  it  over  their  bretlircn,  that 
accorditi!^  to  the  example  and  command  of  Christ  himself,  they 
owned  themselves  the  servants  of  ail :  nor  was  it  merely  an  empty 
compliment,  for  their  actions  .spoke  it  as  well  as  their  worils  ; 
they  exercised  (rreat  liumility  and  condescension  towards  all, 
and  they  did,  it  for  Jesus  sake. 

They  exercised  great  humility  and  condescension  towards 
all  their  brethren,  not  excepting  even  the  meanest  of  then). 

To  this  Paul  frequentl}'  exhorts  others  :  Mind  not  high 
things,  but  condescend  to  vien  of  low  estate  *.  In  love  serve  and 
be  subject  to  one  another^  and  let  each  esteem  others  better  than 
himself.  Thus  he  advised,  and  thus  he  acted,  and  his  brethren, 
no  doubt,  behaved  like  him.  They  well  knew  their  calling  a^ 
christians,  and  plainly  saw,  that  Not  mayiy  mighty,  not  many 
noblCi  ivere  called,  but  that  God  had  chosen  the  xi'eak  things  of 
theworld  to  confound  the  mighty  ;  that  he  had  Chosen  the  poor 
in  this  "World,  rich  in  faith,  and  heirs  of  a  kingdom  of  eternal 
glory  f .  And  if  God  would  stoop  thus  low,  they  were  cordially 
iviiling  to  do  it.  They  could  discern  a  dignity  in  a  child  of 
God,  and  an  heir  of  glory,  which  shone  through  all  their  po- 
verty and  meanness  in  their  dress,  and  outward  appearance  ; 
inconsiderable  circumstances,  which  could  not  prevent  these 
holy  men  Uom  Honouring  them  that  feared  the  I.ordX,  thougli 
they  might  want  some  of  those  decorations  which  the  vilest  of 
mankind  may  wear,  and  perhaps  to  their  greater  infamy. 

St.  Paul  was  a  memorable  instance  of  this  amiable  temper; 
though  by  his  education  tit  for  higher  company,  and  from  his 
early  years  accustomed  to  it,  he  did  not  disdain  tiie  meanest 
of  the  people,  and  was  not  only  easy  of  access  to  them,  but 
visited  them  at  their  own  dwellings,  and  carried  his  instructions 
and  consolations  from  house  to  house,  even  to  those  where  he 
could  expect  no  entertainment,  but  such  as  arose  from  religious 
converse,  society  in  worship,  and  a  consciousness  of  being  useful 
to  the  souls  of  men.  And  it  is  worthy  of  our  notice,  that  in 
subserviency  to  this  great  design,  this  holy  man  Avas  a  very 
aHectionate  friend  to  their  temporal  interests  ;  and  that  to  such 
a  degree,  as  to  be  far  from  imagining  that  he  had  done  his  part, 
■when  he  had  exhorted  his  hearers  to  contribute  liberally  to  the 


♦  R'jm.  xii.  16.  f  1  Cor.  i.  2f'',  27.     Jameg  ii.  5.  *  Psal.  r.y.  4-. 

3 


180  ORDINATION    OF    MR.  JOHNSTON.  SeR,  I. 

supply  of  their  indigent  bretliren.  Most  instructive  in  this 
view,  is  the  address  lie  makes  to  the  presbyters  or  bishops  of 
the  church  of  Ephesus;  in  which,  appeaUng  to  them,  that  Thexi, 
themselves  knew  that  his  own  hands  had  ministered  to  his  ne- 
cessities, and  those  that  were  with  him  ;  he  adds,  /  have  shewed 
2/ou  ihatt  so  labouringy  you  ought  to  support  the  xveak  ;  and  to 
remember  the  words  of  the  Lord  Jesus,  how  he  said,  it  is  more 
blessed  to  give  than  to  receive  *. 

The  same  true  greatness  of  soul  which  engaged  him  cheer- 
full3'  to  contribute  out  of  his  small  stock,  for  the  relief  of  those 
that  were  yet  more  necessitous  than  himself,  disposed  him  with 
great  condescension  and  tenderness  to  bear  the  infirmities  of  his 
people,  and  in  many  instances  to  sacrifice  his  own  taste  and 
humour  to  theirs.  Who  was  iveak^  and  he  was  not  weak  ?  Who 
was  offended,  and  he  did  not  burn  f  with  desire  to  remove  the 
offence  ?  ^Vhen  his  converts  behaved  Avith  too  much  of  the 
peevishness  and  perverseness  of  children,  he  did  not  haughtily 
chastise  them  ;  but  rather  chose  tenderly  to  expostulate  with 
them,  and  if  possible  to  love  them  out  of  their  follies.  He  put 
on  not  only  the  bowels  of  a  father,  but  the  indulgence  of  a 
nurse  towards  tliem  ;  We  were,  says  he,  gentle  amongst  you, 
even  as  a  nurse  cherisheth  her  children,  and  ready  to  have  im- 
parted to  you,  not  only  the  gospel  of  Christ,  but  our  own  souls 
or  Jives  also,  i.  e.  to  have  died,  as  we  lived,  for  your  service, 
because  you  were  singularly  dear  to  usX. 

This  was  the  governing  temper  of  St.  Paul,  and  it  carried 
him  through  some  circumstances  which  required  great  and  re- 
solute self-denial ;  He  became  all  things  to  all  men,  if  by  any 
means  he  might  gain  some  sincere  converts  to  the  gospel.  And 
in  particular,  to  the  Jews  he  became  as  a  Jew,  that  he  might  gain 
them,  i.  e.  lie  voluntarily  laid  himself  under  all  the  restraints  of 
the  Mosaic  law,  though  he  knew  it  was  now  abolished,  that  he 
might  as  a  christian  apostle  convert  the  Jews.  And  this  he 
carries  so  far,  as  to  declare  his  readiness,  not  only  to  forbear 
those  kinds  of  food  whicli  the  law  of  Moses  pronounceth  unclean, 
but  to  give  up  all  animal  diet,  and  subsist  entirely  on  vegetables, 
ratiier  than  he  would  grieve  and  offend  his  brethren,  i.  e.  the 
feeblest  christian.  If  meat,  says  he,  7nake  my  brother  to  offend, 
I  will  eat  no  flesh  while  the  world  standeth.  Thus,  though  the 
apostles  were/;'<?^  from  all,  they  nevertheless  voluntarily  be- 
came \.\\Q  Sei^ants  of  all  ^,  and  indeed  condescended  to  do,  and 
forbear  many  things,   because  disagreeable  to  their  christian 

*  Acts  XX.  34,  C5.      t  2  Cor.  xi.  29.     +  1  Thess.  ii.  7,  8.     §  I  Cor.  ix.  19,  20. 


Temper  and  Conduct  of  Primitive  Ministers.  1 8 1 

brethren,  M'liich  few  hired  servants  would  have  done  or  forborne 
out  of  regard  to  those  who  were  properly  their  masters.  But 
let  us  not  fail  to  remember,  that 

They  did  all  this  for  the  sake  of  Christ  and  his  gospel. 
Ourselves  ijour  servants  for  Jesus  sake.  It  is  certain,  that 
such  condescensions  as  we  have  been  describing,  are  either 
great  or  mean,  according  to  the  principle  from  whence  they 
proceed.  Ambition  can  creep,  that  it  may  soar  ;  and  soothe, 
that  it  may  afterwards  insult :  but  the  apostles  stooped,  that 
they  might  raise  others  ;  and  pleased,  that  they  might  profit. 
M'e,  says  St.  Paul,  please  all  men  to  their  good  for  their  edi- 
ficiition.  This  was  their  great  concern,  that  Whether  they  eat 
or  drank,  or  whatever  they  did,  they  might  do  all  to  the  glory  of 
God  *.  This  was  \\\c\r  Earnest  expectation  and  their  hope,  that 
in  all  things  Christ  might  be  glorified  in  them,  whether  by  their 
life  or  their  death  \.  They  sacrificed  not  only  their  humour 
and  their  ease,  but  life  itself,  to  the  great  purposes  of  pleasing 
and  serving  the  blessed  Jesus  ;  and  Paul  spake  the  sentiments 
of  them  all,  when  he  said,  Neither  bonds  nor  imprisonments 
move  me ,-  nor  do  I  count  my  life  dear  unto  me,  that  1  may 
finish  my  course  with  Joi/y  and  the  ministry  I  have  received  of 
the  LordX.  But  while  1  insist  on  such  expressions  as  these,  I 
do  in  part  anticipate  what  I  am  to  offer  under  the  second  head. 
Where  I  proposed, 

II.  To  consider  what  were  the  principles  by  which  they 
were  animated  to  so  noble  a  temper  and  conduct. 

I  the  rather  enter  into  the  survey  of  them,  as  we  shall  find 
they  were  not  only  suited  to  the  age  and  circumstances  of  the 
apostles,  but  ought  also  to  have  a  very  great  influence  upon  us, 
whom  God  has  favoured  so  far  as  to  count  us  faithful,  putting 
us  into  something  of  the  same  ministry  with  them,  which  can 
never  be  comfortably  and  honourably  fulfilled,  but  by  those  who 
govern  themselves  by  the  like  maxims  and  principles.  They 
were  undoubtedly  influenced  by  an  affectionate  love  to  the 
blessed  Redeemer,  a  pious  zeal  for  the  glory  of  God  in  the 
salvation  of  souls,  and  a  jjrudent  regard  to  their  own  present 
and  future  iiappiuess.  And  if  these  great  motives  have  their 
due  Aveight  with  us,  Ave  shall  not  preach  ourselvess  but  Christ 
Jesus  the  Lord,  and  ourselves  the  servants  of  his  people  for  his 
sake. 

1.  The  apostles  were  engaged  to  the  conduct  we  have 
described,  by  a  most  grateful  affection  to  the  blessed  Redeemer. 

*l(V.r.  X.  31.  f  Phil.  1. '20.  ;  .U-ts  XX.  24. 

VOL.  HI.  Z 


183  ORDINATION   OF   MR.   JOHNSTON.  SER.  I. 

That  dear  name  is  precious  to  every  believing  soul,  and 
how  precious  it  was  to  these  holy  men,  almost  every  page  of 
their  writings  will  declare.  Divine  grace  had  deeply  humbled 
them  under  the  conviction  of  their  own  guilt  and  weakness,  and 
then  taught  them  to  view  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  as  Made  of  God 
unto  thein  wisdom  and  righteousness,  sanctification  and  redemp' 
tion  *.  They  knew  the  grace  of  the  Son  of  God  in  descending, 
and  living,  and  dying  for  their  salvation  ;  and  in  passing  through 
all  the  most  dreadful  scenes  of  suffering  which  imagination  can 
suggest,  with  a  love  to  them,  which  all  those  waters  could  not 
quench,  nor  the  floods  drown.  And  believing  this,  they  could 
not  but  speak  in  his  cause,  they  could  not  but  desire  to  spend 
and  be  spent  in  his  service.  On  this  principle  therefore  doth 
Paul  vindicate  those  ardours  of  zeal,  which  a  prof;ine  world  cen- 
sured as  enthusiasm  and  madness.  If  we  are  besides  ourselves,  it 
is  to  God,  for  the  love  of  Christ  constraineth  us  while  we  thus 
judge,  and  approve  the  argument  in  the  coolest  moments  of 
reflection,  that  if  one  died  J  or  all,  then  were  all  dead;  for  had 
they  not  been  in  a  state  of  condemnation  and  death,  they  would 
not  have  needed  such  a  ransom.  Jnd  he  died,  that  we,  who 
live  only  in  consequence  of  his  dying  love,  should  not  henceforth 
live  to  ourselves,  but  to  him  that  died  for  us,  and  rose  again  f . 
And  we  may  assure  ourselves,  that  while  their  souls  were  thus 
drawn  with  the  Cords  of  a  man,  and  the  bands  of  loveX,  they 
saw  apecuhar  beauty  in  the  condeocensions  of  so  great  a  per- 
sonage and  so  dear  a  friend,  which  inclined  them  with  pleasure 
to  trace  his  steps,  in  making  themselves  the  servants  of  others 
for  his  sake,  who  took  upon  him  The  form  of  a  servant  §,  though 
he  were  Lord  of  all. 

And  ought  not  these  considerations,  my  brethren,  to  have  a 
constraining  force  upon  us  ?  Was  it  for  the  sake  of  the  apostles 
alone,  that  the  blessed  Jesus  stooped  so  low,  and  bore  so  much  ? 
jy'iAhevioi  Love  us,  and  give  himself  for  us^,  and  was  not  the 
news  of  our  salvation  contained  in  those  glad  tidings  which  he 
brought  from  heaven,  which  he  proclaimed  on  earth,  publish- 
ing them  with  long  continued  labour,  and  at  length  sealing  them 
with  his  blood  ?  Have  not  we  our  lot  amongst  his  people  ;  nay, 
I  will  add,  are  we  not  distinguished  from  most  of  the  rest  of 
them,  by  his  favour,  in  that  he  hath  committed  to  our  trust  his 
glorious  gospel,  the  important  cause  that  lay  so  near  his  heart, 
the  great  end  of  his  toils  and  his  sufferings  ?  And  where  is  our 
gratitude,  where  is  our  fidelity,  where  is  our  common  integritj^, 

*JCor.  i.  30,    f  2  Cor..  V.  13,  14.     jHos.xi.  4.     §rhil,  n,7.     JiGal.ii.SO. 


Temper  and  Condact  of  Primiiive  Ministers.  183 

if  we  can  forget  such  engagements,  and  lose  our  concern  for 
that  gospel,  in  a  mean  solicitude  about  our  own  applause,  or 
interest,  or  dominion  ?  I  trust,  my  brethren,  it  will  never  so  be 
lost.  I  am  persuaded,  through  divine  grace,  there  are  those 
amongst  us,  whose  bosoms  glow  with  such  undissembled  love, 
that  we  can  truly  say,  we  reckon  the  title  of  servants  of  Christ, 
and  of  the  church  for  his  sake,  a  thousand  times  more  honour- 
able than  to  be  called,  and  to  be,  the  lords  of  the  whole  Avorld ; 
that  we  had  rather  approve  ourselves  the  faithful  interpreters  of 
his  laws,  than  see  assembled  nations  bowing  down  before  us, 
and  with  the  profoundest  submission  receiving  law  at  our 
mouths. 

2.  The  apostles  were  animated  to  the  conduct  we  have  been 
reviewing,  by  a  pious  zeal,  for  the  glory  of  God  in  the  salva- 
tion of  souls. 

They  well  knew,  that  the  grace  of  the  Father  was  the  ori- 
ginal source  of  all  the  blessings  they  received  by  the  inter- 
position of  the  Son,  and  their  hearts  were  so  subjected  and 
united  to  God,  that  they  could  not  fail  of  being  tenderly  con- 
cerned, that  being  Bought  with  such  a  price,  and  maintained  by 
such  a  constant  emanation  of  divine  favour  and  bounty,  they 
m\o\\t  glorify  God  with  their  bodies,  and  their  spirits,  whxch  they 
owned  to  be  the  Lord's  *,  by  so  many  important  claims. 

And  they  must  farther  infer  from  the  complete  all-sufficiency 
of  the  divine  Being,  that  the  only  way  whereby  we  are  capable 
of  glorifying  him,  is  by  promoting  the  display  of  his  attributes; 
which  are  most  nobly  illustrated  in  the  perfection  and  happiness 
of  his  rational  creatures ;  especially  their  final  and  eternal  happi- 
ness. It  plainly  appears  from  the  whole  strain  of  the  apostles' 
writings,  that  those  holy  men  were  deeply  penetrated  with  the 
views  of  an  invisible  world  ;  and  as  it  was  their  great  concern  for 
themselves,  that  their  own  souls  Might  be  given  them  for  a 
prei/\;  so  sentiments  of  compassion  and  humanity  joined  with 
those  of  piety,  to  engage  them  to  wish  and  labour  for  the  salva- 
tion of  others. 

They  certainly  knew,  however  others  might  forget  it,  that 
every  human  creature  hath  in  its  breast  an  immortal  soul,  which 
must  survive  not  only  the  dissolution  of  the  body,  but  the  wreck 
of  this  lower  world ;  a  soul  that  by  its  original  constitution  was 
capable  of  shining  in  the  image  of  God,  and  the  glories  of  para- 
dise, when  the  sun  should  be  turned  into  darkness,  and  the  mooji 
into  blood.  They  were  likewise  sensible,  that  these  precious 
souls  were  naturally  in  a  very  dangerous  state,  and  by  sin  stood 

*  1  Cor.  vi.  ult.  t  Jer.  xlv.  5. 

Z  2 


la-t  ORDINATION   OF    MR.    JOHNSTON-  SeR.  I, 

exposed  to  everlasting  darkness,  despair  and  ruin.  And  this 
appeared  to  them  sucli  a  lamentable  sight,  that  they  could  not 
but  JVeep  over  those  ^vhose  eyid  would  so  probably  be  destruc- 
tion*. And  ^vhen  they  saw  them  going  on  in  a  gay  insensi- 
bility of  danger,  and  a  proud  confidence,  on  the  very  borders  of 
hell,  it  cut  them  to  the  heart,  and  put  an  eagerness  and  pathos 
into  the  manner  of  their  address,  Avhich  nothing  but  such  an  in- 
finite concern  could  have  given.  They  Avere  attempting  to  Re- 
cover those  out  of  the  snare  of  the  devil,  who  were  le{l  captives  by 
him  at  his  pleasure  f;  To  turn  men  from  darkness  to  light,  and 
from  the  power  of  Satan  imto  God,  that,  instead  of  meeting  all 
the  terrors  of  his  wrath,  and  sinking  into  eternal  destruction,  they 
might  receive  the  forgiveness  of  their  sins,  and  a?i  inheritance 
amongst  his  sanctified  people  %.  And  while  this  Avas  the  view  in 
which  they  regarded  them,  Avho  can  wonder,  that  they  did  as  it 
Avere  Travail  in  birth  for  their  conversion^?  Who  can  wonder 
if  it  appeared  to  them  even  an  inhuman  thing,  to  be  more  soli- 
citous about  soothing  men's  ears,  or  gaining  an  influence  over 
men's  temporal  concerns,  than  saving  their  souls  ?  As  it  Avould 
indeed  be  a  more  cruel  kind  of  folly,  than  for  a  physician  to  be 
more  careful  that  his  bill  Avere  elegantly  Avritten,  than  that  the 
life  of  his  patient  should  be  saA'ed  by  the  suitableness  of  the  pre- 
scription. 

I  must  farther  add,  in  order  to  complete  the  argument,  that 
the  apostles  Avell  kncAv,  that  nothing  Avas  so  likely  to  save  the 
perishing  souls  of  men,  as  the  great  doctrines  of  the  CA-erlasting 
gospel ;  nothing  so  like  to  recover  them,  Avhen  fainting  and 
dying,  as  the  vital  savour  of  a  Redeemer's  name ;  which  is  indeed 
the  Power  of  God  to  the  salvation  of  every  one  that  believeth  |j. 
This  engaged  them,  in  this  manner,  io  preach  Christ  Jesus  the 
Lord;  and  I  hope,  my  brethren,  Ave  shall  never  imagine,  that  our 
wisdom  can  find  out  another  more  efl'ectual  Avay.  I  hope  Ave 
shall  ncA'er  practise  so  dangerous  a  complaisance  to  the  unbe- 
licA'ers  of  the  present  age,  as  to  Avave  the  gospel,  that  we  may 
accommodate  ourselves  to  their  taste;  Avhich  if  we  do,  Ave  may 
indeed  preserve  the  name  of  virtue,  but  1  fear  Ave  shall  destroy 
the  thing  itself;  lose  it  in  our  congx'egations,  and  probably  in 
our  hearts  too.  For,  I  confess,  it  seems  to  me  much  more  pro- 
bable, that  the  doctrines  of  natural  religion  alone  should  be 
blessed  as  the  means  of  reforming  heathens,  Avho  never  heard  of 
Christianity,  than  that  they  should  have  much  effect  upon  those 
who  under  the  profession  of  it,  slight  its  most  glorious  peculiari- 

»Phil.iJi.]9.    f2Tim.ii.2D.    J  Acts  xx\  i.  1 8.    §Gal.  iv.  19.    URom.i.  16. 


Temper  and  Conduct  of  Primitive  Ministers.  185 

ties;  as  if  the  revelation  of  Jcsiis  vcre  :i  iiumc  incumbrance, 
which,  vhile  ^vc  own  it  to  he  true,  we  rtiic^lit  nevertheless  forjjjet, 
without  great  ilan«Tcr,  or  much  inconvenience.  But  if  we  im- 
bibe tlic  spirit  of  the  apostles,  and  make  their  conduct  the  model 
of  ours,  we  mav  cheerfully  expect  that  presence  of  God  with 
us,  in  conseciuence  of  which  the  great  ends  of  our  ministry  may 
be  answered,  to  the  reformation  of  men's  lives,  and  the  salvation 
of  their  souls. 

How  glorious  a  hope !  how  rich  a  rccompence  for  all  the 
fatigue,  for  all  the  condescension,  for  all  the  self-denial  which 
our  office  may  require  !  Most  forcibly  doth  St.  James  express 
the  importance  of  the  thought,  if  one  man  be  the  happy  instru- 
ment of  gaining  another  to  the  cause  of  truth  and  holiness.  Let 
him  knou\  let  him  pause  upon  it  and  reflect,  that  lie  rcho  con- 
vertelh  a  sinner  from  the  error  of  his  ways,  shall  save  a  soul 
from  death*,  an  immortal  soul!  And  how  much  is  comprehend- 
ed in  those  few  words  ?  We  are  sometimes  perhaps  ready  to 
envy  the  opportunity  which  the  great  men  of  the  world  have  to 
promote  the  happiness  of  others,  and  it  is  the  most  generous,  and 
indeed  the  only  rational  view  in  which  riches  and  power  can  be 
desired.  But  let  us  remember,  my  brctlu'en,  such  is  the  nature 
of  an  immortal  soul,  that  to  bring  it  into  tiie  way  to  eternal  life, 
is  a  greater  good  than  any  merely  temporal  blessing,  which  can 
be  conferred  upon  the  greatest  number  of  men  for  the  longest 
duration  in  the  present  world.  And  it  is  most  certain,  that  the 
moment  will  at  length  coine,  when  the  sum  of  happiness  which 
hath  actually  been  enjoyed  by  every  particular  soul,  that  we 
have  led  into  that  blessed  world,  will  be  greater  than  what  the 
most  uninterrupted  peace,  liberty,  and  plenty  could  have  given 
to  the  most  numerous  nations,  in  a  hundred,  or  a  thousand,  or 
ten  thousand  years.  Let  so  sublime  a  thought  animate  our  pur- 
suit, and  make  us  willing  to  Spend  and  be  spent  in  such  a 
service  f. 

3.  The  apostles  well  knew,  that  by  such  a  conduct  as  we 
have  now  been  surveying,  their  own  present  and  future  happi- 
ness would  be  most  efiectually  secured. 

They  seemed  indeed  to  sacrifice  their  present  interest,  and 
in  many  important  instances  they  did  so;  yet  surely  they  found 
a  rich  equivalent  in  the  consciousness  of  such  a  temper,  and  a 
prospect  of  that  reward  whi(-h  would  through  grace  attend  it. 

The  pleasures  of  gratitude  and  humanity,  are  a  thousand 
times  superior  to  that  which  can  arise  from  gratifying  the  senses, 

♦  James  r.  20.  f  2  Cor.  xii.  1 5. 


186  ORDINATION    OF   MR.    JOHNSTON.  SeR.  I. 

or  even  from  improvements  in  science.  I  hope  all  that  hear  me 
this  day,  know  the  delight  of  serving  a  friend  whom  we  highly 
esteem  and  love ;  many  of  us,  I  question  not,  do  particularly 
know  how  agreeable  it  is  to  find  some  opportunity  of  express- 
ing our  cordial  sense  of  those  favours,  which  it  is  impossible  for 
us  fully  to  repay.  Let  us  judge  by  that,  how  delightful  i%  must 
be  to  these  good  men,  when  their  hearts  were  full  of  the  most 
lively  and  penetratmg  sense  of  a  Redeemer's  love,  to  see  them- 
selves in  such  a  situation,  as  that  their  Avhole  lives  should  be 
spent  in  serving  his  interest,  and  every  day  of  them  should  do 
something  to  promote  it. 

And  the  influence  which  their  labours  had  upon  the  happi- 
ness of  mankind,  must  also  add  a  most  delightful  relish  to  them. 
Our  nature  is  so  constituted  by  the  wise  and  gracious  author  of 
it,  that  some  degree  of  pleasure  inseparably  attend  every  at- 
tempt for  the  real  improvement  of  any  part  of  his  creation,  even 
the  meanest.     It  is  pleasant  to  view  a  spot  of  ground,  which 
from  a  barren  and  useless  wild  has  been  manured  and  cultivat- 
ed, planted  and  adorned  by  human  industry,  so  that  it  is  reduced 
to  a  fruitful  garden  or  field  ;  and  he  who  hath  laboured  to  effect 
it,  reviews  it  with  double  satisfaction.     It  is  much  more  delight- 
ful to  have  been  instrumental  in  forming  and  cultivating  the 
mind,  and  reducing   those  Avho  were  once  little  better  than 
savages  to  discipline  and  arts,  to  the  improvements  and  ele- 
gances of  life,  whereby  they  may  as  it  were  be  broken  into  men ; 
but  surely  the  apostles  must  with  incomparably  greater  satis- 
faction look  round  about  them,  and  see  whole  regions  enlighten- 
ed by  the  rays  which  they  had  diffused  ;  thousands  of  their  fel- 
low-creatures recovered  from  darkness  and  ignorance,  supersti- 
tion and  vice,  and  formed  to  wise,  regular,  noble  sentiments, 
subjected  to  God,  united  to  Christ,  and  conducted  into  the 
Avays  of  peace  and  life  by  their  means.     Accordingly,  I  doubt 
not,  but  you  have  often  observed  in  how  sublime  and  pathetic 
a  manner  St,  Paul  expresseth  himself  on  this  occasion,  in  the 
name  of  his  bretiiren  as  well  as  in  his  own,  in  the  progress  of 
this  epistle.     We  approve  ourselves,  says  he,  the  ministers  of 
God,  in  all  the  various  circumstances  through  which  we  pass,  in 
honour  and  dishofiour,  treated  indeed  by  the  world,  as  deceivers, 
yet  conscious  to  ourselves  that  we  are  true,  and  the  great  patrons 
of  truth  ;  as  obscure  and  unknown  to  a  proud  and  insolent  world, 
•who  affect  to  overlook  us  with  sovereign  contempt,  yet  well 
kno-wn  even  by  the  happiest  tokens  to  those  blessed  souls  who 
are  brought  home  to  God  by  our  means ;  as  dying  daily,  yet 
behold  we  live^  through  the  singular  interposition  of  our  great 


Temper  and  Conduct  of  Primitive  Ministers.  1 37 

Lord  for  our  preservation ;  as  soitow/uI  on  account  of  various 
calamities  that  surround  us,  ixudyet  in  spirit  always  rejoicings 
because  though  we  appear  in  the  world  as  poor  in  these  tilings, 
yet  we  arc  making  rich  in  grace  and  glory  *.  Blessed  leaders 
in  the  army  of  Christ !  Who  would  not  emulate  such  a  character 
and  state  ?  Who  would  not  wish  for  your  hardships  and  trials, 
might  his  supports  and  success  be  proportionable  to  yours  ? 
Such  were  the  pleasures  they  found  in  preaching  Christ  Jesus 
the  Lord  ;  and  undoubtedly  their  generous  minds  delighted  to 
do  it  in  the  condescending  maimer  we  liave  described.  To 
converse  with  their  flock  in  such  a  free,  easy,  obliging  way,  as 
their  brethren,  as  their  servants  for  Jesus  sake,  on  the  foot  of 
equal  and  respectful  friendship,  suited  their  taste  and  their  tem- 
per much  better  than  all  the  homage,  and  all  the  revenues,  which 
seeular  power  could  have  given,  and  secular  terror  could  have 
extorted. 

I  only  add  in  the  conclusion  of  this  head,  tliat  the  apostles 
were  influenced  to  such  a  conduct  by  a  regard  to  their  own  eter- 
nal interest. 

That  great  important  concern  which  swallowed  up  all  others 
in  their  mind,  and  with  which  nothing  here  seemed  by  any 
means  worthy  to  be  compared.  Paul  himself  did  not  tliink  it 
unfit  to  reflect,  and  to  say,  a  Necessity  is  laid  upon  me,  and 
•woe  unto  me  if  I  preach  not  the  gospel  f.  lie  well  knew,  that 
if  such  vigilance  was  expected  from  a  Jewish  prophet,  that  the 
souls  who  perished  by  his  neglect  should  be  by  God  Required  at 
his  Jiand  %,  the  danger  of  such  a  neglect  under  tlie  christian  dis- 
pensation, would  be  yet  greater  in  proportion  to  the  clearer  de- 
gree of  evidence  with  which  Life  and  immortality  was  brought 
to  light  §.  lie  therefore,  and  his  associates  in  this  important 
work,  made  it  their  care,  as  himself  expresseth  it,  To  watch  for 
souls  as  those  that  must  give  an  account,  and  were  exco'cdingly 
solicitous,  that  tliey  might  do  it  with  joy  ajid  7iot  with  grief  \\. 
They  looked  on  their  converts  as  those  who  should  be  their 
Crown  and  rejoicing  in  the  day  of  the  Lord  ^ ;  and  their  delight- 
ful companions  in  the  glories  of  the  heavenly  world.  And  when, 
conscious  that  through  the  divine  assistance  they  had  fought  the 
good  fight,  and  finished  their  course,  and  kept  their  fidelity, 
they  were  humbly  bold  to  look  forward  with  cheerful  expectation 
as  well  as  desire,  To  that  crown  (j/"life  which  the  Lord  had  laid 
up  for   all  his   faithful  servants,  that  love  his  appearance  **. 

*  2  Cor.  vi.  8-10.         f  1  Cor.  ix.  16.         +  Ezek.  iii.  18.         §  2  Tim.  i.  10. 
U  Heb.  xiii.  17.  f  1  Thcss.  u.  19.     **  2  Tim.  iv.  8. 


ISS  ORDINATION  OF  MR.  JOHNSTOls'.  SeR.  T. 

Such  may  our  liopes  be,  my  fathers  and  brethren,  and  sueh  our 
triumphs  in  the  near  views  of  death  and  eternity.  Our  days  are 
passing  away  apace,  and  no  secular  powers  or  advantages  can 
prolong  them  ;  nay,  perhaps,  were  we  in  the  number  oi'  the 
richest  and  greatest  of  those  that  call  themselves  the  ministers 
of  Christ,  life  might  run  out  only  so  much  the  sooner,  while  on 
the  one  hand  the  baits  of  luxury,  and  on  the  other,  the  cries 
of  the  oppressed,  might  concur  to  shorten  it.  When  this  scene 
of  vanity  is  closing,  when  Ave  are  to  exchange  every  ornament 
for  the  dress  of  death,  and  all  the  amusements  and  cares  of  mor- 
tality, for  the  solemnities  of  the  eternal  state  ;  in  that  awful 
hour,  I  say,  it  will  be  no  grief  of  heart  to  us,  that  we  have 
chosen  in  all  humility  to  serve  Christ  and  the  souls  of  men,  ra- 
ther than  to  make  our  names  great,  and  our  families  wealthy: 
And  when  we  come  to  appear  in  the  presence  of  that  great  Re- 
deemer, wlio  hath  been  witness  to  all  our  conduct,  and  all  our 
designs,  we  shall  really  find  that  we  have  lost  nothing  by  what- 
ever we  have  sacrificed  to  his  cause  and  interest.  The  applause 
of  thousands  is  but  an  empty  sound  when  compared  with  that  of 
JVell  done,  good  and  faithful  servant  *,  and  all  the  honours  and 
possessions  which  the  greatest  princes  could  bestow,  would  be 
lighter  than  vanity,  when  laid  in  the  balance  with  that  unfading 
crown  of  glory,  Avhich  every  faithful  minister  may  expect,  when 
Christ  the  chief  Shepherd  shall  appear  f. 

I  have  dilated  so  much  on  these  pleasant  and  copious  topics, 
that  I  have  hardly  left  myself  time, 

III.  So  much  as  to  mention  the  reflections  which  may  natu- 
rally arise  from  what  we  have  been  hearing.  You  Avill  easily 
apprehend  they  are  such  as  these ; 

How  greatly  is  the  truth  of  Christianity  confirmed  by  the 
character  of  those  Avho  were  first  employed  in  the  publication  of 
it ;  who  gave  the  greatest  evidence  that  can  possibly  be  ima- 
gined of  their  being  entirely  devoted  to  the  sacred  cause  of  truth 
and  piety,  and  expressed,  as  we  have  heard,  the  most  disinter- 
ested and  self-denying  zeal  in  the  service  of  both. 

How  happy  is  it  for  the  christian  cause,  that  these  origi- 
nal monuments  are  still  preserved,  and  that  Ave  are  not  left  to 
form  an  idea  of  its  ministers  merely  from  the  general  history  of 
succeeding  and  distant  ages,  or  by  the  canons  and  decrees  of 
the  greatest  part  of  ecclesiastical  councils  ;  which  are  com- 
monly drawn  up  Avith  so  different  a  spirit,  that,  Averc  Ave  to 
judge  by  them  alone,  charity  Avould  have  inclined  us  to  hope, 

♦  Mat,  XXV.  23,  |  i  Pet,  v,4. 

3 


Temper  and  Conduct  of  Primitive  Ministers.  189 

that  those  uho  called  themselves  the  chief  successors  of  the 
apostles,  had  never  heard  of  the  character  of  those  holy  men  ; 
but  had  rather  formed  their  conduct,  and  even  their  maxims 
too,  I  will  not  say  by  the  Jewish,  but  by  the  heathen  priesthood. 

Nevertheless  let  us  bless  God,  that  in  the  midst  of  so 
general  a  depravation,  there  have  been  in  all  ages,  and  par- 
ticularly in  our  own,  a  select  remnant,  who  have  not  dcfded 
their  garments,  nor  prostituted  their  sacred  character  and  olBce 
to  those  idols  of  jealousy,  Avhich  have  been  so  shamefully  erected 
even  in  the  house  of  the  Lord,  Persons,  so  far  as  I  can  judge, 
of  all  denominations,  both  of  established  and  separate  ciiurches, 
at  home  and  abroad,  Avho  have  been,  and  are  in  their  respective 
spheres,  burning  and  shining  lights ;  men  of  God,  wlio  however 
differing  in  opinion,  in  discipline,  or  in  worship,  have  agreed 
to  love  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  in  sincerity,  to  l)ow  their  hearts 
and  souls  to  the  obedience  of  his  laws,  to  value  the  souls  com- 
mitted to  their  care,  serving  them  in  humility  and  love,  candidly 
excusing  the  frailties  of  their  brethren,  praying,  that  Wherein 
theywere  otherwise  viinded,  than  reason  and  scripture  directed, 
that  God  would  in  his  own  time  and  way  reveal  it  unto  them, 
and  in  the  mean  time  labouring,  that  whereunto  they  had  already 
attained,  they  might  walk  by  the  same  rule,  and  might  mind 
the  same  thing  *. 

Let  us  daily  bow  our  knees  in  the  most  importunate  suppli- 
cations to  the  God  of  grace  and  of  peace,  that  this  happy  num- 
ber may  be  increased  ;  and  as  he  is  from  time  to  time  laying 
those  in  the  dust,  who  were  once  the  joy  of  our  assemblies,  and 
the  glory  of  their  profession,  let  us  tenderly  feel,  let  us  deeply 
lament  the  desolations  of  his  sanctuary  f.  And  let  us  earnestly 
pray,  that  he  would  raise  up  in  all  the  churches  a  generation  of 
faithful  and  laborious,  serious  and  spiritual,  candid  and  evan- 

*PhiI.  iii.  IC. 

f  N.  B.  This  sermon  was  preached  a  few  days  after  the  death  of  that  great  man 
of  God,  the  truly  reverend  and  excellent  Mr.  David  Some  of  Harborough,  whom  God 
was  pleased  to  favour  with  a  serene  and  cheerful  exit,  suited  to  the  eminent  piety  and 
usefulness  of  his  life.  His  dying  command  hath  silenced  the  attempt  which  some  of 
bis  surviving  friends  would  gladly  have  made,  to  embalm  his  memory  for  the  instruc- 
tion of  those  that  are  yet  to  come;  but  I  am  well  satisfied,  that  considering  howvery 
generally  he  was  known,  he  has  left  a  most  honourable  testimony  in  the  hearts  of  thou- 
sands, that  he  was  one  of  the  brightest  ornaments  of  the  gospel  and  tlie  ministry  whicK 
the  age  hath  produced ;  and  that  all  who  had  any  intimacy  with  him,  must  have 
esteemed  his  friendship  amongst  the  greatest  blessings  of  life,  and  the  loss  of  him 
amongst  its  greatest  calamities.  He  died  May  19,  1737,  in  his  57th  year;  and 
surely  I  have  never  seen  greater  reason  to  cry  out,  My  Father f  my  Father !  the  cha- 
riots of  Israel,  and  the  horsemen  thereof, 

VOL.  iiu  A  a 


190  ORDIN-ATION  OF  MR.  JOHKSTOK.  SeR.  I. 

gelital  ministers,  that  Instead  of  the  fathers  there  may  be  the 
children  *,  by  means  of  whom  a  people  that  are  yet  to  be  born 
may  see  the  salvation  of  our  God  in  its  genuine  glories. 

And  this,  in  connection  with  the  subject  befoi-e  us,  might 
also  lead  us  farther  to  reflect,  how  important  a  part  of  an  educa- 
tion for  the  ministry  it  is,  to  endeavour  to  lead  young  people 
into  the  knowledge  of  this  Jesus,  whom  their  office  obligeth 
them  to  preach  and  to  serve.  Polite  literature  is  not  by  any 
means  to  he  neglected,  nor  will  it  be  despised  by  any  but 
those  who  know  not  what  it  is,  yet  surely  it  is  not  the  o?ie  thing 
needful.  The  sacred  scriptures  are  the  grand  magazine  whence 
the  most  important,  and  therefore  I  think  by  far  the  greatest 
number  of  academical  lectures  are  to  be  drawn.  And  they  who 
are  honoured  with  a  charge  of  so  great  importance  to  the  church 
should  surely  be  concerned,  that  those  of  the  rising  age,  in 
whose  hands  this  invaluable  treasure  of  the  gospel  is  to  be  depo- 
sited, may  not  rest  in  a  cold  speculative  acquaintance,  either 
with  the  evidences,  or  contents  of  it ;  but  may  feel  its  vital 
transforming  power,  and  speak  of  this  great  Redeemer  as  of  one 
on  whom  they  have  themselves  believed,  and  whom  their  own 
souls  do  most  cordially  love. 

But  I  must  wave  the  prosecution  of  these  copious  reflections, 
to  conclude  with  two,  which  are  yet  more  immediately  the  con- 
cern of  those  who  attend  the  gospel  ordinances  ;  and  w^hich  I 
would  particularly  recommend  to  you  my  friends  of  this  society^, 
who  are  now,  through  divine  providence,  so  well  settled  with  a 
workman  thai  needs  not  be  ashamed ^  and  one  whom  you  so 
highly  and  justly  esteem. 

Think  how  solicitous  you  should  be  to  know  and  acknow- 
ledge Christ  Jesus  as  your  Lord. 

I  know  you  think  it  your  happiness  often  to  hear  of  him,  O 
let  it  not  be  in  vain.  Own  his  authority  in  your  lives  as  well  as 
your  assemblies,  or  those  who  have  most  frequently  preached 
him  to  you,  Mill  be  the  swiftest  and  severest  witnesses  against 
you  in  that  dreadful  day,  when  all  that  have  not  bowed  to  his 
sceptre  must  fall  by  his  sword. 

And,  to  add  no  more,  think  also  how  willing  you  should  be 
to  use  the  assistance  of  your  ministers,  as  your  servants  for 
Jesus  sake. 

Do  not  neglect  to  attend  on  their  ministrations,  and  thereby 
shut  out  wisdom  and  piety  at  its  first  entrance.  Do  not  increase 
their  burden  by  any  unkind  usage,  lest,  by  weakening  their  spi- 

^Psal.  xlv.  16. 


Temper  and  Conduct  of  Primitive  Ministers.  1 9 1 

rits,  you  may  injure  yourselves,  and  disable  thein  from  doing 
you  that  service,  in  wiiich  tiiev  arc  clieerfully  spending  their 
lives,  though  perhaps  tiiey  appreliend  they  are  thereby  shorten- 
ing them. 

And,  once  more,  be  not  unwilling  to  use  a  proper  freedom 
■with  thcui  in  your  religious  concerns.  OlHciously  to  pry  into 
the  secrets  of  families  and  persons,  is  a  meanness  which  a  gene- 
rous man  will  scorn  ;  and  particularly  to  know  them  is  a  bur- 
den, and  often  a  snare  too,  which  a  wise  man  will  gladly  de- 
cline:  but  some  knowledge  of  your  spiritual  state  and  experi- 
ence is  necessary  to  our  knowing  how  to  address  you,  and  to 
address  God  on  your  account.  Nor  can  you  expect  such  suita- 
ble assistance  from  your  spiritual  physicians,  as  might  otherwise 
be  hoped  for,  if  you  will  not  communicate  to  them  some  parti- 
culars of  your  complaints. 

On  the  whole,  my  dearly  beloved,  Fuljil  you  our  joy  ^y 
and  let  it  be  your  great  care  so  to  receive  our  message,  and  so 
to  improve  it,  that  it  may  be  the  delight  of  our  souls  now  to 
proclaim  the  honours  of  our  Redeemer  amongst  you,  as  your 
servants  for  Jesus  sake,  and  that  the  more  tenderly  we  love  you, 
the  more  abundant  satisfaction  we  may  find  in  our  present 
labours,  and  our  future  account.     Amen. 

f  Phil,  ii,  2. 


A  a  2 


192  ORDINATION   OF   MR.   JENNINGS  SeR.  II. 


SERMON   II. 


A  CHARGE 


Delivered  at  Si.  Ives,  Huntingdonshire,  on  August  12,  1742,  at  the  Ordina- 
tion of  the  Rev.  Mr.  John  Jennings. 


MY  DEAR  FRIEND  AND  BROTHER, 


I 


DOUBT  not  but  your  own  sagacity  has  prevented  me  in  ob- 
serving, that  the  discourse  we  have  been  just  now  hearing  is  in 
effect  a  charge,  though  with  great  dexterity  couched  under  the 
form  of  a  popular  address.  Your  general  work  has  been  well  re- 
presented to  you,  and  you  have  been  instructed  as  to  the 
authority  by  which  you  are  to  act  in  it,  the  subject  on  which 
you  are  chiefly  to  insist,  and  the  end  -which  you  are  to  pursue. 
The  particular  offices  in  which  you  are  to  endeavour  to  serve 
Christ,  in  serving  the  souls  of  men,  have  also  been  happily  touch- 
ed upon ;  and  the  grand  arguments  which  should  engage  you 
to  attend  this  service,  with  diligence,  resolution  and  delight, 
have  been  powerfully  suggested.  It  would  therefore  be  easy 
for  me  to  go  over  all  the  most  natural  branches  of  it,  in  an  appli- 
cation of  it  to  you,  by  which  I  might  well  answer  the  whole 
purpose  of  the  province  particularly  assigned  to  me,  in  the  work 
of  this  day.  But  lest  by  such  a  repetition  I  should  seem  unsea- 
sonably sparing  of  my  own  labour,  as  well  as  a  sense  of  my  in- 
ability to  express  these  things  in  a  more  agreeable  manner,  than 
that  in  Mhich  they  have  already-  been  handled,  I  shall  now  at- 
tempt a  method  something  different ;  only  observing,  that  the 
hints  I  am  now  to  address  to  you  will  appear  with  some  peculiar 
advantage,  Avhen  considered  in  their  connection  with  the  pre- 
ceding discourse. 

I  am  willing  to  believe,  Sir,  that  in  consequence  of  what  my 
reverend  brother  has  been  laying  before  you,  your  heart  is  now 
glowing  with  a  vigorous,  yet  humble  resolution,  that,  in  the 
divine  strength,  you  will  emulate  the  character  and  conduct 
of  the  great  apostle,  and  will  preach  not  yourself,  but  Christ 


Directions  for  Ministerial  Conduct.  193 

Jesics  the  Lord;  and  that  you  will  be  ready  to  apjirovc  yourself 
the  servant,  the  lowly  affectionate  servant,  of  the  meanest  of 
your  brethren  for  his  sake.  I  will  suppose  your  enquiry  to  be. 
How  may  I  serve  this  great  master  in  the  most  acceptable  and 
successful  manner  ?  How  may  I  conduct  myself,  so  as  another 
day  to  hear  him  saying  to  me,  Well  done  thou  good  and  faithful 
seiyant,  enter  into  the  joy  of  thy  Lord*?  1  know  not  how  to  an- 
swer such  an  enquiry  better,  m  a  few  words,  than  to  remind  you 
of  anotlier  lively  and  proper  expression  of  the  same  apostle  St. 
Paul,  when  speaking  of  the  blessed  God  he  says,  I  sci^e  him 
with  my  spirit  in  the  gospel  of  his  Son  f .  You  serve  God  in  the 
same  gospel. — I  hope  it  will  indeed  be  the  same. — God  forbid 
we  should  any  of  us  introduce  any  other.  Labour  therefore  to 
do  it  ttvVA  your  spirit,  with  all  the  united  powers  of  your  soul, 
and  labour  at  all  times  to  keep  your  spirit  in  a  proper  situation 
for  it. 

For  your  assistance  in  this  respect,  I  shall  make  it  my  pre- 
sent business  to  shew  you,  as  well  as  I  can,  what  must  be  the 
situation  and  temper  of  that  spirit,  which  would,  in  the  happiest 
manner,  serve  Christ  in  the  great  work  you  have  this  day  under- 
taken. This  will  give  me  an  opportunity  of  suggesting  hints 
%vhich  will  have  their  use,  not  in  this  or  that  particular  respect 
alone,  but  in  every  circumstance  through  which  you  pass,  and 
in  every  service  to  which  you  are  called  out,  That  the  man  of 
God  may  be  perfect,  thoroughly  furnished  and  prepared  to  every 
good  work  %■  Nor  can  I  think  of  any  thing  which  appears  to  me 
a  more  proper  supplement  to  the  many  particular  advices  I  have 
given  you,  Avith  respect  to  your  business  as  a  preacher  and  a 
pastor,  in  those  academical  lectures  on  that  subject  which  yoxx 
have  heard  from  me,  and  the  hints  of  which  are  still  in  your 
hand.  Permit  me  now  to  remind  you  that  they  come  recom- 
mended to  you  by  a  very  material  circumstance,  as  several  im- 
portant passages  m  them  were  taken  from  the  lectures  of  my 
honoured  tutor  your  reverend  and  worthy  father  ;  whose  name 
will  long  be  precious  in  the  churches,  and  my  relation  to  whom 
I  must  always  esteem  as,  under  God,  one  of  the  greatest  bless- 
ings of  my  life.  You  will  no  doubt  frequently  review  them,  and 
pardon  me  if  I  say,  you  will  in  effect  hear  two  fathers  speaking 
in  them,  with  an  united  voice  ;  if  the  most  endearing  affection, 
and  the  most  intimate  converse,  even  from  your  infant  years,  can 
give  me  a  title  to  that  tender  name. 

If  you  desire  to  serve  Christ  with  your  spirit  in  his  gospel, 

*Mat.  XXV.  21.  -f  Rom.  i.  9.  *2  Tim.  iii.  17. 


194  ORDINATION    OF   MR.    JENNINGS.  SeR.  II. 

I  confess  you  undertake  a  difficult  task.  So  difficult,  that  were 
there  not  a  much  better  spirit  than  our  own,  in  the  strength  of 
•which  we  attempt  it,  even  The  supply  of  the  spirit  of  Jesus 
Christ*  himself,  I  know  not  how  any  of  us  could  encourage  our 
younger  brethren,  or  how  we  could  find  any  encouragement 
ourselves,  in  the  midst  of  so  many  infirmities,  temptations,  and 
oppositions.  But  at  once  exhorting  you,  ray  dear  Son,  to  be 
strong  in  the  grace  which  is  in  Christ  Jesus  f,  and  praying,  as 
the  apostle  expresses  it,  that  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  may  be  with 
your  spirit  X,  I  proceed  to  give  you  some  hints,  as  to  that  frame 
and  temper  in  which  it  must  be  your  business,  and  mine,  to 
preserve  our  spirits,  if  we  desire  they  may  be  fit  for  so  great  a 
service.  And  my  younger  brethren  who  hear  me  this  day,  of 
whom  there  is  so  large  an  appearance,  will  I  hope  consider  a 
great  deal  of  Avhat  is  now  to  be  said,  as  their  own  concern  as 
well  as  ours,  and  lay  it  up  in  their  memories,  as  against  their 
own  ordination-day.  Not  to  say  how  much  every  preacher, 
and  every  private  christian  is  obliged,  on  the  common  prin- 
ciples of  religion,  to  cultivate  the  main  branches  of  the  temper  I 
am  to  recommend.  Now,  with  respect  to  this,  I  may  indeed 
say  as  Solomon  does.  Keep  thine  heart  with  all  keeping  §;  bestow 
the  lUmost  attention  upon  it,  and  let  eveiy  thing  be  done  that 
can  be  imagined,  with  any  appearance  of  propriety,  in  subser- 
viency to  so  great  an  end.  May  it  be  your  constant  care,  and 
the  grand,  noble  point  of  your  ambition,  to  have  a  mind  as  well 
ordered  as  possible.  So  that  no  one  irregular  affection  may  be 
admitted  or  encouraged,  no  one  good  affection  wanting  or  lan- 
guid. But  the  general  exhortation  may  farther  be  illustrated 
in  such  particulars  as  these  which  I  shall  touch  upon,  not  as  ex- 
hausting the  subject,  but  as  containing  some  of  the  most  ma- 
terial instances  of  watchfulness  and  duty,  to  which  it  may  lead. 

Be  solicitous,  my  dear  friend,  if  you  would  serve  God  with 
your  spirit  in  the  gospel  of  hisSon^  that  your  spirit  be  habitually 
devout — and  humble — that  it  be  elevated  and  free — that  it  be 
attentive,  and  active — that  it  be  cuurugeous  and  resolute — that 
it  be  tender  and  gentle. 

I,  2.  Let  it  be  your  care  that  your  spirit  be  evangelically 
devout;  that  it  be  set  upon  God,  upon  God  in  Christ.  He  is 
your  Master,  and  you  are  always  in  iiis  sight ;  labour  to  act  as 
contirmally  in  it.  Converse  nuich  with  him  and  you  will  love 
him  the  more,  and,  by  a  very  natural  consequence,  you  will 
.■>erve  him  the  better.     Labour  after  the  knowledge  of  the  divine 

*  Phi),  i.  19.  t  2  Tim.il.  1,  |  2  Tim,  iv.  22,  §  Prov.  iv.  23. 


Directions  for  Ministerial  Conduct.  195 

Being,  so  far  as  feeble  mortals  can  attain  it :  atul  j;ec  to  it  that 
it  be  a  practical  knowledge,  affecting  your  heart  with  those 
powerful  emotions  of  reverence  and  love,  due  to  the  great  Father 
of  the  world,  and  to  your  God  and  Father  in  Christ.  Know  and 
honour  him  under  the  various  views  in  which  he  appears  by  the 
light  of  nature  and  revelation,  realizing  to  your  own  mind  con- 
tinually, his  existence  and  his  presence — "  O  my  soul,  there  is 
a  God!|  and  such  a  God  as  I  discourse  of  to  others — and  lie  is 
this  day,  this  moment,  j)rescnt  with  me,  and  observing  what  re- 
gard I  will  shew  him,  and  what  effect  all  the  discoveries  he  has 
made  of  his  greatness  and  goodness  will  have  upon  my  mind  and 
my  life." 

Let  this  en<Tagc  you  to  make  devotion  a  considerable  part 
of  your  business,  and  to  attend  to  it  as  such.  You  will  often  be 
speaking  to  God,  in  the  name  and  presence  of  others  ;  and  a 
regard  to  your  own  i-eputation  will  engage  you  then  to  address 
him,  in  a  solemn,  reverend,  composed  and  aflectionate  manner. 
It  will  engage  you  to  awaken  and  regulate  your  thoughts,  while 
employed  in  social  prayer,  which  indeed  seems  to  me  by  far  the 
most  difficult  part  of  our  public  work,  as  performed  in  such 
assemblies  as  ours.  But  surely  that  minister  has  great  reason  to 
suspect  the  integrity  of  his  own  heart  that  can  pray  with  some 
copiousness,  affection,  and  pleasure  ^vith  others,  and  insecretcan 
only  find  in  his  heart  to  run  over  a  few  hasty,  inattentive,  and 
customary  words,  in  such  a  manner  as  he  would  be  ashamed  to 
do,  if  any  one  of  his  fellow-creatures  was  present.  Guard 
against  this,  my  dear  brother  ;  and  especially  guard  against  it 
in  the  evening,  when  the  fatigues  arising  from  the  labour  of  the 
day,  may  expose  you  to  the  peculiar  danger  of  it.  And  for 
that  purpose  take  time  to  retire,  if  possible,  before  the  fatigue 
becomes  too  great  and  sensible,  that  there  may  be  flame  for  the 
evening  sacrifice.  Be  assured,  that  as  prayer  is  the  food  and 
breath  of  all  practical  religion,  if  I  may  be  allowed  the  expres- 
sion, so  secret  prayer  in  particular  is  of  vast  importance  ;  inso- 
much that  I  verily  believe  that  if  a  man  were  to  keep  a  particular 
and  accurate  journal  of  his  own  heart  but  for  one  month,  he 
would  find  as  real  and  exact  a  correspondency  between  the 
temper  of  his  soul  at  seasons  of  secret  devotion,  and  in  other 
parts  of  his  life,  as  we  find  between  the  changes  of  the  barometer, 
and  of  the  weather. 

To  furnish  out  matter  for  prayer,  let  meditation  be  called 
in  to  your  assistance  ;  and  let  the  word  of  God,  above  all,  be 
the  subject  of  your  meditation.  You  know  it  is  placed  among 
the  most  distinguishing  characters  of  a  good  man,  that  His  de- 


196  ORDINATION   OF   MR.    JENNINGS.  StR.  11. 

light  IS  in  the  law  of  the  Lordy  and  in  his  law  doth  he  meditate 
day  and  night*.  Various  matter  of  prayer  may  by  this  means 
be  suggested,  and  the  soul  brought  into  a  proper  frame  for 
pouring  out  itself  before  God.  Observe  in  what  channel  the 
devotion  of  David  and  Asaph  ran  in  the  Old  Testament,  and 
that  of  Paul,  John,  and  the  other  apostles  under  the  New,  and, 
above  all,  that  of  our  great  Lord  ;  and  labour,  with  allowances 
for  the  difference  of  circumstances,  to  have  your  heart  affected 
with  divine  things,  as  theirs  seem  to  have  been. 

Labour  not  only  to  breathe  out  this  temper  before  God  in 
the  seasons  of  solemn  devout  retirement,  for  which  you  will  do 
well  to  have  your  hours  and  your  plan,  to  be,  if  possible,  strictly 
and  resolutely  observed,  but  also  endeavour  to  carry  it  along 
with  you  into  the  world  :  and  be  lifting  up  your  heart  to  God, 
in  many  of  those  little  vacancies  of  time,  Avhich  often  hang  on 
the  hands  even  of  the  busiest  of  mankind,  but  might  this  way  be 
profitably  employed.  Why  should  you,  for  several  hours  toge- 
ther, be  in  the  presence  of  such  a  master,  and  such  a  friend, 
without  speaking  one  word  to  him  ?  Or  why  should  any  of  his 
most  affectionate  servants,  in  former  ages,  have  addressed  him 
with  a  devotion  warmer  and  more  constant  than  yours  !  If  this 
advice  be  observed,  you  will  also  be  glad  to  have  an  occasional 
errand  to  the  throne  of  grace,  will  be  heartily  glad  to  sweeten 
the  hours  of  friendly  conversation,  by  making  them  subservient 
to  communion  with  God.  It  will  gladden  you  often  to  conclude 
your  visits  with  prayer,  and  cheerfully  to  come  into  any  scheme 
of  seeking  God  in  a  more  solemn  and  express  manner,  on  any 
particular  emergencies  that  may  arise  relating  to  yourself  and 
friends;  as  also  to  encourage,  what  we  commonly  call,  private 
meetings  for  social  prayer  at  stated  times,  which,  so  far  as  I  can 
judge,  greatly  promote  a  minister's  usefulness,  and  which  are 
generally  kept  up  with  the  greater  spirit,  and  the  best  order, 
when  he  accustoms  himself  to  be  often  present  at  them. 

But  permit  me.  Sir,  before  I  dismiss  this  head,  to  remind 
you,  that  it  is  evangelical  devotion  I  am  recommending  :  a  devo- 
tion in  which  a  due  regard  is  habitually  maintained,  to  the  love 
and  grace  of  Christ,  and  to  the  influence  of  his  good  Spirit.  In- 
deed oiic  would  think,  if  a  man  believed  the  gospel,  his  devo- 
tions should  naturally  and  unavoidably  take  this  turn.  Would 
to  God  we  could  find  it  so  ;  nevertheless  this  I  may  confidently 
sa}',  so  far  as  reason  and  experience  can  justify  a  confidence  in 
saying  any  thing,  that  very  much  will  depend  upon  turning  our 

*Psal.  i.2. 

3 


Directions  for  Ministerial  Conduct.  197 

fhoughts  into  the  channel  to  which  the  gospel  has  directed  them, 
and  viewin'j  thinirs  in  the  lijrlit  in  which  thiit  has  placed  them. 
No  devotion  so  sweet,  and  none  so  lasting  as  that  Avhich  is  thus 
guided  and  animated.  Remember  it  is  the  gospel  in  which  you 
are  serving  him;  and  vou  can  never  serve  him  so  effectually,  as 
by  a  close  and  constant  attendance  to  it.  Keep  your  heart 
therefore  full  of  those  impressions,  wliidi  it  will  naturally  intro- 
duce into  an  attentive  mind.  Think  what  a  friend  the  blessed 
Jesus  has  been  to  you,  and  how  much  you  are,  and  must  for 
ever  be  indebted  to  his  life  and  death,  his  resurrection  and  as- 
cension, his  guardianship  and  intercession.  And  when  this  view 
grows  daily  familiar  to  your  own  soul,  your  Heart  will  teach 
your  mouth,  arid  addt\\\^  best  kind  of  knowledge  to  your  lips*. 
80  that  you  will  be  in  no  danger  of  starving  or  destroying  the 
souls  of  your  hearers,  as  I  fear  many  who  should  be  ministers 
of  the  gospel  do,  by  a  criminal  and  fatal  silence  upon  these  heads : 
and  this  will  happily  influence  you  to  all  humility  of  spirit  in 
the  service  of  Christ  ;  for  nothing  has  so  great  a  tendency  to 
iiumble  the  soul,  as  the  sight  and  converse  of  the  blessed  and 
glorious  Jehovah,  in  whose  presence  we  are  less  than  nothingy 
and  vanity :  especially  when  "we  consider  ourselves  as  intro- 
duced to  him  by  the  blood  of  Christ ;  and  formed  and  animated 
by  his  own  spirit,  in  every  thing  which  is  pleasing,  in  every  thing 
which  is  not  offensive  to  him.  Pride,  my  dear  brother,  is  one 
of  the  most  subtle,  and  one  of  the  most  dangerous  enemies  that 
you  will  encounter  with,  in  the  whole  course  of  your  christian 
and  ministerial  warfare.  It  is  at  once  astonishmg  and  grievous, 
to  think  under  how  many  specious  forms  it  insinuates  itself  into 
the  very  sanctuary  of  God,  and  hides  itself,  if  I  may  be  allowed 
the  expression,  even  under  the  vestments  of  those  who  serve  at 
liis  altar  ;  indeed  frustrating  its  own  most  darling  end,  and  ex- 
posing them  at  once  to  the  displeasure  of  God,  and,  to  what 
they  seem  yet  more  to  fear,  the  contempt  of  men.  You  must 
therefore  continually  and  constantly  guard  against  it ;  and  make 
it  one  of  the  chief  cares  of  your  life,  not  only  to  suppress  its 
growth,  but  to  root  it  out  of  your  soul. 

If  you  would  be  honourable  in  the  sight  of  the  Lord  whom 
you  serve,  you  must  be  humble  ;  and  that  humility  must  be  seat- 
ed, not  merely  in  the  external  behaviour,  but  in  the  heart.  A 
small  degrrc  of  common  sense  may  be  sufficient  to  preserve  a 
man  from  the  ridiculous  folly  of  making  encomiums  upon  him- 

*  Prov.  \-vi.  23. 
VOL.  III.  Bb 


l^S  ORDINATION    OF    MR.    JENNINGS.  SeR.  II. 

?elr,  and  his  own  performances  ;  or  from  the  madness  of  putting 
on  imperious  airs  in  common  Ufe,  which  is  indeed  no  other  than 
bespeaking  the  scorn  and  aversion  of  all  about  us.  I  had  almost 
said,  a  manly  pride  will  set  a  minister  above  these  things,  and 
teach  him  to  curb  every  appearance  of  them.  But  our  humility 
should  dwell  in  our  very  souls:  and  I  am  M^ell  persuaded  the 
greatest  and  the  best  of  men,  may  find  enough  in  themselves  to 
nourish  it  from  day  to  day.  When  I  think,  for  instance,  what 
the  man  and  the  minister,  in  the  most  perfect  view  of  his  charac- 
ter, ought  to  be,  in  comparison  with  what  I  myself  am :  when  I 
iook  about  on  all  the  negligences  and  irregularities  of  my  life  ; 
when  I  look  in  especially  on  all  the  folly  and  corruption  of  my 
heart ;  and  farther  recollect,  that  all  these  things  are  open  to  the 
eyes  of  God,  who  sees  what  I  am,  and  v.hat  I  have  done,  in  com- 
parison with  what  I  should  have  been,  and  should  have  done;  in 
comparison  to  what  I  might  have  been,  and  might  have  done, 
for  his  glory,  and  the  good  of  mankind,  if  all  ray  capacities,  and 
all  my  opportunities  had  been  improved  to  the  highest  possible 
degree!  what  reason  do  I  find  for  the  deepest  abasement  in  the 
divine  presence  ?  What  reason  to  abhor,  rather  than  applaud 
myself;  to  hide  my  head  with  conscious  blushes,  rather  fhan  to 
lift  it  up  in  a  haughty  and  supercilious  manner,  as  if  I  had 
'whereof  to  glory  before  God  or  man  !  It  is  not  a  freedom  from 
gross  matter  of  reproach  among  men,  no,  nor  some  distinguish- 
ing share  of  genius,  of  learning,  of  eloquence,  of  reputation  and 
popularity,  that  will  raise  a  man's  esteem  for  himself,  when  such 
views  as  these  are  made  familiar  to  the  mind.  He  will  appre- 
hend it  to  be,  at  least  a  supposable,  and  indeed  a  very  probable 
case,  that  many,  who,  in  these  things,  and  in  the  eye  of  the 
world,  are  his  inferiors,  may,  on  account  of  their  better  temper 
and  conduct,  be,  in  the  eyes  of  God,  far  superior  to  him  ;  and 
may  be  fitted  for  much  more  distinguished  honours  in  that  world 
which  is  to  fix  our  rank  for  ever  :  and  we  shall  certainly  find  it 
very  much  for  our  own  ease  and  comfort  in  life,  thus  to  Esteem 
others  better  than  ourselves^  in  honour  preferring  one  another*. 
When  we  do  not  look  upon  any  distinguishing  regards  as  our 
due,  if  we  miss  them  we  shall  not  be  much  disappointed,  and  if 
they  meet  us,  we  shall  think  ourselves  obliged  to  the  Avorld  for  its 
kind  partiality  in  our  favour ;  and  behave  so  much  the  more 
humbly,  while  we  endeavour  indeed  to  be,  what  they  are  so  kind 
as  to  think  we  are  :  and  thus,  in  more  senses  than  one,  it  will  be 
prudent  for  him,  Who  would  be  the  greatest,  to  be  ike  least  and 

*PhiI.  ii.  3.  Fom.xii,  10. 


Directions  for  Ministerial  Conduct.  199 

servant  of  all-.  Our  blessed  Redeemer  is  such  an  example  of 
this  amiable  temper,  that  nothing  in  the  world  illustrates  the 
natural  pride  and  corruption  of  the  human  heart  more,  than  that 
this  lesson  is  so  little  learnt  and  practised,  by  those  who  call  them- 
selves his  disciples,  and  ever)  his  ministers. 

3.  Let  it  be  your  concern  to  preserve  a  due  freedom  and 
elevation  of  spirit.  1  join  these  together,  as  being  nearly  of  a 
kin,  and  the  latter  only  a  superior  degree  of  the  former.  And 
therefore  when  I  mention  liberty  of  mind,  you  will  apprehend  I 
intend  not  only,  or  chiefly  what  the  world  calls  freedom  of  senti- 
ment. You  have  long  since  been  taught  to  indulge  that,  and. 
have  I  hope  taken  your  religion  from  the  word  of  God,  and  not 
from  any  human  system  or  composition  whatever.  Go  on  to  act 
upon  this  maxim.  I  dare  not  say,  like  St.  Paul,  Continue  in  the 
things  thou  hast  learnt,  and  been  assured  of  by  me,  knowing  of 
•whom  thou  hast  learned  themf.  It  rather  becomes  me  to  say, 
examine  all  I  have  taught  you,  and  Search  the  scriptures  daily 
whether  these  things  are  so  or  no^.  You  will  not,  I  am  persuad- 
ed, run  the  matter  to  extremes,  and  imagine,  like  some  half- 
thinkers,  that  liberty  consists  in  boldly  daring  to  decide  against 
received  opinions,  as  soon  as  some  new  difficulties  are  discern- 
ed ;  and  confidently  venting  raw  and  undigested  notions,  how- 
ever noxious,  without  fearing  any  of  the  consequences.  And 
while  you  {ruard  ajjainst  this,  I  am  not  so  conscious  of  the  weak- 
ness  of  any  cause  in  which  I  am  embarked,  as  to  fear  it  should 
be  brought  to  the  test  of  strict  enquiry.  But  this  enquiry,  how 
well  soever  guarded  and  regulated,  is  not  the  w^hole  that  I  mean 
by  freedom.  I  intend  something  much  nobler  and  greater ; 
something  which  many  who  boast  loudly  of  their  liberty  are  en- 
tirel}^  ignorant  of,  I  mean  a  freedom  from  all  undue  attachments 
to  every  thing  that  would  debase  and  enslave  the  mind,  and  ren- 
der a  man  the  ignominious  servant  of  corruption. 

If  Paul  thought  it  proper  to  say  to  Timothy,  Keep  thyself 
pure,  2Lni\  flee  youthful  lusts  ^,  the  admonition  cannot  be  unsea- 
sonable to  any  who  are  early  in  life  entering  on  the  ministry. 
And  indeed,  if,  after  so  many  years  spent  in  the  apostolic  office, 
he  represented  it  as  a  daily  labour  of  his  life,  to  Keep  under  his 
body,  and  bring  it  under  subjection\\;  we  may  reasonably  con- 
clude, that  the  most  advanced  servants  of  Christ  had  need  to  be 
cautious  on  this  head ;  had  need,  while  they  dwell  in  animal 

*  Mark  X.  44-     f' Tim.  iii.  11.     'jActsxvii.  11.     §  1  Tim.  v.  2'2.  2  Tim,  ii.  22.  ' 
II  1  Cor.  i\.  -", 

Bb2 


-CO  eRDINATlON    Gf    MR.    JENNINGS.  SER.  II. 

body,  to  JFatch  andprai/,  that  they  enter  not  into  temptation*. 
Especially  considering  that  some  of  the  excesses  to  which  un- 
guarded appetite  may  betray  aman,  are  of  such  a  nature,  as  to  fix 
a  lasting  stain  upon  his  character.  A  minister  especially  may,  in 
one  single  hour,  incur  a  reproach,  which  past  and  future  years  of 
the  strictest  temperance  shall  not  be  able  to  avert,  remove,  or 
efface.  Yet  I  cannot  but  say,  that  to  a  person  in  whom  the  ha- 
bits of  a  temperate  and  regular  life  are  formed,  I  apprehend  the 
passions  to  be  much  more  dangerous  enemies  than  the  appetites; 
and  especially  those  excesses  of  the  passions  which  are  generally, 
among  virtuous  and  worthy  men,  reckoned  Aveak  rather  than  in- 
famous. By  these  has  many  a  wise  and  good  man  been  miser- 
ably enslaved,  and  fallen  far  beneath  the  dignity  of  his  charac- 
ter and  office ;  not  to  mention  the  unhappy  consequences  they 
have  often  drawn  after  them,  with  respect  to  the  ease  and  com- 
fort of  future  life. 

Wisdom  is  not  indeed  intended  to  root  out  the  passions,  but 
she  seldom  dwells  in  the  heart  in  which  they  are  suffered  to 
grow  wild.  They  turn  the  soul  into  a  desart,  and  render  it  a 
disagreeable  abode  to  so  divine  a  guest;  or  rather,  to  speak  in 
language  more  becoming  a  christian  divine,  the  blessed  Spirit  of 
God  is  by  this  means  driven  away,  and  it  is  impossible  to  say 
how  much  the  evil  spirit  may  sometimes  do,  in  his  absence,  to 
irritate  our  minds  and  drive  tliem  into  the  most  fatal  extremes. 
It  must  therefore  be  of  great  importance  to  keep  a  resolute 
guard  on  these  turbulent  subjects,  and  to  check  the  first  rising 
of  sedition  among  them ;  lest  they  gather  strength  by  insensible 
degrees,  and  break  out  into  such  open  rebellion,  as  to  depose 
reason  and  religion  from  the  throne,  reducing  the  soul  into  a 
state  of  anarchy;  or  rather  making  its  noble  rational  powers  the 
slaves  of  those,  whom  they  were  formed  to  command. 

To  be  secure  from  all  the  danger,  and  all  the  appearances 
of  so  great  an  evil,  let  it  be  your  care.  Sir,  to  maintain  a  be- 
coming elevation  of  spirit,  and  to  fill  your  mind  with  sublime 
ideas,  principles  and  views.  This  the  christian  religion  naturally 
suggests  to  all  its  votaries,  and  above  all  to  its  ministers.  Think, 
w  hat  a  master  you  serve,  and  in  what  a  work  you  are  engaged  ! 
Think  how  little  all  the  titles  which  the  princes  of  this  world  can 
give  must  appear,  when  compared  M'ith  that  of  the  minister  of 
Jesus,  and  a  servant  of  God  in  the  salvation  of  souls.  Think  how 
low  the  employments  of  secular  life  are,  even  those  in  which  the 
nobles  and  kings  of  the  earth  are  engaged,  in  comparison  with 

*Mat.  xxvi.  41. 


Directions  for  Ministerial  Conduct.  201 

yours.  In  tliis  respect,  it  is  good  to  Magnify  our  office''' ;  not 
as  it  it  ouve  us  any  the  least  power  to  tyranni/e  over  our  bre- 
thren, to  invade  tiieir  liberty  of  thinking,  or  of  acting,  or  to  com- 
mand their  properties  in  any  degree.  Secular  power  seems  too 
inconsiderable  a  thing  for  our  Master  to  give  to  servants,  whom 
he  has  set  so  high  in  his  family,  and  intends  for  a  charge  so  mucli 
greater  and  more  important,  in  \vhich  the  exercise  of  that  would 
necessarily  interrupt  them.  We  are  appointed  to  be,  in  subor- 
dination to  Christ,  the  friends,  the  guardians,  the  deliverers  of 
souls  ;  and  if  our  labour  succeeds,  the  eft'ect  is  everlasting.  All 
the  productions  of  human  art  and  industry  shall  perish  ;  the  pa- 
laces and  citadels  which  it  raises  shall  moulder  back  to  dust,  and 
be  levelled  with  the  earth;  the  mightiest  nations,  whose  interests 
divide  the  globe,  shall  soon  be  blended  together,  and  distinguish- 
ed no  more.  But  every  soul  whom  Ave  recover  to  Christ  and  to 
Jioliness,  will  be  an  everlasting  monument  of  the  power  of  divine 
grace,  and  of  our  fidelity  in  our  Master's  service  ;  will  be  an 
honour  and  dcligiit  to  us,  ten  thousand  thousand  thousand  years 
after  the  earth  itself  has  been  removed  out  of  its  place.  Think 
and  act  like  one  that  has  such  grand  sc.hemes  in  view  ;  like  one 
■who  is  continually  realizing  to  himself  the  presence  of  God,  and 
the  prospect  of  immortality,  and  has  learnt  by  them  not  an  af- 
fected and  counterfeited,  but  a  real  contempt  for  the  pleasures 
and  interests  of  this  perishing  state  ;  like  one  Avho  has  learnt 
heartily  to  pity  those  whom  mistaken  mortals  imagine  the  objects 
of  congratulation,  or  of  envy. 

4.  Let  it  be  your  constant  care  to  keep  3'our  spirit  atten- 
tive and  active. 

The  great  emplo3'mcnts  and  viewsin  which  you  areengaged, 
should,  methinks,  effectually  engage  you  to  this.  Since  the  work  is 
so  grand,  and  to  be  carried  on  in  the  midst  of  so  much  opposition, 
as  you  well  know  is  to  be  expected  from  the  indispositions  and 
corruptions  of  our  own  hearts,  and  the  influence  of  so  subtle 
and  so  powerful  an  enemy  as  the  prince  of  darkness  is,  you  will 
naturally  apprehend  that  many  difficulties  and  obstructions 
will  arise;  so  that  you  had  need  exercise  an  habitual  prudence, 
both  to  guard  against  temptations,  and  to  seize  opportunities  ; 
precious  but  transient  opportunities,  Avhich  perhaps  if  they  are 
once  suffered  to  slip  by,  may  never  return.  *'  Bright  as  the  hea- 
venly world  appears  to  my  view  and  my  hopes,"  says  an  eminent 
christian  in  one  of  his  letters,  "•  I  am  sometimes  afraid  of  going 
thitlier,  till  I  have  done  sometiiing  considerable  for  the  service 

*Roin,  xj.  13, 


202  CRD1^;ATI0N  of  MR.  JENNINGS.  SeR.  II. 

of  Christ  upon  earth."  Methinks  such  a  thought  as  this,  while 
the  uncertainty  of  human  life  is  remembered,  should  engage  us 
to  a  watchfulness  of  soul,  should  lead  us  every  hour  to  recollect, 
**  What  can  I  do  for  my  great  and  glorious  Master  ?  What  can 
T  do  for  bim  immediately  ?  Supposing  this  should  be  the  very 
last  day  I  have  to  spend  in  his  service,  how  may  he  find  me  em- 
ployed in  a  manner  that  will  be  most  acceptable  to  him""* 

Labour,  in  this  view,  to  do  good  every  da)?^,  and  every  day 
to  do  as  much  good  as  possible  ;  and  if  any  thing  can  conve- 
niently be  done  to-day,  defer  it  not,  by  any  means,  till  to-mor- 
row. To-morrow  is  God's,  and  not  yours  ;  and  if  it  come,  and 
find  you  here  in  a  capacity  of  service,  it  will  so  far  take  thought 
for  the  things  of  itself*,  that  whatever  you  can  do  to-day, 
there  will  be  business  enough  remain,  for  that,  and  for  the  next 
day  too,  and  for  all  the  days  and  hours  God  shall  assign  you. 
Therefore,  Sir,  guard  not  only  against  a  slothful  and  inactive 
temper,  but  against  unnecessary  delay.  Here  are  certain  duties 
so  apparently  great  and  important,  that  Satan  himself  has  not 
the  assurance  so  much  as  to  propose  it  to  us,  that  we  should 
come  to  a  resolution,  that  we  will  always  omit  them.  All  he 
will  demand  is,  that  j'ou  would  this  day  wait  for  a  more  conve- 
nient opportunity,  and  continue  waiting  to-morrow,  and  so  on 
for  one  day  more,  till  he  can  find  you  no  more  excuse  for  fur- 
ther procrastination.  And  it  is  by  this  artifice,  palpable  as  it  is, 
that  he  enervates  the  usefulness  of  the  greater  part  of  christians  ; 
that  he  makes  their  life  but  a  shadow  of  what  it  might  be,  and 
sinks  them  into  so  insignificant  a  kind  of  being,  that  one  would 
imagine  a  rational  soul  should  be  continually  upbraiding 
itself  with  its  own  importance,  while  its  noble  furniture  and 
capacity  is  employed  to  such  low  purposes  ;  and  instead  of 
acting,  is  only  dreaming  first  of  one  vanity,  and  then  of  ano- 
ther ;  always  intending  to  be  wise  and  useful  hereafter,  but  not 
allowing  itself  so  much  as  to  say  when.  I  have  always  observed 
that  those  tradesmen  who  are  most  solicitous  to  execute  their 
orders  immediately,  give  the  greatest  satisfaction  to  others,  and 
generally  improve  their  own  stock  best.  But  alas,  The  chil- 
dren of  this  world  ai-e,  in  this  respect,  and  almost  every  other, 
wiser  than  the  children  of  light  f.  I  would  only  add,  that  as 
growing  j-ears  will  naturally  impair  the  activity  of  the  spirits, 
it  will  be  your  wisdom,  while  you  are  young,  to  accustom  your- 
self to  vigour  and  dispatch,  that  so  the  force  of  habit  in  riper 
years  may  be  some  equivalent  for  the  want  of  the  vivacity  which 

*  Mat.  vi.  34.  f  Luke  xvi.  8. 


Directions  for  Ministerial  Conduct.  203 

vill  then,  in  tlie  course  of  nature,  be  diminished.  And  I  really 
think  activity  and  cheerfulness  to  be  so  nearly  allied,  that  one 
can  hardly  take;  a  more  effe«:tual  method  to  secure  the  latter, 
than  to  cultivitte  the  former,  l-'-specially  when,  as  in  the  pre- 
sent instance,  it  is  employed  to  sow  the  seed  of  an  immortal 
harvest,  which  will  be  rich  and  glorious,  in  proportion  to  our 
present  diligence  and  zeal. 

5.  In  order  to  this  activity,  it  will  be  necessary  to  sec  to 
it,  that  your  spirit  is  maintained  in  a  courageous  and  a  reso- 
lute temper. 

The  difficulty  and  obstructions  which  I  hinted  under  the 
former  head  will  render  this  necessary,  and  necessary  in  pro- 
portion to  your  diligence :  just  as  the  resistance  of  any  dense 
fluid,  through  whicli  a  body  is  moved,  acts  more  forcibly, 
in  proportion  to  the  velocity  with  which  the  body  is  impelled. 
You  must  therefore  lay  your  account  thus  ;  the  ministry  is 
rot  an  easy  employment ;  it  will  not  always  go  on  smoothly  ; 
many  entanglements  will  arise,  even  from  the  pleasantness  of 
our  circumstances,  from  the  kindness  of  our  friends,  many 
of  whose  importunities  we  must  break  through,  if  Ave  desire 
to  improve  our  time  well,  and  to  pursue  the  business  in 
which  we  are  engaged  ;  and  in  the  execution  of  some  part 
of  It,  other  and  greater  difliculties  must  be  expected.  It  is 
possible  you  may  not  be  able  faithfully  to  discharge  your  duty, 
Avithout  greatly  disobliging  some  whom  you  respect  and  love  ; 
some  on  whom  your  temporal  circumstances  may  very  much 
depend.  Perhaps  you  may  be  obliged,  in  conscience,  to 
bear  a  public  testimony  against  their  errors,  or  against  their 
irregularities,  and  it  may  be  against  both,  as  they  are  fre- 
quent companions:  or  at  least  you  may  be  obliged  plainly 
to  admonisli  them  in  private,  and  expostulate  with  them  in 
a  manner  that  they  may  not  be  disposed  to  bear ;  even  after 
all  the  most  prudent  address  on  yo"  r  side,  to  make  it  as  inoffen- 
sive as  is  consistent  with  fidelity.  Nor  is  it  impossible  that  in 
consequence  of  some  distant  and  unforeseen  change  in  public 
affairs,  you  may  be  called  forth  even  to  martyrdom,  and  obliged 
either  to  resist  to  blood,  or  to  make  shipwreck  of  faith  and  a 
good  conscience.  An  heroic  resolution  must  therefore  be  put 
on,  that  in  the  strength  of  Christ  you  will  Be  faithful  to  the 
death  * ;  that  your  master  may  be  pleased,  whoever  is  dis- 
pleased, and  that  your  crown  of  glory  may  be  secure,  whatever 
else  is  lost.     And  it  will  be  the  part  of  christian  prudence  some- 

*  Rev.  ii.  10. 


204  ORDINATION  OF  MR.  JENNINGS.  SeR.  ir. 

times  to  exercise  a  voluntary  self-denial,  in  smaller  matters,  that 
It  may  become  easier  to  you  in  circumstances  of  considerable 
difficulty,  importance  and  necessity.  But  while  you  are  setting 
your  face  like  a  flint  \x\  the  midst  of  all  the  most  violent  and 
forcible  opposition, 

6.  Let  this  courage  and  resolution  be  tempered  with  a  be. 
coming  degree  of  tenderness  and  gentleness. 

Labour  to  preserve  your  mind  continually  under  the  influ- 
ences of  benevolence  and  love.  Remember  you  serve  the  most 
benevolent  of  masters,  in  the  most  benevolent  of  works.  The 
whole  business  of  your  life  is  to  do  good,  and  therefore,  to 
make  that  business  easy,  cultivate  love  ,  for  the  labours  of  love 
are  easy  labours,  and  are  indeed  no  other  than  their  own  reward. 

Indulge  to  a  continued  sensibility  of  heart.  Be  willing  to 
look  upon  the  sorrows  of  others,  and  to  feel  them,  and  live  con- 
tinually mindful  of  the  common  tie  of  brotherhood  and  of  kind. 
Look  upon  tlie  human  family  as  one,  and  then  do  all  you  can 
to  make  it  an  orderly  and  happy  family.  Especially  cultivate 
love  and  compassion  to  the  souls  of  men.  Seriously  think  what 
an  immortal  soul  is,  and  to  what  extreme  danger  the  souls  of 
multitudes  are  exposed.  Think  also  in  how  languid  a  state  re- 
ligion is,  so  far  as  actions  can  discover  it,  in  the  souls  of  many, 
concerning  Avhom,  charity  would  hope  that  they  are  not  quite 
estranged  from  all  the  principles  of  the  divine  life  ;  and  long 
earnestly  to  bring  them  into  a  more  healthful  state,  and  to  see 
them  lively  and  active. 

Under  this  bead  let  me  recommend  to  you  a  tender  love 
for  the  rising  generation,  and  particularly  for  little  children, 
dear  amiable  cieatures,  who,  one  would  think,  should  need  no 
advocate  to  plead  their  cause,  with  a  person  of  a  humane  and 
generous  disposition.  Christ  was  an  example  of  condescending 
regard  to  them,  and  he  certainly  meant  to  teach  it  to  us.  Learn 
this  meekness  and  lowliness  from  him.  Converse  with  them, 
instruct  them,  and  as  you  are  often  praying  for  them,  be  some- 
times praying  with  them  too  ;  and  for  that  purpose  appoint  a 
number  of  them  at  proper  seasons  to  attend  you,  and  then, 
>vhen  you  have  talked  with  them  in  a  free  and  affectionate 
manner  about  the  things  of  religion,  pray  over  them,  in  such 
easy  natural  language  as  they  are  most  likely  to  understand, 
and  recommend  them  to  God  with  that  tenderness  of  heart 
which  their  presence  will  naturally  inspire. 

I  have  often  observed  numl3ers  of  them  melt  into  tears 
Mpon  this  occasion  ;  and  when  that  is  the  case,  it  is  a  secret  en- 
couragement to  hope,  that  even  while  we  are  praying,  God 


Directions  for  Ministerial  Conduct.  203 

hears.  And  would  parents  sometimes  try  the  same  metliod  with 
their  children,  and  appoint  bnt  a  lew  miiuites  every  week  to 
pray  with  tliem  alone,  tiiey  might  find,  as  to  my  certain  know- 
Jedge  some  pious  parents  have  done,  not  only  that  it  had  a 
good  tendency  to  compose  and  soften  the  temper  of  those 
little  creatures,  but  possibly,  in  some  instances,  to  give  such 
a  turn  to  the  mind  of  those  grown  up  to  some  maturity,  as 
might  be  carried  through  the  remainder  of  life  ;  and  fixed  upon, 
as  the  probable  season  Irom  whence  their  conversion  to  God 
might  take  its  first  rise. 

While  I  am  on  this  head,  I  must  exhort  you  also,  to  con- 
descend to  the  least  and  weakest,  as  well  as  the  youngest.  Re- 
member you  can  never  stoop  so  low  to  others,  as  Christ  has 
stooped  to  you  ;  and  that,  when  you  have  done  all,  your  great 
master  will  exceed  you  in  condescension,  as  much  as  he  does  in 
glory. 

Let  this  tenderness  also  engage  you  to  enter  into  the  sor- 
rows of  others  ;  who,  says  St.  Paul,  w  "joeak^  and  I  am  not  weakf 
Who  is  offended,  and  I  burn  not?  i.  e.  feel  fire,  as  it  were, 
kindled  in  my  bosom,  which  mnkes  me  restless  till  I  have  done 
all  I  conveniently  can  to  make  him  easy.  You,  Sn-,  must 
accustom  yourself  to  ^ffl^r  the  burdens  of  others ,  that  you.  may 
fulfil  the  law  of  Christ,  and  with  greater  advantage  teach  others 
to  fulfil  it.  You  must  not  shun  the  cottages  of  the  poor,  or  the 
chambers  of  the  languishing  ;  nor  must  your  ear  be  so  intent 
on  the  more  pleasing  sounds,  as  to  turn  away  from  the  sighs  and 
groans  of  the  distressed.  Yon  must  often  be  visiting  your  bre- 
thren, that  you  may  see  how  they  do  ;  and  their  personal  or  do- 
mestic afflictions  must  be  tenderly  Aveighed,  in  their  various 
circumstances,  that  your  heart  may  feel  its  part,  and  so  prompt 
you  to  do  all  you  can,  if  possible  to  remove  them  ;  or  if  that  be 
impracticable,  as  it  often  will  be,  at  least  to  alleviate  them  ;  and 
sometimes  the  sight  and  conversation  of  a  christian  friend  does 
so  much  to  alleviate  them,  that  one  would  imagine  so  cheap  4 
charity  should  not  be  denied.  Let  not  our  master  say,  in  refer- 
ence to  any  of  his  servant?,  /  was  sick  and  ye  visited  me  not  *  ; 
I  was  confined  and  ye  did  not  come  unto  me.  You  will,  I  hope, 
be  ready  according  to  your  ability,  lo  relieve  the  necessitous  : 
you  will  also,  I  hope,  improve  your  interest  among  your  chris- 
tian friends,  to  procure  that  relief  which  yoir  cannot  immedi- 
ately give  J  and  be  assured  that,  while  thus  employed,  you  are 

*  Mat.  xx\-.  4?, 
VOL.  III.  C  Q 


206  ORDINATION  OF  MR.  JENNINGS.  S£R.  II. 

performing  a  kind  action  toward  the  rich  and  tlie  prosperous, 
many  of  whom  are  so  ready  to  forget  the  indigent  and  afflicted, 
that  when  one  thinks  upon  the  great  day  of  account,  one  is 
ready,  as  the  world  generally  appears,  to  congratulate  the  poor, 
and  to  tremble  for  the  rich.  Let  benevolence  to  both,  there- 
fore, remind  you  of  St.  Paul's  words  to  Timothy,  Charge  them 
that  are  rich  in  this  worlds  that  they  be  not  high-minded^ 
nor  trust  in  uncertain  richesy  but  in  the  living  God,  who  gives 
us  all  thijigs  richly  to  enjoy  ;  that  they  do  good,  that  they  be 
fich  in  good  works,  ready  to  distribute,  willing  to  communi' 
tate,  laying  up  in  store  for  themselves  a  good  foundation  against 
the  time  to  come,  that  they  may  lay  hold  of  eternal  life  *. 

And  before  I  close  this  head,  I  must  also  beseech  you,  by 
the  meekness  and  gentleness  of  Christ,  that  you  endeavour  to 
exercise  a  meek  and  gentle  temper  under  contradiction  and  op- 
position. I  hope  and  believe  you  will  meet  with  very  little  of 
this  sort,  from  so  kind,  so  generous,  and  so  obliging  a  people, 
as  that  to  which  you  have  the  happiness  of  being  related  :  yet 
there  is  no  soil  so  good,  but  some  root  of  bitterness  may  spring 
up  in  it,  and  if  not  among  your  own  people,  and  among  your 
nearest  brethren  in  the  ministry,  yet  among  others  injuries  may 
arise  ;  but  if  you  are  reviled,  revile  not  again  ;  if  you  are  in- 
jured, let  forgiveness  be  all  your  revenge  ;  for  it  is  all  Chris- 
tianity allows,  and  all  that  is  good  for  us  to  take.  And  if  you 
should,  which  is  always  too  supposable  a  case,  be  called  out  to 
combat  with  error  and  immorality,  venture  to  do  it  in  the  spirit 
of  meekness.  It  is  the  method  which  the  God  of  truth  and  ho- 
liness has  taught  us.  The  servant  of  the  Lord,  says  the  apostle, 
jnust  not  strive,  but  must  be  gentle  towards  all  men,  in  meek- 
ness  instructirig  those  that  oppose  themselves,  if  peradventure 
God  will  give  them  repentance  f.  We  must  be  cautious  lest  the 
old  serpent  find  out  a  way  of  brooding  over  our  hearts,  and 
diffuse  his  venom  there,  Avhile  we  mistake  the  fermentation  it 
occasions  to  be  only  a  warmth  of  zeal  for  Christ,  and  so  do  the 
work  of  his  enemy  in  his  name.  I  cannot,  for  my  part,  appre- 
hend satire  to  be  an  ordinance  of  Christ ;  at  least  I  believe,  he 
will  be  more  ready  to  excuse  those  wlio  have  erred  on  the 
tender,  than  on  the  severe  extreme.  The  knowledge  I  have 
had  of  your  natural  disposition,  prevents  my  enlarging  on 
this  head,  which,  with  regard  to  you  alone,  it  might  not  here 
have  been  material  to  mention  :  nevertheless  it  is  a  sin  that 
easily  besets  young  divines,  who,  as  I  suppose,  with  their  wits 

*  I  Tim.  vi.  17—19.  f  2  Tim.  ii.  24,  25. 


Directions  for  Ministerial  Conduct.  207 

and  passions  warm  about  them,  have  bad  the  chief  hand  ia 
brin-ring  theological  fury  into  a  proverb.  As  for  you,  Sir,  what- 
ever personal  ill  usage  you  may  meet  with  in  life.  Be  not 
overcome  with  evil^  but  overcome  evil  with  good*,  and  trust  in 
him  who  Jias  given  you  the  command,  to  bear  you  harmless 
v'liile  you  arc  careful  to  observe  it.  Goodness  will,  on  the 
whole,  not  only  be  fafe,  but  victorious  ;  and  the  wisdom  of 
this  and  all  the  other  rules  of  our  great  master,  will  be  de- 
monstrated, not  so  much  by  debate,  as  by  experience.  Go 
on,  therefore,  my  dear  friend  and  brother,  not  only  in  this 
respect,  but  in  all  others,  to  conduct  your  spirit  by  these, 
and  you  will  find  them  your  ornament  and  defence.  The  sa- 
tisfaction of  a  well-governed,  and  of  an  acceptable  and  suc- 
cessful ministry,  will  infinitely  over-balance  all  the  pains  you 
can  take  with  your  spirit,  to  keep  it  in  such  a  temper.  God 
will  approve  the  effect  of  his  Holy  Spirit's  agency  on  your 
heart ;  and  when  I  have  said  you  will  be  the  object  of  his 
approbation  and  delight,  it  is  little  to  say  the  happy  fruits 
of  this  care,  which  will  appear  in  the  sight  of  your  fellow- 
creatures,  will  entitle  you  to  their  veneration  and  affection, 
and  gain  a  degree  of  both,  Avhicli  neither  the  exalted  sta- 
tions, the  most  flourishing  circumstances,  or  the  most  exten- 
sive geniiiK  and  learning,  could  possibly  secure  in  the  neglect 
of  these  things.  And  as  there  is  no  room  to  doubt  but  di- 
vine grace  will  bless  your  labours,  while  conducted  on  such 
principles,  you  will  be  continually  laying  up  in  store  new 
treasures,  to  be  posses<;od  in  the  celestial  world,  among  mul- 
titudes whom  God  will  make  you  an  instrument  of  bringing 
into  the  way  to  it,  or  of  conducting  in  those  peaceful  and 
blissful  paths'. 

I  conclude  with  exhorting  you,  my  friends  of  t]^is  con- 
gregation, to  continue  your  affectionate  regards  to  my  dear 
brother,  who  has  now  commenced  a  more  intimate  relation 
to  you  than  before,  and  is  become  your  pastor.  Never  give 
him  reason  to  repent  that  he  is  so,  and  that  he  has  pre- 
ferred you  to  other  congregations,  who  would  gladly  have 
engaged  his  settlement  among  them.  Encourage  his  valua- 
ble labours  by  your  constant  attendance,  and  by  your  friendly 
care  for  his  support :  above  all,  endeavour  to  improve  in  re- 
ligion by  his  means.  I  am  well  satisfied  that  he  Seeks  not 
yours  but  you  t,  and  will  think  he  Lives  indeed,  if  yon  stand 

♦Rom,  xii.  21.  t  2  Cor.  xii.  !*♦ 

c  c  r 


20S  ORDINATION  OF  MR.  JENNINGS.  SeR.  II. 

fast  in  the  Lord*.  You  will  not,  I  persuade  myself,  grieve 
him  by  any  personal  unkindness  ;  God  grant  that  none  of  you 
may  distress  his  soul,  by  undoing  your  own !  God  grant  that 
none  of  you  may  send  him  back  to  his  great  master  with 
lamentation,  on  account  of  your  refusing  to  accept  of  that 
message  of  pardon  and  life  he  brings  !  I  do  indeed  hope  Bet- 
ter things  of  you^  and  things  that  accoinpany  salvation -f  ;  and 
conclude  with  my  hearty  prayer,  that  he  may  rejoice  in  every 
soul  of  you  in  the  day  of  the  Lord,  That  he  has  7iot  run  in 
vain,  nor  laboured  in  vai7iX.     Amen. 

*  1  Thess.  iii.  8,  f  Heb.  vi.  9.  J  Phih  U.  16^ 


Ministerial  CongraiulationSy  Admonitions,  S(c.         20'J 


SERMON  III. 


A  CHARGE 


Pelkered  at  Nuriiich,  on  June  20,   1745,  at  the   Ordinal! vn  of  the 
Rev.  Mr.  Abraham  Tuzcr. 


MY  DEAR  BROTHER, 

W  HEN  I  consider  the  rational  and  edifying  manner,  in  which 
tlie  solemnities  of  ordination-days  amongst  us  are  adjusted  and 
conducted,  and  recollect  what  I  hope  1  may  justly'  call  the  various 
and  delightful  tokens  of  the  divine  presence  in  our  assemblies  on 
such  occasions,  I  cannot  but  esteem  it  my  happiness  to  have 
been  an  attendant  on  so  many  of  them.  My  memory  goes  back 
with  joy  to  many  former  years,  in  each  of  which  providence  has 
given  me,  in  one  part  of  our  country  or  another,  to  see  young 
ministers,  who  have  a  Good  report  of  all  fnen,  and  of  the  truth 
itself* ,  after  having  approved  tliemselves  to  christian  societies, 
generally  by  some  considerable  series  of  probationary  labours, 
unanimously  chosen  by  the  respective  churches,  and  invited  to 
the  pastoral  office  over  them  Avitliout  one  dissenting  voice.  With 
delight  have  I  heard  their  faithful  and  affectionate  testimony  to 
the  great  truths  of  the  gospel,  injudicious  summaries  of  the  chris- 
tian religion,  drawn  up  by  them  in  such  expressions  as  they 
freely  chose,  without  the  imposition  of  human  forms;  sum- 
maries, which,  in  tins  connection,  I  must  acknowledge  to  have 
been  in  the  number  of  the  most  affecting  and  edilyinn- public 
discourses.  If  1  have  ever  known  the  spirit  of  prayer  ])oured 
forth,  as  in  a  kind  of  celestial  torrent,  to  add  at  once  dignity, 
sanctity,  and  transport  to  our  assemblies,  it  has  been  on  such 
occasions  :  And  the  exhortations  of  my  brethren  in  their  sermons 
and  charges,  have  often  been  the  means  of  humbling,  of  melting, 
and  of  animating  my  soul. 

The  present  pleasure  attending  these  sacred  hours,  the  re- 
iig;ous  improvement  received  from  what  has  passed  in  them,  the 

*3John,  ver.  IC. 


210  ORDINATION   OF   MR.    TOZER.  SeR    III. 

cheering  prospect  vhich  they  give  relating  to  the  church  in 
future  years,  and  even  in  generations  yet  to  come,  do  all  con- 
cur to  demand  my  thankfulness,  that  I  have  so  often  on  such 
seasons  been  called  to  Go  with  the  vmliitude  to  the  house  of  God^. 
But  I  will  freely  OAvn,  the  enjovment  has  often  been  abated  by 
the  obligation  I  have  been  under  to  officiate,  not  only  in  some 
public  work,  but  especially  in  the  part  which  is  now  devolved 
upon   me.       Nor  should  I,   after  having  delivered  so  many 
charges,  as  well  as  opened  my  heart  so  fully  to  you,  dear  Sir, 
in  a  more  private  manner,  on  almost  every  subject  relating  to 
the  ministry,  know  hoAv  to  set  myself  witli  any  spirit  to  what 
must  be  in  a  great  measure  a  repetition  of  former  things  ;  if  I 
did  not  recollect,  that  what  is  immediately  addressed  to  one's 
self,  in  the  midst  of  such  peculiar  solemnities,  may  have  some 
singular  weight,  beyond  what  the  same  thing  would  have  in  a 
more  private  address,  or  if  thus  publicly  offered  to  another  per- 
son.    And  therefore  I  persuade  myself,  you  will  hear  me  Avith 
all  attention  and  regard,  while  I  give  a  little  vent  to  the  fulness 
of  my  heart,  in  such  fraternal  congratulations,  admonitions  and 
encouragements,  as  may  suit  the  present  occasion,  and  may,  by 
the  divine  blessing,  be  of  some  service  to  you,  and  my  other  be- 
loved and  honoured  brethren,  who  are  sharing  in  the  honours, 
the  labours,  and  the  burdens  of  this  evangelical  ministry,  to  the 
full  exercise  of  which  you  have  now  been  solemnly  called  and 
set  apart. 

I.  Let  me  most  cordially  and  affectionately  congratulate 
you,  my  dear  brother,  that  you  have  now  been  thus  publicly 
called  and  devoted  to  the  ministerial  and  pastoral  office. 

Paul  esteemed  it  matter  of  most  joyful  reflection,  when  he 
said,  I  thank  Christ  Jesus  our  Lord,  that  he  hath  counted  ms 
faithful,  putting  me  into  the  yninisi^ryf.  And  I  thank  him  from 
ray  soul,  as  the  great  head  of  the  church,  that  he  is  still  raising  a 
succession  of  those  who  are  to  bear  it,  and  that  you,  dear  Sir, 
are  numbered  among  them.  I  most  heartily  congratulate  you, 
on  the  honour, — the  pleasure, — and  the  usefulness  of  that  station 
of  life,  on  which  you  now  enter. 

1 .  I  congratulate  you  on  the  honour  of  your  office. 

For  with  whatever  contempt  ignorant  and  profane  men 
may  treat  it,  it  is  highly  honourable  in  its  simplest  forms  ;  and 
needs  none  of  the  external  ornaments  which  men  can  hang  about 
it,  to  render  it  so.  If  it  be  honourable,  to  be,  though  confessedly 
in  a  lower  sense,  than  the  title  was  applicable  to  the  apostles;  An 

*P3»1.  xlJi.  4-  f  ITim  M3. 


Ministerial  Congratulations ^  Admonitions^  S(c.         2J 1 

embassador  of  Christ,  and  a  man  of  God,  you  have  that  honour. 
If  it  be  honourable,  to  sustain  the  highest  trust,  that  can,  in  ther 
methods  of  common  providence,  be  reposed  in  mortal  man,  even 
to  have  The  glorious  gospel  of  the  blessed  God  committed  to  our 
charge*,  and  to  be  made  guardians  of  souls  which  are  to  exist  for 
ever  : If  it  be  honourable,  to  bear  an  office  which  was  sanc- 
tified by  Christ,  who  himself  bore  it,  and  b;^  bearing  it  has  digni- 
fied it  for  ever ;  an  office,  which  is  mentioned  in  the  sacred 
oracles,  as  the  great  gift  of  Christ  to  his  church  ;  as  the  imme- 
diate, though  not  the  ultimate  end  of  the  most  visible  and  ex- 
traordinary effusion  of  his  Spirit: For  Wheji  he  ascended 

up  on  high,  and  led  captivity  captive,  he  gave  gifts  unto  men; 
and  distributed  the  royal  donative,  giving  first  apostles,  then 
prophets,  then  evangelists,  then  pastors  and  teachers ;  that  by  it 
holy  men  might  be  perfectly  fitted  for  the  work  of  the  ministry^ 
that  so  the  body  of  Christ,  that  is,  his  whole  church,  might  be 

edified  f,  or  built  upX: llejoice,  that  your  name  is  now, 

as  it  w  ere,  inserted  in  the  catalogue  of  these  his  servants,  and  re- 
flect frequently  on  the  honour ;  not  to  be  exalted  above  mea- 
sure, but  to  be  awakened  and  animated  to  a  dignity  and  sanctity 
of  behaviour  correspondent  to  it, 

2.  Let  me  also  congratulate  you  on  the  pleasures  of  that 
office,  on  which  you  are  entered. 

For  pleasures  mingle  themselves  amidst  all  its  labours  and 
difficulties,  all  its  reproaches,  and  its  persecutions ;  yea,  when 
duly  executed,  it  is  a  series  of  pleasures.  Pleasures  will  meet 
you  in  your  secret  retirements  ;  they  will  attend  you  here  in  the 
house  of  your  God  ;  they  will  follow  you  to  the  house  of  your 
friends:  They  will  crown  all  your  days,  and  above  all  your 
sabbaths:  And  these,  rational,  pure,  sublime  pleasures,  which 
the  man  may  approve,  the  christian  relish,  and  which,  did 
angels  dwell  in  human  flesh,  they  surely  would  pursue. 

Must  it  not  necessarily  be  pleasant  to  a  devout  heart,  and 
God  forbid,  that  any  other  should  here  be  in  question!  to  give 
itself  up  in  secret  to  the  contemplation  of  divine  things,  to  search 
the  rich  mines  of  scripture,  to  investigate  the  glorious  m3-steries 
Avith  which  they  are  pregnant,  and  Which  angels  stoop  down  that 
they  may  look  into^?  to  compare  one  part  of  the  sacred  oracles 
with  another,  that  each  may  be  illustrated  by  the  comparison  ? 
to  discover,  I  will  not  say  new  doctrines  of  importance,  for  I 

*lTim.  i.  11.  +F.pli.  iv.  8,  II,  12. 

+  This  version  I  Uiink  the  original  words  will  bear;  rrfa  rov  xalafurfxoi  rut 

§  1  Pet.  i,  12. 


212  ORDINATION    OF   MR.  TOZER.  SeR.  III. 

persuade  myself,  God  has  not  left  his  christian  church  to  learn 
them  in  these  last  days,  but  new  illustrations  of  the  great  and 
acknowledged  truths  of  his  gospel,  new  beauties  in  the  arrange- 
ment and  expressions  of  particular  texts,  new  methods  of 
touching  the  hearts  of  men,  by  truths  already  familiar  to  their 
ear  ? 

What  can  be  more  delightful  also,  than  to  rise  up  to  lead 
the  public  devotions  of  a  worshipping  assembly  ?  to  spread 
before  the  blessed  God,  in  their  name,  and  our  owm,  prayers 
and  supplications,  intercessions  and  thanksgivings  ?  to  remind 
them  of  the  divine  mercy  ?  to  proclaim  among  them  the  ever- 
lasting gospel;  animated  with  a  secret  hope,  (while  meditating 
in  private,  w^hile  speaking  in  the  assembly,)  that  by  the  divine 
blessing,  the  knowledge  and  love  of  God  in  a  Redeemer  may  be 
shed  abroad  on  some  ignorant  and  wretched  soul,  hitherto  des- 
titute of  it  ;  and  in  many  other  instances,  that  truly  christian 
sentiments  may  be  kept  alive,  in  hearts  that  have  already  receiv- 
ed them,  and  be  transmitted  from  the  present  to  the  next  gene- 
ration. 

Nor  can  any  subjects  of  conversation  administer  a  nobler 
delight  in  the  houses  of  your  friends,  than  those  which  -will  na- 
turally fall  before  you,  as  a  minister.  For  if  religion  add  so 
much  sweetness  and  endearment  to  friendship,  when  contracted 
between  persons  of  the  most  private  characters,  it  must  much  more 
do  it  in  such  instances  ;  where  past  ministerial  services  may  be 
recollected,  where  the  fruits  of  them  may  be  made  apparent, 
and  the  man  of  God  more  abundantly  furnished  for  the  future 
discharge  of  his  office,  in  the  most  suitable  and .  therefore  the 
most  edifying  manner.     Which  naturally  leads  me, 

3.  To  congratulate  you  on  that  prospect  of  usefulness, 
which  this  happy  day  may  open  upon  you. 

It  is  true,  that  how  well  so  ever  we  maybe  furnished  for  the 
ministry,  and  how  agreeable  so  ever  we  are  placed  in  it,  we 
must  not  hope,  that  our  success  will  be  universal :  Hardly  can 
we  flatter  ourselves,  that  it  will  be  general.  What  are  we  BeU 
ter  than  our  fathers  ^?  Or  how  comparable  to  our  master? 
That  we  should  never  complain  with  them,  and  even  with  him, 
that  we  Labour  in  vain,  and  spend  our  strength  for  nought  ■\? 
Yet  we  can  ourselves  witness,  from  what  we  have  seen,  and 
from  what  we  have  felt,  the  blessing  that  hath  attended  the 
ministry  of  others.  7\nd  I  trust,  that  even  those  of  us,  who  are 
least  advanced  in  life,  least  experienced  in  the  work,  have  al- 

-    *  1  Kings  xix.  4.  f  Is.  xlix.  4. 


Jlinisterial  Congratulations y  Admonitions,  Kc.  213 

ready  been  favoured  with  some  seals  of  our  ministry,  some  who 
are  as  letters  of  recommendation^  written  as  it  Avere  by  the  hand 
of  Christ  himself^;  and  that  you,  sir,  will  be  thus  honoured- 
Oh  that  it  might  be  abundantly  !  Ves,  I  trust,  God  will  give 
you  to  convert  many.  And  if  it  were  but  one,  who  can  express 
the  happiness  of  saving  one  soul  from  death,  of  conducting  one 
immortal  crcatui'e  to  life  and  glory  everlasting  ? 

You  will  also,  I  doubt  not,  edify  many  by  every  public 
prayer  you  offer,  and  by  every  sermon  you  preach.  Your 
words,  proceeding  from  your  own  heart,  will  reach  the  hearts  of 
others,  and  rekindle  the  languishing  flame  of  devotion.  Every 
virtue,  and  every  grace  will,  1  hope,  flourish  under  your  culti- 
vation ;  while  you  strengthen,  with  renewed  exhortations,  every 
good  resolution  already  formed  :  And  the  rising  generation, 
growing  up  under  your  care,  in  concurrence  with  that  ot  pious 
parents  whom  you  animate  to  the  important  charge  of  their 
education,  will,  by  insensible  degrees,  be  furnished  with  tlje 
knowledge  of  religion,  and  brought,  not  only  to  the  speculation, 
but  to  the  sentiments  and  practice  of  it.  So  that  while  others 
have,  it  may  be,  their  bags,  their  houses,  their  furniture,  and 
their  fields,  to  shew  as  the  effect  of  their  labours  ;  you  will  have 
captives  of  satan,  rescued  from  his  tyranny,  adopted  into  the 
family  of  God,  and  honoured  with  the  privileges  of  his  chil- 
dren, crouding  his  courts,  and  surrounding  his  table,  as  the  in- 
finitely more  valuable  fruits  of  yours.  You  will  see  the  cha- 
racter of  christians  brightening  from  sabbath  to  sabbath,  under 
your  evangelical  and  practical  instructions  ;  their  blemishes 
wearing  out,  and  their  graces  contracting  (as  by  exercise  they 
■will  contract)  more  strength  and  more  beauty  continually. 

God  will  also  undoubtedly  give  you,  to  wipe  the  weeping 
eye,  to  chear  the  mourning  heart ;  to  be  his  instrument  in  taking 
oflT  the  burthen  from  tender  depressed  spirits  ;  in  which  num- 
ber you  will  sometimes  find  those,  who  may,  (if  any  in  the  world 
may,)  be  justly  called  The  excellent  of  the  earth  f.  Christ,  the 
great  Lord  of  the  church,  will  in  many  instances  make  you  (as 
it  were)  the  ahnoner  of  his  bounty,  and  messenger  of  his  love  ; 
while  he  is  giving  to  them  that  vioiam  in  Zion,  beauty  for  ashes, 
and  sending  them  the  garments  of  praise  in  exchangeyb?'  the- 
spirit  of  heaviness  X.  Your  kind  olfices,  and  the  happy  effects 
of  them,  will  attend  your  friends,  not  only  in  all  the  darkest 
hours  of  preceding  affliction,    but  even  on  their  dying  beds. 

♦  2  Cor.  iii,  1,3.         f  Ps.  xvi.  3.         J  Is.  Ixi,  3, 

VOL.  III.  Dd 


214  ORDINATION  OF  MR.  TOZER.  SeR.  IIT. 

There  will  you  animate  their  faith  ;  there  will  )-ou  be  a  helper 
of  their  joy  * ;  and  furnish  the  hand  of  the  departing  pilgrim, 
■with  the  promises  of  God,  as  a  sure  staff,  to  support  him  in  his 
way  through  all  the  gloomy  horrors  of  the  last  valley,  by  which 
he  must  pass  to  the  new  Jerusalem. 

By  such  traces  of  usefulness  will  3'ou  mark,  as  it  were,  the 
several  years,  and  months,  and  days  of  life  ;  while  the  passage 
of  so  many  others  through  it  is  like  that  of  an  arrow  through 
the  trackless  air  :  Till  at  length  you  die  with  a  pleasing  con- 
sciousness, that  you  have  not  lived  in  vain,  and  rise  to  rewards 
never  to  be  described  by  mortal  voice,  never  to  be  conceived 
by  the  human  heart,  and  of  which  I  must  not  say  any  thing 
more  now,  as  I  am  briefly  to  touch  upon  them  in  the  conclud- 
ing part  of  my  discourse. 

Now  while  you  have  these  things  in  view,  do  you  not, 
my  brother,  congratulate  yourself  upon  this  happy  occasion  ? 
lam  persuaded,  you  do.  I  am  persuaded,  that  your  heart  is 
even  now  bowing  itself  in  secret  thankfulness  before  God, 
that  he  hath  honoured  you  with  capacities  for  this  Avork  :  that 
he  hath  furnished  you  with  the  means  of  a  proper  education 
for  it  ;  and  that  his  providence  has  at  length  called  you  out  to 
it.  Nor  can  your  gratitude  forget  his  distinguished  goodness 
in  settling  you  Avith  so  generous,  so  affectionate,  and  so  pious 
a  people,  and  now  in  the  bonds  of  joint-pastorship  with  that 
faithful  and  venerable  servant  of  Christ  w^ith  whom  you  share  the 
office  f .  You  will,  I  doubt  not,  Serve  with  him,  as  a  son 
with  a  Father,  in  the  gospel  of  Christ  %-  Nor  can  the  w^armest 
friendship  form  a  greater  wish  for  you,  than  that  you  may  learn 
by  the  daily  opportunities  of  conversing  Avith  him,  to  im- 
prove more  and  more  in  that  rich  variety  of  christian  and 
ministerial  graces,  Avhich  have  for  a  long  series  of  years  ren- 
dered his  name  so  honourable  in  our  churches,  and  his  flock 
so  peculiarly  happy.  Oh  that  I  could  also  congratulate  you, 
and  them,  on  returning  and  continued  opportunities  of  learn- 
ing, as  formerly,  by  his  public  labours  ?  In  the  mean  time, 
permit  me  with  these  cordial  congratulations  to  intermingle, 

II.  Some  faithful  admonitions,  relating  to  the  labours, — the 
difficulties, — the  oppositions,  attending  the  station  of  life  on 
Avhich  you  are  entered, — and  the  solemn  account  in  Avhich  it  is 
to  terminate. 

Of  these  indeed  you  have  just  noAv  been  reminded  by 
my  dear  and   honoured  brother,   in   so  judicious,  and  in    so 

*  2  Cor.  i.  24.  f  Tlie  Rev.  Mr.  Thomas  Scott,  %  Phil.  ii.  22. 


Ministerial  Congratulations,  Admonit,ions,  S(c.        215 

pathetical  a  manner,  that  it  is  tlio  less  necessary  for  me  to  en- 
large upon  them,  Yet  were  they  to  be  wlioily  omitted  by 
me  in  this  discourse,  it  could  hardly  be  called  a  charge  ;  and 
I  fear,  it  is  a  subject,  on  which  we  all  need  Line  upon  line, 
and  precept  upon  precept.  Let  me  therefore  solemnly,  though 
briefly,  remind  yon, 

1.  Of  the  labours,  that  attend  this  situation  of  life. 
These  indeed  are  such,  as  will  demand  an  almost  uninter- 
rupted attention   of  mind,  and  vigour  of  diligence.     Labours 

await  you  at  home,  and  abroad  : Labours  on  your  own  days, 

and  on  the  sabbath  ;  a  day  of  rest  to  others,  but  to  you  of  the 

most  strenuous,  though  most  delightful  service  : Labours  in 

the  stud}' ;  that  knowledge  may  be  increased ;  that  provision 
may    be   made    for  public    ministrations,  with   solidity,  with 

perspicuity,  with  propriety,  with  energy,  with  tenderness  : < 

Labours  in  the  pulpit  ;  that  public  devotions  may  be  suitably 
and  fervently  poured  out  before  God  ;  and  sermons  so  deli- 
vered, as,  if  possible,  to  command  the  attention  of  the  auditory, 
and  to  communicate,  in  a  natural  and  effectual  manner,  those 
good  affections  to  others,  which  you  feel  in  3'our  own  breast. — 
Not  to  mention  the  labours  to  be  gone  through  in  visiting  your 
friends,  and  in  the  exercise  of  that  prudent  personal  and  do- 
mestic inspection,  which  you  must  necessarily  attend  to,  if  you 
vould  approve  yourself  a  skilful,  yea,  I  will  add,  if  you  would 
approve  yourself  a  faithful  shepherd. — What  a  combination  on 
the  whole  !  Labours  of  the  head,  labours  of  the  voice  ;  but  oh, 
above  all,  labours  of  the  heart  !  For  this  is  indeed  the  labour  : 
To  fix  on  our  own  inconstant  spirits  a  becoming  habitual  sense 
of  God  ;  to  feel  always  in  our  own  breast  those  pious  affections, 
uhich  it  is  our  business  to  endeavour  to  raise  in  others  ;  in  a 
word,  to  keep  the  sacred  flame  of  love  to  God,  to  Christ,  and 
to  the  souls  of  men,  ever  burning,  yea  ever  glowing,  with  an  in- 
tenseness  of  heat  proportionable  to  the  number  and  nature  of 
those  sacrifices,  which  are  daily,  which  are  hourly  to  be  pre- 
sented ! Help,  Lord,  or  it  will  soon  be  extinguished  !  Feed 

it  continually  by  thy  celestial  stream  ;  or  Who  is  sufficient  for 
these  things  *  / — You  will  surely  say  so,  when  you  consider, 

2.  The  diflficulties  attending  your  work,  of  which  I  am 
next  to  admonish  you. 

But  here,  as  indeed  under  the  former  head,  your  own  ex- 
perience must  already  have  done  it  in  the  most  convincing  man- 

*  2  Cor.  ii.  16. 

Dd  2 


216.  ORDINATION  OF  MR.  TOZER.  SeR.  ItX, 

Tici'.  You  find  the  ministry,  a  work  that  requires  not  only  pa-, 
tient  industry,  but  wise  conduct  and  happy  address.  Difficul- 
ties meet  us  in  tlie  closet,  even  when  our  own  minds  are  compe- 
tently iurnished  with  divine  knowledge,  so  as  to  adjust  the  com- 
position of  our  discourses,  as  that  the  understanding  of  our 
hearers  may  be  enlightened,  their  conscience  convinced,  and 
their  affections  impressed  ;  that  the  ignorant  may  be  instructed, 
tliat  the  careless  may  be  awakened,  that  the  hypocrite  may  be 
detected,  that  the  mourner  may  be  comforted,  the  dejected  re- 
vived, the  backslider  restored,  the  confirmed  christian  yet  more 
established  ;  in  a  word,  that  every  one  may  have  his  Portion  of 
meat  in  due  season  *,  and  every  one,  so  far  as  may  be,  accord- 
ing to  his  own  taste  too  ;  at  least,  that  what  we  say,  while  it  is 
intelligible  to  the  meanest,  may  not  be  justly  contemptible  to 
the  more  refined,  but  that  things  and  Words  may  be  sought  out 
so  far  as  faithfulness  will  permit,  acceptable  to  both  f.  And 
how  hard  is  it,  to  unite  all  these  views,  especially  amidst 
such  a  diversity  of  sentiments,  as  well  as  circumstances !  And 
this,  not  only  where  those  are  in  question,  who  have  apparently 
Made  shipwreck  of  faith  and  a  good  conscience  %,  and  whom  in 
some  respects  it  might  be  infamy  to  please  ;  but  even  where, 
among  the  best  of  men,  different  apprehensions  of  things,  con- 
scientiouslv  received  and  retained,  will  lead  one  to  disrelish 
what  another  most  wishes  to  hear,  and  possibly  in  some  in- 
stances, one  to  censure  even  because  another  applauds. 

It  may  on  all  these  accounts,  and  many  others,  be  difficult 
to  instructj  and  it  will  be  still  more  difficult  to  reprove.  Gene- 
ral hints  given  in  public  will  by  guilty  consciences  be  inter- 
preted as  personal  reflections,  and  perhaps  aggravated  into 
open  abuse,  and  occasions  of  declared  enmity  :  And  private 
applications  will  be  evaded,  discouraged,  and  very  probably 
resented.  The  corruptions  of  the  heart  will  rise  against  the 
most  friendly  efforts  of  cure  ;  and  those  wounds  which  most 
absolutely  require  a  deep  search,  will  be  least  patient  even  under 
the  gentlest  touch.  Your  solicitude  to  please  God  will,  in 
many  instances,  displease  men.  Your  heart  will  be  grieved  by 
many  unsuccessful  labours.  And  to  close  the  melancholy 
scene,  you  will  probably  see  some,  of  whom  you  had  very 
agreeable  hopes,  falling  away  from  all  regard  to  serious  reli- 
gion ;  and  perhaps  may  find  yourself  obliged,  though  with  a 
reluctant  heart,  to  bear  your  part,  in  separating  some  from 
your  communion,  whom  you  gathered  into  it  with  the  greatest 

*  Luke  xii.  4.2.  f  Eccl.  xii.  10.  J  1  Tim.  i.  19. 


Ministerial  Cojigrat illations,  Admonitions,  Kc.  G}*? 

joy,  and  in  whom  you  blessed  yourself  as  the  seals  of  your 
ministry. 

These  are  difficulties,  which  may  arise  from  within  ;  and 
besides  these,  the  prejudices  of  the  world  will  lie  strongly  against 
you  from  without.      Many  eyes  will  be  upon  you,   to  observe 
your   conduct.     By    some  your  slips    will   be  magnified  into 
crimes  ;  and  if  you  walk  so  cautiously,  though  who  can  promise 
himself  that  he  shall,  as  to  escape  any  just  blame,  malice  will 
create  occasions  of  censure,  perhaps  in  some  instances  even  from 
your  solicitude  to  avoid  it.     Your  zeal  will  be  called  bigotry,   - 
and  your   candor  hypocrisy  ;  your  humility  affectation  ;  and 
your  activity  will  be  imputed,  either  to  a  high  opinion  of  your 
own  abilities,  or  to  a  vain  desire  of  outshininfr  others,  or  to  alow 
pursuit  of  popularity  from  arrogant  or  interested  principles. 
Such  treatment  have    the  best  of  men  found  ;  and  such  must 
you  expect,  unless  Satan  lose  his  influence  over  the  world  by 
much  swifter  degrees,  than  we  have  any  Avarrant  to  hope  that 
he  will.     But  this  naturally  leads  me  to  warn  you, 

3.  Of  the  oppositions,  which  you  may  meet  with  in  your 
ministry. 

These  may  indeed,  in  different  circumstances,  be  more  or 
less  extreme  :  But  something  of  this  kind  is  at  all  events  to  be 
expected  ;  and  it  will  be  our  wisdom  to  provide  against  the 
worst.  Gird  up  therefore  the  loins  of  your  mind*.  Remember, 
that  you  are  Putting  on  your  harness  f ;  and  God  only  knows, 
to  what  combats  you  may  be  called. 

We  have  long  enjoyed  halcyon  days,  through  the  favour 
of  providence,  and  the  equity  of  our  civil  governors ;  to  whom 
I  hope,  we  are  grateful  for  it,  as  we  ought.  But  he  that  rules 
in  the  heavens  can  only  say,  how  soon  clouds  may  gather,  and 
how  soon  tempests  of  thunder  and  lightning  may  burst  upon 
u?.  Sometimes,  you  know,  a  storm  arises  on  a  sudden,  and 
the  deadness  of  the  preceding  calm  increases  both  its  terror 
and  its  strength.  So  sinful  a  people  as  we  must  confess  our- 
selves to  be,  can  never  have  reason  to  wonder,  at  an}'  public 
and  national  calamity,  which  may  break  in  upon  us  in  a  moment. 
But  should  circumstances  more  gradually  change,  You,  Sir,  and 
our  younger  brethren,  niay  live  to  see  an  Enemy  in  the  sanc- 
tuary of  the  LordX;  may  live  to  see  our  religious  liberties 
trampled  under  foot,  and  with  them  undoubtedly  our  civil,  for 
they  are  twins  that  will  live  and  die  together.  You  may  per- 
haps be  called  to  resist  unto  bloody,  to  glorify  God  in  the  flames, 

*iPet.  i.  13-         flKinjsxx.il.         J  Ps.  Ixxiv.  ?.         §IItb.  xii.4. 


213  ORDINATION   OF   MR.   TOZER.  SeR.  Ill, 

and  to  teach  your  flock  christian  courage  and  fidelity,  not  by 
words,  but  by  martyrdom.  Such  things. you  may  suffer,  as  a 
protestant,  as  a  christian. 

And  more  peaceful  times  have  tlieir  trials  too,  though  per- 
haps not  equally  severe.  I  do  indeed  hope,  that  mutual  love 
is  groAving,  among  the  various  denominations  of  christians,  and 
particularly  between  us,  and  our  brethren  of  the  establishment. 
And  may  the  blessings  of  the  God  of  peace  rest  on  the  men 
who  cultivate  it,  on  both  sides  ! — But  we  cannot  hope  to  see 
the  time,  Avhen  all  shall  be  so  moderate  and  so  equitable,  as  not 
to  think  and  judge  with  some  severity  of  those,  whose  conscience 
obliges  them,  though  in  the  modestest  manner,  to  maintain 
different  forms  of  Avorship  and  discipline,  even  Avhere  the  great 
articles  of  faith  are  the  same.— And  a  different  judgment  relat- 
ing to  the  articles  of  faith  may  draA\'  down  yet  severer  censures 
and  opposition,  from  those  whose  judgment  in  Avorship  and  dis- 
cipline agrees  ever  so  Avell. — And  1  must  faithfully  Avarn  you, 
Sir,  that  if  5'ou  go  on  to  assert,  as  I  hope  you  ahvays  will,  those 
great  doctrines  of  the  gospel  to  AA'hich  j'ou  have  noAv  borne  a 
public  testimony,  I  particularly  mean  the  Deity  and  atonement 
of  Christ,  the  ruin  of  our  nature  by  the  original  apostacy,  and 
our  restoration  by  the  agency  of  the  blessed  spirit ;  you  are  not 
to  imagine,  that  any  moderation  of  temper,  or  any  other  perso- 
nal virtue,  or  all  your  zeal  for  the  service  of  the  common  cause 
of  christians,  protestants,  or  dissenters,  Avill  atone  for  what 
some  AAall  imagine  so  great  a  crime  ;  or  shelter  you  from  the 
affected  contempt,  and  severe  reproaches  of  some  angry 
people,  Avho  amidst  all  their  professions  of  the  most  unbounded 
charity  Avill  think  yours  an  excepted  case,  or  Avill  rather  chuse 
to  be  injurious  to  you  than  consistent  Avith  themselves. — But  It 
is  after  all  avery  small  matter^  to  be  judged  of  man^s  judgment : 
He  that  judgeth  us  is  the  Lord  *;  And  that  is  the  most  solemn 
thought  of  all,  concerning  Avhicb  I  am  lastly  to  admonish  you, 
even 

4.  The  aAvful  account,  Avhich  you  are  shortly  to  give  up  to 
him,  from  Avhom  you  have  received  your  ministry. 

We  must  all  appear  before  the  judgment-seat  of  Christ  f  •; 
And  if  he  account  with  the  meanest  of  his  servants,  Ave  may  as- 
sure ourselves,  he  will  do  it  Avith  his  stCAvards.  And  let  us 
remember,  that  Avlien  the  books  are  opened,  it  Avill  not  only  be 
found  upon  record  there,  "  that  such  a  congregation  Avas  at 
such  a  time  committed  to  this,  or  that  minister  j"  but  a  particu- 

*  1  Cor.  iv.  3,  4.  f  Q  Cor.  v,  10. 

2 


Ministerial  Congratulations ^  Admonitionsy  Kc.         'l  19 

lax  register  will  in  effect  be  produced  of  every  soul  consigned  to 
our  care  :  So  many  heads  of  families,  together  with  such  chil- 
dren,  and  such  servants."  And  then  our  conduct  will  be  re- 
viewed, and  examination  made,  "  how  far  we  have  answered 
our  trust."  Should  it  be  found,  that  we  have  neglected  and 
abused  it,  the  displea^^ure  of  our  great  Lord  and  master  will  rise 
in  proportion  to  its  importance,  and  to  tlie  opportunities 
we  have  had  of  doing  good  in  it.  Opportunities,  which 
though  we  may  not  perhaps  so  thoroughly  examine,  as  to  con- 
ceive of  their  full  extent,  he  most  circumstantially  knows.  And 
surelv,  if  it  be  then  found,  as  it  undoubtedly  will,  a  fatal  thing 
to  have  betrayed  the  bodies,  or  the  estates  of  men,  when  com- 
mitted to  our  care  ;  much  more  will  it  be  so,  to  have  betrayed, 
and  by  betraying  to  have  destroyed,  so  far  as  in  us  lay,  immortal 
souls.  This  is  a  matter  of  such  weight,  that  when  we  seriously 
think  of  it,  and  compare  it  with  those  criminal  neglects,  which 
conscience  will  charge  even  on  the  best  of  us,  there  is  just  reason 
for  us  with  one  voice  to  cry  out.  Enter  not  into  judgment  with 
thy  ^ei-vant-:,  0  Lord ;  jor  in  thy  sight  can  none  of  us  bejusti- 
Jied  *.  And  when  you,  my  brother,  think  of  it,  in  sucij  a  mo- 
ment as  this  you  may  find  your  heart  ready  to  fail  ;  and  even 
may  be  tempted  to  draw  back,  and  say.  Who  shall  stand  to 
viijiister  before  this  holy  Lord  Godf?  Lest  he  break  forth 
upon  uSy  and  we  die  |.  But  1  would  not  leave  you  under  the 
distress  of  such  a  view,  and  therefore  conclude, 

III.  With  a  few  hints  addressed  to  you  by  way  of  en- 
couragement, to  animate  3'ou  to  go  forth  with  courage  and  cheer- 
fulness, notAvithstanding  these  awful  views  which  I  have  been 
giving  you  of  your  office. 

And,  through  the  goodness  of  our  divine  Master,  I  have 
man)^  considerations  of  great  importance  to  urge  here.     As, 

1 .  That  you  have  an  unerring  rule  in  the  word  of  God, 
from  whence  your  instructions,  admonitions,  and  directions,  are 
to  be  drawn. 

You  well  know,  that  Scripture  was  given  for  this  end,  that 
the  man  of  (lod,  that  is,  tlie  christian  minister,  viight  beperfect- 
edy  thoroughly  furnished  to  every  good  work  §,  various  as  the 
pood  works  of  his  office  are.  The  best  of  human  writings  have 
their  defects,  and  their  blemishes:  But  in  this  respect,  as  well 
as  others,  it  is  true,  that  As  for  Gody  his  way  is  peifect,  and  the 
word  of  the  Lord  is  tried^.  When  we  read  the  most  excellent 
moral  and  religious  writings  of  the  heathens,  we  find  a  great  deal 

*  Psal.  cxliii.  2.        flSam.  vi.  20,         J  Exod.  xix.  Ci.         §2Tim.  iii.  16, 17. 
11  Psal.  xviii.  30. 


1220  ORDINATION  OF  MR.  TOZER.  SeR.  III. 

of  error  and  superstition,  which  mingles  compassion  with  our 
admiration.  When  we  read  the  merely  human  writings  of  the 
most  celebrated  ancient  and  modern  divines,  there  is  much  to 
exercise  our  caution,  and  our  candor.  As  for  any  new  theolo- 
gical hypothesis,  we  generally  find,  on  a  more  accurate  exami- 
nation, the  proofs  of  its  falsehood,  proportionable  to  the  confi- 
dence M'ith  which  it  is  advanced,  and  the  importance  to  which, 
it  pretends.  And  where  men  Avrite  with  the  greatest  caution 
and  modest}',  though  such  generally  err  the  least,  yet  there  is 
something  defective,  or  something  redundant ;  something  un- 
guarded, or  something  overstrained:  So  that,  though  they  may 
be  useful  companions  in  our  journey,  we  dare  not  commit  our- 
selves to  any  one  of  them  as  our  guide  ;  and  they  often  differ  so 
much  among  themselves,  as  to  encrease  our  perplexity,  and  in- 
deed to  give  us  painful  apprehensions  as  to  our  safety,  or  theirs; 
did  we  not  recollect,  that  various  paths,  after  having  divided  a 
while,  may  so  run  into  each  other,  as  to  lead  to  the  same  place, 
though  some  may  be  more  direct  than  others.  But  of  scripture 
it  may  be  said,  as  of  its  great  original,  that  in  it  There  is  per- 
fect light,  and  no  darkness  at  all '^.  Oh  how  happy  are  you, 
that  have  in  so  small  a  bulk,  the  oracles  of  eternal  truth,  and  par- 
ticularly the  volume  of  the  New  Testament,  which  may  so  easily 
be  carried  about  with  you,  to  entertain  you  abroad,  as  well  as 
at  home  ;  to  talk  with  you,  Whe7i  you  lie  down,  and  when  yot^ 
rise  upf;  to  be  the  Man  of  your  counsel  X  when  you  are  pre- 
paring to  instruct  your  flock  in  public,  and  more  privately  to 
guide  and  advise  them  in  the  most  intricate  circumstances !  This 
is  like  the  pillar  of  fire,  to  direct  your  way  amidst  the  darkest 
night ;  and  like  the  pillar  of  cloud,  to  refresh  your  soul  amidst 
the  most  painful  labours  and  most  scorching  heats.  Let  it  be 
followed  faithfully  ;  and  you,  and  that  part  of  the  Israel  of  God 
over  which  you  preside,  will  be  happily  conducted,  through  all 
the  windings,  through  all  the  fatigues  of  the  wilderness,  till 
your  feet  and  theirs  stand  upon  Mount  Zion.  Consult  it,  my 
dear  brother,  and  reverence  it  as  you  ought ;  and  you  will  be 
safe,  not  only  under  the  shelter  and  guard  of  aged  wisdom,  but 
in  every  change  that  can  be  apprehended  or  imagined. 

2.  You  have  also  for  your  encouragement  the  daily  prayers 
of  many,  whom  you  have  reason  to  think  not  destitute  of  an 
interest  at  the  throne  they  address. 

You  have  your  share,  I  trust,  in  all  the  prayers,  which 
are  daily  put  up  by  the  church,  under  its  various  forms,  for 

*  }  John  I  5.  t  Deut.  vi.  7,  J  Ps^l.  cxix.  24o 


Ministerial  Congratulations^  Admotiitions,  S(c.         221 

all  tlic  faithful  iDinisters  of  Christ  :  But  you  may  assure  your- 
self, that  you  are  more  particularly  and  distinctly  remembered, 
by  your  christian  friends  to  whom  you  arc  related  in  ministerial 
bonds.  You  need  that  remembrance  ;  and  they  consider  that 
you  need  it.  In  their  families,  in  their  closets,  they  see  not  a 
day,  in  which  they  do  not  supplicate  earnestly  for  the  blessing 
of  God  on  your  person,  your  studies,  and  your  labours.  When 
30U  come  to  them  in  the  house  of  God,  you  may  consider 
yourself,  if  you  will  pardon  the  expression,  as  raised  on  the 
wing  of  their  prayers  ;  and  may  hope  to  experience,  in  answer 
to  them,  some  new  unction  from  above.  How  great  an  encou- 
ragement, amidst  the  daily  consciousness  of  our  own  unworthi- 
iiess  !  whether  we  consider  it,  as  testifying  their  love,  and  so 
securing  in  a  great  measure  their  candor  to  us  ;  or  as  effectual 
to  obtain  those  fresh  supplies  of  divine  assistance,  which  they 
have  sought.  Nor  can  I  conclude  this  head  without  saying, 
that  it  is  happy,  when  the  minister,  amidst  all  his  various  cares, 
is  as  constant,  as  earnest,  and  as  affectionate,  in  prayino-  for  the 
whole  people  committed  to  his  care,  as  many  a  pious,  and  it 
may  be,  obscure  christian  in  each  of  our  assemblies  is,  in  striv- 
ing with  God  for  a  blessing  on  his  minister. 

3.  You  may  also  expect  the  countenance,  esteem  and 
friendship,  of  all  good  men  tliat  thoroughly  know  you. 

I  put  in  this  limitation,  because  the  misrepresentations  of 
character  which  ignorance  and  malice  may  draw,  often  alie- 
nate the  minds  of  very  deserving  people  from  each  other  •  so 
that  they  turn  away  with  some  distaste  from  they  know  not 
whom,  or  what.  But  where  a  valuable  character  is  known, 
(and  that  of  a  faithful  minister  will  always  be  such),  it  must 
command  esteem  and  affection  ;  and  prejudices  which  had  been 
conceived  against  it,  will  melt  away  before  the  radianc\'  of  it, 
like  snow  before  the  sun.  Be  diligent  and  reolute  in  the 
execution  of  your  office,  and  you  will  find  favour,  and  o-ood 
acceptance,  in  the  eyes  of  God,  and  of  worthy  men  ;  and  per- 
haps, should  your  reputation  be  aspersed  by  the  ignorant  and 
the  malicious,  you  may  find  that  providence  will  exert  itself  to 
Bring  forth  your  righteousness  as  the  light,  and  your  honour, 
as  well  as  your  salvation,  as  a  lamp  that  burneth*.  You  will 
be  sure  of  a  peculiar  share  in  the  affection  and  veneration  of 
the  flock  over  which  you  preside.  They  will  look  upon  you, 
as  the  gift  of  God  to  the  society  :  They  will  consider  you,  as, 
in  some  measure,  the  representative  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ 

♦  Is.  ixii.  1. 
VOL.  III.  £  e 


-22  ORDINATION    OF     MR.    TOZER.  SeR.  III. 

lumscli  ;  of  Avhom  every  fiiitliful  minister  is  indeed  a  living 
iinage.  They  will  thereiore  Esteem  you  very  highly  in  love 
for  your  work's  sake  *,  The  maintenance  they  give  yon,  will 
b(i  cheerfully  offered,  in  proportion  to  their  respective  abilities, 
as  the  tribute  of  gratitude,  and  the  pledge  of  endearment. 
Your  afflictions  will  be  the  common  grief,  and  your  prosperity 
their  joy  ;  and  each  of  them  will  look  upon  himself  as  obliged 
in  duty  to  approve  himself,  the  guardian  of  your  character, 
and  of  your  peace.  Their  hearts,  as  well  as  their  houses,  will 
be  open  to  you  ;  their  countenances  will  tell  you,  better  than 
any  words  can  do  it,  how  welcome  you  are  to  them  ;  and  every 
proper  token  of  respect  will  be  cordial,  in  proportion  to  the 
degree  in  which  it  is  unconstrained.  And  Avhere  this  is  the 
case,  you  will  have  no  cause  to  envy  any  dignities  or  revenues, 
which  mere  power  may  command,  but  which  no  superior 
splendor  and  abundance  can  render  equally  sweet.  Above  all 
must  it  encourage  you,  to  rellect, 

4.  That  you  have  the  promise  of  your  master's  presence, 
and  may  trust  in  him  for  the  communication  of  his  Spirit, 

He  hath  told  his  ministers,  lie  will  be  with  them  always, 
even  unto  the  end  of  the  world  f:  And  5'ou  may  rest  on  the 
veracity  of  a  M^ord,  that  shall  continue,  though  heaven  and  earth 
shall  pass  away  j.  Christ  will  meet  you  ;  Christ  will  strengthen 
30U.  He  will  feed  and  cheer  your  soul  ;  that  you  may  be 
enabled  to  feed  and  to  cheer  those  that  he  has  committed  to 
your  care.  It  is  not  a  mere  empty  sound  :  Your  brethren,  and 
your  fathers,  among  whom  you  stand  this  day,  can  from  theiv 
own  experience  attest  the  truth  of  the  promise.  He  has  sof- 
tened our  fatifjues  :  He  has  sweetened  our  afflictions  :  and 
carried  us  with  songs  in  our  mouths  through  scenes,  at  the  very 
distant  prospect  of  which  we  should  have  trembled.  Having 
obtained  help  from  Him,  70e  continue  even  to  this  day  ^,  the 
living,  the  cheerful  witnesses  of  his  power,  his  goodness,  and 
his  faithfulness,  Thou  therefore^  wij/  so7i,  be  strong  in  the  grace 
that  is  in  Christ  Jesus  \\.     And  remember, 

5.  That  in  consequence  of  this,  you  may  expect  such  con- 
siderable improvements  in  personal  religion,  as  shall  be  a 
rich  equivalent  for  all  3'our  labours,  and  for  all  you  can  resign 
for  the  ministry,  or  suffer  in  it. 

It  must  be  nourishing  to  the  soul,  if  it  be  spiritually  alive, 
to  be  so  continually  conversant  with  spiritual  and  divine  things. 
"V  our  meditations,  your  prayers,  and  your  public  discourses, 
your  private  converses  on  rehgious  subjects  and  occasions,  toge- 

*  1  Thess.  V.  13.  f  Mat.  xxviii,  20.  *  Luke  xvi.  17,  §  Acts  xxvi.  22.  ||  '2  Tim.  ii.  1. 


Minisi''rial  Congratulations y  Admonitions,  &^c.         223 

tlioi-  Avith  the  administration  of  both  the  sacraincuts,  will  all  havi- 
a  great  tondcncy,  under  a  divine  blessing;,  to  make  «>o()d  impres- 
sions on  your  own  heart,  and  to  advance  yon  in  a  holy  anil  tie- 
vout  temper.  While  you  arc  thus  daily  Watering  others,  you 
unll  be  "Watered  yourself*:  as  I  doubt  not  but  you  will  remem- 
ber, that  while  ^'ou  Teach  others,  you  teach  yourself  alsof. 
While  the  daily  cares  of  others  in  their  secular  callings,  have  an 
apparent  tendency  to  divert  their  minds  from  God,  yours  will 
tend  directly  to  him,  and  give  you  advantages,  beyond  what  tan 
easily  be  imagined,  for  being  Continually  with  him  \:  Such  ad- 
vantages indeed,  that,  were  the  nature,  and  the  value  of  them 
sufficiently  known,  men  would  be  ready  to  contend  for  the  mi- 
nistry, as  for  a  sacred  prize.  They  -would  esteem  it  among  the 
greatest  privileges  of  a  plentiful  estate,  that  it  might  give  them 
opportunities  of  being  educated  for  it,  and  of  being  independent 
in  it ;  while  that  independency  wasconsidered  as  some  additional 
security  for  their  fidelity.  And  the  zeal,  with  which  persons  of 
the  liigliest  rank  among  us  would  then  press  forward  to  this  work, 
Avould  bring  us  into  a  necessity  of  directing  into  some  other 
channel  that  provision,  which  the  wise- charity  of  some  public 
benefactors,  tlie  living  and  the  dead,  has  made  for  the  support 
of  poor  students  for  the  ministry:  A  charity,  which  in  the. low 
ebb  to  which  religion  is  fallen  amongst  us,  may  almost,  under 
God,  be  called  the  hope  of  our  churches,  even  for  the  very  next 
generation.  Especially  would  the  richest  and  greatest  estecMii 
it  thc.r  honour  and  their  happiness,  did  they  consider  what  I  am 
in  the  last  place  to  mention  to  you,  my  dear  brother,  viz. 

6.  The  glorious  expectation  and  hope,  which  closes  the 
whole  prospect. 

What  if  every  other  hope,  but  that  of  religious  improve- 
ment, were  in  a  moment  to  vanish?  What  if  nctliing  should  re- 
main, between  this  and  the  grave,  but  the  view  of  labours,  of 
reproaches,  of  tribulations,  of  persecutions?  What  if  you  were 
to  conHict,  through  the  whole  of  your  course,  with  the  malice 
of  enemies,  the  coldness  and  ingratitude  of  friends,  the  incorrigi- 
ble obstinacy  of  sinners,  the  perverscness  and  imperfections  of 
those,  whom,  if  any  are  such,  wc  must  hope  to  be  christians  ? 
Here  is  enough  to  balance  all.  Death  is  approaching:  Death, 
that  stripped  Aaron  of  his  garments  and  of  his  burdens  together, 
and  ended  all  his  painful  jiilgrimage.  Be  faithful  unto  death, 
says  our  divine  INIaster,  and  I  will  give  thee  a  crown  of  life  ^, 

*Prov.  xi.  23.  f  Rom.  li.  Jl.  +  Psal.  Ixxiii.  "I^.         §  Rev.  ii.  10. 

!•;  e  2 


224  ORDINATION   OF   MR.  TOZER.  SeR.  III. 

Oh  think  every  day,  of  the  extasy  with  which  you  shall  receive 
that  crown,  and  of  the  high  everlasting  exultation  with  which 
you  shall  wear  it.  Think  of  the  joy,  with  which,  after  a  life  of 
persevering  fidelity  to  him,  your  separate  spirit  shall  ascend 
into  his  presence,  e'er  yet  this  body,  the  instrument  of  his  ser- 
vice, shall  be  laid  in  the  grave.  Think  of  the  congratulations, 
with  which  your  venerable  predecessors,  your  eminently  pious 
parents,  and  those  of  your  flock  who  have  fled  upwards  before 
you,  will  then  meet  you,  and  hail  your  arrival.  And  think,  how 
Jesus  will,  by  one  smile  and  embrace,  overpay  all  the  labours 
and  sufferings  of  a  long  protracted  life.  Think  of  the  compla- 
cency and  delight,  with  which  you  will  look  down  on  the  field 
w^hich  you  have  cultivated,  and  on  the  growing  harvest  you  have 
left  behind;  w-hile  perhaps  some  of  the  blessed  fruits  of  your 
labours  may  be  running  on  from  age  to  age,  so  as  to  be  the  means 
©f  propagating  Christianity  to  the  last  rounds  of  time.  And  Oh 
think,  above  all,  of  the  great  day  of  the  Lordy  When  the  chief 
Shepherd  shall  appear,  that  he  may  confer  on  you,  and  on  all 
those  who  have  faithfully  discharged  their  ministr}^,  a  ci^own  of 
glory  that  fadeth  not  away  ^'.  Then,  when  every  christian  of 
the  lowest  station  and  character  shall  receive  his  proper  share  of 
honour  and  reward,  what  may  you  expect,  if  you  faithfully  im- 
prove your  ten  talents  ;  when  those  of  your  people  whom  3'Ou 
have  converted  or  edified,  appear  with  you  as  your  Joy  and  your 
crown  in  the  presence  of  the  Lordf,  and  are  honoured  with  the 
public  applause  and  remunerations  of  the  eternal  and  universal 
Judge  in  the  face  of  the  whole  assembled  world  ?  All  the  pagean- 
try of  human  greatness  passes  away  like  a  dream  ;  The  su7i  shall 
be  turned  into  darkness,  and  the  moon  into  bloodX-'  But  human 
souls  are  durable  and  immortal;  and  they  that  have  turned  many 
of  them  to  righteousness,  shall  have,  in  each,  an  everlasting 
ornament,  and  decked  with  a  new  lustre  from  each,  Shall  shine 
as  the  stars  for  ever  and  ever^. 

May  that  God  whom  we  serve,  through  the  riches  of  his 
grace,  give  us  all  a  portion  in  the  triumph  of  that  day !  And  may 
he  add  to  all  the  joy,  which  the  most  unworthy  of  his  servants  is 
humbly  bold  to  expect  in  it,  that  of  seeing  you,  my  dear  bro- 
ther, giving  up  an  account  of  a  faithful  and  happily  successful 
ministry  !  To  encourage  and  assist  you  in  the  discharge  of 
which,  may  these  plain  hints  conduce,  through  the  blessing  of 
him,  who  knows  how,  from  the  least  and  most  inconsiderable 
seeds,  to  call  up  a  rich  and  plentiful  harvest!  Amen. 

*  1  Pet.  V,  4.  f  1  Thess.  ii.  19.  %  ^^ts  ii.  20.  §  Dan.  xii.  3, 


AN  APPENDIX, 

Relating  to  the  usual  Methods  of  Ordination  among  the  Protestant  Dissenters. 


As  in  tlie  beginning  of  the  charge  I  have  touched  upon  the  decent  solem- 
nities attending  the  methods  of  ordination  generally  used  among  the  protes- 
tant  dissenters,  it  may  not  be  improper  to  give  a  brief  account  of  them  ; 
es|)ccially  as  1  have  been  earnestly  desired  to  do  it,  by  a  pious  and  learned 
clergyman  of  the  established  church  ;  who  apprehends,  it  may  obviate  some 
mistakes,  and  promote  that  mutual  candor  among  christians  of  different  deno- 
mination?:, which  both  of  us  concur  to  v.ish,  and  labour  to  promote,  'lliere 
is  indeed  a  little  variety  in  the  usages  of  dilTerent  places  ;  but  that  which  I 
have  generally  seen,  does,  I  believe  prevail  in  most  of  our  churches,  with  the 
exception,  and  sometimes  no  more  than  the  transposition,  of  a  few  circum- 
stances. 

It  very  rarely  happens,  that  a  minister  among  us  is  admitted  to  the 
pastoral  office,  till  he  hath  spent  some  years,  as  a  kind  of  candidate  for  it  ; 
and,  so  far  as  I  can  recollect,  more  undertake  it  after,  than  before  their  twenty- 
sixth  year  is  completed.  But  as  our  theological  students  generally  employ 
either  four  or  five  years  in  preparatory  studies  after  they  have  quitted  the 
grammar-schools,  so  they  are  examined  by  three  or  four  elder  ministers 
before  they  begin  to  preach*.  A  strict  enquiry  is  made  into  their  character, 
and  into  their  furniture  ;  both  with  respect  to  the  learned  languages,  especi- 
ally the  sacred,  and  also  as  to  the  various  parts  of  natural  and  moral  philoso- 
phy ;  but  above  all,  into  their  acquaintance  with  divinity  ;  and  some  speci- 
men of  their  abilities,  for  prayer  and  preaching,  is  generally  expected. 

An  unordained  minister  is  seldom  chosen  to  the  pastoral  office  in  any 
of  our  churches,  for  in  the  members  of  each  of  these  societies  the  whole  right 
of  election  lies,  till  he  has  resided  among  them  some  months,  or  perhaps  some 
years  ;  preaching  statedly  to  them,  and  performing  most  other  ministerial 
offices,  excepting  the  administration  of  the  sacraments. 

When  the  society,  which  generally  proceeds  with  entire  unanimity  in 
this  great  affair,  has  received  what  it  judges  competent  satisfaction,  the  seve- 
ral members  of  it  join  in  giving  him  a  solemn  and  express  call  to  take  upon 
him  the  pasloial  inspection  over  them.  And  if  he  be  disposed  to  accept  it, 
he  generally  signifies  that  intention  to  neighbouring  pastors  ;  whose  concur- 
rence he  desires  in  solemnly  setting  him  apart  to  that  office. 

Previous  to  tiie  assembly  for  tiiis  sacred  purpose,  his  credentials  and 
testimonials  are  produced,  if  it  be  required  by  any  who  are  to  be  concern- 
ed ;  and  satisfaction  as  to  his  principles  is  also  given  to  those  who  are  to 
carry  on  the  public  work,  generally  by  his  communicating  to  them  the  con- 
fession of  his  faith  which  he  has  drawn  up  ;  in  which  it  is  expected,  that  the 
great  doctrines  of  Christianity  should  be  touched  upon  in  a  proper  order,  and 

*  Sec  the  <lcdic.-itioii  to  my    sermons  on  tlie  Evil  and  Dan-cr  of  nc^'lectinir 
Men's  Souls,  &c.  §.10. 

3 


226  AN  APPENDIX. 

his  persuasion  of  them  plainly  and  seriously  expressed,  in  such  words  as  lie 
judges  most  convenient.  And  we  generally  think  this  a  proper  and  happy 
medium,  between  the  indolence  of  acquiescing  in  a  general  declaration  of 
believing  the  christian  religion,  without  declaring  what  it  is  apprehended  to 
be,  and  the  severity  of  demanding  a  subscription  to  any  set  of  articles,  where 
if  an  honest  man,  who  believes  all  the  rest,  scruples  any  one  article,  phrase, 
or  word,  he  is  as  eflectually  excluded,  as  if  he  rejected  the  whole. 

The  pastors,  who  are  to  bear  their  part  in  the  public  work,  having  been 
thus  in  their  consciences  satisfied,  that  the  person  offering  himself  to  ordina- 
tion is  duly  qualified  for  the  christian  ministry,  and  regularly  called  to  the 
lull  exercise  of  it  ;  they  proceed,  at  the  appointed  time  and  place,  to  conse- 
crate him  to  it,  and  to  recommend  him  to  the  grace  and  blessing  of  God, 
and  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  the  great  Head  of  the  church,  by  fasting  and 
prayer,  generally  accompanied  with  the  imposition  of  hands  ;  and  the  public 
work  of  the  day  is  usually,  so  far  as  I  have  been  witness,  carried  on  in  the 
following  order,  or  something  very  near  it. 

It  commonly  opens  with  a  short  prayer,  and  the  reading  some  select 
portions  of  scripture  which  seem  most  proper  to  the  occasion  :  Then  a 
prayer  is  offered  of  greater  length  and  compass  than  the  formei,  in  which 
most  of  ourcommon  concerns  as  christians  are  included ;  which  is  sometimes, 
though  less  frequently,  succeeded  by  another  of  the  same  kind.  Then  fol- 
lows a  sermon,  on  some  suitable  subject,  such  as  the  institution,  importance, 
difficulty,  and  excellency  of  the  ministerial  work,  the  character  and  conduct 
of  the  first  ministers  of  the  gospel,  or  the  like. 

After  this  introduction  of  a  more  general  nature,  another  minister 
usually  one  of  the  eldest  present,  who  is  a  kind  of  moderator  for  the  day, 
gives  the  assembly  a  more  particular  account  of  the  occasion  of  its  being  con- 
vened. The  call  of  the  church  to  the  candidate  is  then  recognized,  either  in 
Avord  or  writing,  or  by  lifting  up  the  hand  ;  and  his  acceptance  is  also  de- 
clared. He  is  then  desired,  for  the  satisfaction  and  edification  of  the  as- 
sembly, to  pronounce  the  confession  of  faith,  which  bis  brethren  have  already 
heard  and  approi^ed  ;  and  pertinent  questions  are  put  to  him,  relating  to  tlie 
views  and  purposes  with  which  he  undertakes  the  solemn  charge,  that  he 
may  be  brought  under  the  most  awful  engagements  to  a  suitable  behaviour 
in  it  ;  and  an  express  renunciation  of  the  errors  and  superstitions  of  tlie 
Eomish  church  generally  makes  a  part  of  these  answers,  as  well  as  a  decla- 
ration of  his  resolution,  by  divine  grace,  never  to  forsake  the  ministry,  what- 
ever inconveniences  and  sufferings  it  may  draw  after  it. 

This  being  dispatched,  the  presiding  minister  comes  down  from  the 
pulpit,  and  prays  over  the  person  to  be  set  apart.  There  is  no  particular 
form  of  prayer  on  this  occasion,  or  on  any  other  among  us  ;  but  I  have  ob- 
served, that  the  person  who  officiates  is  generally  led  in  such  a  circumstance, 
to  adore  the  divine  wisdom  and  grace,  in  the  constitution  and  revelation  of 
the  gospel,  in  the  appointment  of  an  evangelical  ministry,  and  in  sup- 
porting the  succession  of  it  throughout  all  ages  of  the  christian  church, 
as  well  as  in  vindicating  it  from  popish  corruption  and  bondage.  Some 
notice  is  often  taken  of  what  may  have  seemed  most  remarkable  in  pro- 
vidence, with  regard  to  the  particular  circumstances  of  the  society  then 
to  be  settled,  and  the  person  to  be  set  apart  to  the  ministerial  office  in  it  ; 
who  is  then  solemnly  offered  up  to  the  service  of  God,  and  recommended  to 
his  blessing,  in  all  tlie  several  parts  of  his  work,  which  are  distinctly  enume- 
rated. And  this  prayer  seldom  concludes  without  fervent  intercession  with 
God,  for  the  christian  church  in  ^ei^cra!;  and  all  its  faithful  ministers  of  every 


The  usual  Methods  of  Ordination.  227 

denomination  :  And  as  those  rising  up  to  succct^d  in  the  work  are  often 
mentioned  liere,  so  I  Iiave  liad  llie  pleasure  frequently  to  hear  tiie  universities 
of  our  island,  as  well  as  more  private  seminaries  of  learned  and  pious  educa- 
tion, affectionately  recommended  to  the  divine  protection  and  favour  on 
sucli  occasions,  with  all  the  genuine  appearances  of  a  truly  christian  and 
catholic  spirit.  When  that  part  of  this  prayer  begins,  which  immediately 
relates  to  the  person  then  to  be  consecrated  to  the  service  of  the  sanctuary, 
it  is  usual  for  the  speaker  to  lay  his  hand  on  his  head  ;  and  the  other  pastors 
conveniently  within  reach,  frequently  to  the  number  of  six,  eight,  or  ten,  lay 
on  their  hands  also,  at  the  same  time:  By  which  we  do  not  pretend  to  con- 
vey any  spiritual  gifts,  but  only  use  it  as  a  solemn,  and  expedient,  though 
not  absolutely  necessary,  designation  of  the  person  then  to  be  set  apart. 

When  this  prayer  is  over,  which  often  engages  a  very  profound  atten- 
tion, and  seems  to  make  a  very  deep  impression  both  on  nnnisters  and 
people,  the  charge  is  given  to  the  newly  ordained  pastor,  who  generally 
receives  it  standing,  as  much  as  may  be,  in  the  sight  of  the  whole  assembly  : 
And  an  exhortation  to  the  people  is  sometimes  joined  with  the  charge,  or 
sometimes  follows  it  as  a  distinct  service,  unless,  which  is  frequently  the  case, 
it  is  superseded  by  the  sermon,  or  some  other  previous  address.  Another 
prayer  follows ;  and  singing  having  been  intermingled,  so  as  properly  to  diver- 
sify a  service  necessarily  so  long,  the  whole  is  concluded  with  a  solemn  bene- 
diction. 

I  kno.v  no  method  of  proceeding  on  such  occasions,  more  rational, 
edifying,  and  scriptural  than  tliis  :  And  1  hoi)e,  few,  who  believe  any  thing 
of  Christianity,  can  be  so  ignorant  or  abandoned,  as  to  make  light  of  such 
solemnities  But  however  any  of  our  lellow-servants  may  judge,  1  have  a 
calm,  steady,  and  joyful  assurance,  that  transactions  like  these  are  registered 
in  heaven  with  approbation,  and  receive  the  sanction  and  blessing  ot  the  great 
Shepherd  and  Bishop  of  souls. 

Northampton,  Sept.  1 8tk,  1 745. 


POSTSCRIPT. 

As  the  want  of  psalms  or  hymns,  peculiarly  suitable  to  these  occasions,  has 
often  been  regretted  on  our  ordination-days,  when  we  have  generally  beea 
confined  to  the  132d  or  133d  psalms,  I  was  desired  by  several  of  my  bre- 
thren to  publish  that  which  followed  this  charge ;  and  I  accordingly  do  it 
without  any  further  apology.  The  reader  will  easily  perceive,  it  is  a  kind 
of  devout  paraphrase  on  EpL  iv.  8.  &  seq.  And  it  is  one  of  some  hundreds 
lying  by  me,  on  a  variety  of  scripture-subjects. 


A  HYMN. 


I. 


Father  of  mercies,  in  thine  house. 
Shine  on  our  homage  and  our  vows! 
While  with  a  grateful  heait  we  share 
These  pledges  of  our  Saviour's  care. 

IL 

Blest  Saviour!  .when  to  heaven  he  rose 
In  splendid  triumph  o'er  his  foes, 
"What  royal  gifts  he  scatter'd  down  ! 
How  large,  how  permanent  the  boon ! 

III. 

Hence  sprung  th'  apostles  honour'd  name. 
Sacred,  beyond  heroic  fame: 
Hence  dictates  the  prophetic  sage; 
And  hence  the  evangehc  page. 

IV. 

In  lowlier  forms,  to  bless  our  eyes. 
Pastors  from  hence  and  teachers  rise ; 
Who,  though  with  feebler  rays  they  shine. 
Still  gild  a  long  extended  line. 


From  Christ  their  varied  gifts  derive. 
And  fed  by  Christ  their  graces  live: 
While  guarded  by  his  potent  hand, 
'Midst  ail  the  rage  of  hell  they  stand. 

VI. 

So  shall  the  bright  succession  run 
Through  the  last  courses  of  the  sun; 
While  unborn  churches  by  their  care 
Shall  rise  and  flourish,  fresh  and  fair. 

VII. 

Jesus  our  Lord  their  hearts  shall  know. 
The  sjiring  whence  all  these  blessings  flow: 
Pastors  and  people  shout  his  praise 
Through  the  long  round  of  endless  duvs ! 


THE  EVIL  AND  DANGER 

OF 

NEGLECTING  THE  SOULS  OF  MEN, 

PLAINLY  AND  bERIOUsLY  REPRESENTED: 

A  Sfrmon  preached  at  a  Meeting  of  ^finisters, at  Kettering,  in  Northarnpiotisltiie^ 
October  15,  IT-H. 


TO 

THE  ASSOCIATED 

PROTESTANT  DLSSENTING  MINLSTERS, 

TN     THE 

COUNTIES  OF  NORFOLK  AND  SUFFOLK, 

Pcuiicuhrbj  those  iiith  ivhom  the  Author  had  an  I/iterticiu  at  DenloJi^ 
June  the  30ih,  1741. 

GENTLEMEN, 
My  Reverend  Fatheis  and  Brethren,  and  much  esteemed  Friends, 

J  HE  condescending  respect,  and  endeared  affection,  with  which  vou  were 
pleased  to  receive  me,  in  my  late  visit  to  your  parts,  and  the  very  great  satis- 
Jaclion  which  1  found  in  your  company  at  Denton,  and  elsewhere,  have  left  a 
very  delightful  memorial  on  my  heart,  and  have  impressed  those  unfeigned 
sentiments  of  gratitude  and  esteem,  which  it  would  be  painful  to  suppress. 
Most  gladly  therefore  do  1  take  this  method,  in  a  few  words,  pubjiclv  to 
avow  them:  and  1  sincerely  congratulate  the  happy  societies,  respectively 
under  your  care,  who  statedly  enjoy  the  benefit  of  those  valuable  labours,  a 
little  taste  of  which  gave  me  an  exquisite  pleasure^  beyond  what  it  is  possible 
for  me  fully  to  express. 

Nevertheless,  desirous  as  I  am  of  ereclingsomc  little  monument  of  thank- 
ful friendship,  I  should  not  have  attempted  it  by  inscribing  this  plain  sermon 
to  you ;  unless  the  subject  of  it  had  been  such,  as  peculiarly  suited  your  peru- 
sal; and,  if  I  may  be  permitted  to  say  it,  amidst  all  its  imperfections,  your 
patronage  foo. 

No  doubt,  many  of  you,  gentlemen,  remember,  that  after  the  public 
worship  at  Denton  was  over,  ou  that  memorable  day,  which  I  shall  ahvavs 
number  among  tlje  most  delightful  of  my  whole  life,  you  were  j)lcased,  to- 
ward the  evening,  to  indulge  me  in  the  liberty  of  a  private  conference,  in 
which  1  laid  before  you  some  hints  of  a  scheme,  which  I  was  then  forming  for 
the  revival  of  religion  in  our  parts ;  a  scheme,  which  you  were  ))leased,  in  the 
general,  to  approve,  and,  in  several  particulars,  to  ripen,  by  your  prudent  an4 
"valuable  counsels. 

VOL.111.  Ff 


230  DEDICATION. 

Greatly  encouraged  by  tlie  sanction  which  your  concurrence  gave  to 
the  plan  ;  and  also  by  that  which  it  received  from  the  approbation  of  some 
of  the  most  eminent  of  t!ie  London  ministers,  of  different  denominations,  to 
whom  I  had  an  opportunity  of  communicating  it  on  my  return  home;  I  pro- 
posed it  in  general  to  my  reverend  and  vvortliy  brethren  in  these  parts,  at  a 
meeting  of  ministers;  which  was  held  here  at  Northampton,  about  the  middle 
of  August.  Tiie  proposals  were,  in  the  general,  very  well  received;  and  it 
was  agreed  to  take  them  into  a  more  particular  consideration  in  a  conference, 
at  our  next  assembly,  to  be  held  at  Kettering,  on  Thursday,  the  15th  of 
October. 

lo  that  conference.  Gentlemen,  the  sermon  with  which  I  now  present 
3'ou,  was  introductory  ;  and  the  result  of  it  was,  that  the  heads  of  the  scheme 
1  had  concerted  with  you  at  Denton,  with  a  few  other  particulars  wliich  had 
not  then  occurred  to  my  thoughts,  were  unanimously  approved ;  and  we  are 
taking  proper  measures  for  carrying  them  into  execution.  And,  as  this  dis- 
course may  fall  into  the  hands  of  some,  who  may  be  curious  to  know  what  the 
particulars  were;  and  as  I  bore  them  so  frequently  in  my  thoughts,  through 
many  passages  of  my  sermon,  I  shall  take  the  treedom  here  to  give  an  account 
of  them,  though,  I  doubt  not,  but  the  most  material  of  them  are  fresh  in  your 
memories. 

It  seemed  most  agreeable  to  the  deference  due  to  the  reverend  assembly, 
to  propose  the  scheme  in  the  form  of  queries;  on  which  the  following  resolu- 
tions were  formed,  nemine  contradicente. 

I.  That  it  may  tend  to  the  advancement  of  religion,  that  the  ministers 
of  this  association,  if  they  have  not  very  lately  done  it,  should  agree  to  preach 
one  Lord's  day  on  family  religion,  and  another  on  secret  prayer;  and  that  the 
time  should  be  fixed,  in  humble  hope  that  concurrent  labours,  connected  with 
concurrent  petitions  to  the  throne  of  grace,  might  produce  some  happy  effect. 

II.  That  it  is  proper,  that  pastoral  visiting  should  be  more  solemnly  at- 
tended to;  andthat  greater  care  should  be  taken  in  personal  inspection,  than 
has  generally  been  used.  And  that  it  may  conduce  to  this  good  end,  that  each 
minister  should  take  an  exact  survey  of  his  flock,  and  note  down  tlie  names 
of  the  heads  of  families,  tlie  cliildren,  the  servants,  and  other  single  persons  in 
his  anditorv,  in  order  to  keep  proper  memorandums  concerning  each;  that 
lie  may  judge  the  better  of  the  particulars  of  his  duty  with  regard  to  every 
one,  and  may  observe  how  his  visits,  exhortations,  and  admonitions,  correspond 
to  their  respective  cliaracters  and  circumstances, 

III.  That  consequent  on  this  survey,  it  will  be  proper  as  soon  as  possible, 
and  henceforward  at  least  once  a  year,  to  visit,  if  it  be  practicable,  every  head 
of  a  family  under  our  ministerial  care,  with  a  solemn  charge  to  attend  to  the 
business  of  religion,  in  their  hearts,  and  houses,  watching  over  their  domestics 
in  the  fear  of  the  Lord,  we,  at  the  same  time,  professing  our  readiness  to  give 
them  all  proper  assistances  for  this  purpose. 

IV.  That  it  will  be  highly  expedient,  immediately,  or  as  soon  as  may 
be,  to  set  up  the  work  of  catechising  in  one  form  or  another,  and  to  keep  to  it 
statedly  for  one  half  of  the  year  at  least :  and  that  it  is  probable,  future  coun- 
sels may  ripen  some  scheme  for  carrying  on  this  work,  in  a  manner  which  may 
tend  greatly  to  the  propagation  of  real,  vital,  catholic  Christianity,  in  the  rising 
generation. 

V.  That  there  is  reason  to  apprehend,  there  are,  in  all  our  congrega- 
tions, some  pious  and  valuable  persons,  who  live  in  a  culpable  neglect  of  the 
Lord's  supper;  and  tliat  it  is  our  duty,  particularly  to  inform  ourselves  who 


DEDICATION.  231 

tliny  arc,  and  to  nuleavour,  by  our  prayers  to  God,  and  our  serious  addresses 
to  tliem,  to  iiitrodiRC  Ihcni  into  communion;  to  wliicli,  1  (iiiestion  not,  we 
sliall  all  willingly  add,  cauticnisly  guarding  against  any  thing  in  tlie  metliods 
of  admission,  which  may  justly  discourage  sincere  cliristians  of  a  tender  and 
timorous  temper. 

\'I.  'lliat  it  is  to  be  feared,  there  are  some,  in  several  of  our  communions 
at  least,  who  behave  in  such  a  manner  as  to  give  just  ollence ;  and  that  we 
may  be  in  great  danger  of  making  ourselves  partakers  of  other  men's  sins,  if 
\\e'<lo  not  animadvert  upon  them:  and  that  if  they  will  not  reform,  or  if  the 
crime  be  notorious,  we  ought,  in  duty  to  God,  and  to  them,  and  to  all  around 
us,  soknndy  to  cut  tiiem  off  from  our  sacramental  communion,  as  a  reproach 
to  tlie  church  of  Christ. 

\1I.  Tliat  it  may,  on  many  accounts,  be  proper  to  advise  our  people, 
to  enter  into  little  bands,  or  societies,  for  religious  discourse  and  prayer;  each 
couMstiug  of  six  or  eight,  to  meet  for  tliese  good  purposes  once  in  a  week,  or 
a  fortnight,  as  may  best  suit  with  their  other  engagements  and  affairs. 

\'1I1.  That  it  might  be  advisable,  if  it  can  be  done,  to  select  out  of 
each  congregation  under  our  care,  a  small  number  of  persons,  remarkable  for 
fxperienced  prudence,  seriousness,  humility,  and  zeal,  to  act  as  a  stated  coun- 
cil for  promoting  religion  in  the  said  society:  and  that  it  w^ould  be  proper, 
they  should  have  some  certain  times  of  meeting,  witii  each  other,  and  with 
theniinister,  to  join  their  counsels,  and  their  prayers  for  the  public  good. 

IX.  Tliat  so  far  as  we  can  judge,  it  might,  by  the  divine  blessing,  con- 
duce to  the  advancement  of  tliese  valuable  ends,  tliat  neighbouring  ministers, 
in  one  part  of  our  land  and  another,  especially  in  this  country,  should  enter 
into  associations,  to  strengthen  the  hands  of  each  other  by  united  consulta- 
tions and  prayer:  and  that  meetings  of  ministers  might,  by  some  obvious  re- 
gulations, be  made  more  extensively  useful  than  tliey  often  are :  in  which  view 
it  was  farther  proposed,  with  unanimous  approbation,  that  these  meetings 
should  be  held  at  certain  periodical  times: Tliat  each  member  of  the  as- 
sociation should  endeavour,  if  possible,  to  be  present,  studying  to  order  his 

affairs  so,  as  to  guard  against  unnecessary  hindrances: Tliat  public  wor- 

sliip  should  begin  and  end  sooner,  than  it  commonly  lias  done  on  these  occa- 
sions:  That  each  pastor  preach  at  these  assemblies  in  his  turn: That 

the  minister  of  the  place  determine  who  shall  be  employed  in  prayer: 

That  after  a  moderate  repast,  to  be  managed  with  as  little  trouble  and  expence 
as  may  be,  an  hour  or  two  in  the  afternoon  be  spent  in  religious  conference 
and  prayer,  and  in  taking  into  consideration,  merely  as  a  friendly  council,  and 
without  the  least  pretence  to  any  right  of  authoritative  decision,  the  concerns 
of  any  brother,  or  any  society,  which  may  be  brought  before  us  for  our  ad- 

■rice: And  tinally,  that  every  member  of  this  association  siiall  consider  it 

as  an  additional  obligation  upon  him,  to  endeavour  to  be,  so  far  as  he  justly 
and  honourably  can,  a  friend  and  guardian  to  the  reputation,  comfort,  and 
usefulness  of  all  his  brethrcMi  in  the  christian  ministry,  near  or  remote,  of 
whatever  party  and  denomination. 

X.  'Ihat  it  may  be  proper  to  enter  into  some  farther  measures,  to  regu- 
late the  admission  of  young  persons  into  the  ministry. ^The  particulars 

here  were  referred  to  farther  consideration:  but,  so  far  as  I  can  judge,  the 

j)lan  proposed  will  be  pretty  nearly  this  : That  if  any  student,  within  the 

compass  of  this  association,  desires  to  be  admitted  as  a  preacher,  he  apply  to 
the  ministers  at  one  of  their  periodical  meetings  ;  when,  if  they  be  iu  the  gene- 

F  f  2 


232  DEDICATION. 

ral  satisfied,  that  he  is  a  person  of  a  fair  character,  in  sacramental  communion 
with  a  christian  society,  and  one  who  has  gone  through  a  regular  course  of 
preparatory  studies,  they  will  appoint  three  of  their  number,  to  examine 
more  particularly  into  his  acquaintance  with,  and  sense  of  the  great  doc- 
trines of  Christianity,  as  delivered  in  the  scripture,  and  into  the  progress  he  has 
made  in  literature,  the  views  with  which  he  professes  to  undertake  the  minis- 
try, and  in  general,  his  aptness  to  teach:  in  order  to  judging  of  which,  it  may 
be  proper,  that  a  theological  thesis  be  exhibited  in  latin,  and  a  popular  sermon, 
composed  by  the  candidate,  be  submitted  to  the  perusal  of  the  examiners:  that  if 
they  in  their  consciences  believe,  he  is  fit  to  be  employed  in  tiie  christian 
ministry,  they  give  him  a  certificate  of  that  approbation,  which  he  may  be 
desired  to  produce  at  the  next  general  meeting,  that  his  testimonials  may  be 
signed  by  all  the  associated  ministers  present,  and  he  solemnly  recommended 
to  God  by  prayer. 

Thus,  gentlemen,  you  have  a  view  of  the  scheme,  as  it  now  lies  before 
us,  and  as  every  article,  except  the  last,  not  yet  considered  among  us,  was 
approved  at  Kettering,  at  the  time  above-mentioned,  I  will  take  leave  to  add 
one  particular  more,  which  has  since  occurred  to  my  thoughts,  and  which  I 
here  submit  to  your  consideration,  and  to  that  of  my  other  reverend  brethren, 
into  whose  hands  this  may  fall,  especially  those  of  our  own  association. 

XI.  Qu.  Whether  something  might  not  be  done,  in  most  of  our  con- 
gregations, towards  assisting  in  the  propagation  of  Christianity  abroad,  and 
Fpreading  it  in  some  of  the  darker  parts  of  our  own  land  ?  In  pursuance  of 
■which  it  is  further  proposed,  that  we  endeavour  to  engage  as  many  pious 
people  of  our  respective  congregations  as  we  can,  to  enter  themselves  into  a 
society,  in  which  tiie  members  mayjengage  themselves  to  some  peculiar  cares, 
assemblies,  and  contributions,  with  a  regard  to  this  great  end.  I  will  not 
swell  this  dedication  with  the  particulars  of  that  scheme,  which  lias  been 
formed  to  this  purpose  ;  but  rather  chuse  to  insert  at  the  bottom  of  the  page 
a  copy  of  such  an  association,  which  I  am  endeavouring  to  introduce  among 
my  own  people,  and  which  several  have  already  signed.  It  is  a  feeble 
♦jssay  ;  and  the  effects  of  it  in  one  congregation  can  be  but  very  small :  but 
if  it  were  generally  to  be  followed,  who  can  tell  what  a  harvest  such  a  little 
grain  might  at  length  produce  ?  May  God  multiply  it  a  thousand-fold  *. 

Excuse  me,  my  reverend  and  dear  brethren,  that  I  have  detained  you 
§0  long  with  these   various  particulars ;  and  permit  me  to  conclude  this 

*  We  \vhose  names  are  subscribed,  being  moved,  as  we  hope  and  tmst,  by 
a  real  concern  for  the  propagation  of  the  kingdom  of  Christ  in  the  world,  have  de- 
termined to  form  ourselves  into  a  society  for  that  end,  on  the  following  terms  : 

I.  That  we  purpose,  as  God  shall  enable  us,  to  be  daily  puttingup  some 
earnest  petitions  to  the  throne  of  grace,  for  tlie  advancement  of  the  gospel  in  the 
world,  and  for  the  success  of  all  the  faithful  sei-vants  of  Christ,  who  are  engaged  in 

th  e  work  of  it,  especially  among  the  heathen  nations. 

II.  That  we  will  assemble,  at  least  four  times  a  year,  in  our  place  of  public 
worship,  at  such  seasons  as  shall  by  mutual  consent  be  appointed,  to  spend  some 
time  in  solemn  prayer  together  on  this  important  account :  and  we  hereby  engage, 
that  we  will,  each  of  us,  if  we  conveniently  can,  attend  at  such  meetings  ;  unless 
such  circumstances  happen,  as  to  lead  us  in  our  own  consciences  to  conclude,  that 

it  will  be  more  acceptable  in  the  sight  of  God,  that  we  should  be  employed  in  some 
other  business  elsewhere. 

III.  We  do  hereby  express  our  desire,  that  some  time  may  be  then  spent,  if 
God  give  an  opportunity,  in  reviewing  those  promises  of  scripture,  which  relate  to* 

the  establishment  of  our   Redeemer's  kingdom  in  the  world;  that  our  faith  may  be 
supported;  and  our  prayers  quickened,  by  the  contemplation  of  them. 


DEDICATION.  233 

address,  with  bescccliing  yoii  to  join  witi)  me  in  humble  prayer  to  him,  who 
knows  the  sincere  regard  to  the  temporal  and  eternal  happiness  of  his  crea- 
tures, by  which  tlie  plain  things  of  this  dedication  and  sermon  are  dictated, 
that  he  may  Jionour  both  with  his  blessing.  If  any  parts  of  the  scheme  here 
Jaid  I)efore  you,  have  not  indeed  that  subserviency  to  the  great  end  proposed, 
which  they  are  imagined  to  have,  it  would  be  a  peculiar  pleasure  to  me  to 
be  better  informed  ;  yet  I  must  take  the  liberty  to  say,  those  must  be  strong 
arguments,  which  will  prevail  against  the  experience  of  the  happy  effects, 
which  have  for  some  time,  in  my  own  congregation,  attended  tiiose,  alas, 
too  imperfect  attempts,  which  I  have  made  to  carry  them  into  execution. 
Jiut  if  they  are,  as  I  assuredly  believe,  calculated  to  revive  the  languishing 
interest  of  real  religion,  may  your  advice,  my  honoured  friends,  in  con- 
currence with  that  of  my  worthy  brethren  in  these  parts,  and  with  the  se. 
rious  expostulations  contained  in  the  ensuing  discourse,  prevail  on  others  to 
make  tiie  trial  of  them,  which  surely  they  will  not  repent  in  the  nearest  views 
of  eternity. 

1  persuade  myself,  gentlemen,  thai  in  the  midst  of  those  various  cares 
and  labours  for  the  public  service,  to  which,  weak  as  I  am,  divine  provi- 
dence has  called  me,  you  will  sometimes  be  repeating  for  me  those  suitable 
and  pathetic  petitions,  which  you  were  pleased,  at  Denton,  and  elsewhere, 
during  my  late  interviews  with  you,  to  offer  on  my  account ;  petitions,  which, 
I  never  recollect  without  a  most  sensible  pleasure,  and  by  the  very  reniem- 

IV.  It  is  also  our  dcsiro,  that  whatever  important  informations,  relating 
to  the  progress  of  tlie  gospel,  be  received  from  the  various  parts  of  this  kingdom,  or 
from  foreign  lands,  by  any  members  of  the  society,  they  may  be  communicated 
to  us  at  our  general  quarterly  meetings:  and  the  rest  of  us  make  it  our  request 
to  our  minister,  that  he  will,  where  he  can  with  convenience  do  it,  keep  up  such 
correspondences  ;  that  we  may  be  more  capable  of  judging,  how  far  God  answers 
our  prayers,  and  those  of  his  other  servants,  in  this  regard. 

V.  We  further  engage,  that  on  these  days  of  general  meeting,  every  one  of  us 
win,  as  God  shall  be  pleased  to  j)rosper  us,  contribute  something,  be  it  ever  so 
little,  towards  the  caiTying  on  of  this  pious  design  ;  which  shall  he  lodged  in  the 
lifinds  of  a  treasurer,  to  bo  chosen  at  the  first  meeting,  to  be  disposed  of  by  him, 
and  four  other  trustees,  then  also  to  be  appointed,  in  such  a  manner  as  they  si)all 
judge  most  convenient,  towards  supporting  tlie  expence  of  sending  missionaries 
abroad ;  printing  bibles,  or  other  useful  books,  in  foreign  languages ;  establishing 
schools  for  the  instruction  of  the  ignorant  :  and  the  like, 

VI.  That  the  pastor  for  the  time  being,  if  one  of  the  society,  be  alwari 
one  of  those  trustees;  and  that  four  more  be  annually  nominated  by  the  society, 
at  tlie  first  meeting  after  new-year's  day,  with  a  power  of  chusing  their  treasurer 
out  of  tiieir  own  number  ;  and  that  the  accounts  of  the  former  year  be  then  laid 
before  tlie  society,  or  before  a  committee  appointed  to  examine  them. 

VII.  That  members,  after  the  first  meeting  be  admitted  by  the  consent 
of  the  majority  of  the  society  present,  at  some  stated  meeting ;  and  that  if  any 
member  think  fit  to  withdraw,  he  signify  that  purpose  to  the  society,  or  to  one  of 
the  trustees. 

VIII.  That  brief  minutes  be  taken  at  every  meeting,  of  the  business  dis. 
patched,  the  persons  admitted,  the  contributions  made  at  it,  &c. 

To  these  rules  we  subscribe  our  hands,  heartily  praying,  that  God  may 
qnirken  us,  and  many  others  by  our  means,  to  greater  zeal  in  this,  and  in  every 
gofMl  word  and  work  ;  and  that"ioining  in  spirit  with  all  those,  w  ho  in  one  place  or 
another,  arc  devoting  their  lives  to  the  advancement  of  the  josp'.l,  w c  may  another 
day  partake  of  their  joy, 


234 


DEDICATION. 


brance  of  which  I  find  myself  anhnated  to  this  very  day.  On  my  part,  dear 
brethren,  be  assured  of  all  the  most  affectionate  good  wishes,  which  sincere 
esteem,  and  grateful  friendship  can  inspire.  iMay  that  spirit  of  grace  and 
supplication,  the  happy  elfects  of  wliich  I  so  delightfully  observed  in  tiiose 
of  you,  on  whom  1  had  then  an  opportunity  of  attending,  be  in  a  still  richer 
abundance  poured  forth  upon  you  all  !  May  you  open  your  mouths  boldly 
to  declare  the  mysteries  of  God,  as  faithful  witnesses  to  the  truth  and  purity 
of  his  gospel,  iu  the  midst  of  a  degenerate  and  back-sliding  age  !  May  you 
teach,  not  only  publicly,  but  from  house  to  house  \  May  a  truly  primitive 
and  scriptural  discipline,  which  it  is  our  privilege,  that  amidst  all  our  dis- 
couragements we  are  able,  not  only  to  pray  for,  but  to  exercise,  be  impar- 
tially maintained!  And  in  consequence  of  all  this,  may  you  have  the  plea- 
sure to  see  your  assemblies  flourishing  I  May  you  ieel  your  hearts  daily 
cheered  and  animated,  by  the  visible  success  of  your  labours  !--and  may  there 
be  no  contention  among  you,  unless  it  be  who  shall  exert  himself  with  the 
most  exemplary  prudence,  zeal,  and  love,  in  the  prosecution  of  so  good  a 
■work  I  May  each  of  you,  in  the  sphere  which  providence  has  assigned  him, 
be  a  burning  and  a  shining  light  !  And  may  the  lustre  of  your  fervent  and 
active  piety  awaken,  if  any  of  them  slumber,  our  brethren  of  the  established 
clergy,  to  guard  against  that  growth  of  the  dissenting  interest,  which  must 
otherwise  bethe  probable  consequence  of  such  measures  !  May  they  all  emu- 
late the  most  faithful  and  zealous  among  us,  in  the  purity  of  their  doctrine, 
in  the  seriousness  and  si)irituality  of  their  address,  in  the  vigilance  of  their 
pastoral  inspection,  in  their  tender  care  to  train  up  the  rising  generation  for 
God,  and  above  all,  in  the  distinguished  sanctity  of  their  lives  !  This  will 
anite  our  hearts  in  such  mutual  esteem  and  affection,  that  even  while  in  dif- 
ferent communions,  we  shall  treat  each  other  like  brethren  and  friends,  and 
fellow-labourers  in  the  vineyard  of  Christ;  far  more  endeared  by  our  com- 
mon love  to  our  divine  master,  and  the  souls  he  has  redeemed,  than  alienated 
by  our  different  apprehensions,  as  to  the  particular  mode  by  which  that 
interest  is  to  be  promoted.  The  question  between  us  will  not  then  be, 
*'  How  much  may  we  lawfully  impose  r"  and  "  how  much  may  we  lawfully 
dispute?"  liut  on  the  one  side,  it  will  be  enquired,  "  what  may  we  wave?" 
and  on  the  other,  "  what  may  we  acquiesce  in,  from  a  principle  of  mutual 
tenderness  and  respect  ;  without  displeasing  our  common  Lord,  and  in- 
juring that  great  cause  of  original  Christianity,  which  he  has  appointed  us  to 
guard?"  Thus  may  the  flames  of  undissembled  love  purge  away  our  dross, 
and  cement  us  into  one  mass ;  where  tlie  union  will  be  the  closer,  in  pro- 
portion to  the  degree  in  which  the  metal  is  the  nobler,  and  the  more  refined  ! 
And  thus  may  it  cause  those  fetters  to  fall  off,  under  the  weight  and  the 
streightness  of  which,  however  they  may  have  been  gilded  over,  the  wor- 
thiest persons  that  wear  them  must  secretly  groan  !  We  are  praying  and 
waiting  for  that  happy  day,  vvhicli  whenever  it  appears,  will  be  the  glorious 
earnest  of  the  revival  of  tlie  protestant,  and  of  the  christian  cause.  In  the 
niean  time,  may  each  of  us  have  a  pleasing  consciousness,  that  we  are  labour- 
ing to  promote  it  ;  or  at  least  that  while  we  are  waiting  ibr  tlie  appearance  of 
the  great  physician  among  us,  we  do  not,  by  oui  own  rashness,  exasperate  those 
distempers,  which  in  his  absence  we  cannot  heal !  A  wish,  and  a  care,  in 
vhich,  I  am  sure,  you  will  concur  with, 

Gentlanen, 

Your  most  nffectionate  Brother, 
andJaWij'uL  and  obliged  Humble  Servant, 

F.  DODDRIDGE. 

Northampton,  fe5.  1,  1741-2. 


Evil  and  Danger  of  neglecting  Souls.  235 


SERMON  IV. 


Prov.  xxlv.  1 1,  \1. — If  thou  forbear  to  ddhcr  than  that  are  drazvn  unto  death, 
and  those  that  are  read// to  be  .slain:  If  thou  saijest,  behold,  xvc  Lneta  it 
not :  Doth  not  he  that  pondereth  the  heart,  consider  it  ?  and  he  that  keepeiU 
thy  soul,  doth  not  he  knoiv  it  ?  and  shall  not  tit  render  to  exenj  man  accord' 
ing  to  his  norks  ? 

jl  HIC  interviews  of  the  ministers  of  Christ  ^ill  always  be  plea- 
sant, in  proportion  to  tlie  degree,  in  which  they  are  animated  by 
divine  grace  to  think,  and  act,  worthy  of  their  honourable  rela- 
tion to  him,  and  to  each  other.  \Wc  in  these  parts  have  great 
reason  for  thankfulness,  that  we  have  so  long  known,  by  hajipy 
experience,  How  good  and  how  pleasant  a  thing  it  is,  for  bre- 
thren to  dwell  together  in  unity  *.  And  it  is  Avith  pecuHar  joy 
that  I  reflect,  we  are  met  this  day,  not  only  to  express  and 
cultivate  our  mutual  alfcction  ;  but  also,  by  our  united  coun- 
sels, to  strengthen  each  others  hands  in  the  work  of  our  God, 
and  to  concert  measures  for  the  more  clTectual  revival  of  reh- 
gion,  in  the  several  places  where  providence  has  especially 
assigned  it  to  our  stated  care.  As  Iron  sharpeneth  iron,  so  a 
man  often  sharpens  the  countenance  of  his  friend  \.  Most 
gladly  would  I,  this  day,  since  I  am  called  to  address  ^'ou  on  so 
solemn  and  important  an  occasion,  contribute  my  utmost  to  whet 
your  spirits  and  my  own  ;  and  to  awaken  us  all  to  that  zeal  for 
the  service  of  our  common  master,  which  will  render  the  various 
duties  of  our  office  abundantly  delightful,  and  our  reward  in 
heaven  proportionably  great.  Oh  that  Avhat  I  have  now  to  say 
might  be  Like  goads,  to  penetrate  all  our  minds,  and  like  nails^ 
secure]}'  fastened  in  our  memories  and  our  hearts,  given  Jortk 
from  the  one  great  Shepherd  %  !  May  all  the  instruments,  with 
which  he  is  furnishing  us  in  our  ])astoral  work,  be  wisely  and 
faithfully  employed  ;  and  may  the  master  of  assemblies  this 
day  be  excited  to  use  them,  with  greater  skill,  and  diligence,  in 
liis  service  ! 

And  as  for  you,  my  brethren,  in  more  private  stations  of 
life,  I  persuade  myself  you  will  hear  nie  patiently  and  candidly  : 

*  Psal.  cxxxiii.  1.  f  Prov.xxvii.  17,  'JEccles.sii.il. 

2 


^^6  MEETING  OF  MINISTERS  AT  JFCETTERIKG.  SeR.  tV. 

for  though  but  little  of  my  discourse  will  be  immediately  ad- 
dressed to  you,  it  is  your  cause  I  shall  be  pleading  in  the  whole 
of  it.  You  will,  therefore,  I  hope,  be  often  hfting  up  your 
hearts  to  God  for  the  success  of  it;  and  will  also  be  considering, 
what  intimations  of  your  own  duty  you  may  collect,  from  Avhat 
I  am  to  address  to  those  of  a  more  public  character.  For  though 
the  words  of  my  text  may,  with  peculiar  propriety,  be  applied 
to  the  ministers  of  the  gospel,  they  were  at  first  spoken  with  a 
much  more  general  view  ;  nor  is  there  one  soul  in  the  assembly 
who  may  not  consider  them  as  directed  by  God  to  him,  as  truly 
as  if  his  own  name  were  prefixed  to  them.  If  thouforbeay^  to 
deliver  them  that  are  drawn  unto  deaths  and  those  that  are 
readif  to  be  slain;  if  thou  say  est,  or,  as  it  might  be  rendered, 
though  thou  may  est  saij  *,  Behold  we  knew  it  not :  Doth  not 
he  that  pondereth  the  heart,  consider  it  ?  and  he  that  keepeth 
thy  soul,  doth  he  not  know  it  ?  And  will  not  he  render  to  every 
man  according  to  his  works  9 

For  the  explication  of  which  words,  Avith  all  becoming  de- 
ference to  the  superior  judgment  of  some  before  whom  I  speak, 
I  would  offer  these  three  plain  and  obvious  remarks. 

1 .  That  the  omission,  which  is  here  charged  as  so  displeasins: 
to  God,  though  immediately  referring  to  men's  natural  lives, 
must  sLu-ely  imply,  that  the  neglect  of  their  souls  is  much  more 
criminal. 

The  text  strongly  implies,  that  we  shall  be  exposed  to 
gudt  and  condemnation  before  God,  hy  forbearing  to  deliver 
them  that  are  drawn  unto  death,  and  those  that  are  ready  to  be 
slain.  This  must  directly  refer  to  innocent  persons,  brought 
into  visible  and  extreme  danger  by  some  oppressive  enemy, 
either  by  the  sudden  assault  of  a  private  person,  or  by  some 
unjust  prosecution  under  forms  of  law  ;  and  may  particularly 
extend  to  cases,  where  we  have  reason  to  believe,  a  capital  sen- 
tence has  been  passed  in  consequence  of  false  witness,  detected 
before  execution  is  done  f  :  when  cases  of  one  sort  or  the  other 

*  It  is  wen  known,  that  the  particle  >D  often  signifies  aUhon^h.  Thus  our  tran- 
slators very  justly  render  it  in  several  places :  See  Exod.  xiii.  17.  Josh,  x^-ii.  18. 
2  Sam.  xx.H  5.  Ezck.  xi.  16.  Heb.  iii.  17.  And  if  they  had  done  so  in  several  others, 
tbey  would  have  expressed  the  sense  and  connection  of  the  original  much  more  plain- 
]y.     Compare  Gen.  viii.  21.  Psal.  xiv.  6.  xxv.  11.  Isa.  xxx^iii.  18,  19. 

t  It  was  allowed  among-  the  Jews,  that  if  any  person  could  offer  any  thing  in 
favour  of  a  pr.soner,  after  .sentence  was  passed,  he  might  be  heard  before  execution 
was  done:  and  tlierefore  it  was  usual,  as  the  Mischna  shews,  that  when  a  man  was 
led  to  execution,  a  cryer  went  before  him  and  proclaimed,  "  This  man  is  now  <join^ 
to  be  executed  for  such  a  crime,  and  such  and  such  are  witnesses  against  him    who"- 

Idn        ""    ^^P^J/l^'-^.-n  D^    L,b.   de    Ord.   Damnorum,  T^ctat.  de  Sy^ 
neOns,  cap.  VI.  '^.  1.  apud  SurenJius.  Tom.  ir.  page  233.  ' 


Evil  and  Danger  of  negkcting  Souls.  237 

occur,  we  may  consider  Solomon  as  requiring,  just  as  his  father 
David  had  done,  that  we  should  by  such  interpositions,  us  suit 
the  case  in  question,  and  tliat  station  in  which  providence  has 
fixed  us  Defend  the  poor  and  the  fatherless,  or  those  who  are 
oppressed,  us  orpl.ans  often  are  ;  that  we  should  do  justice  to  the 
a/fiictcdand  the  needy  ;  and  should  endeavour  to  deliver  the  poor 
and  the  needy,  and  to  rid  them  out  of  the  hand  oj  the  wicked  *. 
And  thourdi'this  may  expose  us  to  popular  clamours,  we  should 
adopt  the^'hcroic  resolution  of  Job,  not  Fearing  a  great  viulti^ 
tude,  nor  pcrmittinjr  the  reproach  of  families  to  terrify  us,  so 
as  to  keep  silence,  and  not  go  out  of  the  door  \.  One  would 
hope,  such  attacks  as  these  seldom  happened  under  the  peace- 
ful and  equitable  reign  of  Solomon  :  but  as  violence  and  fraud 
are  in  some  degree  the  product  of  all  chmates  and  ages,  he 
had,  no  doubt,  in  some  instances  observed  them  t  ;  and  had 
remarked  a  culpable  negligence  in  those,  who  ought  to  have  in- 
terposed to  have  delivered  the  victims  from  such  an  undeserved 
stroke  ;  on  which  account,  he  judged  it  necessary  to  enter  his 
solemn  protest  against  an  indolence  and  cowardice,  so  detri- 
mental to  society,  and  so  offensive  to  God,  the  great  guardian 

of  it.  ,  ,.       . 

Now  you  will  please  to  observe,  tliat  delivenng  persons 
reduced  to  such  extreme  danger  in  the  circumstance  I  have 
described,  would  generally  be  an  act  of  charity  attended  with 
great  dancrer,  or  with  great  trouble.  And  if  the  neglect  of  that 
be,  as  you  see  it  is,  represented  as  highly  crimmal,  it  must  be 
a  much  greater  offence  to  suffer  any  to  perish,  for  want  of  either 
food,  shelter,  or  harbour,  in  circumstances  where  a  person  is 
able,  by  a  httic  trouble,  expence,  or  care,  to  preserve  their  lives. 
And  we  may  argue,  by  a  consequence  yet  stronger  than  this, 
that  it  must  be  a  much  more  heinous  crime  than  either,  by  any 
neglect  of  ours,  to  permit  the  ruin  of  men's  souls,  without  endea- 
voSring  their  recovery,  when  they  are,  as  it  were,  drawn  away 
to  the  extremest  danger  of  eternal  death,  and  are  ready  to  be 
slain  by  the  sword  of  divine  justice.     For  if  temporal  life  should 

*  TFal.  Ixxxii.  3, 4.  +  Job  xxxi.  34. 

+  It  appears  by  several  hints  in  Solomon's  writings,  that  the  gay,  expensive, 
andlaxurious  manner  of  livi..<r,  which,  though  d.rectly  contrarv-  to  the  gen.us  of  the 
Jewish  religion,  was  intr.Kluced  in  hi<  days,  had  its  natural  c-flect  .n  produ.mg  frequent 
tliefts,  perjuries,  rohheries,  and  murders,  and,  which  was  w.-rst  of  all,  abominabl* 
corruption  among  magistrates,  and  great  iniquity  in  judicial  atla>rs.  Compare^Prov. 
i  10— 10  iii  <2P.  iv.  16,  17.  vi.  1-2—14.  xii.  5,6.  xvii.  15.  xvm.  5.  xxu  -,  'iB. 
xxii.  22,  23.  x-xiii.  10,  11,  20,  21.  xxiv.  15,  23.  xxviii.  15,  H,  20,  21.  *xix.  4,  10 
Eccles.  iii.  16,  17.  iv.  1,  2.  V.  8. 

VOL.  III.  G   S 


238  MEETING  OF  MINISTERS  AT  KETTERING.  SeR.  IV. 

be  tlms  tenderly  regarded,  and  expence  or  danger  should  be 
cheerfully  met  in  the  defence  of  it,  judge  you,  Sirs,  as  in  tlie 
sight  of  God,  how  much  more  Precious  the  redemption  of  the 
soul  is,  which  will  soon  cease^  even  for  ever  -^ 

Nay,  I  might  go  yet  farther,  and  draw  an  inference,  if  it 
were  necessary,  from  that  humane  aud  charitable  precept  of  the 
Jewish  legislator  f  :  If  thou  meet  thine  enemy's  ox  or  his  ass 
going  astray  thou  shalt  surely  bring  it  back  to  him  again:  If 
thou  see  the  ass  of  him  that  hateth  thee,  lying  under  his  bur- 
den, wilt  thou  forbear,  or,  as  it  might  be  rendered,  wouldst 
thou  refrain,  to  help  him  ?  or  couldst  thou  be  so  cruel  as  to 
harbour  a  thought  of  it  ?  No,  Thou  shalt  surely  help  xvith  him  ; 
i.  e.  thou  shalt  go,  if  it  be  necessary,  and  join  thy  strength  with 
that  of  thine  enemy,  to  raise  the  beast  from  the  ground.  Now 
if  God  not  only  regards  the  natural  life  of  a  man,  but  if  he  thus 
appears  to  care  for  oxen,  and  for  asses,  how  much  more  must 
he  require  us  to  reduce  wandering  souls,  and  to  do  Avhat  we  can 
to  raise  them,  "^^ilen  pressed  under  the  burden  of  sin,  and  in 
danger  of  being  crushed  into  eternal  misery  ? 

2.  The  text  seems  to  suppose,  that  men  would  be  ready  to 
excuse  themselves  for  this  neglect. 

It  is  true  indeed,  that  at  the  first  sight  of  a  miserable  ob- 
ject, we  naturally  find  a  strong  impulse  to  endeavour  to  relieve 
it.     Our  hearts  do,  as  it  were,  spring  in  our  bosoms,  and  urge 
us  forward  to  exert  ourselves  on  such  an  occasion  ;  which  seems 
to  be  intimated  by  that  word,  which  we  render  for  bear ,  which 
often  signifies  to  check,  restrain,  and  hold  back  a  person  from 
what  he  is  eager  on  doing  J.     But  the  wdse  man  intimates,  there 
may  be  danger  of  suppressing  these  generous  sallies  of  the 
soul  on  the  first  view  of  the  object ;  of  suffering  our  charity  to 
cool,  and  then  of  searching  out  apologies  for  our  inactivity. 
You  maybe  ready  to  say,  Behold,  we  kiiew  it  not.     "  I  did 
not  particularly  see  the  danger  ;  I  did  not  however,  apprehend 
it  to  be  so  extreme  :  or,  I  did  not  know  the  innocence  of  the  per- 
son in  danger  ;  or  if  I  did  beheve  it,  I  knew  not  how  to  deliver 
him.     I  did  not  think  the  interposition  of  such  a  person  as  I, 
could  be   of  any  importance  in  such  an  affair.     I  was  sorry  to 
see  innocence  overborne,  and   weakness  oppressed  ;  but  1  was 

*  Psal.  xlix.  8.  f  Exod.  xxili.  4,  5. 

J  It  is  in  the  original  Tltt^nn,  and  the  same  word  is  used  to  express  the 
restraint  put  on  the  passion  of  Abimelech  for  Sarah,  Gen.  xx.  6.  on  the  revenge  of 
David,  when  insulted  by  Nabal,  1  Sara.  xxv.  54,  09.  and  on  the  martial  fury  of  Da- 
vid's party,  when  pursuing  the  rebels  under  Absalom,  2  Sam.  xviii.  16.  Compare 
Job  xvi.  6,     Prov.  xi.  26, 


Evil  and  Danger  of  neglecting  Souls.  239 

mv!?elf  too  weak  to  contend  with  the  mightier  oppressor  ;  too 
poor,  too  irrnorant,  or  too  busy,  to  meddle  in  an  afl'air,  where 
those  who  Mere  much  mv  superiors  were  eonecrncd,  and  had 
determined  tlie  case,  I  had  no  obHgations  to  the  person  in 
tianger  ;  I  had  no  concern  with  him,  nor  any  thing  to  do  to  em- 
barrass myself  with  his  atFairs." 

If  these  excuses  he  just,  it  is  well.  God  require^'  impossi- 
bilities from  no  man  ;  nor  does  he  expect,  that  i)ers()ns  should 
rashly  throw  themselves  upon  ditMculties  and  dangers,  when 
there  is  no  such  rational  prospect  of  doing  good,  as  may  balance 
the  hazard.     Nevertheless  the  text  supposes, 

b.  That  these  excuses  might  often  be  over-ruled,  by  an 
appeal  to  men's  consciences  as  in  the  sight  of  God. 

Doth  not  he  that  pomlereih  the  heart,  consider  it  ?  and  he 
that  keepeth  thy  soul,  doth  not  he  know  it  ?  As  if  he  should  have 
said,  "  It  is  an  easy  thing  to  excuse  omissions,  so  that  a  fellow- 
creature  shall  have  nothing  to  reply  ;  but  whoever  thou  art 
that  readest  these  words,  I  charge  thee  to  remember,  that  It  is 
comparatively  a  very  little  matter  to  be  judged  of  man's  judg- 
ment;  he  that  judgeth  thee  is  the  Lord*  :  and  he  pondereth 
the  heart:  he  weighs,  in  a  most  accurate  balance,  all  its 
most  secret  sentiments.  I  therefore  cut  off  all  chicane  and 
trifling  debate  at  once,  by  placing  thee  in  his  presence,  and 
laying  open  thy  conscience  there.  Thou  canst  answer  me  : 
but  canst  thou  answer  the  heart-searching  God  ?  Does  not  he, 
the  great  Father  of  Spirits,  see,  in  every  instance,  how  in- 
ferior spirits  conduct  themselves  ?  Does  he  not  precisely  know 
the  situation,  in  which  thy  heart  was  at  the  very  moment  in 
question  ?  Thou  sayest,  thou  knewest  it  not :  but  he  is  witness, 
whether  thou  indeed  didst,  or  didst  not  know  it.  And  he 
also  sees  all  the  opportunities  and  advantages,  which  thou 
hadst  for  knowing  it  ;  all  the  hints,  which  might  have  been 
traced  out,  to  open  a  more  explicit  and  particular  know- 
ledge; everv  glimpse  which  thou  hadst,  when  thou  wast,  like 
the  priest,  when  he  spied  at  a  distance  the  wounded  traveller 
Passing  by  on  the  other  side  f,  and  perhaps  affecting  to  look 
the  contrary  way." 

Nor  was  it  in  vain,  that  the  wise  man  renewed  his  expos- 
tulation in  a  different  form.  He  that  keepeth  thy  soul,  doth  not 
he  know  it  ?  As  if  he  had  said,  "  consider  God,  as  keeping  thine 
own  soul  i  as  Holding  it  in  lifeX;  as  Preserving  thy  spirit 

*  1  Cor.  iv.  3,  4.  +  Luke  x.  31 .  %  Psal.  1  wi.  9. 

G  22 


^40  MEETING   OF   MINISTERS    AT    KETTERING.         SeR.  IV. 

by  his  continued  visitation*;  and  then  say,  oh  thou  that  neg- 
lectest  the  life  of  thy  brotlier,  \a  hether  he  must  not  be  highly 
displeased  with  that  neglect  ?  May  he  not  reasonably  expect, 
that  while  he,  the  Lord  of  heaven  and  earth,  condescends  to 
become  thy  guardian,  thou  sliouldst  learn  of  him, and  be,  accor- 
ding to  thine  ability,  and  in  thy  sphere,  a  guardian  to  the  whole 
human  race,  and  shouldst  endeavour,  in  every  instance,  to 
ward  off  danger  from  the  life,  from  the  soul  of  thy  brother  !" 

And  that  these  thoughts  may  enter  into  the  mind  with  all 
their  weight,  it  is  added  once  more,  in  this  pointed  form  of 
interrogation.  Will  not  he  render  to  every  man  according  to  his 
works  ?  ''I  appeal  to  thine  own  heart,  is  he  not  a  being  of  in- 
finite moral,  as  well  as  natural  perfections,  and  will  he  not,  as 
The  Judge  of  all  the  earth,  do  right  i?  Would  he  not  have 
remembered,  and  rewarded  thy  generous  care  for  the  preser- 
vation of  the  miserable  creature  in  question?  And,  on  the 
other  hand,  will  he  not  reckon  with  thee  for  such  a  failure  ? 
Human  laws,  indeed,  cannot  punish  such  neglects ;  but  the 
supreme  legislator  can,  and  will  do  it.  Think  of  these  things, 
and  guard  against  such  fatal  negligence  in  every  future  in- 
stance :  think  of  them,  and  humble  thyself  deeply  before  God, 
for  every  past  instance,  in  which  such  guilt  has  been  incurred." 

You  easily  perceive,  from  this  expUcation  of  my  text, 
that  as  I  hinted  above,  I  might  very  properly  make  it  the  foun- 
dation of  a  discourse  "  on  the  care  of  souls  in  general,"  ad- 
dressed to  persons  of  all  ranks  and  professions  in  life  ;  especially 
to  parents:]:,  and  masters,  and  heads  of  families  :  and  they  will 
indeed  have  an  evident  share  in  what  I  am  to  say,  and  therefore 
I  would  bespeak  their  particular  attention  to  it.  But  considering 
the  occasion  of  our  present  assembly,  and  also  considering  how 
much  of  their  fidelity,  in  the  performance  of  their  duty,  Avill 
probably,  under  God,  depend  upon  the  exhortations,  instruc- 
tions, and  assistances,  they  receive  from  us,  I  shall  chiefly 
address  these  things  to  you,  my  reverend  fathers  and  brethren 
in  the  mmistry  ;  and  intreat  3'our  patient  and  candid  atten- 
dance, while  I  speak  to  you  with  all  possible  plainness  and  seri- 
ousness, as  in  the  name  and  presence  of  our  common  Master. 

God  is  my  witness,  that  I  mean  not  to  insinuate  the  least 
disrespectful  thought  with  regard  to  any  one  of  you.  Indeed  I 
have  not  the  least  temptation  to  it,  for  I  can  say,  with  equal 
integrity  and  pleasure,  that  I  believe  few  of  your  profession 

*  Job  X,  12.  f  Gen,  xviii.  25. 

%  I  have  argued  the  matter  at  large  with  them  in  my  Sermons  on  Educationi 


Evil  and  Danger  of  neglecting  Souls.  24 1 

in  the  cliristian  world,  glorious  as  that  profession  is,  and  happy 
as  it  is  in  many  that  adorn  it,  are  more  constant,  more  npright, 
or  more  zealous,  in  the  course  ot  tlicir  puhlic  ministry.  I 
repeat  it  with  great  cheerfulness,  that  I  am  inwardly  persuaded, 
few  of  the  servants  of  Christ  are,  or  in  any  modern  age  have 
been,  more  faithfnllv  solicitous  to  declare  to  their  people  the 
•whole  counsel  of  God  i  or  to  enforce  their  public  exhortations, 
by  the  silent,  but  powerful  eloquence  of  a  blameless,  a  holy,  an 
exemplary  life.  And  of  this,  I  assuredly  believe,  you  have  a 
testimony  in  the  consciences  of  all  around  you,  and  even  of 
multitudes  Avho  are  not  the  stated  attendants  on  your  labours  ; 
and  who  perliaps,  in  such  a  case,  are  under  some  temptations  to 
err  on  the  severe,  rather  than  on  the  candid  extreme.  So  that 
in  tiiis  respect,  I  could  cheerfully  say,  Avould  to  God,  that  all 
your  brethren  in  the  christian  ministry,  throughout  the  nation, 
and  the  world,  were  even  as  you  !  Nevertheless,  permit  me  to 
say  it  without  offence,  for  I  say  it  in  the  fear  of  God,  and  with 
the  sincerest  deference  and  friendship  to  you,  I  am  afraid,  the 
extensive  and  important  obligations  of  the  ministerial  office  are 
not  generally  considered,  and  remembered  among  us,  as  they 
ought.  I  apprehend,  much  more  might  be  done  for  the  honoiu' 
of  God,  and  the  good  of  souls,  than  is  commonly  done,  I  will 
not  say,  by  those  careless  and  profane  wretches,  who  undertake 
the  tremendous  charge  merely  for  the  sake  of  worldly  emolu- 
ments ;  by  those  whom  the  plainness  of  prophetie  language 
calls  Dumb  dogs,  that  cannot  bark,  and  greedy  dogs,  that  can 
never  have  enough  *;  but  even  by  those,  who  in  the  main  have 
a  principle  of  true  religion  in  their  hearts  ;  by  those,  who 
keep  up  the  exercise  of  public  worship  in  a  regular  and  honour- 
able manner,  and  appear  not  only  irreproachable  in  their  con- 
versation, but,  if  considered  as  in  private  life,  bringing  forth  the 
fruits  of  righteousness.  The  learned,  the  wise,  the  virtuous, 
the  pious  minister,  is,  I  fear,  often  negligent  of  a  considerable 
part  of  his  trust  and  charge  ;  and  thereby  fails,  to  deliver,  as 
he  might,  those  that  are  drawn  unto  death,  and  perhaps  are  just 
ready  to  be  slain.  To  a^vaken  our  spirits  therefore  from  that 
insensibility  in  this  respect,  into  which  they  are  so  ready  to 
fall,  and  so  to  improve  the  present  opportunity,  that  The  man 
of  God  may  be  perfect  ■\- ,  ri\\i\  thoroughly  furnished  to  every 
good  work  which  our  office  requires,  I  shall  take  the  liberty, 

I.  BrieHy  to  consider,  what  excuses  we  may  be  most  ready 
to  ofler,  for  neglecting  the  souls  of  men. 

♦  Is.  Ivj.  10,  11.  j2Tim.  iii.  17. 


242  MEETING  OF  MINISTERS  AT  KETTERING.  SeR.  IV. 

II.  Seriously  to  represent  the  great  evil  of  that  neglect  in 
the  sight  of  God,  notwithstanding  all  those  excuses.  After 
which, 

III.  I  shall  add  a  few  hints  by  way  of  reflection,  as  the  time 
may  admit. 

And  if  a  consciousness  of  my  own  past  neglects,  and  an 
ignorance  of  circumstances  in  the  congregations  of  my  brethren, 
lead  me  to  suppose  some  deficiencies  greater  than  they  really 
are,  and  to  give  any  cautions,  which  their  diligence  and  zeal 
render  unnecessary,  with  regard  to  some  that  hear  me,  they 
will,  I  hope,  forgive  me  this  involuntary  wrong.  I  am  far  from 
the  thought  of  charging  any  particular  person,  and  ground 
most  of  the  remarks  I  now  present,  on  what  is  obvious  in  the 
temper  of  mankind,  and  on  those  infirmities  of  human  nature, 
to  which  the  best  of  men  are  obnoxious,  however  by  divine 
grace  they  may  be  conquered  in  a  few  of  the  most  eminent  for 
iidelity  and  zeal. 

1. 1  am  to  consider,  what  excuses  we  may  be  ready  to  make, 
for  neglecting  to  do  our  utmost  for  the  salvation  of  men's  souls. 

Now  I  imagine  one  of  the  first  thoughts,  which  may  pre- 
sent itself  to  our  view  upon  such  an  occasion,  may  be  this  ; 

1 .  That  we  do  something  considerable  for  that  purpose  : 

And  particularly,  that  we  take  care  for  their  instruction 
in  public  ;  reading  the  word  of  God  to  them,  when  they  are 
assembled  together  in  his  house  ;  explaining,  and  enforcing  it, 
in  our  expositions  and  sermons  ;  presenting  prayers  and  praises 
to  God,  in  their  name  ;  and,  at  proper  seasons  administering  the 
sacraments,  in  such  a  manner  as  we  judge  most  agreeable  to 
the  institution  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ. 

And  so  far  indeed,  it  is  well :  and  a  most  wise  and  graci- 
ous constitution  of  our  blessed  Redeemer  it  is,  that  such  ordi- 
nances should  be  administered,  on  solemn  stated  days,  and  by 
men  appropriated  to  that  employment  ;  in  consequence  of 
which,  such  knowledge  is  dispersed,  as  may  be,  and  undoubted- 
ly is,  through  the  divine  blessing,  effectual  for  the  salvation  of 
many  souls.  So  that  ministers,  cannot  go  through  the  external 
and  public  services  of  their  function,  without  giving  their 
hearers  some  great  and  valuable  advantages,  far  beyond  what 
the  professors  of  any  other  religion  can  find  in  the  rites  of  their 
various,  and  generally  absurd,  and  superstitious  worship. 
And  I  am  not  afraid  to  say,  that  this  would  make  the  christian 
ministry,  even  in  the  hands  of  ignorant,  careless,  and  vicious 
men,  a  blessing  to  the  nation  where  it  is  settled,  -^o  long  as 


Evil  and  Danger  of  neglecting  Souls.  2 1 3 

reading  the  scriptures,  and  almost  any  kind  of  prayers,  in  an  in- 
telligible language,  make  a  part  of  divine  service  in  their  assem- 
blies. INIuch  more  tiicn  will  it  be  so,  in  the  hands  of  wise,  sober, 
and  religious  men,  though,  through  human  frailty,  they  are  much 
less  zealous  and  active,  than  it  were  to  be  wished  they  were,  or 
than  they  ought  to  be. 

But  while  we  are  thus  pleading  our  diligence  and  care  in 
the  administration  of  public  ordinances,  it  will  be  kindness  to 
ourselves,  seriously  to  ask  our  own  hearts,  at  least,  how  they  are 
administered.  It  is,  as  I  have  elsewhere  hinted,  a  very  important 
trust,  to  have  the  management  of  men's  religious  hours  com- 
mitted to  us  ;  their  seasons  of  social  Avorship  being,  compara- 
tivelv,  so  short,  and  so  infinitely  momentous.  Methinks  we  do 
almost,  as  it  were,  put  our  own  lives  in  our  hand  while  wo  un- 
dertake it,  and  may  justly  tremble  on  the  view  of  that  awful  ac- 
count which  we  are  to  give  for  it. 

I  hope.  Sirs,  we  have  the  testimony  of  our  own  consciences 
before  God,  that  we  do  not,  on  these  solemn  occasions,  content 
ourselves  with  cold  essays  on  mere  moral  subjects,  however 
acute,  philosopiiical,  or  polite;  nor  make  it  our  main  business, 
in  our  sermons,  to  seek  the  ornament  and  elegance  of  words,  the 
refinements  of  criticism,  or  the  nice  arrangement  of  various 
complex  and  abstruse  argumentations.     When  we  speak,  in  the 
name  and  presence  of  God,  to  immortal  creatures  on  the  borders 
of  eternity,  I  hope  we  entertain  our  hearers  with  plain,  serious, 
and  lively  discourses,  on  the  most  important  doctrines  of  Chris- 
tianity, in  their  due  connection,  and  their  relation  to  each  other, 
in  such  a  manner,  as  we,  on  mature  consideration,  do  verily  be- 
heve  may  have  the  most  effectual  tendency  to  bring  them  to  God 
through  Christ,  and  to  ])roduce  and  promote  in  their  hearts, 
through  the  divine  blessing,  the  great  work  of  regeneration  and 
holiness.     I  hope  and  trust,  that  God  is  our  witness,  and  that  the 
people  of  our  charge  arc  witnesses,  that  not  one  of  those  that 
diligently  attend  on  our  ministry,  though  but  for  a  few  succeed- 
ing sabbaths,  can  fail  to  learn  the  way  of  salvation,  as  exhibited 
in  the  gospel ;  and  that  we  speak  of  it,  as  those  that  are  ia 
earnest,  and  do  from  our  very  souls  desire  to  answer  the  great 
ends  of  our  ministry,  in  the  prosperity  of  the  Redeemer's  king- 
dom, and  the  eternal  happiness  of  those  invaluable  souls  whom 
he  has  committed  to  our  care.     Otherwise  we  may  incur  great 
and  fatal  guilt,  though  public  worship  be  constantly  and  decent- 
ly carried  on,  and  though  a  reasonable  proportion  of  time  be  em- 
ployed in  it,  with  numerous  and  attentive  auditories  ;  to  whom 


244  MEETING  OF  MINISTERS  AT  KETTERING.  SeR.  IV. 

we  may  be  As  the  lovely  song  of  one  that  has  a  pleasant  voice  *, 
while  in  the  ears  of  God,  for  want  of  that  fervent  charity  which 
should  dictate  and  animate  all,  we  are  but  as  Sounding  brass,  or 
as  a  tinkling  cymbal  f. 

But  granting,  as  I  would  willingly  suppose,  and  as  with  re- 
lation to  you,  my  brethren,  I  do  firmly  believe,  all  these  reflec- 
tions can  be  answered  to  satisfaction  :  here  is  indeed  a  part  of 
your  duty  honourably  performed,  and  an  important  part  of  it 
too.  But  is  that  part,  though  ever  so  important,  to  be  substitut- 
ed for  the  whole?  The  diligent  inspection  of  our  flock,  pastoral 
visits,  the  observation  of  the  religious  state  of  families,  personal 
exhortations,  admonitions,  and  cautions,  by  word  or  letter,  as 
y^rudence  shall  direct,  the  catechising  children,  the  promoting 
religious  associations  among  the  younger  and  the  elder  people  of 
our  charge,  and  the  strict  and  resolute  exercise  of  discipline  in 
the  several  churches  over  which  we  preside;  are  these  no  parts 
of  our  oflice?  Will  we  say  it  with  our  dying  breath,  will  we 
maintain  it  before  the  tribunal  of  Christ,  that  they  did  not  belong 
to  the  christian  ministry  ?  And  if  not,  will  our  care  in  other 
parts  of  it,  be  allowed  as  a  sufficient  excus©  before  him,  for  our 
total  omission  of  these  ?  We  have  preached,  and  prayed,  and 
administered  the  sacraments.  These  things  we  should  indeed 
have  done;  and  when  we  had  taken  the  care  of  congregations 
upon  us,  we  could  hardly  avoid  it ;  but  surely  our  own  con- 
sciences will  now,  or  hereafter,  tell  us,  that  we  ought  not  to  have 
left  the  others  undoneX^  But  we  may  perhaps  for  a  while  elude 
the  conviction,  by  pleading, 

2.  That  the  care  of  particular  persons  more  properly  be- 
longs to  others;  and  especially,  to  heads  of  families,  w^ho  have 
more  opportunities  of  being  serviceable  to  those  under  their 
charge,  and  indeed  have  the  most  immediate  concern  in  them. 

It  certainly  does.  But  does  it  belong  to  them  alone  ?  Or 
if  it  did,  do  not  they  belong  to  us,  and  to  our  care  ?  And  is  it 
not  the  part  of  every  superior  officer  of  a  society  to  see  to  it, 
that  the  subaltern  officers  be  careful  and  diligent  in  the  discharge 
of  their  duty?  And  in  this  case,  are  we  to  take  it  for  granted, 
that  in  our  respective  congregations  heads  of  families  are  of 
course  so  ?  That  they  pray  in  their  families ;  that  they  read  the 
scriptures,  and  other  good  books  there,  especially  on  the 
evening  of  the  Lord's  day;  that  they  catechise  their  children, 
and  solemnly  press  upon  them,  and  upon  their  servants,  the 
serious  care  of  practical  religion  ?    Are  we  roundly  to  conclude, 

*  Ezck.  xxxiii.  32.  f  1  Cor.  xiii,  1.  +  Mat.  xxili.  23. 


Evil  and  Danger  of  neglecting  Souls.  245 

•without  any  /"arther  enquiry,  tliat  all  this  is  done;  and  done  in 
so  diligent,  and  so  prudent  a  manner  '  And  that  there  is  no 
need  oi'any  pariicular  exhortations,  instruetions,  or  admonitions 
from  ns  ?  Would  to  God,  there  were  any  one  congregation  in 
the  whole  kingdom,  of  wiiich  this  might  reasonably  be  presum- 
ed to  be  the  case  !  But  if  it  were  indeed  so,  would  not  our  con- 
currence with  those  wise  and  pious  heads  of  fan)ilies,  in  so  good, 
but  so  diiHcult  a  work,  encourage  and  strengthen  them  to  pro- 
secute it  with  greater  cheerfulness  and  vigour?  Would  it  not 
fjuiiken,  both  their  cares,  and  their  endeavours?  And  might  it 
not,  by  the  divine  blessing,  promote  the  success  of  them  ?  iMight 
it  not  gain  on  the  minds  of  children  and  servants,  to  see  that  Ave 
did  not  think  it  beneath  us,  tenderly  to  care  for  their  souls  ?  And 
might  not  our  tender  and  condescending  regards  to  them  in 
private,  Avhile  it  convinced  them  how  well  we  meant  them,  ren- 
der our  public  labours  more  acceptable  and  useful  to  them  ? 
Now  we  well  know,  that  the  children  and  servants  of  the  pre- 
sent generation,  are  the  hopes  of  the  next;  as  they  are  probably 
those,  that  in  their  turns  will  be  parents  and  governors  of  fami- 
lies ;  whose  children  and  servants,  when  they  arise,  will  one 
way  or  another  feel  tlie  happy,  or  unhappy  consequences,  of 
our  fidelity,  or  neglect?  And  when  such  aiiairs  are  in  question, 
shall  we  allow  ourselves  to  plead, 

3.  That  we  have  so  much  other  business,  and  such  various 
engagements  of  a  different  kind,  that  we  cannot  possibly  attend 
to  these  things. 

But  give  me  leave,  my  brethren,  to  observe,  that  the  ques- 
tion here,  is  not,  whether  we  can  find  out  other  agreeable  ways 
of  filling  up  our  time  ?  But  whether  those  other  ways  are  more 
important,  and  whether  that  dilVerent  manner  of  employing  it, 
be  more  acceptable  in  the  sight  of  God,  and  will  turn  to  abetter 
account  in  that  great  day,  when  our  conduct  is  to  be  finally  re- 
viewed by  him  ?  We  must  indeed  have  our  seasons  of  recreation, 
and  our  seasons  of  study  :  but  it  will  easily  appear,  that  no  re- 
gards to  either  of  these  will  vindicate,  or  excuse  our  neglect  of 
the  private  duties  we  owe  to  Our  flock,  in  giving  diligence  to 
know  their  state*,  and  being  careful  to  Teach  them  not  only 
publicly,  hwtfrom  house  to  house  f. 

Recreation,  to  be  sure,  can  afford  no  just  apology  for  neg- 
lecting it ;  since  to  follow  this  emplovment  prudently,  might  be 
made  a  kind  of  recreation  from  the  labours  of  a  sedentary  and 

*  Prov.  xjtvii.  23.  f  Acts  xx.  20. 

VOL.  III.  11  h 


246  MEETING  OF  MINISTERS  AT  KETTERING.  SeR.  IV. 

Studious  life.  A  grave  and  severe  recreation  !  you  will  perhaps 
say.  Grave  indeed  I  will  acknowledge  it  to  be;  but  not  there- 
fore to  a  serious  mind  less  delightful.  So  much  of  those  two 
noblest  and  sweetest  exercises  of  the  soul,  devotion,  and  benevo- 
lence, would  naturally  mingle  with  these  pious  cares  and  tender 
addresses,  as  would  renew  the  strength  which  had  been  exhaust- 
ed in  our  studious  hours,  and  the  manly,  shall  I  say,  or  rather  the 
godlike  joy  it  would  administer,  would  quite  discountenance 
that  M'hich  we  find  m  the  cray  indulgences  of  a  humourous  and 
facetious  conversation  ;  though  I  see  no  necessity  of  forbidding 
that,  at  proper  intervals,  so  far  as  its  cheerfulness  is  consistent 
■with  wisdom  and  religion.  And  I  am  sure,  that  if  we  can  turn 
our  seasons  of  recess  from  study  to  so  profitable  an  account,  as 
would  be  answered  by  the  duties  which  j'ou  know  I  have  now  in 
view,  it  will  be  a  most  happy  art,  well  becoming  one,  who  is  truly 
prudent,  and  would  therefore  husband  his  time  to  the  best  pur- 
poses for  eternity  ;  in  which  view  it  is  evident,  that  the  smallest 
fragments  of  it,  like  the  dust  of  gold,  or  jewels,  are  too  valuable 
to  be  lost. 

The  great  proportion  of  time  to  be  given  to  our  studies, 
will,  no  doubt,  be  urged,  as  a  yet  more  material  excuse.  But 
here  it  is  obvious  to  reply,  that  a  prudent  care  in  the  duties  I 
am  noAv  recommending,  is  very  consistent  with  our  employing  a 
great  deal  of  time  in  study  ;  and  particularly,  with  our  giving  it, 
what  I  hope  we  shall  always  learn  to  value  and  redeem,  our 
morning  hours,  to  which  some  of  the  evening  may  also  be  added. 
And  if  these  will  not  generally  suffice,  give  me  leave  to  ask, 
ivhat  are  those  important  studies,  that  would  thus  ingross  the 
whole  of  our  time,  excepting  what  is  given  to  devotion,  and  to 
what  is  generally  called  recreation  ? 

I  hav-e  had  some  little  taste  of  the  pleasures  of  literature  my- 
self, and  have  some  reason  to  hope,  I  shall  not  be  suspected  of 
any  prejudice  against  it;  nor  am  I  at  all  inclined  to  pass  those 
contemptuous  censures  on  the  various  branches  of  it,  in  which 
ignorance  and  sloth  are  often,  with  strange  stupidity,  or  with 
yet  stranger  assurance,  seeking,  and  it  may  be  finding,  a  refuge. 
But  on  such  an  occasion  I  must  freely  say,  I  fear  many  things, 
Avhich  employ  a  very  large  portion  of  our  retired  time,  are 
studied  rather  as  polite  amusements  to  our  own  minds,  than  as 
things  which  seem  to  have  any  apparent  subserviency  to  the  glory 
of  God,  and  the  edification  of  our  flock;  and,  consequently,  I 
fear,  they  will  stand  as  articles  of  abatement,  if  1  may  so  ex- 
press it,  in  our  final  account;  and  when  they  come  to  be  Made 
manifest ,  will  be  found  works  that  shall  be  burnt,  as  beina  no 


Evil  and  Danger  of  neglecting  Souls.  247 

"better,  in  the  divine  esteem,  than  Ziwod,  hay,  and  stubble*,  how 
beautifully  soever  they  may  have  been  varnished,  or  gilded  over. 

Let  me  here,  in  partieular,  address  myself  to  my  younger 
brethren,  with  a  frankness  which  may  be  to  them  more  excus- 
able, while  I  urge  them  to  a  christian  self-denial  upon  this  head, 
%vhere  perhaps  it  may  be,  of  all  others,  the  most  difficult.  I  do 
not  apprehend  persons  of  your  approved  character  to  be  in  dan- 
ger of  any  other  kind  of  luxury  and  intemperance ;  but  there  is, 
if  you  will  permit  me  so  to  call  it,  a  sort  of  refined  intellectual 
luxury,  with  regard  to  which  I  am  jealous  over  you,  lest  you. 
should  be  seduced  into  it,  or  rather  lest  souie  of  you  be  already 
insnared  by  its  specious  charms, 

I  would  not,  my  young  friends,  be  so  severe  and  cruel,  as 
to  desire  you  should  be  confined  from  that  high  and  elegant  en- 
tertainment, which  a  person  of  genius  and  taste  will  find  in  the 
masterly  writings  of  the  ancient  orators,  historians,  and  poets  ; 
or  in  those  polite  and  elegant  pieces,  which  our  own,  and  other 
modern  languages,  may  afford  ;  from  which  the  wise  man,  and 
the  christian,  will  learn  many  things  of  solid  use,  as  well  as  mat- 
ters of  most  delightful  amusement.  Neither  would  I  pretend  to 
forbid  some  mathematical  and  philosophical  researches,  into 
which  you  are  initiated  in  your  academical  course,  and  with 
"which  you  will  do  well  to  retain  and  improve  your  acquaintance 
in  the  progress  of  life,  both  to  strengthen  your  rational  faculties 
by  that  strenuous  exercise,  and  to  improve  your  knowledge  of 
The  works  of  God,  which  will  appear  ^rec/,  wonderful  and  de- 
lightful, in  proportion  to  the  degree  of  sagacity  and  diligence 
■with  which  they  may  be  searched  out\.  But  it  is  one  thing  to 
taste  of  these  poignant  and  luscious  fruits,  and  another  to  feed 
and  live  upon  them : — One  thing  to  make  the  most  noble  and 
substantial  parts  of  them  our  entertainment  and  refreshment ; 
and  quite  another  to  make  their  circumstantial  curiositi&s  the 
chief  business  of  our  study,  and  the  favourite  subjects  of  our 
most  attentive  enquiry.  That  true  greatness  and  elevation  of 
mind,  which  the  gospel  is  so  admirably  calculated  to  produce, 
would  leach  us  a  much  sublimer  science  :  and  if  for  the  sake  of 
these  little  things,  we  neglect  to  pray  for  those  whom  God  hath 
committed  to  our  rare,  to  enquire  into  their  religious  state,  to 
pursue  them  with  suitable  applications  and  addresses,  the  time 
will  come  when  we  shall  assuredly  own,  that  we  dearly  purchased 
the  most  refined  pleasures  they  could  possibly  give  us :  not  to 

*  1  Cor.  iii.  12,  15.  t  P.sal.  cxi.  2. 

Hh2 


248  MEETING  OF  MTOISTERS  AT  KETTERING.  SeR.  IV. 

sa}-^,  how  much  greater  and  nobler  pleasure  we  even  now  resign, 
while  our  duty  is  neglected.     Oh,  my  brethren,  let  us  consider 
how  fast   we  are,   as  it  were,  posting  through  this  dying  life 
which  God  has  assigned  us,  in  which  we  are  to  manage  concerns 
of  infinite  moment ;  how  fast  we  are  passing  on  to  the  immedi- 
ate presence  of  our  Lord,  to  give  up  our  account  to  him.     You 
must  judge  for  yourselves  ;  but  permit  me  to  say,  that  for  my 
own  part,  I  would  not  for  ten  thousand  worlds  be  that  man,  who 
when  God  shall  ask  him  at  last,   how  he  has  employed  most  of 
his  time,  while  he  continued  a  minister  in  his  church,  and  had 
the  care  of  souls,  should  be  obliged  to   reply,  *'  Lord,  I  have 
restored  many  corrupted  passages  in  the  ancient  classics,    and 
illustrated  many  which  were  before  obscure ;  I  have  cleared  up 
many  intricacies  in  chronology,   or  geography  ;  I  have  solved 
many  perplexed  cases  in  algebra  ;  I  have  refined  on  astronomi- 
cal   calculations  ;    and    left   behind   me   many  sheets  on  these 
curious  and  difficult  subjects,  where  the  figures  and  characters 
are  ranged  with  the  greatest  exactness  and  truth  :    and  these  are 
the  employments,  in  which  my  life  has  been  worn  out,  while 
preparations  for  the  pulpit,  or  ministrations  in  it,  did  not  de- 
mand mine  immediate  attendance."  Oh,  Sirs,  as  for  the  Waters 
which  are  drawn  from  these  springs,  how  sweetly  soever  they 
may  taste  to  a  curious  mind  that  thirsts  for  them,  or  to  an  ambi- 
tious mind  which  thirsts  for  the  applause  they  sometimes  procure, 
I  fear,  there  is  often  reason  to  pour  them  out  before  the  Lord*, 
with  rivers  of  penitential  tears,   as  the  blood  of  souls  which  have 
been  forgotten,  while  these  trifles  have  been  remembered  and 
pursuedf. 

*  2  Sain,  xxiji.  16,  17. 
f  Since  these  papers  have  been  prepared  for  the  press,  I  have  happily  met 
with  the  Rev.  Mr.  Lcechmaii's  excellent  Sermon,  on  the  Temper,  Character,  and 
Duty  of  a  iWimster  of  tlie  Gospel,  preached  before  the  synod  of  Glasgow,  and  Air, 
April  7th,  1741 ;  which,  so  ftir  as  I  am  capable  of  judging,  on  an  attentive  and  re- 
peated perusal,  is  one  of  the  most  masterly  performances  of  the  kind,  which  ever 
fell  into  my  hands.  I  am  an  entire  stranger  to  the  author,  but  hope  this  sermon, 
extorted  as  I  am  told,  from  an  excessive  modesty,  by  the  earnest  importunity  of 
his  brethren,  will  meet  witli  such  just  regard,  as  may  encourage  him  to  enrich 
our  age  and  language  with  many  other  discourses,  in  the  spirit  and  manner,  which 
he  has  there  so  admirably  described  and  exemplified.  I  am  sure  my  reader  will  be 
pleased  with  the  following  specimen,  which  I  could  wish  deeply  transcribed  on  every 
heart,  and  especially  on  my  own.  "  A  just  sense  of  the  important  relations  we 
stand  in  to  our  respective  flocks,  and  a  genuine  feeling  of  that  tender  affection  which  is 
due  to  them,  won't  it  allow  us  to  hesitate  one  moment,  whether  that  part  of  our 
time  is  most  worthily  employed,  which  is  taken  up  in  doing  real  offices  of  friendship 
anion"- them  ;  or  that  part  of  it,  which  is  spent  in  perusing  the  finest  writings  of  the 
"■reatest  "-enius  that  ever  appeared  in  the  world,  or  in  pohshing  any  little  compositions 
of  our  own.  Is  the  airanging  of  words,  the  beautifying  of  language,  or  even  storing 
our  own  minds  with  the  divinest  sentiments,  an  employment  of  equal  dignity  and 


Evil  and  Danger  of  neglecting  Souls.  249 

Nor  am  I  without  inv  fears,  that  a  <;rcat  deal  of  studious 
time  is  lost,  in  an  ovor-artful  composition  of  sermons,  and  in 
giviii<|[  them  such  polish  and  ornament,  as  docs  not  conchicc  to 
their  usefuhiess,  nor  any  way  balance  tlie  labour  employed  itt 
the  work.  If  we  do  not  diliti^ently  watch  over  our  hearts,  this 
will  be  an  incense,  olfered  to  our  own  vanity,  "which  will  render 
our  sacrifice  less  acceptable  to  God,  however  we  and  our  hea- 
rers may  be  delighted  with  the  perfume.  Greater  plainness 
and  simplicitv  of  speech  miglit  often  be  more  useful  to  the  bulk 
of  our  auditor V,  anil  perhaps  more  acceptable  too  ;  and  on  the 
Avliole,  it  might  be  at  least  eijually  beautiful.  For  all  that  are 
not  children  in  understanding  know,  that  there  is  a  natural  and 
nianlv  kind  of  eloquence,  arising  from  a  deep  sense  of  the  sub- 
ject, and  an  ardent  love  to  the  souls  of  our  hearers,  whieli  is, 
of  all  others,  the  most  to  be  desired  and  esteemed.  And  though 
such  discourses  may  be  attended  with  some  little  inaccuracies, 
and  mav  want  something  of  the  varnish  which  exacter  prepara- 
tion might  set  on  ;  yet  surely,  where  a  habit  of  speaking  is 
formed  by  proper  application,  and  the  materials  of  a  sermon 
are  well  digested  in  the  mind,  it  will  rise  above  a  reasonable 
contempt.  And  if  where  exacter  preparation  is  made,  a  care 
to  preserve  those  niceties  of  composition  deaden  the  manner  of 
the  deliver}',  and  take  off  either  its  solemnity,  its  vigour,  or  its 
tenderness,  I  cannot  but  apprehend  it  as  injurious  to  the  cha- 
racter of  the  orator,  as  to  that  of  the  christian.  The  most 
celebrated  speakers  in  judicial  courts,  and  in  senates,  have,  in 
all  nations  and  ages,  pursued  the  method  I  now  recommend  ; 
and  the  most  acceptable  preachers  have  successfully  attempted 
it.  On  the  whole,  permit  me  to  say,  it  would  be  a  fatal  thing, 
to  barter  away  the  souls  of  our  people,  for  the  highest  and  just- 
est  reputation  of  speaking  well  ;  yet  I  fear  there  are  many,  who 
in  this  view  do  it,  F'or  nought,  and  have  not  in  any  sense 
increased  their  wealth  by  the  price f.  But  perhaps,  after  all, 
the  most  plausible  excuse  may  be  that,  which  1  have  reserved 
for  the  last  I  shall  now  mention,  viz. 

jinportance  in  itself,  rv  equally  pleasant  on  reflection,  with  that  of  composin<]f  dif- 
ferences, or  extin;^iiisliiii'4:  animosities,  scarcliins;  out  modest  and  indigent  merit  and 
relievinjir  it,  comforting  a  melancholy  heart,  givin;^  counsel  to  a  peqilexed  mind, 
suspending  pain  by  our  sympathy  and  presence,  though  it  were  but  for  a  moment, 
suggesting  to  ail  urifurni>^^hed  mind  proper  materials  for  meditation  in  tlv  time  of 
distress,  or  laying  hold  of  a  favourable  opportunity  of  conveying  valuable  instruc- 
tions, and  religious  impressions,  to  a  mind  little  susceptible  of  them  on  other  occa- 
sions ?  There  is  no  need  of  saying  any  thing  in  contirmation  of  this;  it  was  tiie 
glorious  character  of  Jesus,  tliat  //.■  xv«/  about  doin-;  g'.'od.'^ 

*  Ps.  xliv.  li. 


250  MEETING  OF  MINISTERS  AT  KETTERING.  SeR.  IV. 

4.  That  the  attempts  I  am  proposing  might  displease  those 
that  attend  upon  our  ministry  ;  upon  which  account  it  may- 
seem,  both  with  respect  to  them  and  ourselves,  a  necessary 
precaution  of  prudence  to  decline  them. 

This  is  the  Lion  in  the  street^';  which,  slothful  as  we  too 
naturally  are,  we  often  plead  for  stayino;  within  doors,  when  our 
duty  calls  us  abroad  on  these  charitable  errands  :  But  I  hope, 
on  a  nearer  approach  it  Avill  not  be  found  so  fierce,  or  so  invin- 
cible, as  a  timorous  imagination  paints  it. 

Methinks,  brethren,  we  make  a  very  unfavourable  repre- 
sentation of  the  temper  and  character,  not  to  say,  of  the  breed- 
ino-  and  understanding  of  our  people,  when  we  so  readily  take 
it  for  granted,  they  will  be  displeased  with  us,  for  addressing 
those  exhortations  to  them  in  private,  which  they  seem  so  de- 
sirous of  receiving  from  us  in  public.  Let  us  ask  our  own 
consciences,  would  they  all  be  displeased  ?  If  not,  the  displea- 
sure it  might  give  to  some,  can  be  no  excuse  for  neglecting  it 
with  regard  to  others.  And  are  we  indeed  so  miserable,  as  to 
be  situated  among  whole  congregations,  in  whom  ignorance, 
pride,  and  profanencss  prevail  to  such  a  degree,  that  a  minister, 
who  would  be  welcome  among  them,  if  became  only  as  a  common 
visitant,  should  be  looked  upon  Avith  contempt  or  indignation, 
when  he  came  expressly  as  a  friend  to  their  eternal  interests, 
and  would  step  a  little  out  of  the  common  way  for  their  salva- 
tion ?  If  this  were  really  our  case,  Avho  would  not  say  with  the 
prophet,  Oh  that  I  had  in  the  wilderness  a  lodging  place  of  way- 
faring men,  though  it  were  but  such  a  wretched  cave,  as 
travellers  find  in  a  desart,  that  I  might  leave  my  -people,  and  go 
from  them  ;  for  they  be  all  an  assembly  of  treacherous  me7if! — 
Of  treacherous  wen  indeed,  if  while  they  call  themselves  chris- 
tians and  protestants,  yea,  and  profess  to  separate  from  their 
brethren  on  rehgious  principles,  they  should  think  themselves 
injured  and  afiVonted  by  the  exhortations  of  their  ministers, 
while  they  would  JVarm  every  man,  and  teach  every  man  in  all 
wisdom,  that  they  might  present  them  perfect  in  Christ  %■  But 
blessed  be  God,  bad  as  the  world  is,  there  is  no  room  to  imagine 
this  to  be  the  case,  or  any  thing  like  it.  Perhaps  while  we  are 
delaying,  and  coldly  deliberating  about  it,  many  lively  chris- 
tians under  our  care  are  earnestly  praying,  that  God  may  put 
such  a  thing  into  our  hearts  :  And  should  we  attempt  it,  I  doubt 
not,  but  they  would  Receive  us  as  an  angel  of  God,  or  even  as 
Christ  himself^;  their  love  to  us  would  be  more  abundantly 

*  Pix)v.  xxvi.  13.    f  Jer.  ix.  2.      +  Col.  i.  23.'     §  Gal.  iv.  14. 


Evil  and  Danger  of  neglecting  Souls.  251 

Confirmed,  and  their  hearts  cemented  in  closer  bonds  than  they 
have  yet  known.  And  many  others  would  at  least  own,  that  we 
acred  in  character,  and  maintained  a  more  apparent  consistency 
of  behaviour,  it'the  alFair  were  properly  conducted. 

Did  Ave  indeed  pretend  to  control  them  in  the  manaj^e- 
mcnt  of  tiieir  temporal  affairs,  or  to  exercise  a  lordly  dominion 
over  their  faith  and  their  conscience,  they  might  justly  be  dis-  ' 
plciised  :  Or  did  we  craftily  demand,  that  they  should  lay  open 
to  us  the  secrets  of  their  breasts  in  confession,  their  suspicions 
were  pardonable,  and  their  resentments  reasonable.  But  it 
must  be  great  malice  or  folly,  to  suspect  any  design  of  that 
infamous  nature,  from  our  visiting  them  as  pastors,  -with  pions 
exhortations,  and  alFectionate  prayers,  as  those  who  are  con- 
cerned for  them,  and  their  children,  and  servants,  that  their 
Souls  may  prosper  and  be  in  health  *.  A  solicitude  for  the 
health  of  their  bodies  is  esteemed  friendship  and  gratitude,  and 
encjuiries  concerning  it  seem  but  common  decency  :  And  can  it 
offend  them,  to  find  we  are  solicitous  about  that  welfare,  which 
is  infinitely  more  important,  and,  by  virtue  of  our  office,  our 
peculiar  charge  ? 

Yes,  you  will  sav,  in  one  instance  it  will  displease  :  For 
when  "we  are  obliged  to  blame  any  thing  which  we  see  amiss 
in  them,  their  pride  will  naturally  take  fire  on  such  an  occa- 
sion ;  and  perhaps  those,  whom  we  have  thought  our  best 
frienils,  will  Become  our  enemies  ij  we  Avill  venture  to  tell 
them  such  disagreeable  trutIis-\^  as  fidelity  may  extort  in 
some  circumstances.  This  is,  alter  all,  the  main  difficulty  ; 
and  as  I  cannot  wonder  if  it  impress  our  minds,  I  pray  God  to 
forgive  the  perverseness  of  those,  that  make  it  so  great.  Yet 
surely,  it  is  possible  to  manage  reproof  so,  as  that,  in  most 
instances,  it  shall  oblige,  rather  than  provoke.  If  we  tell  our 
hearers  of  their  faults  privately  ;  and  if  we  do  it  with  ten- 
derness and  respect :  If  we  shew  by  our  manner  of  speaking, 
that  what  we  say  proceeds  from  an  humble  fear,  lest  we  should 
displease  God,  betray  our  trust,  and  injure  their  souls  by  the 
neglect :  If  at  the  same  time  our  behaviour  to  them  be,  as  it 
surely  should  be,  constantly  obliging  :  If  we  do  our  utmost,  so 
far  as  truth  and  justice  will  permit,  to  guard  and  shelter  their 
character  in  the  world  ;  and  bring  our  complaints  of  them,  to 
none  but  themselves  :  Bad  as  the  world  is,  I  believe  few  will 
quarrel  with  us  upon  this  account ;  but  we  shall  see,  as  Solomon 
observed,  that  He  who  rehuketh  a  man^  will  afterwards  find 
more  favour y  than  he  that  Jlatteretk  with  his  tongue  I . 

*  3  Joha  ver.  2.  t  Gal.  iv,  1 G.  |  Prov.  xxviii.  23. 


252  MEETING  GF  MINISTERS  AT  KETTERING.  SeR.  IV. 

But  supposing  the  worst  that  can  happen,  that  folly  and 
wickedness  should  prevail  so  far,  over  all  the  tender  and  prudent 
address  of  the  friend  and  the  pastor,  as  to  render  us  evil  for  so 
great  a  good,  and  hatred  for  so  generous,  and  so  self-denying  an 
instance  of  love,  how  could  that  hatred  be  expressed  ?  Seldom  in 
any  more  formidable  manner,  than  by  withdrawing  from  our 
ministry,  and  discontinuing  Avhat  they  have  done  for  our  sup- 
port ;  for  the  revihngs  of  persons  of  such  a  character,  can  sel- 
dom hurt  any  but  themselves.  Now  I  hope,  brethren,  we  shall 
always  retain  so  mucli  of  a  manly,  not  to  say  a  christian  spirit,  as 
to  chuse  to  retrench  some  of  our  expences,  to  forego  some  of 
the  entertainments  of  life,  to  cast  ourselves  and  families  on  pro- 
vidence, or  even,  if  it  were  necessary,  to  subsist  in  an  honest 
and  creditable  poverty,  by  the  daily  labour  of  our  own  hands  ; 
much  rather  than  meanly  to  crouch  to  such  haughty  sinners, 
and  sacrifice  duty,  honour,  and  conscience,  to  the  arrogance  of 
their  petulant  temper.  Let  us  fear  God  as  we  ought,  and  we 
shall  find  nothing  to  fear  from  them  ;  but  should  be  willing  to 
imitate  the  fidelity  and  courage  of  the  Baptist,  though  the 
wrath  of  a  king  might  be  pro\-oked  by  it,  and  imprisonment  or 
martyrdom  might  be  its  reward. 

I  hope,  such  considerations  as  these  may  effectually  ob- 
viate the  excuses,  which  indolence  or  cowardice  may  be  ready 
to  form,  for  our  neglect  of  men's  souls  ;  especially  when  we 
go  on, 

ir.  To  consider  the  great  evil  of  that  neglect,  a,s  it  ap- 
pears in  the  sight  of  God,  notwithstanding  all  these  excuses, 
or  any  of  the  like  kind,  with  which  we  may  endeavour  to 
palliate  it. 

But  who  can  fully  represent  it,  as  it  appears  to  his  capa- 
cious and  all-penetrating  view  ?  What  human  mind  can  con- 
ceive the  infinite  evil  ?  It  is  not.  Sirs,  a  subject,  on  which  to 
display  the  wantonness  of  wit,  or  the  colourings  of  artificial 
harangue  :  A  terrible  kind  of  solemnity  attends  it,  and  J  at- 
tempt the  display  of  it  with  fear  and  trembling.  If  it  seems 
a  light  matter  to  us,  to  forbear  to  deliver  those  that  in  this  sense 
are  drawn  unto  death,  and  them  that  are  thus  ready  to  perish ^ 
consider,  my  brethren,  and  oh  may  my  own  conscience  alwa3's 
consider, — what  the  death  of  the  soul  is  j — how  many  wretched 
souls  are  continually  dying  around  us  ?— what  gracious  provi- 
sion God  has  made  to  prevent  it ; — and  what  peculiar  obliga- 
tions we  are  under,  to  labour  to  the  utmost  for  the  preservation 
of  their  lives. 

1.  Let  us  think,  *'  what  the  death  of  the  soul  is." 


Evil  and  Danger  of  neglecting  Souls.  253 

The  apostle  James  intimates,  that  it  is  a  thouglit  of  great 
importance,  when  lie  says,  Jle  (hat  shall  turn  a  sinner  from  the 
error  of  his  xvay,  shall  save  a  soul  from  death  *  ;  As  il^'  he  had 
said,  do  but  reHect  w  liat  that  is,  and  you  will  find  your  success 
is  its  own  reward.  We  well  know,  that  to  save  a  soul  from  deaths 
is  not  merely  to  prevent  the  extinction  of  its  being,  though  even 
that  were  much  ;  but  to  prevent  its  ])ositivc,  its  lasting,  its 
eternal  misery.  It  is  to  prevent  its  being  slain  by  the  pointed 
and  flaming  SAvord  of  the  divine  justice. 

It  is  a  tragical  spectacle,  to  behold  a  criminal  dying  by  hu- 
man laws,  even  where  the  methods  of  execution  are  gentle  ;  as, 
through  the  lenity  of  ours,  they  generally  arc  amongst  us  :  And 
I  doubt  not,  but  it  would  grieve  us  to  the  heart,  to  see  any  who 
Jiad  been  under  our  ministerial  care,  in  that  deplorable  circum- 
stance. But  oh,  how  much  more  deeply  must  it  j)ierce  our 
very  souls,  to  see  them  led  forth  to  that  last  dreadful  execution, 
with  those  of  whom  Christ  shall  say,  As  for  these  mine  enemies^ 
who  would  not  that  I  should  reign  over  them^  bring  them  forth  ^ 
and  slay  them  before  me  f  /  Oh  how  will  it  wound  us,  to  hear 
the  beginning  of  those  cries  and  wailings,  which  must  never 
end  !  How  shall  we  endure  the  reflection,  *'  These  wretches 
are  perishing  for  ever,  in  part  because  I  would  not  take  any 
pains  to  attempt  their  salvation  !"  And  is  this  so  strange  a 
supposition,  that  some  once  under  our  ministry  may  then 
perish  in  our  sight  ?  Would  to  God,  that  it  were  less  proba- 
ble !    But,  on  the  contrary,  let  us 

2.  Consider,  "  how  many  souls,  precious  and  immortal  as 
tiie}'^  are,  seem  to  be  continually  dying  around  us." 

Are  there  but  few,  that  miscarry  r  Let  Peter  inform  us, 
when  he  says,  \h.it  the  Righteous  scarcely  are  saved  %.  Yea, 
let  our  Lord  himself  inform  us,  when  he  says.  Strait  is  the 
gate,  and  narrow  is  the  way,  that  leadeth  unto  life,  and  few 
there  be  that  find  it ;  whereas  Wide  is  the  gate,  and  broad  is  the 
way,  that  leadeth  to  destruction,  and  many  there  be  that  go  ui 
thereat^.  We  grieve  to  see  epidemical  distempers  prevailing 
around  us  ;  we  are  ready,  as  providence  calls  us,  to  visit  the 
sick  and  the  dying  ;  and  could  take  little  pleasure  in  our  own 
health,  if  we  did  not  endeavour  to  succour  them,  as  we  have 
opportunity.  But  let  us  look  round,  and  see,  whether  that 
distemper,  Avhich  threatens  the  death  of  souls,  be  not  epidemical 
indeed.     With  all  the  allowances,  which  that  charity  can  make, 

*  Jam.  V.  20,         f  Luke  xix.  27.  *  1  Pet.  iv.  18.  §  Mat.  Vii.  13,  U- 

VOL.   HI.  I  i 


254  MhETlNG  OF  MINISTERS  AT  KETTERING.  SeR.  IV, 

which  Believethall  things ,  and  hopeth  all  things*,  which  it  can, 
with  any  shadow  of  reason,  hope  and  believe  ;  must  we  not  own, 
there  are  marks  of  eternal  death  on  many  t  And  that  there  are 
many  more,  in  whom  we  can  see  nothing  which  looks  hke  a  token 
of  spiritual  life  ?  So  that  the  best  we  can  say  of  them  is,  that  pos- 
sibly there  may  be  some  latent  sparks  of  it  concealed  in  the  heart, 
which  as  yet  produce  no  effect  to  the  honour  of  their  profession,  . 
or  the  benefit  of  the  world.  In  the  mean  time,  sinners  are  spread- 
ing the  infection  of  their  infidelity,  and  their  vices,  far  and 
wide  ;  as  if,  like  some  illustrious  wretches  that  have  been  mis- 
called heroes,  they  accounted  the  destruction  of  numbers  their 
glory.  Can  we  behold  such  a  contagion  spreading  itself  even 
in  the  christian  church,  which  ought  to  be  healthful  as  the  regi- 
ons of  paradise,  and  not  bitterly  lament  it  before  God  ?  Or  can 
w^e  seriously  lament  it,  and  not  endeavour  its  redress  ?  Espe- 
cially when  we  consider, 

3.  "  What  gracious  provision  God  hath  made  to  prevent 
their  death." 

Is  there  not  indeed  Bdlni  in  Gilead  ?  Is  there  not  a  physi- 
cian there  f  ?  Even  this  glorious  gospel  of  the  blessed  God, 
whose  efficacy  we  have  so  often  heard  of,  and  seen  ?  And  shall 
thev  yet  perish  ?  Adored  be  the  riches  of  divine  grace,  we 
know,  and  it  is  infinitely  the  most  important  part  of  all  our 
knowledge,  that  there  is  a  rich  and  free  pardon  proclaimed,  to 
all  that  will  sue  it  out,  and  accept  the  benefit  in  a  proper,  that 
IS,  a  grateful  manner;  for  cordial  acceptance,  and  real  grati- 
tude, is  all  it  demands.  One  would  expect,  the  tidings  should 
be  as  life  to  the  dead :  But  we  see,  how  coldly  they  are  received  ; 
how  shamefully  they  are  slighted  ;  how  generally,  yea,  how 
obstinately,  they  are  rejected.  And  what  is  the  consequence  ? 
Refusing  to  Believe  on  the  Son  of  God,  they  shall  not  see  life^ 
but  the  wrath  of  God  abideth  oti  themX,  with  an  additional 
weight  of  vengeance,  as  it  well  may.  Now  is  not  this  enough 
to  make  our  very  hearts  bleed,  to  think,  that  immortal  souls 
should  die  under  the  gospel ;  yea,  die  under  aggravated  guilt 
and  rnin  ?  So  that  instead  of  being  any  thing  the  better  for  this 
deliglitful  message  of  peace  and  grace,  they  should  be  for  ever 
the  worse  for  it ;  and  have  reason  to  wish,  throughout  all  eter- 
nity, they  had  never  seen 'the  faces,  nor  heard  the  voices,  of 
those  that  brought  it,  but  had  been  numbered  among  the  sinners 
^f  Tyre  and  Sydon,  of  Sodom  and  Gomorrah  §. 

If  we  do  not,  on  the  express  authority  of  our  Lord,  believe 

*  I  Cor,  xiii.  7.         f  Jer.  viii.  22.         |  John  iii.  36.         §  Mat,  x.  15.  xi.  22. 


Evil  and  Danger  of  neglecting  Souls.  253 

this  to  be  the  case  with  regard  to  impenitent  sinners  under  the 
gospel,  we  are  not  christians  of  the  lowest  chiss.  But  if  we  do 
beheve  it,  and  are  not  affected  with  it,  so  far  as  to  endeavour 
their  recovery,  I  see  not  how  any  regard  to  our  own  temporal 
interest,  or  that  of  others,  can  entitle  us  to  the  character,  either 
of  |)rud -ncc,  or  humatiity  ;  even  though  M-e  had  not  been  distin- 
guished bv  a  public  ofHce  in  the  church,  but  had  passed  through 
life  in  the  station  of  the  obscurest  among  our  hearers.  But  it 
is  impossible  I  should  do  justice  to  my  argument,  if  I  do  not  urge, 

4.  The  consideration  of  "  the  peculiar  oljligations  we  are 
under,  to  endeavour  the  [jreservation  of  souls,  not  only  in  vir- 
tue of  our  experience  as  christians,  but  of  our  office  as  ministers." 

If  we  were  only  to  consider  our  experiences,  as  we  arc 
christians,  if  we  have  any  thing  more  than  the  (Miipty  name,  that 
consideration  might  certainly  atlbrd  us  a  very  tender  argument, 
to  awaken  our  compassion  to  the  souls  of  others.  Wc  know 
what  it  is  ourselves,  to  be  upon  the  brink  of  destruction,  and  in 
that  sad  circumstance  to  obtain  mercy  ;  and  shall  we  not  extend 
mercy  to  others  ?  We  have  looked  to  Jesus,  that  Ave  might  live  ; 
and  shall  we  not  point  him  out  to  them  ?  We  have  tasted  that 
the  Lord  is  gracious  ;  and  shall  we  not  desire  to  communicate 
the  same  happy  relish  of  his  grace  to  all  about  us  ''  He  has 
magnified  the  riches  of  his  pardoning  love  to  us  ;  and  shall  we 
not,  with  David,  resolve,  IVe  will  endeavour  to  teach  trans- 
gressors his  ways,  and  labour  to  promote  the  conversion  of  sin- 
ners unto  him  *  ?  Even  now  is  he  keeping  our  soids  :  His  Visi- 
tation preserves  our  spirits  \  ;  and,  as  it  is  By  his  grace  that 
we  are  what  we  are  %,  it  is  by  Having  obtained  help  from  hiin, 
that  we  continue  unto  this  day  §  ;  And  shall  his  grace,  daily  be- 
stowed upon  us,  be  in  vain  ||  ?  And  shall  not  we  have  Compas- 
sion on  our  fellow-servants,  as  our  Lord  continually  hath  pity 
on  us  %  ? 

But  our  office,  as  ministers,  completes  the  obligation,  when 
we  consider  the  view  in  which  the  word  of  God  rejiresents 
that  olHce,  and  the  view  in  which  we  ourselves  have  received  it. 

As  for  the  former  of  these,  we  are  all  acquainted  with  those 
representations,  and  it  is  greatly  to  be  wished,  for  our  own 
hake,  and  thut  of  our  people,  they  may  be  very  familiar  to  our 
minds.  Let  us  often  listen  with  becoming  attention  to  the  blessed 
God  as  speaking  to  us,  in  those  words  which  he  once  addressed 

*  P.<;il.  li.  13.  t  Job  V.  12.  J  1  C..I.  XV.  10.  §  Alts  .wvi.  '2'2. 

U  1  Cor.  x\\  10.         ^\  Mat.  xviii.  33. 

li  2 


256  MEETING  OF  MINISTERS  AT  KETTERING.  SeR.  IV. 

to  the  prophet  Ezekiel,  that  faithful  approved  servant  of  the 
Lord  ;  Son  of  man,  J  have  made  thee  a  watchman  to  the  house 
of  Israel ;  therefore  hear  the  word  at  my  mouth  and  give  them 
warning  from  me  :  When  I  say  to  the  wicked.  Thou  shalt 
surely  die  -,  and  thou  givest  him  not  warning,  nor  speakest  to 
warn  the  wicked  from  his  evil  way  to  save  his  Ufe  ;  the  same 
wicked  man  shall  die  in  his  iniquity,  but  his  blood  will  i  re- 
quire AT  thine  hand  *.  And  with  apparent  reason  may  the 
ceiitinel  be  punished,  for  the  desolation  which  the  enemy  makes, 
while  instead  of  watching  he  sleeps. 

We  are  elsewhere  represented  as  Men  of  Godf,  as  Soldiers 
of  Jesus  Christ  X,  as  made  Overseers,  or  bishops,  by  the  Holy 
Ghost  ^,  as  under-shepherds  in  subordination  to  Christ,  The 
great  Shepherd  and  Bishop  of  souls  \\  :  And  ought  not  the 
thought,  gentle  as  it  is,  to  awaken  us  to  a  diligent  inspection 
over  the  sheep  he  has  committed  to  our  care  ?  Otherwise,  we 
are  but  images  of  shepherds  ;  as  it  is  represented  in  those  lively 
and  awful  words  of  God  by  Zechariah,  which  methinks  might 
strike  terror  and  trembling  into  many,  who  in  the  eye  of  the 
•world  may  seem  the  happiest  of  their  brethren  :  Woe  to  the  idol 
shepherd,  that  leaveth  thefiock  :  The  sword  of  divine  vengeance, 
which  by  his  negligence  he  has  justly  incuiTed,  shall  be  upon 
his  arm,  and  upon  his  right  eye;  upon  that  eye,  which  should 
have  watched  over  the  flock,  and  that  arm,  which  should  liave 
been  stretched  out  for  its  rescue  ;  so  that  he  shall  be  deprived 
of  those  capacities  he  abused,  and  be  made  miserable  in  propor- 
tion  to  that  abuse  ;  for  His  arm  shall  be  clean  dried  up,  and 
his  right  eye  shall  be  utterly  darkened  ^. 

Such  we  know  are  the  pathetic  views,  which  the  scripture 
gives  us  of  our  office,  and  of  the  guilt  and  danger  attending 
the  neglect. 

I  might,  if  my  time  would  admit,  farther  urge  the  views, 
•with  whicli  we  have  ourselves  received  it,  and  engaged  in  it. 
Most  of  us,  when  we  undertook  the  pastoral  charge,  solemnly 
recorded  our  vows  before  God  ;  "  that  we  M'ould  endeavour, 
with  all  diligence  and  zeal,  to  attend  to  the  services  of  this  holy 
function  ;  that  we  would  be  Instant  in  season,  and  out  of  sea- 
son *"*,  and  labour  to  discharge  the  private,  as  well  as  public 
duties  of  the  ministerial  life."  These  vows  of  God  are  upon  us  ; 
and  every  ordination  of  any  of  our  brethren,  at  which  we  assist, 
adds  a  farther,  and  solemn  obligation  to  them.     Let  us  therefore 

*  Ei-.ek.  iii.  n,  18.  f  1  Tim.  vi.  11.  %  9.  Tin),  li.  3.         §  Actsxx.  23. 

jl  1  P.^Uii.  'i:>.  '     «fi  /.'••■li.  xi.  17.  **  :■  Tim.  iv.  2. 


Evil  and  Danger  of  neglecting  Souls.  257 

take  the  greatest  care,  that  we  do  not  deal  deceitfully,  and  unfaith- 
fully, both  with  God,  and  man.  F^or  it  is  most  evident,  that 
though  the  ne<rlect  of  immortal  souls  is  very  criminal  in  c-very 
rational  creature,  it  is  most  of  all  so  in  us,  who  have  so  deli- 
berately,and  so  publicly  undertaken  the  charge  of  theni. 

It  would  indeed,  in  this  case,  not  only  be  cruelty  to  them, 
but  the  basest  treachery  and  ingratitude  to  our  great  Lord, 
who  has  lodged  such  a  trust  in  our  hands  ;  a  trust,  which 
evidently  lies  so  near  his  heart.  Having  Redeemed  his  peophi 
unth  his  own  blood  *,  he  commits  them  to  our  care  ;  and  having 
acquired  to  himself  the  most  tender  claim  to  our  love  th.it  can 
be  imagined,  he  graciously  requires  this  evidence  of  it,  that  we 
should  Feed  his  sheep,  yea,  his  lambs  f;  so  putting  our'ofHce 
in  the  most  amiable  and  gentle  view,  and  bringing  iu  every 
sentiment  of  grateful  friendship  to  excite  our  diligence  in  it. 

However  we  may  regard  it,  I  doubt  not,  but  our  blessed 
Redeemer  considers  it,  as  the  greatest  favour,  and  honour, 
he  could  have  conferred  upon  us  ;  that  being  returned  to  his 
throne  in  the  heavens,  he  should  chuse  us  to  negociate  his 
cause  and  interest  on  earth,  and  should  consign  over  to  our  im- 
mediate care  that  gospel  he  brought  down  from  heaven,  and 
those  souls  which  he  died  to  save  ;  and  that  he  should  make  it 
the  delightful  labour  of  our  life,  to  follow  him  in  his  own  pro- 
fession and  employment,  to  be  of  all  our  fellow-creatures,  his 
most  immediate  representatives,  and,  in  humble  subordination 
to  him,  saviours  of  men.  Does  not  the  very  mention  of  it  cause 
our  hearts  to  glow  with  a  fervent  desire,  and  generous  ambi- 
tion of  answering  so  high  a  confidence  ?  Could  any  one  of  us 
endure  the  thought  of  betraying  it  ? 

How  could  we,  in  that  case,  lift  up  our  faces  before  him, 
when  we  shall,  as  we  certainly  must,  See  him  eye  to  eyeX-  Yes, 
my  brethren,  let  us  every  hour  recollect  it  ;  owr  Master  \\\\\, 
e'er  long,  come,  and  reckon  with  us  ^;  He  will  render  to  every 
man  according  to  his  works,  as  my  text  expresses  it  in  exact 
harmony  with  the  language  of  the  New  Testament  ||.  And 
which  of  us  would  not  then  wish  to  appear  before  him,  as  those 
that  have  been  faithfully  attached  to  his  cause,  and  have  distin- 
guished themselves  by  a  zeal  for  his  service  ?  Shall  we  then, 
any  of  us,  repent  of  our  activity  in  so  good  a  work  ?  Shall  we 
wish,  that  we  had  given  more  of  our  time  to  the  pursuit  of  secu- 
lar interest,  or  the  curiosities  of  literature,  and  less  to  the 
immediate  care  of  souls  ?    Oh,  my  brethren,  let  us  be  wise  in 

♦  Acts  XX.  28.  f  John  xxi.  15,  1«3.  ^  Is.  lii.  8.  §  Mat.  xxv.  19.  ||  Rom  ii.  G.  Rev.xxii.  12. 


258  MEETING  OF  MINISTERS  AT  KETTERING.  SeR.  IV. 

time.  We  have  but  one  life  to  spend  on  earth  ;  and  that  a 
very  short  one  too  :  Let  us  make  the  best  of  it  ;  and  lay  it  out 
in  such  kind  of  employments,  as  we  do  verily  believe  will 
give  us  most  satisfaction  in  the  closing  moments  of  it,  and  when 
eternity  is  opening  upon  us.  It  is  easy  to  form  plausible  ex- 
ruses  for  a  different  conduct :  But  our  own  hearts  and  con- 
sciences would  answer  us,  if  we  would  seriously  ask  them,  what 
that  course  of  life  in  the  ministerial  office  is,  which  will  then 
afford  the  most  comfortable  review-,  and  through  the  riches  of 
divine  grace,  the  most  pleasing  prospect. — I  should  now  proceed, 
III.  To  the  farther  application  of  these  things,  in  some 
practical  inferences  from  them  : 

But  what  I  have  already  said,  has  been  so  copious,  and  so 
practical,  as  not  to  leave  room  to  pursue  such  inferences  at  large. 
You  have  all,  I  doubt  not,  prevented  me,  in  reflecting 
on  the  reason  we  have  to  humble  ourselves  deeply  in  the  pre- 
sence of  the  blessed  God,  while  we  Remember  our  faults  this 
day  *  I  do  not,  indeed,  at  all  question,  but  that  many  of 
us  have  Set  before  our  people,  Life  and  death  f;  and  have,  in 
our  public  addresses,  urged  their  return  to  God,  by  the  various 
considerations  of  terror,  and  of  love,  which  the  thunders  of 
mount  Sinai,  and  the  grace  of  mount  Zion,  have  taught  us. 
We  have,  on  great  occasions,  visited  them,  and  entered  into 
some  serious  discourse  with  them  ;  and  have  often,  and  I  would 
hope,  more  or  less,  daily  borne  them  on  our  hearts  before  God, 
in  our  seasons  of  devout  retirement.  Blessed  be  God,  that  in 
these  instances,  we  have,  in  any  degree,  approved  ourselves 
faithful !  It  must  give  us  pleasure  in  the  review.  But,  Oh,  why 
have  notour  prayers  been  more  frequently  presented,  and  more 
importunately  enforced?  Why  have  we  not  been  more  serious 
and  more  pressing,  in  our  private  addresses  to  them,  and  more 
attentive  in  our  contrivances,  if  I  may  so  express  it,  to  Catch 
them  X  in  the  net  of  the  gospel?  Let  us  ask  our  own  consciences, 
this  day,  as  in  the  presence  of  God,  if  there  be  not  reason  to 
apprehend,  that  some,  who  were  once  our  hearers,  and  it  may 
be,  our  dear  friends  too,  have  perished  through  our  neglect ; 
and  are  gone  to  eternal  destruction,  for  want  of  our  more  pru- 
dent, more  affectionate,  and  more  zealous  care  for  their  deli- 
verance ?  In  these  instances,  my  brethren,  though  it  is  dreadful 
to  say  it,  and  to  think  it,  yet  it  is  most  certain,  that  we  have  been, 
in  part,  accessary  to  their  ruin  ;  and  have  reason  to  say,  with 
trembling  hearts,  and  with  keeping  eyes,  Deliver  us  from  blood- 

*  Gen.  xli.  9.       f  Deut.  xxx.  15.     +  Luke  v.  10. 


Evil  and  Danger  of  neglect mg  Souls.  259 

guiltiness, — from  the  blood  of  tl)ose  unhappy  souls,  Oh,  God, 
thou  God  of  our  salvation  */  And  we  huve  need,  with  all  possible 
earnestness,  to  ren«w  our  application  to  the  blood  and  righte- 
ousness of  a  Redeemer  ;  not  daring  to  mention  any  services  of 
our  own,  as  matter  of  confidence  in  liis  presence  ;  how  liighly 
soever  others  may  have  esteemed  them,  who  candiilly  look  on 
the  little  we  do,  and  perhaps  make  more  charitable  excuses 
for  our  neglect,  than  we  ourselves  can  dare  to  urge  before  God. 
Let  the  remembrance  of  these  things  be  for  a  lamentation  ; 
And  while  they  are  so. 

Let  us  seriously  consider,  what  methods  are  to  be  taken, 
to  prevent  such  things  for  the  time  to  come. 

They  that  have  perished,  have  perished  for  ever,  and  arc 
far  beyond  the  reach  of  our  labours,  and  our  prayers.  But 
multitudes  to  this  day  surround  us,  who  stand  exposed  to  the 
same  danger,  and  on  the  very  brink  of  the  same  ruin.  And 
besides  these  dving  sinners,  who  are  the  most  compassionablc 
objects,  which  the  eve  of  man,  or  of  God,  beholds  on  this 
earth  of  ours  ;  how  many  languishing  christians  demand  our 
assistance  ?  Or,  if  they  do  not  expressly  demand  it,  appear  so 
much  the  more  to  need  it?  Let  us  look  round,  my  brethren, 
I  will  not  say,  upon  the  nation  in  general,  but  on  the  churches 
under  our  immediate  care  ;  and  say,  whether  the  face  of  them  is 
such,  as  becomes  the  societies  of  those,  whom  the  Son  of  God 
has  redeemed  with  his  own  blood  ;  and  of  those,  that  call  them- 
selves the  disciples,  and  members,  of  a  once  crucified,  and  now 
glorified  Jesus  ?  Is  their  wdiole  temper  and  conduct  formed  upon 
the  model  of  his  gospel  ?  Are  they  such,  as  we  would  desire  to 
present  them  before  the  presence  of  his  glory  ?  What  is  want- 
ing, cannot  be  numbered ;  and  perhaps  we  may  be  ready,  too 
rashly,  to  conclude,  that  what  is  crooked,  cannot  be  made 
straight  f.  Nevertheless,  let  us  remember,  it  is  our  duty  to 
attempt  it,  as  prudently,  as  immediately,  and  as  resolutely  as 
we  can.  Many  admirable  advices  for  that  purpose  our  fathers 
and  brethren  have  given  us ;  particularly  Dr.  Watts,  in  the 
first  part  of  his  Humble  Attempt  for  the  Revival  of  Rehgion, 
and  Mr.  Some,  in  his  sermon  on  the  same  subject :  Excellent 
treatises,  which  reduced  into  practice  would  soon  produce  the 
noblest  effects. 

That  those  important  instructions  may  be  revived,  and  ac- 
commodated to  present  circumstances,  with  such  additions, 
as  those  circumstances  require,  we  are,  this  day,  having  united 

♦  P».  li.  U.  fEc.  i.  15. 


260  MEETING  OF  MINISTERS  AT  KETTERING.  SeR.  IV. 

our  prayers,  to  unite  our  counsels.  I  will  not  anticipate  what 
I  have  to  offer  to  your  consideration  in  the  more  private  confe- 
rence, on  which  we  are  quickly  to  enter.  To  form  proper 
measures  will  be  comparatively  easy  :  To  carry  them  strenu- 
ously into  execution,  will  be  the  great  exercise  of  our  wisdom 
and  piety  :  May  proportionable  grace  be  given  to  animate  us, 
and  to  dispose  them  that  are  committed  to  our  care,  to  fall  in 
with  us  in  all  our  attempts,  for  the  honour  of  God,  and  for 
their  edification  and  comfort  ! 

We  shall  esteem  it,  my  friends,  a  very  happy  omen,  if 
your  hearts  be  with  ours  on  this  occasion  ;  and  if  you  help  for- 
ward so  good,  and  so  necessary  a  design,  by  your  prayers  to 
God  for  us.  If  you  are  sincere  and  affectionate  in  them,  we 
may  humbly  hope,  that  he,  of  whom  we  ask  wisdom,  will  gra- 
ciousl}^  impart  it  to  us  ;  and  may  assure  ourselves,  that  you  will 
not  only  bear  with  us  in  the  plainest  addresses  to  you,  which 
fidelity  may  oblige  us  to  make  ;  but  will  add  all  the  weight  of 
your  countenance  and  interest,  to  support  us  in  our  applica- 
tions to  others,  Avhether  public  or  private.  And  I  have  a  cheer- 
ful confidence,  that  all  will  not  be  in  vain  ;  but  that  he,  who 
thus  powerfully  awakens  our  minds,  will  so  succeed  our  labours, 
that  many,  whom  we  tind  under  a  sentence  of  condemnation, 
and  ready  to  perish  by  it,  will  receive  the  forgiveness  of  their 
sins ;  will  be  recovered  to  a  spiritual  and  divine  life  ;  and,  as 
the  happy  consequence  of  all,  will  at  length  be  fixed  with  us, 
and  withyou,  in  the  regions  of  everlasting  security  and  glory. 
Amen. 


i 


CHRISTIAN  CANDOUR  AND  UNANIMITY 

STATED,    ILLUSTRATED    AND    LRGRD: 

jt  Sermon  prcacM  at  a  Meeiing  of  Ministers  at  Creaton  in  Northamptonshire^ 
Junmrij  12,  l749-:)0. 

70    THE 

RIGHT  HON.  THE  COUxVTESS  OF  HUNTINGDON; 

THAT  EMINENT  EXAMPLE  OF  THE 

CHRISTIAN  CANDOUR 

HERE   RECOMMENDED, 

AND  OF  EVERY  OTHER  VIRTUE  AND  GRACE, 

WHICH    CAN    INSPIRE,    SUPPORT,   AND    ADORN   IT, 

THE  AUTHOR, 
FINDING  HIMSELF  (AFTER  REPEATED  ATTEMPTS) 
INCAPABLE  OF  WRITING  ANY  DEDICATION, 
UNDER    THE    RESTRAINTS    WHICH    HER    HUMILITY 
AMIDST  ITS  UTMOST  INDULGENCE 
HAS  PRESCRIBED  HIM; 
OR  TO  MENTION  ANY  EXCELLENCE  WHICH  WOULD  NOT 
SEEM  AN  ENCOMIUM  ON  HER; 
HAS  CHOSEN  THUS  MOST  RESPECTFULLY 
TO  INSCRIBE  THIS  DISCOURSE: 
INTREATING   THAT   HIS   FARTHER    SILENCE, 
IN  THIS  CONNECTION, 
MAY  BE  INTERPRETED  BY  HER  LADYSHIP, 
AND  BY  EVERY  READER, 
AS  THE  MOST  SENSIBLE  AND  PAINFUL  PROOF 
HE  CAN  GIVE  OF  THE  DEFERENCE, 
VENERATION  AND  GRATEFUL  AFFECTION 
WITH  WHICH  HE  IS,  HER  LADYSHIP'S 
MOST  OBLIGED  AND  OBEDIENT  HUMBLE  SERVANT, 

P.  DODDRIDGE. 


sou  III.  ^  ^ 


263  MEETING   OF    MINISTERS    AT   CREATON,  SeB,,  V, 


SERMON  V. 


Phil.  ii.  1,  2. — ff  there  he  therefore  cm>j  Consolation  in  Christ,  if  any  Comfort  of 
Love,  if  am)  Fellotiship  of  the  Spirit,  if  (my  Botvels  and  Mercies;  fulfil  ye 
jiiy  Jay,  that  7je  be  like-minded,  having  the  same  Love,  being  of  one  Accord^ 
of  one  Mind. 


I 


F  it  indeed  be,  as  it  certainly  is,  a  test  of  true  eloquence  that 
it  is  suited  to  strike  powerfully  upon  the  minds  of  all,  however 
different  in  genius,  education  or  rank,  I  cannot  but  conclude 
that  every  one  here  present,  must  already  acknowledge  these 
■words  to  be  a  remarkable  specimen  of  it,  even  before  we  proceed 
particularly  to  illustrate  them;  and,  having  felt  something  of 
their  pleasing  energy  while  we  have  been  reading  them,  is  ready 
to  confess  that  the  sentiment  they  contain  is  finely  conceived, 
and  pathetically  expressed.     But  ill  shall  Ave  answer  the  great 
design  of  the  apostle,  if  we  rest  in  the  mere  acknowledgment  of 
this.     His  vicAvs  were  much  more  worthy  of  him  whose  minister 
he  was:   He  laboured  to  diffuse,  through  the  breasts  of  his  fel- 
low-christians,  that  spirit  of  love,  which  was  in  his  own,  as  a  con- 
stant spring  of  living  water.     And  what  more  convincing  proof 
can  be  given  of  the  deplorable  disorder  of  men's  minds,  than  that 
such  addresses,  proceeding  from  such  a  man  ;  yea,  I  will  add, 
the  yet  more  forcible  address  of  his  divine  Master,  and  ours, 
should  have  produced  so  little  effect  ?  That  such  discord  and 
animosity  should  so  early,  so  long,  I  had  almost  said  so  imiver- 
sally  prevail  in  the  christian  church,  amidst  all  the  incentives, 
amidst  all  the  intreaties,  amidst  all  the  tender  adjurations,  as  well 
as  the  godlike  examples  which  the  sacred  oracles  exhibit  to  charm 
us  into  the  most  endeared  affection.     But  alas  these  !  incentives, 
and  intreaties,  these  adjurations,  and  examples,  are  overlooked, 
as  not  havinof  lustre  enough  to  detain  our  attention  :  For  we  too 
generally  seem  to  study  our  bibles,  if  we  study  them  at  all,  for 
amusement  or  ostentation,  rather  than  practical  instruction.    We 
fix  on  some  curious  incident  or  high  speculation,  and  are  first 
ingenious  to  explain  it  where  it  cannot  be  explained,  and  then 
impassioned  to  defend  it,  as  if  it  were  fundamental  truth,  till  we 
heat  out  the  sacred  gold  so  thin,  that  every  breath  of  air  carries 
it  away:  Whilst  the  plain  things  which  tend  to  inspire,  an  hea^ 


Christian  Candour  and  Unanimity.  263 

venlv  temper,  and  lead  us  on  to  the  most  exalted  goodness,  are 
slightly  passed  over  ;  as  too  obvious,  and  too  vulgar,  to  engage 
our  attention  or  excite  onr  emulation.  Thus  we  teed  our  pride 
by  what  was  intended  to  humble  it,  and  make  that  the  prize  of 
mutual  contention,  which  was  designed  to  be  the  band  of  love. 

What  wise  man  has  not  observed  this  ?  What  good  man 
has  not  lamented  it  ?  Yet  alas  who  so  wise  as  in  all  instances  to 
have  avoided  it  ?  Who  so  good  as  to  have  exerted  himself  to 
the  utmost  to  c;«uc  it  ?  A  cordial  however  feeble  attempt  of  this 
kind  will  now  be  made,  and  so  powerful  are  the  arguments,  so 
alluring  the  motives  suggested  in  the  text,  that  if  the  Spirit  of 
visdom  and  of  love  so  often,  and  I  trust  so  sincerely  invoked, 
may  guide  our  meditations  upon  them,  we  may  cheerfully  liope 
for  some  valuable  effects. 

And  happy  will  it  indeed  be,  If  he  may  teach  us  to  enter 
into  these  words,  with  a  temper  like  that  which  the  holy  apostle 
St.  Paul  felt,  when  in  his  bonds  for  the  sake  of  the  gospel,  and 
particularly  for  his  zeal  in  asserting  the  calling  and  the  liberty 
of  the  Gentiles  to  whom  he  wrote ;  he  addressed  them  Avith  this 
tender  and  pathetic  intreaty.  Jf  there  be  therefore  any  consola- 
tion in  Christ,  if  any  comfort  of  love,  if  any  fellowship  of  the 
spirit,  if  any  bowels  and  mercies,  fulfil  ye  my  Joy  ;  that  ye  be 
like-minded,  having  the  same  love,  being  oj  one  accord,  of  one 
mind.     It  may  be  here  proper  to  enquire, 

I.  To  what  the  apostle  is  endeavouring  to  persuade  tlip 
Philippians. 

II.  To  consider  in  how  tender  a  manner  he  addresses  them, 
and  what  a  variety  of  affecting  arguments  he  pleads  with  them, 
and  then 

III.  To  conclude  Avith  some  advices  for  maintaining  and  cul- 
tivating the  temper  he  so  pathetically  recommends. 

I  attempt  it,  my  reverend  and  dear  brethren,  wMth  the  great- 
er cheerfulness,  as  from  long  experience  I  am  persuaded,  that 
all  your  hearts  arc  one  with  mine,  in  every  etiort  to  spread 
christian  love,  and  as  that  uninterrupted  peace,  and  unalienated 
affection,  Avhich  has  so  long  reigned  among  ourselves  will  not 
only  dispose  you  to  receive  what  I  shall  say  with  unprejudiced 
minds;  but  will  render  it  as  agreeable  to  you,  as  it  is  in  general 
needful  to  the  christian  world.  Long  have  we  beheld,  and  bless- 
ed be  God,  long  have  we  felt,  How  good  and  how  pleasant  a  thing 
it  is  for  brethren  to  dwell  together  in  unity  *;  long  has  tlie 

*  Psal.  cxxxiii.  1 , 

Kk  2 


264  MEETING   OF   MINISTERS   AT   CHEATON.  SeR.  V, 

odouir  of  this  precious  ointment  filled  our  little  tabernacles  with 
its  perfume.  May  the  dew  descend  on  all  the  mountains  of  Sion, 
and  the  Lord  more  abundantly  command  the  blessing,  even  life 
for  evermore !  That  life  of  which  fervent  christian  love  is  the 
earnest,  the  foretaste,  the  beginning ! 

I.  We  are  to  enquire  to  what  it  is,  that  the  apostle  endea- 
vours so  affectionately  to  persuade  the  Philippians.  And  here  I 
might  observe,  it  is  in  the  general  to  fulfil  his  joy,  and  more  par- 
ticularly to  do  it  bv  cultivating  unanimity  and  love. 

1 .  He  urges  them  in  the  general  to  fulfil  hisjmj,  that  is,  to 
conduct  themselves  in  such  a  manner  as  might  cause  him  greatly 
to  rejoice.  This  was  in  the  general  to  be  done  by  remember- 
ing their  christian  character,  and  walking  Avorthy  of  it,  or  as  he 
expresses  it  in  a  few  verses  below,  by  Working  out  their  salva- 
tion with  fear  and  trembling^,  and  by  keeping  themselves 
Blameless  and  harmlessy  and  acting  as  the  children  of  God  in  the 
midst  of  a  crooked  and  perverse  generation,  that  so  they  might 
shine  as  lights  in  the  world,  and  hold  forth  with  advantage  the 
word  of  lifef.  Paul,  like  the  beloved  disciple  St.  John,  Had 
no  greater  pleasure  than  to  see  his  children  walking  in  the  truthX, 
and  therefore  elsewhere  says,  JFe  live,  if  ye  stand  Jast  in  the 
Lord  §. 

Now  before  we  proceed  to  what  is  more  peculiar  to  our  sub- 
ject, let  us  ])ause  for  a  few  moments  on  this  edifying,  this  ani- 
mating consideration.  Let  us  as  it  Avere  in  our  devout  medita- 
tions, pay  a  visit  to  this  illustrious  confessor  in  his  chains  at 
Rome,  for  he  was  uoav  a  prisoner  there,  that  we  may  learn  how 
his  mind  was  employed  in  the  midst  of  his  confinement, his  straits, 
and  his  sorrows — To  enquire  A\hat  would  have  afforded  him  the 
most  sensible  joy,  so  far  as  others  could  be  instruments  of  afford- 
ing it  ?  Not  that  his  eloquence  should  be  admired,  or  his  necessi- 
ties relieved,  or  his  liberty  restored,  or  his  patience  and  magnani- 
mity applauded,  but  that  his  christian  converts  might  behave  in 
character;  that  the  honour  of  their  profession,  and  their  own 
Iiappiness  might  be  most  effectually  secured.  Oyily  let  your 
conversation  be  as  becomes  the  gospel  H ,  and  then  if  bonds  and 
iynprisojiments  await  me,  I'ea,  if  J  be  offered  upon  the  sacrifice 
and  service  of  your  faith,  I  joy  and  rejoice  with  you  all  ^;  and  I 
,  call  upon  you  also  to  congratulate  me:  For  none  of  these  things 
move  me,  neither  count  I,  in  a  cause  like  this,  even  my  life  dear 
unto  me  **.     But  it  is  evident  that  Avhatever  may  be  compre- 

*  Ph:i.  ii.  U.  t  ri'''-  »i-  !■'>•  %  S  John  ver,  4.  §  1  Thess.  iii.  8, 

•      l|  Phil,  1  '.17.  «]•  Phil.  ii.  17.  **  Acts  xx.  24. 


Christian  Candour  a7ul  Unanimity.  2G5 

Iicndcd  in  fulfilling  the  aj)ostlt!''s  joy,  the  phrase  has  a  peculiar 
reference  to  the  method  lie  prescribes,  ^vherein  they  iniglit  ciiect 
it,  which  we  are  next  to  consider. 

2.  He  urges  thein  to  do  it,  by  cultivating  unanimity  and 
love. 

As  wc  render  the  second  verse,  this  must  be  tlie  sense  of  the 
whole:  Be  like-minded^  having  the  same  love,  of  one  accord,  of 
one  mind.  Admitting  for  the  present  this  version,  which  I 
think  may  be  considerably  improved,  rommon  sense  will  not 
allow  us  to  understand  it  as  an  exhortation,  to  be  all  entirely  of 
the  same  opinion  in  every  religious  sentiment  about  which  they 
might  exercise  their  enquiries.  For  considering  the  diversity 
of  men's  capacities,  and  opportunities  of  improvement,  that  is 
absolutely  imj)Ossible.  Had  Paul  condescended  to  enter  into  the 
minutest  detail  of  doctrines  and  principles  that  can  be  imagined, 
had  his  form  of  words  been  as  artifuial  and  elaborate,  as  that  of 
any  scholastic  divine,  and  his  decrees  as  large  as  those  of  the 
most  voluminous  councils,  and  synods  of  succeeding  ages  ;  j'et 
still,  while  the  apprehensions  and  understandings  of  men  had 
continued  of  a  different  size,  different  interpretations  might 
have  been  put  upon  his  words,  even  by  good  and  honest,  much 
more  by  designing  and  prevaricating  men  ;  when  interest  on  the 
one  hand  and  resentment  on  the  other,  had  given  an  ed^e  to  their 
invention.  Least  of  all  could  such  an  unanimity  as  we  are  now 
speaking  of,  be  efi'ectcd  by  mere  intreaties:  And  it  is  very  ob- 
servable, we  here  meet  with  no  arguments  or  decisions,  by  which 
one  doctrine  is  established  rather  than  another,  about  which  there 
could  be  any  supposed  difference,  or  one  speculative  sentiment 
or  disputed  practice  pointed  out,  in  which  they  are  so  earnestly 
exhorted  to  agree:  Not  now  to  insist  upon  it,  that  where  there 
was  such  a  perfect  uniformity,  a  peaceful  disposition  would  have 
been  matter  of  very  little  praise,  and  migiit  seem  only  self-love 
diversified  and  reflected. 

We  are  necessitated  therefore,  by  the  absurdity  of  such  an 
interpretation,  especially  in  this  connexion,  to  seek  out  for  an- 
other: And  we  shall  more  easily  attain  it  in  its  greatest  perspi- 
cuity,  by  a  little  varying  our  version  of  the  original  words. 
Iva  TO  atvlo  (f>po>«1f  tx»  avltiv  ayavriv  txflflf;,  that  ye  may  be  unanimous y 
maintaining  the  same  love  a-vfj^-\.vxoi  to  h  (ppovnilii,  having  your  souls 
joined  together  in  attcyiding  to  the  one  thing.  On  this  interpre- 
tation, it  will  be  as  if  he  had  said  '*  be  unanimous  in  atlection, 
if  you  cannot  be  so  in  opinion,  agree  on  cultivating  the  same 
love,  however  your  judgments,  yea,  and  in  some  instance,  your 
practices  may  be  divided.     And  that  ypu  may  be  so  cemented, 


26$  MEETING   OF   MmiSTERS   AT  CREATON.  SeR.  V. 

let  all  the  ardor  of  your  souls  be  combined  in  attending  more 
and  more  to  the  one  great  thing,  which  ought  to  be  the  leading 
concern  of  every  christian,  the  advancement  of  vital,  practical 
holiness:"  This  might  well  be  understood,  though  it  was  not 
particularly  expressed  and  described,  it  being  so  obvious  to  all 
that  knew  any  thing  of  the  gospel,  that  it  was  the  great  design 
in  which  it  centered;  and  having  been  spoken  of  by  our  Lord, 
in  a  very  celebrated  oracle,  under  the  title  of  the  One  thing 
needful*'. 

And  in  this  view  we  may  consider  the  apostle  as  addressing 
himself,  not  only  to  his  friends  at  Philippi,  but  to  all  christians 
of  every  nation  and  age :  And  thus  supported  by  his  authority, 
I  may  address  you,  my  brethren,  that  hear  me  this  day,  whether 
in  the  ministry  or  in  private  life. 

To  agree  in  our  sentiments  as  to  every  point  of  doctrine  or 
discipline,  or  as  to  the  authority,  or  expediency  of  every  rite  of 
•worship  that  may  be  in  question,  is  absolutely  impossible.  The 
best  of  men  differ,  their  understandings  differ,  various  associa- 
tions  have  been  accidentally  formed,  and  different  principles  have 
been  mnocently,  and  perhaps  devoutiv  admitted,  which,  even  in 
a  course  of  just  and  sensible  reasoning,  must  necessarily  lead  to 
different  conclusions.  Accordingl}'-  we  find  that  in  this  age, 
enlightened  as  it  is,  and  so  far  as  the  age  of  literature  can  go,  I 
am  persuaded  no  age  was  ever  more  enlightened,  the  wisest  and 
the  best  of  men  at  home  and  abroad  have  pleaded  the  cause  on 
either  side  of  various  questions,  Avhich  to  both  have  seemed  im- 
portant, without  being  able  to  produce  conviction.  The  event 
of  many  a  voluminous  controversy  has  been  this ;  that  men  of 
contrary  parties  have  sat  down  more  attached  to  their  own  opi- 
nions than  they  were  at  the  besinninsr,  and  much  more  estrang- 
ed  m  then-  affections:  The  champions  something  sore  with  the 
rough  usage  they  have  mutually  received  in  the  combat,  and 
the  partisans  of  each  so  heinously  displeased  at  the  obstinacy 
of  their  brethren,  in  refusing  to  yield  to  such  unanswerable 
arguments,  that  they  can  hardly  now  condescend  to  own  them 
for  brethren.  And  when  this  is  the  case,  what  is  farther  to  be 
done  ?  The  laws  of  human  nature,  the  laws  of  Christ,  will  not 
permit  of  force  on  either  side ;  and  blessed  be  God  the  laws  of 
our  country  forbid  it  too,  which  if  they  did  not,  1  muchfearthat 
neither  the  voice  of  nature  or  scripture  would  be  heard  by  many. 
Since  then  after  all  that  has  been  said,  or  that  can  be  said,  we 
B)ust  live  together,  let  m,  by  every  consideration  of  prudence 

■•*  JAike  X.  42. 


Christian  Candour  and  Unanimitij.  267 

and  of  tenderness,  be  entreated  to  live  not  only  in  pcare  but  in 
love,  in  a  tree  intercourse  of  all  the  good  oftices  in  our  power, 
as  well  as  with  a  strict  care  not  to  iMJiirc  and  afllict  each  other 
by  unkind  treatment,  or  censures  unneci'ssarilv  harsh.  Truth  is 
indeed  too  sacred  a  thiui;  ever  to  he  denied  on  any  considera- 
tion :  and  so  far  as  we  are  in  our  own  consciences  persuaded 
that  any  particular  truth  is  important,  neither  honour  nor  charity 
will  allow  us  to  give  it  up,  as  a  point  of  mere  indilTerent  specu- 
lation. Let  us  therefore  ever  be  rea<ly,  when  properly  railed 
out  to  the  service,  to  plead  its  cause  in  the  name  of  the  God  of 
truth  ;  hut  let  it  he  in  a  manner  worthy  of  him,  a  manner  which 
may  not  oHcnd  him  as  the  God  of  love.  vVrid  let  us  he  orcatly 
upon  our  giuird  tliat  we  do  not  conclemn  our  brethren,  as  havinir 
forfeited  all  title  to  the  name  of  christians,  because  their  creeds 
or  confessions  of  faith  do  not  come  up  to  the  standard  of  our 
own.  Yea  if  it  were  in  a  matter  which  seemed  of  so  great  im* 
portance  as  to  give  us  some  room  to  suspect  that  the  mistake 
were  fatal,  (which  surely  nothing  can  be  that  does  not  greatly 
affect  men's  temper  and  conduct  towards  God,  and  each  other) 
even  that  consideration  should  engage  us  to  gentleness  and  ten- 
derness, rather  than  severity  to  them ;  if  peradventure  our  frietid- 
ly  and  respectful  carriage  may  gain  such  a  happy  ascendant 
over  their  minds,  as  to  remove  their  prejudices  against  onr  rea- 
sons :  For  the  reasons  in  such  important  matters  must  surely  be 
so  forcible  that  nothing  but  very  strong  prejudices  could  obstruct 
their  efficacy  ;  prejudices  too,  which  on  our  own  princijdes,  we 
may  endanger  their  souls  by  encrcasing. 

But  where  we  and  our  brethren  agree  in  altendino-  to  the 
one  thing  which  Christianity  was  designed  to  teach  us  ;  surely 
an  agreement  in  that  should  unite  our  minds,  more  than  any 
difference,  consistent  with  that  agreement,  should  divide  them. 
To  reverence  with  fdial  duty  and  love,  the  God  of  heaven,  and 
to  adore  him  with  integrity  of  heart ;  to  honour  .lesus  his  son, 
as  his  brightest  image,  subscribing  to  the  truth  of  all  he  is  known 
to  have  revealed,  and  the  authority  of  all  he  is  apprehended  to 
command  ;  conscientiously  to  abstain  from  every  known  evil, 
and  to  practise,  so  far  as  hnman  infirmity  will  permit,  the  com- 
prehensive precepts  of  living  soberly,  righteouslj/ ,  a?id  godlj/  ; 
stilllooking  for  the  mercy  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  unto  eternal 
life,  assuredly  expecting  a  future  judgment,  and  an  eternal 
■world,  carefully  endeavouring  to  prepare  for  both,  by  setting 
the  affections  on  those  great  objects,  which  the  gospel  opens  to 
our  view;  and  finally  being  habitually  ready  to  sacrifice  life 
and  all  its  enjoyments,  to  that  blessed  hope  j this,  this,  my 


268  MEETING  OF  MINISTERS  AT  CREATOIf.  SeR.  V. 

brethren,  is  the  essential  character  of  every  christian,  and  where 
we  see  this,  should  we  esteem  it  a  difficult  thing  to  live  peace- 
ably with  him  in  whom  we  discern  it  ?  Should  we  arrogate  it  to 
ourselves  as  any  high  praise,  that  we  do  not  censure,  that  we  do 
not  grieve,  that  we  do  not  injure  him,  because  he  folloAvs  not 
us?  Is  this  the  man  to  be  hated  or  suspected,  I  will  add,  can 
we  refuse  to  esteem  and  embrace  him,  merely  because  he  wor- 
ships in  another  assembly,  or  according  to  a  different  form,  be- 
cause he  expresses  his  apprehensions  about  some  of  these  doc- 
trines in  different  Avords,  because  he  cannot  see  all  that  we  think 
we  discern  in  some  passages  of  scripture,  or  because  he  imagines 
he  sees  sometljing  which  we  discern  not  ?  Is  it  after  all  so  great 
a  matter,  to  love  a  character,  which,  amidst  all  its  imperfections, 
is  in  the  general  so  justly  amiable  ?  Nay,  instead  of  thinking 
much  of  any  acts  of  kindness,  which  it  is  in  our  power  to  per- 
form for  such  a  fellow-disciple,  ought  we  not  rather  to  lament 
that  we  can  do  no  more  for  his  service  ?  Ought  we  not  to  en- 
deavour rather  to  supply  in  our  fervent  prayers  to  God  the  lack 
of  that  further  service,  which  christian  benevolence  dictates, 
but  which  the  narrow  limits  of  our  condition  and  our  nature 
will  not  allow  us  to  perform  ? 

Methinks  the  matter  might  safely  be  rested  here,  and 
that  the  very  description  of  christian  charity,  and  its  proper 
objects,  might  engage  every  heart  to  cultivate  it.  Nor  is  it 
easy  to  expatiate  beyond  the  just  boundary  of  such  an  argu- 
ment. But  I  should  be  inexcusable,  if  while  I  have  this  text 
before  me,  I  should  deprive  you  of  the  pleasure  which  every  be- 
nevolent mind  must  undoubtedly  feel,  in  contemplating,  what 
we  are  to  consider, 

II.  In  how  tender  a  manner  the  apostle  addresses  himself 
to  these  christians,  and  conjures  them  to  cidtivate  the  temjjer  he 
had  been  recommending.  And  no  words  but  his  own  will  so 
proper]}'  represent  this.  He  pleads  the  consolation  of  Christ,  the 
comfort  of  love,  the  fellowship  of  the  spirit,  the  bowels  of  mercy . 
Considerations,  which  if  I  can  but  illustrate,  there  will  be  little 
occasion  to  enforce  them  by  any  arguments  of  my  own. 

J .  He  pleads  with  them  the  consolation  of  Christ. 

Tliis  most  strongly  implies,  that  many  important  consola- 
tions arise  from  him,  and  that  they  will  all,  if  properly  regarded, 
conspire  in  disposing  us  to   mutual  love. 

That  numberless  consolations  do  indeed  flow  to  the  true 
believer  from  the  Lord  .Tcsus  Christ,  is  too  obvious  to  need 
being  proved  at  large.  Yet,  O  how  delightful  would  it  be 
to  attempt  a  little  to  illustrate  the  point  if  my  time  would  per-- 

3 


Christian  Candour  and  Unanimity.  269 

mit  !  How  delightful  to  speak  of  the  genuine  and  strong  con- 
solation to  be  derived  from  the  offices  he  bears — from  the 
benefits  he  imparts — and  from  the  ligures  under  which  he  is 
represented  in   scripture  ! 

How  delightful  would  it  be  to  me  to  speak,  and  to  you 
to  hear  of  tliis  faithful  and  infallible  prophet,  who  brings  us 
so  complete  a  revelation  of  tlie  divine  will,  in  so  plain  and  so 
condescending  a  manner  !  Of  this  great  High-priest^  holy, 
harmless,  undejiled*,  who  made  his  own  life  our  sacrifice, 
who  is  now,  in  virtue  of  it,  interceding  in  our  favour  before 
the  throne  of  God,  and  lives  for  ever  to  attend  this  friendly 
important  olHce  !  Of  our  most  gracious  Sovereign,  who  rules 
with  consummate  wisdom  and  proportionable  goodness  ;  and 
is  ever  ready  to  exert  the  power  with  which  he  is  invested 
at  the  right-hand  of  God,  to  defend  us  from  every  evil,  and 
to  make  us  More  than  conquerors  f  over  his  enemies  and  our 
own  1  Of  that  kind  surety  who  has  imdertaken  our  cause,  and 
paid  off  our  dreadful  debt,  that  he  might  rescue  us  from 
that  prison  from  whence  there  is  no  redemption  1  Of  that  com- 
passionate Shepherd,  who  having  generously  Given  his  life 
for  the  sheep  X,  folds  the  weakest  of  the  flock  iu  his  gracious 
arms,  and  Carries  the  lambs  in  his  bosom  §. 

And  where  should  I  bound  my  discourse,  if  I  were  to  speak 
of  those  consolations,  which  flow  from  the  benefits  that  Christ 
bestows  !  From  the  pardon  he  proclaims,  the  complete  pardon 
of  the  most  aggravated  sins  !  From  the  peace  which  he  restores 
to  our  troubled  consciences  !  From  the  cures  he  performs  on 
the  diseased  powers  of  our  natures  !  From  the  strength  he 
diffuses  through  the  infeebled  soul  !  From  the  joys  Aviiich  his 
cheering  spirit  gives,  and  the  delightful  prospect  which  his 
gospel  opens ;  which  it  opens  not  merelv  with  respect  to  the 
happy  spirit,  when  it  lias  shaken  off  tliis  burden  of  flesh  and 
blood,  and  springs  to  its  blessed  associates  in  the  intermediate 
state  ;  but  especially  after  the  resurrection  ;  when  inhabiting  a 
glorious,  a  spiritual,  a  vigorous,  an  incorruptible  body  Fashioned 
after  the  model  of  the  blessed  Redeemer  s\\f  the  complete  man 
shall  be  for  ever  ^^'ith  the  Lord  ! 

These  views.  Sirs,  will  justify  all  tlie  liveliest  and  most 
beautiful  figures,  imder  which  so  glorious  and  adorable  a  Sa- 
viour is  described  in  scripture  :  As  the  rose  of  Sharon,  and  the 
lily  of  the  vallies,  as  the  bread  of  life,  that  comes  down 
from  heaven;    as  the  true  vine ;   as  the  pearl  of  great  price  i 

•Heb.vii.  26.     tRoca- viii.  37.     |  John  x.  11.     §l3.xl.  11.     Jj  PUil.  iii.  21. 
VOL.  III.  L  1 


270  MEETING  OF  MINISTERS  AT  CREATON.  SeR.  V. 

^h  the  cleansing  fountain  I  ns  the  shady  rock;  as  the  morning 
star  ;  as  the  sun  of  righteousness.  Nay,  must  I  not  add,  these 
views  will  teach  us  as  it  were  to  call  for  a  new  creation,  to  open 
upon  us  ;  to  call  for  something  fairer  than  roses  and  lilies, 
richer  than  pearls,  sweeter  than  manna,  more  generous  than  the 
richest  production  of  the  vine,  more  refreshing  than  shades,  or 
streams,  veabrio-hter  tlran  stars,  or  the  sun  itself,  to  set  forth  the 
glory  of  Jesus,  and  describe  the  consolations  which  flow  to  our 
souls  from  him. 

But  you  recollect  to  what  purpose  these  consolations  are 
here  mentioned  ;  that  by  them  we  might  be  entreated  to  mutual 
love.  And,  i)  how  forcible  is  the  conclusion  !  The  conscious- 
ness of  happiness  sweetens  and  exalts  the  soul,  it  makes  it 
capable  of  nobler  and  more  generous  sentiments,  especially 
"when  happiness,  like  this  of  ours,  is  conferred  on  those  that 
Avere  once  the  children  of  misery  ;  and  conferred,  not  by  merit, 
but  by  rich  compassionate  bounty,  by  ov^erflowing  grace  and 
mercy.  That  mtfst  be  a  mean  and  stubborn  soul  indeed  which 
is  not  melted  with  such  goodness,  and  wliich  is  not  full  of  a  de- 
sire to  impart  Avhat  it  has  so  freely  received. 

Especially  may  these  consolations  operate  here,  when  we 
consider  those  who  are  recommended  to  our  benevolent  affec- 
tions, as  sharing  in  them  with  ourselves.  Where,  the  full  com- 
munication to  all  leaving  no  room  for  envy,  the  thoughts  of 
being  joint-proprietors  must  naturally  be  a  source  of  love  :  For 
every  one  who  is  admitted  to  a  share  in  these  blessings,  is  ho- 
noured and  adorned  by  them  ;  is  not  only  exhibited  to  us  as 
the  object  of  our  Redeemer's  love,  which  surely  should  greatly 
recommend  him  to  ours,  but  is  made  lovely  in  consequence  of 
it,  and  that  with  this  further  important  and  endearing  circum- 
stance, that  he  is  destined  by  our  glorious  master  to  dwell  with 
us  and  with  him  in  a  Avorld  of  final  and  everlasting  felicity. 
Let  our  souls  enter  into  the  attractive  thought.  However  we 
now  be  divided  ;  if  we  are  indeed  tiie  members  of  Christ,  one 
temple  shall  at  length  contain  us,  one  anthem  shall  at  length 
unite  our  voices,  one  object  of  supreme  love  for  ev^er  fill,  and 
by  filling,  cement  our  hearts.  Such  consolations  have  we  in 
Christ,  such  are  the  engagements  in  love  which  result  from 
them  !  uniting  to  display  Avhat  we  are  secondly  to  consider 

2.  The  Comforts  of  love,  which  the  apostle  urges  as  a 
distinct  argument.  And  certainly  there  is  great  comfort  in  it, 
comfort  too  great  and  too  sweet  to  be  displayed  in  one  single 
branch  of  a  discourse,  and  which  I  rather  wish  you  may  all  learn 
by  experience  than  by  report,  which  at  best  must  be  very  im- 
perfect.    But  it  is  most  obvious  these  comforts  arc.  powerful 


Christian  Candour  and  Unanimity.  271 

and  divine.  Love  not  only  guards  the  mind  from  tlic  furious 
and  dial)olic;il  passioits  of  ra'j;t',cnvy,  niiilico  and  revenge,  Avhicli 
tear  it  like  a  whirlwind,  which  c'orrodu  it  liki*  a  cancer,  which 
consume  it  hke  rottenness  in  the  bones,  but  (ills  it  with  a  thou- 
sand gentle  and  pleasing  sensations.  Love  distils  a  fragrant 
balm  into  the  soul,  that  while  it  licals  the  wound  which  con- 
trary passions  have  made,  dilfuses  a  most  grateful  and  reviving 
perfume,  most  justly  compared,  in  the  passage  I  referred  to 
above,  to  the  Oinl)nent  poured  on  Aarojis  head,  or  the  re- 
freshing Dew  desccjuling  on  llervion  and  Sum'',  and  making 
all  the  country  between  them  to  share  in  its  copious  blessings. 

Who  can  enjoy  himself  even  in  the  greatest  plenty,  while 
his  heart  is  full  of  unkind  'passions  to  any,  especially  to  his 
brethren  ?  \Vho  could  rest  in  a  palace  amidst  such  disturbers, 
far  more  intolerable  than  the  swarms  of  flies  that  invested 
Pliaroah's  gilded  roof,  or  the  Frogs  thai  came  up  to  the  very 
chambers  of  the  king  f?  But  a  benevolent  and  generous  heart 
Avill  make  the  plainest  accommodations  delightful,  and  as  Solo- 
mon, who  was  so  exquisitely  acquainted  with  human  nature, 
testifies,  will  render  j4  dinner  of  herbs  where  love  is,  better  than 
a  stalled  ox  and  hatred  rancour  and  malice  with  itj..  Hatred 
lias  torment,  more  sensible  than  fear  :  Torment  sufficient  to 
turn  heaven  itself  into  hell,  as  it  in  a  manner  did,  before  those 
wretched  spirits,  who  first  entertained  it,  were,  by  God's  righte- 
ous judgment  driven  out  from  thence.  But  love,  joined  with 
that  fervent  devotion  which  so  well  agrees  with  it,  and  indeed  is 
inspired  by  it,  will  turn  the  meanest  and  most  incommodious 
dwelling  on  earth  intd  a  paradise,  yea  into  the  delightful  antici- 
pations of  heaven  itself.  And  therefore  has  a  gracious  God, 
though  his  own  felicity  is  perfectly  independent  on  the  greatest 
height  of  our  love,  or  the  most  total  deficiency  of  it,  required 
us  to  love  himself,  and  to  love  one  another,  that  we  might  con- 
tinually feel  the  noblest  pleasure,  a  pleasure  like  that  which  he 
feels  in  the  consciousness  of  his  own  most  perfect  goodness, 
and  in  the  survey  of  his  creatures  as  made  happy  by  it  :  And  I 
hope  1  offend  not  in  adding,  a  pleasure  which,  as  onr  natures 
are  constituted,  oumipotcnoe  itself  could  not  communicate  to 
us  in  any  other  veliicle  but  that  of  love.  But  we  must  not 
forget  the  tliird  topic  of  argument  which  the  apostle  pleads, 

3.  The  fellowship  of  the  Spirit.      Now  it  is  implied  as  the 
foundation    of  this    argument,   that  all    christians   do  indeed 

♦  Ps".  cxx\iii,  C,  3.  t  E^'-  ^''i-  24—3.  J  Prov.  xv.  17. 

Ll2 


272  MEETING  OF  MINISTERS  AT  CREATON.  Ser.  V. 

partake  of  one  spirit.  As  the  apostle  expresses  it,  By  one 
spirit  we  are  all  baptized  into  one  body,  and  have  all  been  made 
to  drink  into  one  spirit*;  and  this  is  pleaded  as  an  endearing 
consideration,  not  only  here,  but  elsewhere,  Keep  the  unity 
of  the  spirit  in  the  bond  of  peace — there  is  one  spirit  f.  And  it 
IS  indeed  so.  Hereby  we  become  jnembers  one  of  another,  we 
are  one  bod}',  as  animated  by  one  spirit.  It  is  also  the  gift  of 
Christ  as  our  common  Head,  and  given  that  it  may  adorn  us, 
and  by  so  adorning  may  unite  us  ;  as  indeed  what  can  render 
the  soul  more  amiable  than  to  be  animated,  to  be  impregnated 
"with  the  spirit,  whose  fruits  are  so  celestial  and  divine  ?  Hear 
how  the  apostle,  in  whom  it  so  eminently  reigned  represents 
its  eflPects,  the  Fruit  of  the  Spirit  is  love, Joy,  peace,  long-suffer- 
ing, gentleness,  goodness,  faith,  meekness,  temperance  %;  and 
surely  these  fruits,  fair  as  they  appear  when  considered  in  them- 
selves, must  render  those  who  possess  them  so  much  the  more 
amiable,  when  considered  as  proceeding  from  this  sacred  prin- 
ciple :  For  thus  they  render  the  persons  who  possess  them 
venerable  ;  and  we  the  more  easily  love  where  we  greatly 
esteem.  Does  not  the  holy  Spirit  himself  deign  to  descend 
and  dwell  in  such  souls,  and  there  to  plant  these  noble  and 
glorious  fruits,  and  shall  I  disdain  them?  Shall  all  the  rich  trea- 
sure that  he  has  lodged  there,  go  for  nothing  with  me,  because 
he  has  not  added  this  or  that  circumstance  ?  Because  he  has  not 
taught  them  to  judge  exactly  with  me,  and  inclined  them  to 
worship  with  me  ?  Surely  to  argue  thus  would  be  to  grieve  and 
affront  this  Spirit  of  Goodness.  And  let  us  not  think  to  secure 
ourselves  by  saying  they  have  it  not.  On  men  apparently  sen- 
sual, cruel,  and  wicked,  we  may  indeed  pass  this  censure,  what- 
ever their  religious  profession  may  be :  But  where  appearances 
are  fair,  we  should  be  cautious  of  drawing  such  a  conclusion  ; 
should  rather  be  ready  to  suspect  ourselves,  and  say,  "  have  I 
indeed  the  Spirit  of  God,  tlie  spirit  of  wisdom,  of  candour,  of 
love,  when  I  thus  Judge  ray  brethren,  when  in  honour  I  prefer 
wyself  to  them  §  ?  When  I  say  let  me  Take  the  mote  out  of  thine 
eye,  and  consider  not  the  beam  that  is  in  ynine  own  |!  ?"  Let  us 
not  thus  Grieve  the  Holy  Spirit  of  God,  if  we  desire  to  preserve 
any  hope  of  being  sealed  by  it  to  the  day  of  redemption  ^.  The 
sense  and  the  force  of  this  argument  is  apparent ;  though  it 
mav  perhaps  be  a  little  difficult  precisely  to  fix  that  of  the  next, 
to  which  we  must  now  proceed, 

*  1  Cor.  xii.  \'i.  f  Eph.  iv.  3, 4.  X  Gal,  T.  2?,  ^3. 

%  Rom.  xiv.  10.  xii.  10.         (|  Mat.  vii.  6,  4.  %  Eph.  iv.  5U. 


Christian  Cimdour  and  Unanimity.  273 

4.  He  pleads  the  bowels  of  mercies :  For  bowels  and 
mercies  are  not  to  be  understood  as  signifying  difl'erent  things, 
but,  bv  an  usual  hebraism,  bowels  of  mercy,  that  is,  the  ten- 
derest  compassion,  by  which  the  bowels  are  struck  and  caused 
to  yearn  ;  And  the  general  meaning  to  be  sure  is,  if  ye  have 
learnt  the  compassion  of  christians.  This  implies,  that  it  was 
intended  that  cliristians  should  be  compassionate.  If  there  are 
bowels  in  human  nature,  how  much  more  tenderly  must  they 
move,  when  instructed  by  the  holy  discipline  of  the  gospel  ? 
This  the  genuis  of  our  religion  very  evidently  shows  ;  as  it  gives 
us  so  many  precepts  of  compassion,  and  as  it  gives  us  so  bright 
an  example  of  it,  in  him  whose  whole  history  is  the  history  of 
compassion  and  love.  And  need  I  name  him  to  you  ?  O  iSirs, 
from  whom  can  we  learn  this  lesson  if  not  from  Jesus  the  Son  of 
God,  whose  pity,  whose  pity  for  us,  for  our  otherwise  hoj:)eless 
ruin,  brought  him  down  from  his  exalted  glory,  clothed  him  in 
these  mean  garments  of  mortal  flesh,  Avhich  we  wear,  and  when 
it  had  made  him  a  man,  made  him  a  sacrifice  too,  and  triumphed 
over  all  the  agony,  and  all  the  infamy  of  the  cross,  that  it  might 
raise  us  to  life  and  glory  ?  O  let  us  study  this  generous  compas- 
sionate love  in  its  various  circumstances,  till  every  stern  and 
stnbborn  passion  be  subdued  in  our  hearts,  till  we  feel  oiu'  souls 
meltfd  into  streams  of  love,  and  disposed  to  put  on  the  Lord 
Jesus  Christ;  for  Greater  love  has  no  man  than  this,  thai  a 
man  should  lay  down  his  life  for  his  friend*,  and  yet  when 
We  were  enemies  Christ  died  for  usf. 

But  it  is  possible  St.  Paul  might  mean  particularly  to  apply 
to  their  christian  compassion  for  him,  as  if  he  had  said  ;  "  If  on 
the  whole  you  pity  the  load  of  affliction  under  which  I  am  lying 
for  the  gospel,  and  would  not  grieve  me  yet  more  than  all  my 
enemies  can  distress  me  ;  if  you  would  rather  comfort  and  sup- 
port me  under  what  I  sufTcr  from  them,  show  it  thus.  Let  Paul 
amidst  all  his  labours  and  sorrows  have  this  joy,  that  you  love 
one  another  ;  that  you  are  ready  to  every  kind  and  friendly 
action,  and  shew  a  true  christian  magnanimity,  as  well  as  gen- 
tleness of  mind,  in  looking  higher  than  those  things  which  are  so 
often  the  causes  of  discord,  to  the  great  considerations  which 
liave  so  strong  a  tendency  to  unite  us." 

Such,  my  dear  brethren,  and  friends,  sucb  are  the  argu- 
ments which  St.  Paid  urges,  and  let  us  endeavour  to  retain  a 
sense  of  them  upon  our  hearts.  Let  me,  as  it  were,  adjure  as 
many  of  you  as  hear  me  this  day,  by  the  consolations  of  Christ, 

*  Johu  XV.  1.1.  t^^om-v.  8, 


274  MEETING  OF  MINISTERS  AT  CREATON.  SeR.  V. 

if  they  are  sweet  to  you,  b}'  his  offices,  by  his  benefits,  by  all  the 
representations  which  the  scripture  niakes  of  him,  by  the  endear- 
ing tenderness  and  delight  of  this  most  noble  godlike  affection 
of  the  human  mind,  by  the  love  of  that  holy  Spirit  which  unites 
us  into  one  body,  and  is,  as  it  were,  the  common  soul  of  it,  by 
all  the  compassions  which  as  christians  you  ought  to  feel  for 
each  other,  and  we  the  ministers  of  Christ  would  add,  if  that  may 
avail  any  thing,  as  surely  it  may,  by  all  your  compassions  to 
us,  if  we  may  indeed  pretend  to  any  merit  with  you,  for  all  that 
we  do,  or  for  all  that  we  resign  upon  your  account,  for  all  our 
most  affectionate  care  for  your  ediiication,  working  frequently 
b}'  night  as  well  as  by  day,  attending  us  into  every  place,  and 
every  service  public  or  private  ;  an  affection  which  I  hope,  and 
I  trust  in  the  Lord,  would  bear  us  cheerfully  to  bonds  and 
imprisonments,  or  to  death  itself  for  your  establishment  in  our 
common  faith.  If  any  of  these  considerations,  if  all  of  them 
united  can  have  any  weight,  be  unanimous,  having  your  minds 
Joined  in  the  same  love,  and  attending  to  the  one  thing  ;  thus 
fulfil  ye  our  joy y  which  is  herein  the  joy  of  our  common 
Lord  too,  and  whicli  Avill  be  your  joy,  amidst  the  various 
inconveniences  inseparable  from  mortal  life.  Cultivate  more 
and  more  that  lovely  principle,  which  having  ennobled  as  well 
as  delighted  your  spirits,  having  rendered  you  the  ornament 
of  religion,  and  dear  in  the  eyes  of  men,  and  of  God,  will 
prepare  you  tor,  and  through  the  grace  of  the  Redeemer, 
transmit  you  to  the  regions  of  everlasting  love,  and  will 
there  continue  for  ever  to  delight  and  adorn  you,  when  faith 
and  hope  shall  cease,  and  all  our  present  causes  of  contention 
shall  be  long  forgot.  But  1  would  hope  you  feel  the  force  of 
these  motives,  and  begin  to  be  impatient  for  those  advices  for 
maintaining  and  promoting  this  blessed  temper,  which  I  gave 
you  reason 

IIL  To  expect  at  the  conclusion  of  this  discourse.  And 
here  as  I  intend  rather  to  suggest  some  useful  and  coinpre- 
hensive  hints,  than  to  expatiate  upon  them,  I  shall  not  range 
them  u!ider  distinct  heads,  but  oiler  them  briefly  as  they  rose 
^n  my  mind. 

It  will  be  one  step  towards  attaining  this  excellent  temper, 
"  earnestly  to  desire  to  attain  it."  And  that  we  may,  let  us 
often  reflect  with  ourselves  how  amiable  and  how  excellent 
it  is  !  What  an  ornament,  and  indeed,  with  all  its  meekness, 
and  tenderness,  what  a  defence  to  true  Christianity  !  Let  us 
accustom  ourselves  to  think,  so  far  as  our  best  information 
reaches,  what  the  face  of  the  christian  chiirch  has  in  fact  been 


C/irislian  Candour  and  Unanimity.  275 

amidst  all  tlic  iimtu;il  animosities  tliat  have  reigned  among  its 
members  ;  and,  on  the  otlier  hand,  It^t  us  try  to  imagine  what  it 
voidd  liave  been,  it*  that  pacific,  gentle,  bcneliceut  temper 
which  the  gospel  recommends  had  constantly,  had  generally 
been  prevalent,  and  every  angry,  turbulent,  malignant  thought 
and  passion,  had  been  brought  mto  sweet  subjection  to  the  law  s 
of  Christ.  But  who  can  make  the  computation,  whctlier  we 
consider  its  aspect  on  present  or  on  future  happiness?  Who  can 
calculate  how  widely  Christianity  would  have  been  spread, 
while  the  admiring  world  had  been  charmed  by  so  bright  a  light, 
Jiad  been  melted  by  so  celestial  a  liame  r  Who  can  imagine 
what  delights  had  sprung  up  in  every  breast,  and  how  they  had 
been  multiplied  by  reflection  from  each?  Above  all,  who  can 
conceive  how  large  a  colony  the  regions  of  perfect  love  and 
blessedness  would  have  received  from  the  peopled  earth :  A 
colon}'  increased  by  how  many  thousands  and  millions  of  those, 
Avho,  tilled  with  rancour  and  hatred,  arc  now  alas  !  gone  down  to 
final  destruction,  and'feel  an  hell  of  malignant  passions  within, 
Avhich  will  be  matter  of  everlasting  torment  to  themselves,  and 
all  their  wretched  companions. 

"  Let  us  often  think  of  the  meekness  and  gentleness  of 
Christ  and  of  his  apostles,"  particularly  of  St.  Paul,  and  render 
fan)iliar  to  our  minds  the  many  candid  maxims,  and  principles, 
with  which  his  writings  abound.  Let  us  remember,  as  he  has 
admonished  us,  that  The  kingdom  of  God  is  not  incai  and  drink y 
but  righteousness  a?td  peace  and  joy  in  the  Holy  Ghost  *.  That 
as  for  some  particular  ritual  observances,  though  the  imposition 
of  them  must  indeed  be  displeasing  to  God,  yet  the  practice  or 
the  omission  does  not  affect  our  share  in  his  favour,  if  conscience 
be  not  violated.  Neither  if  we  eat  are  we  the  better^  neither  if 
•we  eat  not  are  we  the  worse  f.  Let  us  remember  the  ver}'-  same 
principle,  and  that  a  very  good  one,  indeed  the  very  best  of  all 
principles,  the  desire  of  pleasing  God,  may,  to  persons  under 
different  apprehensions,  produce  a  quite  different  conduct.  He 
that  regards  a  day  may  regard  it  to  the  Lord,  and  as  for  him 
that  regards  not  a  day,  it  may  he  out  of  a  conscientious  regard 
to  the  Lord  that  he  does  not  regard  itX.  When  we  are  tempted 
to  make  our  own  taste  and  rcHsh  the  standard  to  which  all  our 
brethren  should  bow,  let  us  remember  that  Christ  pleased  not 
himself;  and,  when  we  are  ready  on  the  one  hand  to  Judge  our 
brethren,  or  on  the  other  hand  to  despise  thejn,  let  us  call  up  to 
our  assistance  that  awful  tribunal  before  >vhich  we  are  all  in  a 

*  Rom,  xiv.  17.  f  1  C«i.  viii.  8,  \  Rom.  xiv,  Q. 


276  MEETING  OF  MINISTERS  AT  CREATON.  SeR.  V. 

little  time  to  appear^,  that  the  account  we  have  to  give  of  our- 
selves to  Christ  may  awe  our  spirits,  and  restrain  us  from  that 
severity  on  our  part,  which  might  seem  to  challenge  a  severity 
on  his,  which  the  best  of  us  could  never  be  able  to  support 
under. 

"  If  unkind  thoughts  against  our  brethren  arise  in  our 
minds,  let  us  suppress  them,"  for  by  being  vented  they  gain 
strength,  and  one  injury  is  apt  to  beget  another.  If  therefore 
we  are  obliged,  as  we  sometimes  may  be,  to  plead  the  cause  of 
truth  and  of  liberty,  though  our  antagonists  may  possibly  give 
us  great  personal  advantages  against  them,  yet  let  us  not  be  too 
ready  to  take  or  even  to  observe  them,  but  let  us  rather  shew  a 
noble  superiority  to  injurious  usage,  and  learn  to  answer  confi- 
dence and  petulance,  censoriousness  and  seventy  with  calmness 
and  gentleness,  with  reasonings  indeed  as  strong  as  possible,  but 
with  a  resolute  guard  upon  our  tempers ;  lest  we  become  like 
those  whom  we  blame,  and  condemn,  in  what  is  their  folly,  and 
will  upon  the  whole  be  the  disadvantage  of  their  cause  ;  for 
■whatever  little  turn  it  may  for  the  present  serve,  it  will  of  course 
recoil  upon  them  at  last,  and  the  more  strongly  when  it  seems  to 
do  it  by  its  own  natural  spring,  while  we  are  too  generous  to  urge 
it  to  the  last  extremity. 

"  Let  those  of  us  who  appear  under  public  characters,  be 
very  careful  that  we  do  not  on  any  occasion  passionately  inveigh 
against  our  brethren,  and  especially  in  religious  assemblies." 
Thus  to  abuse  the  sacred  and  important  moments,  which  w^e 
spend  immediately  in  the  divine  presence,  thus  to  pervert  the 
great  design  of  christian  ordinances,  and  make  them  the  vehicle 
of  such  malignant  passions,  is  equall}^  affronting  to  God,  and 
pernicious  to  men.  It  is  calling  the  sheep  of  Christ  together  to 
be  poisoned  under  a  pretence  of  feeding  them.  Alas  too  in- 
flammable are  the  passions  of  men  in  this  degenerate  state  of 
nature,  and  too  many  are  the  unavoidable  occasions  of  offence. 
It  is  not  necessary  that  the  ministers  of  Christ  should  abet  their 
fury,  and  if  I  may  be  indulged  in  the  expression,  tear  out  some 
of  the  most  important  leaves  of  the  book  of  God,  to  give  fire  to 
the  fatal  train. 

It  is  always  proper  to  be  upon  our  guard  here,  and  "  it  is 
never  more  necessary  than  when  the  petulance  and  bigotry  of 
others  has  given  the  example  and  begun  the  attack."  Nature 
will  be  roused  on  such  provocation,  and  is  ready  to  spring  for- 
ward, and  enter  into  the  contention  with  a  fierce  delight :  But 

♦  UoiQ.  xir.  10,  \1. 


Christian  Candour  and  Unanimity.  217 

it  will  be  our  surest  Avisdom  in  all  sui  h  cases,  to  Leave  it  off  be- 
fore it  he  meddled  ■with'^,  remembering  our  rclaiiou  to  limi  who 
Endured  the  contradiction  of  sinners  against  himse/J'f,  and 
Jieing  reviled,  reviled  not  again,  but  in  calm  silence  committed 
himself  to  him  that  judgeth  righteously  %. 

Permit  me  to  add,  that  "  in  proportion  to  the  de<rree  in 
which  God  has  distinguished  any  tVom  their  brethren  by  peculiar 
abilities,  or  more  eminent  services,  they  siiould  be  so  much  the 
more  careful  to  distinguish  themselves  by  meekness  and  can- 
dour." As  James  ex])resses  it.  Whoso  is  a  wise  man,  and  en- 
dowedmth  distinguishing  knowledge  among  you,  let  him  especial- 
ly illustrate  his  meekness  of  wisdom  §.  The  lowest  understand- 
ing, the  meanest  education,  the  most  contemptible  abilities,  may 
sulfice  to  give  hard  names,  and  to  pronounce  severe  censures. 
A  harsh  anathema  may  be  learnt  by  heart,  and  furiously  re- 
peated by  one  that  could  scarce  read  it,  and,  as  was  in  truth  the 
case  in  some  ancient  councils,  may  be  signed  by  those  that  can- 
not write  their  names.  But  true  Catholicism  of  temper  is  a 
more  liberal  thing,  it  proceeds  from  more  enlarged  views,  it 
argues  a  superior  greatness  of  mind,  and  a  riper  knowledge  ot 
men  and  things.  And  the  man  who  is  blessed  with  such  advan- 
tages should  be  so  much  the  more  solicitous,  that  he  does  not  on 
any  provocation  add  the  weight  of  his  example  to  so  bad  a  cause 
as  that  of  uncharitableness  always  is.  He  owes  it  to  God  and  to 
the,world,  that  such  an  influence  be  employed  to  the  happy  pur- 
poses of  healing  the  wounds  of  the  christian  church,  and  of  con- 
ciliating the  affections  of  good  and  worthy  men  towards  each 
other,  till  their  united  counsels  can  regulate  its  disorders,  and 
restore  to  it  a  form  more  worthy  of  itself. 

"  All  these  precautions  will  be  more  easy  to  us,  in  propor- 
tion to  the  degree  in  Avhich  we  labour  with  our  own  hearts,  to 
subdue  the  inward  workings  of  pride  and  vain-glory."  And  for 
this  purpose  let  us  often  review  the  too  voluminous  history  of  our 
own  miscarriages  in  conduct,  and  mistakes  in  judgment;  and  it 
•will  make  us  less  confident  in  ourselves,  less  severe  and  over- 
bearing in  our  treatment  or  censures  of  others.  On  the  other 
hand,  let  us  look  upon  the  excellencies  of  our  brethren  rather 
than  their  defects,  and,  let  it  always  be  the  joy  of  our  hearts  to 
dwell  in  our  thoughts  upon  what  is  beautiful,  rather  than  wliat 
is  exceptionable;  and  to  trace,  especially  in  those  whose  ad- 
i-antages  for  them  may  seem  to  have  been  inferior  to  our  owti, 

♦  Prov.  xvii.  14.  t  Ileb.  xii.  3.  %  1  Pet.  ii.  23.  §  Jam.  iii.  13, 

VOL.  III.  M  m 


278  MEETING  OF  MINISTERS  AT  CREATON.  SeR.  V. 

the  evidences  of  wisdom  and  humanity,  of  benevolence  and 
piety.  For  this  purpose,  it  is  much  to  be  desired  that  christians 
of  different  sects,  while  this  diversity  must  subsist  among  us, 
should  be  ready  as  providence  gives  them  opportunity  to  form 
acquaintance  with  each  other,  and  also  that  their  reading  should 
not  be  confined  merely  to  authors  of  their  own  sentiments, 
which  often  feeds  bigotry,  and  shuts  out  candour  at  its  first  en- 
trance. An  enlarged  acquaintance  will  infallibly  convince  us 
that  all  truth  and  goodness  is  not  confined  to  one  denomination 
of  christians,  nor  among  the  patrons  of  any  of  those  opinions,  for 
which  we  have  been  inclined  most  eagerly  to  contend.  Now 
when  we  are  persuaded  of  another,  that  God  has  received  hwif 
we  shall  be  more  cautious  how  we  presume  either  to  Judge  or 
despise  him*,  and  when  we  see  excellency  in  so  many  respects 
superior  to  our  ovvn,  Ave  shall  not  exalt  ourselves  highly  on  the 
advantage  we  enjoy  in  being,  as  we  must  indeed  suppose  we 
are,  right,  in  that  particular  in  Avhich  we  are  obliged  to  differ 
from  persons  we  so  highly  esteem.  Perhaps  said  one  of  the 
greatest  and  most  excellent  men  our  country  has  ever  produced, 
I  mean  Mr.  Howe:  "  Perhaps  the  reason  why,  in  some  disput- 
able points,  I  have  seen  farther  than  some  of  my  brethren,  is,  be- 
cause their  more  elevated  minds  have  been  employed  on  greater 
and  nobler  objects,  which  has  prevented  their  looking  so  minute- 
ly into  these  particular  questions  f." 

By  such  means  as  these  I  hope  something  may  be  done  to- 
wards mending  the  appearance  of  things  among  us,  and  recon- 
ciling the  hearts  of  contending  christians  to  each  other,  especially 
if  we  do  not  insist  too  rigorously  on  the  history  of  former  wrongs 
and  injuries;  for  which  w^e  have  all  too  much  reason  to  blush, 
nor  unwarrantably  charge  the  iniquities  of  the  fathers  upon  the 
children. 

There  is  great  reason  to  hope  that  the  endeavour  of  every 
single  person  in  his  station  to  promote  mutual  union  and  love  by 
methods  like  these,  will  in  some  degree  be  effectual ;  nor  let  us 
be  discouraged,  though  it  be  not  immediately  successful  to  the 
full  extent  of  our  Avishes. 

It  ma}'  too  justly  be  said,  with  regard  to  the  evils  with  which 
we  are  to  contend,  in  such  a  case,  that  The  fathers  have  eaten 
sour  grapes y  and  the  children's  teeth  are  set  on  edgeX.  Too  tnany 
have  from  their  tenderest  years  been  taught  to  place  a  part  of 

*  Rom.  xiv.  3. 

t  N.  B.  I  u-ell  remember  this  to  be  the  sentiment  but  not  having  marked  the 
particular  passage,  I  cannot  be  certain  as  to  tlie  word;;. 
X  Ezek.  xviii.  2, 


Christian  Candour  and  Unanimity.  279 

tlieir  religion  in  the  severity  with  which  they  censure  their  bre- 
thren, and  a  peccant  humour,  so  early  wrought  into  the  constitu- 
tion, will  not  easily  be  subdued  by  the  most  sovereign  medicines. 
That  very  reflection,  however,  should  teach  us  "  to  take  great 
heed  that  we  do  not  convey  unkind  prejudices  into  the  minds  of 
the  rising  generation,"  but  that  youth  be  educated  among  us  in 
more  open  and  generous  sentiments,  that  they  be  taught  to  re. 
verence  true  Christianity  wheresoever  they  see  it,  and  to  judge 
of  it  by  essentials  rather  than  circumstantials.  Let  this  be  our 
care,  and  it  is  more  than  probable,  that  our  children  may  rejoice 
in  the  shade  and  fruit  of  tliese  trees  of  righteousness,  which  our 
hands  have  planted,  and  I  hope  it  is  not  a  vain  presage  that  it 
■will  be  so  :  For  blessed  be  God  the  present  season  is  mild  and 
favourable  to  such  an  attempt,  and  I  am  persuaded  none  living 
have  seen  a  crisis,  which  seemed  more  encouraging  and  inviting 
to  these  labours  of  love. 

But  here,  as  in  every  other  respect,  Neither  is  he  that  plant- 
eth  aiiy  thing,  nor  he  that  watcreth  :  But  God  that  giveth  the  in-- 
crease  *.  "  Him  therefore  let  us  humbly  and  earnestly  invoke, 
for  the  benign  influences  of  his  Holy  Spirit ;"  whose  great  ofl^ice 
it  is  to  heal  and  sweeten,  to  purify  and  elevate  the  mind,  and  in 
every  sense,  to  take  away  the  stony,  and  to  produce  and  cherish 
the  tender  heart.  And  O  !  may  the  God  of  the  spirits  of  all  flesh, 
the  God  and  Father  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  who  is  the 
Author  of  peace  and  lover  of  concord,  hear  the  prayers  in 
■which  our  hearts  would  unite  with  all  our  brethren  ;  humbly  in- 
terceding for  the  prosperity  of  the  universal  church :  "  That  it 
may  be  so  guided  and  governed  by  his  good  Spirit,  that  all  who 
profess  and  call  themselves  christians  may  be  led  into  the  way 
of  truth,  and  hold  the  faith  once  delivered  to  the  saints  in  unity 
of  spirit,  in  the  bond  of  peace,  and  in  righteousness  of  life, 
through  Jesus  Christ."     Amen. 

♦  1  Cor.  iii.  7. 


INI  m  2 


FUNERAL   SERMONS. 


FUNERAL  SERMONS. 


THE 

CARE  OF  THE  SOUL 

URGED   AS   THE   ONE  THING   NEEDFUL 
A  Sermon  preac/iedJune  22, 1735. 


ADVERTISEMENT. 

As  I  would  not  willingly  incur  the  censure  of  being  over  forward  in  publish- 
ing so  plain  a  sermon  on  so  common  a  subject,  I  beg  leave  lo  inform  the  reader 
of  the  occasion  that  determined  me  to  do  it. 

The  following  discourse  was  first  preached  to  a  very  numerous  auditory 
at  the  funeral  of  a  young  person,  who  being  seized  on  a  sudden  witli  a  violent 
and  mortal  illness,  which  nevertiieless  did  not  destroy  the  exercise  of  her  rea- 
son, was  deeply  impressed  with  a  sense  of  her  eternal  interest,  and  expressed 
that  sense  in  a  manner  which  affected  me  as  much  as  any  thing  of  that  nature 
which  I  had  ever  seen;  not  only  recommending  the  text  to  me,  but  also 
charging  this  one  thing  needful  on  her  brother  and  sisters  in  my  hearing,  with 
a  solemnity  and  earnestness,  which  I  hope  neither  they  nor  I  shall  ever  forget. 
But  I  imputed  the  remarkable  attention  with  which  the  sermon  was  hearfl, 
and  the  kind  notice  which  was  afterwards  taken  of  it  by  many,  to  that  awful 
circumstance,  rather  than  to  any  thing  in  the  discourse  itself. 

I  had  afterwards  the  honour  to  preach  it,  with  some  proper  alterations, 
before  some  worthy  and  excellent  persons  of  considerable  rank  and  eminence 
in  life,  who  are  not  ashamed  publicly  to  own,  that  religion  is  their  greatest 
concern.  They  were  pleased  to  express  such  satisfaction  in  the  seriousness  and 
plainness  with  which  this  i;iiportant  subject  was  handled,  that  they  urged  me 
with  an  earnestness  which  I  did  not  at  all  expect,  to  let  ihein  have  some 
printed  copies  of  it,  that  they  might  disperse  them  amongst  their  tenants  and 
servants.  I  think  too  iiiglily  of  these  valuable  friends  lo  prefix  their  names  to 
so  inconsiderable  a  performance,  which  would  do  a  great  honour  to  a  book, 
far  superior  to  any  I  can  ever  hope  to  present  them  with.  Hut  as  I  am  well 
assured  of  their  continued  candour  towards  me;  so  I  hope  the  authority  of 
their  command,  will  be  allowed  as  a  sufficient  apology  for  this  publication. 

3 


284  ADVERTISEMENT. 

We  are  so  near  tlie  eternal  state,  and  must  so  soon  be  silent  in  the  dust, 
that  methinks  nothing  which  looks  like  a  call  of  providence,  directing  to  any 
opportunity  of  doing  good  to  tiie  souls  of  men,  should  be  neglected.  And  if 
tliese  obvious  but  weighty  truths  may,  through  the  concurrence  of  divine 
grace,  be  made  useful  for  the  conversion  of  one  of  the  lowest  of  those  for 
■whose  service  this  discourse  was  asked  and  transcribed,  I  shall  think  this  little 
labour  abundantly  repaid,  even  though  many  others  should  say,  as  they  pro- 
bably will,  that  I  have  made  a  little  addition  to  the  number  of  unnecessary 
books  with  which  the  world  is  already  incumbered. 

P,  DODDRIDGE, 

y      London,  July  29,  \135. 


SERMON   I. 


Luke  X.  42.  former  Part. — One  Thing  is  Needful. 


I 


T  was  tlie  amiable  character  of  our  blessed  Iledeemer,  that 
he  Went  about  doing  good*.  Tliis  great  motive,  which  animat- 
ed all  his  actions,  brought  him  to  the  house  of  his  friend 
Lazarus,  at  Bethany,  and  directed  his  behaviour  there.  Though 
it  was  a  season  of  recess  from  public  labour,  our  Lord  brought 
the  sentiments  and  the  pious  cares  of  a  preacher  of  righteous- 
ness into  the  parlour  of  a  friend  ;  and  there  his  ^oc\.n\\Q  dropped 
as  the  rain,  and  distilled  as  the  dew,  on  the  little  happy  circle 
that  were  then  surrounding  him.  Mary,  the  sister  of  Lazarus, 
with  great  delight  made  one  amongst  them  ;  she  set  herself 
down  at  the  feet  of  Jesus,  in  the  posture  of  an  humble  disciple  ; 
and  we  have  a  great  deal  of  reason  to  believe,  that  Martha,  his 
other  sister,  would  gladly  have  been  with  her  there  ;  but  do- 
mestic cares  pressed  hard  upon  her,  and  she  was  cumbered 
•with  much  seizing,  being  perhaps  too  solicitous  to  prepare  a 
sumptuous  entertainment  for  her  heavenly  master  and  the  train 
that  attended  him.  Happy  are  they  that  in  a  crowd  of  business 
do  not  lose  something  of  the  spirituality  of  their  minds,  and  of 
the  composure,  and  sweetness  of  their  tempers  ?  This  good 
■woman  comes  to  our  Lord  with  too  impatient  a  complaint ;  in- 
sinuating some  little  reflection,  not  only  on  Mary,  but  on  himself 
too.  Lord,  dost  thou,  not  care  that  my  sister  hath  left  me  to 
sei^e  alone  ?  Bid  her  therefore  that  she  help  mef.  Our  Lord, 
willing  to  take  all  opportunities  of  suggesting  useful  thoughts, 
answers  her  in  these  words,  of  which  the  text  is  a  part,  Martha, 
Martha,  thou  art  careful  and  troubled  about  many  things,  but 
one  thing  is  needful,  and  Mary  has  chosen  that  good  part,  which 
shall  not  be  taketi  away  from  her,  q.  d.  Alas  Martha,  the  con- 
cerns of  the  soul  are  of  so  much  greater  importance  than  those 
of  the  bodv,  that  I  cannot  l)Iamc  vour  sister  on  this  occasion  :  I 
rather  recommend  iier  to  your  imitation,  and  caution  you,  and 

♦  At  ts  X.  38.  t  Luke  X.  40. 

VOL.  III.  N  a 


586        ON  THE  DEATH  OF  A  YOUNG  PERSON.        SeR.  I. 

all  my  other  friends,  to  be  much  on  your  guard,  that  in  the 
midst  of  3'our  worldly  cares,  you  do  not  lose  the  sight  of  tliat 
which  so  much  better  deserves  your  attention. 

1  shall  consider  these  words.  One  thing  is  needful,  as  a  kind 
of  aphorism,  or  wise  and  weighty  sentence,  dropped  from  the 
month  of  our  blessed  Redeemer,  and  evidently  worthy  of  our 
most  serious  regard.     In  handling  them  I  shall, 

I.  Consider  what  we  are  to  understand  by  the  one  thing 
lierc  spoken  of. 

II.  Shew  you  what  is  intended  when  it  is  represented  as  the 
one  thing  need/id. 

III.  I  will  shew  how  justly  it  may  be  so  represented,  or 
prove  that  it  is  indeed  the  one  thing  needful. 

IV.  Conclude  with  some  reflections  and  application. 

My  friends,  the  M'ords  which  are  now  before  us  are,  to 
this  day,  as  true,  as  they  were  seventeen  hundred  years  ago. 
Set  your  hearts  to  attend  to  them.  Oh  that  you  might,  by 
divine  gi-ace,  be  awakened  to  hear  them  with  a  due  regard,  and 
might  be  so  impressed  with  the  plain  and  serious  things  which 
are  now  to  be  spoken,  as  you  probably  would,  if  I  were  speak- 
ing by  your  dying  beds,  and  you  had  the  full  exercise  of  3^our 
reason,  and  the  near  and  lively  view  of  eternity  I 

I.  I  am  briefly  to  consider  what  we  are  to  understand  by» 
the  one  thing  needful. 

Now  I  answer  in  a  few  words,  it  is  the  care  of  the  soul, 
opposed,  as  you  see  in  the  text,  to  the  care,  i.  e.  the  excessive 
care  of  the  body,  for  which  Martha  was  gently  admonished  by 
our  Lord.  This  is  a  general  answer,  and  it  comprehends  a 
variety  of  important  particulars,  which  is  the  business  of  our 
ministry  often  to  o})en  to  you  at  large  :  The  care  of  the  soul 
implies  a  readiness  to  hear  the  words  of  Christ,  to  set  ourselves 
^vith  Mary  at  his  feet,  and  to  receive  both  the  law  and  the 
jTospel  from  his  mouth.  It  supposes  that  we  learn  from  this 
divine  teacher  the  worth  of  our  souls,  their  danger,  and  their 
remedy.  That  we  become  above  all  things  solicitous  about 
their  eternal  salvation.  That  heartily  repenting  of  all  our  sins, 
and  cordially  believing  the  everlasting  gospel,  we  receive  the 
J>()rd  Jesus  Christ  for  righteousness  and  life,  resting  our  souls 
on  the  value  of  his  atonement,  and  the  cflScacv  of  his  grace. 
It  imports  the  sincere  dedication  of  ourselves  to  the  service  of 
God,  and  a  faithful  adherence  to  it,  notwithstanding  all  the 
o})positioMs  arising  from  inward  corruptions,  or  outward  temp- 
tations, and  a  resolute  perseverance  in  the  way  of  gospel  depen- 
dance,  till  wc  receive  the  end  of  our  faith  in  our  complete  salva- 


The  Care  of  the  Soul.  2S7 

tloii.  Tills  is  the  owe  thing  needful,  represented  iiidix^d  in  various 
scriptures  by  various  names.  Sometimes  il  is  called  regt'uera- 
tion,  or  the  new  creature,  because  it  is  the  blessed  work  of  God's 
ctHcacious  grace.  Sometimes  the  fear  of  God,  and  sometimes  iiis 
love,  and  the  keeping  his  commandments  ;  and  very  frecpieiitly  in 
the  New  Testament  is  called  faith,  or  receiving  Christ,  and 
believing  on  him,  which  therefore  is  represented  as  the  great 
Work  of  God*;  i.  e.  the  great  thing  which  God  in  his  glorious 
gospel  requires,  as  well  as  by  his  Spirit  produces  in  us  :  Tach  of 
these,  if  rightly  understood  and  explained,  comprehends  all 
that  I  have  said  on  this  head.  On  the  whole,  we  may  say, 
that,  as  the  Body  is  one,  though  it  has  many  members,  and  the 
soul  is  one,  though  it  has  many  faculties  ;  so,  in  the  present 
case,  this  real,  vital  religion  is  one  thing,  one  sacred  principle 
of  divine  life,  bringing  us  to  attend  to  the  care  of  our  souls,  as 
of  our  greatest  treasure.  It  is  one  thing,  notwithstanding  all 
the  variety  of  views  in  which  it  may  be  considered,  and  of 
characters  under  which  it  may  be  described.     I  proceed, 

II.  To  consider  what  may  be  intended  in  the  representation 
which  is  here  made  of  it,  as  the  one  thing  needful. 

Now  I  think  it  naturally  includes  these  three  particulars  : 
It  is  a  matter  of  universal  concern,  of  the  highest  importance, 
and  of  so  comprehensive  a  nature  that  every  thing  which  is  truly 
worthy  of  our  regard  mav  be  considered  as  included  in  it,  or 
subservient  to  it.  Let  me  a  little  illustrate  each  ol  these  parti- 
culars, reserving  the  proof  of  what  I  now  assert  to  the  third 
general,  where  it  will  abundantly  appear. 

1.  The  cure  of  the  soul  may  be  called  the  one  thing  needful j 
*'  as  it  is  matter  of  universal  concern." 

Our  Lord,  you  see,  speaks  of  it  as  needful  in  the  general. 
He  says  not  for  this  or  that  particular  person  ;  or  for  those  of 
such  an  age,  station  or  circumstance  in  life,  but  needful  for  ail. 
And  indeed,  when  discoursing  on  such  a  subject,  one  might 
properly  introduce  it  with  those  solemn  words  of  the  psahnist. 
Give  ear,  all  ye  people,  hear,  all  ye  inhabitants  of  the  earth, 
both  high  and  low,  rich  and  poor  together  f.  For  it  is  the  con- 
cern of  all,  from  the  king  that  sits  upon  the  throne,  to  the  servant 
that  grindeth  at  the  mill,  or  the  Ixjggar  that  licth  upon  the 
dunghill.  It  is  needful  for  us  that  are  ministers,  for  our  owr 
salvation  is  concerned.  And  woe,  insupportable  woe  will  be  to 
cur  souls,  if  we  think  it  enough  to  recommend  it  to  others,  to 

*  JoLuvi.  29.  t  Ps.  .\lLx.  1,  C. 

Nn  2 


283  ON  THE  DEATH  OF  A  YOUNG  PERSON.  SeR.  I. 

talk  of  it  in  a  warm,  or  an  awful  manner,  in  public  assemblies, 
or  in  our  private  converse  ;  while  it  does  not  penetrate  our 
hearts  as  our  own  greatest  care.  Our  case  will  then  be  like  that 
of  the  Israelitish  Lord  in  Samaria*,  who  was  employed  to  distri- 
bute the  corn  when  the  siege  was  raised,  seeing  it  with  our  eyes, 
and  dispensing  it  with  our  hands,  we  shall  ourselves  die  miser- 
ably, Avithout  tasting  the  blessings  we  impart.  It  is  needful 
to  all  you  that  are  our  hearers,  without  the  exception  of  one 
single  person.  It  is  needful  to  you  that  are  rich,  though  it 
may  on  some  accounts  be  peculiarly  difficult  for  you  ;  even  as 
difficult,  comparatively  speaking,  as  for  a  Camel  to  go  through 
the  eye  of  a  needle  \;  yet  if  it  be  neglected,  you  are  poor  in  the 
midst  of  all  your  wealth,  and  miserable  in  all  your  abundance  ; 
and  a  wretch  starving  for  hunger,  in  a  magnificent  palace  and 
a  rich  dress,  would  be  less  the  object  of  compassion  than  you. 
It  is  needful  for  you  that  are  poor  ;  though  you  are  distressed 
with  so  many  anxious  cares.  What  you  shall  eat,  and  what  you 
shall  drink,  and  wherewithal  you  shall  be  clothedX-  The 
nature  that  makes  you  capable  of  such  anxieties  as  these, 
argues  your  much  greater  concern  in  the  Bread  which  endures 
to  eietiial  life  ^,  than  in  that  by  which  this  mortal  body  must 
be  supported.  It  is  needful  for  you  that  are  advanced  in  years, 
though  your  strength  be  impaired  so  that  the  Grasshopper  is  a 
burden  |1,  though  you  have  by  your  long  continuance  in  sin 
rendered  this  great  work  so  hard,  that  were  it  less  important, 
one  would  in  pity  let  you  alone  without  reminding  you  of  it : 
Yet  late  as  it  is,  it  must  be  done,  or  your  hoary  heads  will  be 
brought  down  to  the  gi*ave  with  wrath,  and  sink  under  a  curse 
aggravated  by  cv&xy  year  and  by  every  day  of  your  lives.  It 
is  needful  to  you  that  are  young,  though  solicited  by  so  many 
gay  vanities,  to  neglect  it ;  though  it  may  be  represented  as  an 
imseasonable  care  at  present,  yet  I  repeat  it,  it  is  needful  to 
you  ;  immediately  needful,  unless  you  who  walk  so  frequently 
over  the  dust  of  your  brethren  and  companions,  that  died  in  the 
bloom  and  vigour  of  their  days,  have  made  some  secret  Cove- 
nant with  the  grave  for  yourselves,  and  found  out  some  wonder- 
ful method,  hitherto  unknown,  of  securing  this  precarious  life, 
and  of  answering  for  days  and  months  to  come,  while  others 
cannot  answer  for  one  single  moment. 

2.  The  care  of  the  soul  is  "  a  matter  of  the  highest  impor- 
tance ;"  beyond  any  thing  which  can  be  brought  into  compa- 
rison with  it. 

*  2  Kings  vii.  2—17,   f  Mat.  xix.  24.   %  Mat.  vl.  51.    5  John  vi,  27.    ||  Ef.  xii.  5. 


The  Can  of  the  Soul.  289 

As  Solomon  savs  of  wisdom,  tliat  it  is  More  precious  than 
rubies^  and  that  all  things  -which  can  he  desired  are  not  to  be 
compared  with  her*,  so  may  I  ])ro|K'rly  say  of  this  great  and 
most  important  bruticli  of  wisdom,  whatever  can  l)c  laid  in  the 
balance  with  it,  will  be  found  altogether  lighter  than  vanity. 
This  is  strongly  implied  when  it  is  said  in  the  text,  one  thing  is 
needful;  q.  d.  one  thing,  and  one  thing  alone  is  so.  Just  as 
ttie  blessed  God  is  said  to  be  Only  u-ise\,  and  Only  holy  t, 
because  the  wisdom  and  holiness  of  angels  and  men  is  as  nothing, 
when  compared  with  his,  What  seems  most  great  and  most 
important  in  life,  what  kings  and  senates,  what  the  wisest  and 
greatest  of  this  world  are  employing  their  time,  their  councils, 
their  pens,  their  labours  upon,  are  trifles,  when  compared  with 
this  one  thing.  A  man  may  subsist,  he  may  in  some  consider- 
able measure  be  happv,  without  learning,  Avithout  riches, 
without  titles,  without  health,  w^ithout  liberty,  without  friends, 
nay,  though  the  Life  be  viore  than  meat,  and  the  body  than 
raimeyit  ^,  yet  may  he  be  happy,  unspeakably  happy,  without 
the  body  itself.  But  he  cannot  be  so  in  the  neglect  of  the  one 
thing  needful.  I  must  therefore  bespeak  your  regard  to  it  in 
the  words  of  Moses,  It  is  not  a  light  thing,  but  it  is  your  life\\. 

3.  The  care  of  the  soul  is  of  so  comprehensive  a  nature, 
tliat  every  thing  truly  worthy  of  our  regard  may  "  be  consider- 
ed as  included  in  it,  or  sul)servient  to  it." 

As  David  observes,  that  the  Commandment  of  God  is  exceed- 
ing broad^,  so  may  we  say  of  this  07ie  thing  needful ;  and  as 
Solomon  very  justly  and  emphatically  expresses  it,  to  Fear  God 
and  to  keep  his  commandments  is  the  whole  duty  of  man  *^; 
his  whole  duty,  and  his  whole  interest  ;  and  every  thing  which 
is  wise  and  rational  does  in  its  proper  place  and  connection  make 
a'part  of  it.  We  should  judge  very  ill  concerning  the  nature  of 
this  care,  if  we  imagined,  that  it  consisted  merely  in  acts  of  de- 
votion, or  religious  contemplation  ;  it  comprehends  all  the 
lovely  and  harmonious  band  of  social  and  humane  virtues.  It 
requires  a  care  of  society,  a  care  of  our  bodies,  and  ot  our 
temporal  concerns  ;  but  then  all  is  to  be  regulated,  directed, 
and  animated  by  proper  regards  to  God,  Christ,  and  immor- 
tality. Our  food  and  our  rest,  our  trades  and  our  labours  are 
to  be  attended  to,  and  all  the  offices  of  humanity  performed 
in  obedience  to  the  will  of  God,  for  the  glory  of  Christ,  and  in 
a  view  to  the  improving  the  mind  in  a  growing  meetness  for 

♦  Prov.  Hi.  15.  t  1  Tim.  i.  17.  +  Rov.  xv.  4.  §  Mat.  >i.  25. 

H  Deut.  xxxii.47.       ^  P$.  cxix.  96,  **  Ec.  xli.  13. 


290  Of?  THE  DEATtt  OF  A  VOUNG  PERSOJJ.  SeR.  t. 

a  Slate  of  complete  perfection.  Name  an)^  thing  m  hich  lias 
no  reference  at  all  to  this,  and  you  name  a  worthless  trifle, 
however  it  may  be  gilded  to  allure  the  eye,  however  it  may 
be  sweetened  to  gratify  the  taste.  Name  a  thing  which,  in- 
stead of  thus  improving  the  soul,  has  a  tendency  to  debase  and 
pollute,  to  enslave  and  endanger  it,  and  you  name  Avhat  is 
most  unprofitable  and  mischievous,  be  the  wages  of  iniquity 
ever  so  great ;  most  foul  and  deformed,  be  it  in  the  eyes  of  men 
ever  so  honourable,  or  in  their  customs  ever  so  fashionable. 
Thus  I  have  endeavoured  to  shew  you  what  Ave  ma}'  suppose 
implied  in  the  expression  of  07ie  thing  being  needful.  I 
am  now, 

III.  To  shew  3'ou  with  how  much  propriety  the  care  of  the 
soul  may  be  represented  under  this  character,  as  the  one  thing 
Qieedfid,  as  a  matter  of  universal  and  most  serious  concern,  to 
■^'iiich  every  thing  else  is  to  he  considered  as  subservient,  if  at 
all  worthy  of  our  care  and  pursuit.  Now  let  me  appeal  to  the 
sentiments  of  those  who  must  be  alloMed  most  capable  of  judg^ 
ing,  and  to  the  evident  reason  of  the  case  itself,  as  it  must  apr 
pear  to  every  unprejudiced  mind. 

1.  Let  me  argue  "  from  the  sentiments  of  those  who  must 
be  allowed  most  capable  of  judging  in  such  an  affair j"  and  we 
shall  quickly  see  that  the  care  of  the  soul  appears  to  them  the 
o?ie  thing  needful. 

Is  the  judgment  of  the  blessed  God  according  to  truth  ?  how 
evidently  and  how  solemnly  is  that  judgment  declared  !  Twill 
not  say  merely  in  this  or  the  other  particular  passage  of  his 
"word,  but  in  the  whole  series  of  his  revelations  to  the  children  of 
men  ;  and  the  whole  tenor  of  his  addresses  to  them.  Is  not  this 
the  language  of  all,  from  the  early  days  of  Job  and  Moses  to  the 
conclusion  of  the  canon  of  scripture.  If  wisdom  be  hid  from 
the  eyes  of  all  the  living,  surely  God  understandeth  the  way 
thereof,  he  knoweth  the  place  thereof;  and  if  he  does,  it  is 
plainly  pointed  out,  for  unto  man  he  still  saiih,  behold  the  fear 
oj  the  Lord,  that  is  wisdom,  and  to  depart  from  evil,  that  is  un^ 
derstandijig  *.  By  Moses  he  declared  to  the  Israelites,  that  to 
do  the  commandments  of  the  Lord  would  be  their  wisdom 
and  their  understanding  in  the  sight  of  the  nations,  who  should 
hear  his  statutes,  and  say.  Surely  this  is  a  wise  and  tmder- 
standing  people  f.  When  he  had  raised  up  one  man  on  the  throne 
of  Israel,  with  the  character  of  the  wisest  that  ever  lived  upon 
the  face  of  the  earth,  he  chose  to  make  him  eminently  a  teacher 

*  Job  xxviii.  21,  23,  28.  f  Deut.  iv.  6, 


The  Care  of  the  Soul.  291 

of  this  great  truth.  And  now  all  that  he  spoke  on  the  curious 
and  less  interesting  subjects  of  natural  philosophy,  is  lost, 
though  He  spoke  of  trees  from  the  cedar  to  the  hyssop^  and 
of  beasts,  and  of  fori' Is,  and  of  creeping  things,  and  of fshes* ; 
tliat  saying  is  prcs(;rve(l  in  whicli  he  testifies,  tliat  The  fear  of 
the  Lord  is  the  beginning  of  wisdoin  f,  and  those  proverbs,  ia 
almost  every  line  of  which  tlic}'  who  neglect  God  and  their  own 
souls  Hie  spoken  of  as  fools,  as  if  that  ^^ere  the  most  proper  sig- 
luficatiou  of  the  word,  while  the  reli<rious  alone  are  honoured 
Avith  the  title  of  wise.  But  in  this  respect  as  attesting  this 
truth  in  the  name  of  God  and  in  his  own  a  greater  than  Solomon 
is  here. 

For  if  we  enquire  wliat  it  was  that  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ 
judged  to  be  the  one  thing  needful,  the  words  of  the  text  con- 
tain as  full  an  answer  as  can  be  imagined  ;  and  the  sense  of  them 
IS  repeated  in  a  very  livclv  and  emphatieal  manner,  in  that  re- 
markable passage  wherein  our  Lord  not  only  declares  his  oAvn 
judgment,  but  seems  to  appeal  to  the  consciences  of  all,  as  ob- 
liged by  their  own  secret  convictions  to  subscribe  to  the  trutli 
pt  it.  Jf'hat  is  a  man  prof  ted,  if  he  gain  the  whole  world  y 
Old  lose  his  own  soul ;  or  what  shall  a  man  give  in  exchange  for 
his  soulX  '^  If  it  were  oiue  lost,  Avhat  would  he  not  be  willing 
to  give  to  redeem  it  ?  But  it  depends  not  on  the  words  of  Christ 
alone.  Let  his  actions,  his  suiferings,  his  blood,  his  death  speak 
M'hat  a  value  he  set  on  the  souls  of  men.  Is  it  to  be  imaguied, 
that  he  would  have  relinquished  heaven,  that  he  would  have 
dwelt  upon  earth,  that  he  would  have  laboured  by  night  and 
by  day,  and  at  last  have  expired  on  the  cross,  for  a  matter  of 
light  importance  ?  Or  can  we  think  that  he,  in  whom  dwell  All 
the  treasures  of  wisdom  and  knowledge,  and  all  the  fulness  of 
the  Godhead  bodili/  §,  was  mistaken  in  judgment  so  deliberately 
formed,  and  so  solemnly  declared  ? 

If,  after  this,  there  were  room  to  mention  human  judgnieiif, 
and  testimonies,  how  easy  would  it  be  to  produce  a  cloud  of 
witnesses  in  such  a  cause,  and  to  shew  that  the  wisest  aiid  best 
of  men  in  all  ages  of  the  world  have  agreed  in  this  point,  that 
amidst  all  the  diversities  of  opinion  and  profession,  which  suc- 
ceeding generations  have  produced,  this  has  been  the  unani- 
mous judgment,  this  the  couuuon  and  most  solicitous  care  of 
those,  whose  characters  are  most  truly  valuable,  to  secure  the 
salvation  of  their  own  souls,  and  to  promote  the  salvation  of 
others. 

*  1  Kings  iv.  33.        f  Piw.  i.  7.  ix.  10.      *  Mat.  xii.  20.         §  Col.  ii.  3,  9, 


292        ON  THE  DEATH  OF  A  YOUNG  PERSON.       SeR.  I. 

And  let  me  beseech  j^ou  seriously  to  reflect,  what  are  the 
characters  of  those  who  have  taken  the  liberty,  most  boldly  and 
freely  to  declare  their  judgment  on  the  contrary  side  ?  The 
number  of  such  is  comparatively  few  ;  and  when  you  com- 
pare what  you  have  observed  of  their  temper  and  conduct,  I 
■will  not  say  with  what  you  read  of  holy  men  of  old,  but  with 
■what  you  have  yourselves  seen  in  the  faithful,  active,  and 
zealous  servants  of  Christ  in  these  latter  ages,  with  whom 
you  have  conversed,  do  you  not  on  the  whole  find  that  the 
rejectors  and  deriders  of  the  gospel,  are  in  other  respects,  so 
much  more  prudent  and  judicious,  so  much  wiser  for  themselves,' 
and  for  others  that  are  influenced  by  them,  as  that  you  can  be 
in  reason  obliged  to  pay  any  great  deference  to  the  authority  of 
a  few  such  names  as  these,  in  opposition  to  those  to  w  hich  they 
are  here  opposed  ? 

But  you  will  say,  and  you  will  say  it  too  truly,  though  but 
a  few  may  venture  in  words  to  declare  for  the  neglect  of  the 
soul  and  its  eternal  interest,  the  greater  part  of  mankind  do  it 
in  their  actions.  But  are  the  greater  part  of  mankind  so  wase, 
and  so  good,  as  implicitly  to  be  followed  in  matters  of  the 
highest  importance  ?  And  do  not  multitudes  of  these  declare 
themselves  on  the  other  side,  in  their  most  serious  moments  ? 
AVhen  the  intoxications  of  worldly  business  and  pleasures  are 
over,  and  some  languishing  sickness  forces  men  to  solitude  and 
retirement  ;  what  have  you  generally  observed  to  be  the  eflfect 
of  such  a  circumstance  ?  Have  they  not  then  declared  themselves 
convinced  of  the  truth  we  are  now  labouring  to  establish  ?  Nay, 
do  we  not  sometimes  see  that  a  distemper  which  seizes  the  mind 
V'ith  violence,  3^et  does  not  uttei-ly  destroy  its  reasoning  facul- 
ties, fixes  this  conviction  on  the  soul  in  a  few  hours,  nay  some- 
times in  a  few  moments  ?  Have  you  never  seen  a  gay,  thought- 
less creature,  surprised  in  the  giddy  round  of  pleasures  and 
amusements,  and  presently  brought  not  only  to  seriousness,  but 
terror  and  trennbhng,  by  the  near  views  of  death  ?  Have  }'ou 
never  seen  the  man  of  business  and  care  interrupted,  like  the 
rich  fool  in  the  parable,  in  the  midst  of  his  schemes  for  the  pre- 
sent Avorld  ?  And  have  you  not  heard  one  and  the  other  of  them 
owning  the  vanity  of  those  pleasures  and  cares,  which  but  a  few 
days  ago  were  every  thing  to  them  ?  Confessing  that  religion 
■was  the  07ie  thing  needfuly  and  recommending  it  to  others  with 
an  earnestness,  as  if  they  hoped  thereby  to  atone  for  their  own 
former  neglect  ?  We  that  arc  ministers  frequently  are  witnesses 
to  such  things  as  these,  and  1  believe  few  of  our  hearers  are  en- 
tire strangers  to  thcra. 


The  Care  of  the  Soul.  293 

And  once  more,  what  if  to  tlie  testimony  of  the  dying,  we 
could  add  that  of  the  dead  ?  What  if  God  were  to  turn  aside 
the  veil  which  separates  between  us  and  the  invisible  world, 
and  to  permit  the  most  careless  siimer  in  the  assembly  to  con- 
verse for  a  few  moments  with  the  inhabitants  of  it  ?  If  you  were 
to  ajjply  yourself  to  a  liappy  spirit,  tliat  trod  the  most  thorny 
road  to  Paradise,  or  passed  through  the  most  fiery  trial,  and  to 
ask  him,  "  Was  it  worth  your  while  to  labour  so  much,  and 
to  endure  so  much  for  what  you  now  possess  ?"  Surely  if 
the  blessed  in  heaven  Avere  capable  of  indignation,  it  would 
move  them  to  hear  that  it  should  be  made  a  question.  And 
on  the  other  hand,  if  you  could  enquire  of  one  Tormented 
in  that  flame  below,  though  he  might  once  be  clothed  in  pur- 
ple and  fine  linen,  and  fared  sumptuously  every  day"^',  if  you 
could  ask  him,  "  Whether  his  former  enjoyments  were  any 
equivalent  for  his  present  sufferings  and  despair  r"  What  an- 
swer do  )'ou  suppose  he  would  return  ?  Perhaps  an  answer 
of  so  much  horror  and  rage,  as  you  would  not  be  able  so  much 
as  to  indure.  Or  if  the  malignity  of  his  nature  should  prevent 
him  from  returning  any  answer  at  all,  surely  there  would  be 
a  language  even  in  that  silence,  a  language  in  the  darkness, 
and  flames,  and  groans  of  that  infernal  prison,  which  would 
speak  to  your  very  soul  what  the  word  of  God  is  with  equal 
certainty,  though  less  forcible  conviction,  speaking  to  your 
ear,  that  one  thing  is  needful.  You  see  it  is  so  in  the  judg- 
ment of  God  the  Father,  and  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  of  the 
wisest  and  best  of  men,  of  many,  who  seemed  to  judge  most 
differently  of  it,  wlien  they  come  to  more  deliberate  and  se- 
rious thought,  and  not  only  of  the  dying,  but  of  the  dead 
too,  of  those  who  have  experimentally  known  both  worlds, 
and  most  surely  know  what  is  to  be  preferred.  But  I  will 
not  rest  the  whole  argument  hero,  I  add  therefore, 

2.  I  appeal  to  the  evident  reason  of  the  case  itself,  as  it 
must  appear  to  every  unprejudiced  mind,  that  the  care  of  the 
soul  is  indeed  the  one  thing  needful. 

I  still  consider  myself  as  speaking  not  to  atheists,  or  to 
deists,  but  to  those  who  not  only  believe  the  existence  and 
providence  of  God,  and  a  future  state  of  happiness  and  misery, 
but  likewise  who  credit  the  truth  of  the  christian  revelation,  as 
many  undoubtedly  do,  who  live  in  a  fatal  neglect  of  God  and 
their  own  souls.  Now  on  these  principles  a  little  rellectioa 
may  be  sufficient  to  convince  you,  that  it  is  needful  io  the  present 

♦  Luke  xvi.  19. 
VOL.  III.  O  O 


294  ON  THE  DEATH  OF  A  YOUNG  PERSON.  SeR.  I. 

repose  of  your  own  mind  ;  needful  if  ever  you  would  secure  eter- 
nal happiness  ;  if  ever  you  would  avoid  eternal  misery,  which 
will  be  aggravated,  rather  than  alleviated,  by  all  your  present 
enjoyments. 

1 .  The  care  of  the  soul  is  the  one  thing  needful^  because 
*'  without  it  you  cannot  secure  the  peace  of  5^our  own  mind, 
nor  avoid  the  upbraidings  of  your  conscience." 

That  noble  faculty  is,  indeed,  as  you  are  often  told,  the 
vicegerent  of    God  in  the  soul.      It   is   sensible   of  the  dig- 
nity and  worth  of  an  immortal  Spirit,  and  will  sometimes  cry 
out  of  the  violence  that  is  offered  to  it,  and  cry  so  loud,  as 
to  compel  the  sinner  to  hear,  whether  he  will  or  no.      Do 
you  not  sometimes  find  it  yourselves  ?  When  3'ou  labour  most 
to  forget  the  concerns  of  your  soul,  do  they  not  sometimes 
force  themselves  on  your  remembrance  ?   You  are  afraid  of  the 
reflections  of  your  own  mind,  but  with  all  your  artifice  and 
all  your  resolution,   can  3'^ou  entirely  avoid  them  ?  Does  not 
conscience  follow  you  to  your  beds,  even  if  denied  the  oppor- 
tunity of  meeting  you  in  your  cdosets,  and  though  with  an 
unwelcome  voice,  there  ware  you,  "  that  your  soul  is  neglected 
and  will  quickly  be  lost  ?"    Does  it  not  follow  you   to  your 
shops  and  your  fields,  when  you  are  busiest  there  ?  Nay,  I  will 
add,  does  it  not  sometimes  follow  you  to  the  feast,  to  the  club, 
to  the  dance,  and  perhaps,  amidst  all  resistance,  to  the  theatre 
too  ?  Does  it  not  sometimes  mingle  your  sweetest  draughts  with 
wormwood,  and  your  gayest  scenes  with  horror  ?  So  that  you 
are  like  a  tradesman,  who,  suspecting  his  affairs  to  be  in  a  bad 
posture,  lays  by  his  books  and  his  papers,  yet  sometimes  they 
will  come  accidentally  in  his  way.     He  hardly  dares  to  look 
abroad  for  fear  of  meeting  a  creditor  or  an  arrest ;  and  if  he 
labours  to  forget  his  cares  and  his  dangers,  in  a  course  of 
luxury  at  home,  the  remembrance  is  sometimes  aAvakened,  and 
the  alarm  increased,  by  those  very  extravagances  in  wiiich  he 
is  attempting  to  lose  it.     Such,  no  doubt,  is  the  case  of  some 
of  your  minds,  and  it  is  a  very  pahiful  state  ;  and  while  things 
arc  thus  within,  external  circumstances  can  no  more  make  you 
happy,  than  a  fine  dress  could  reheve  you  under  a  violent  fit 
of  the  stone.     Whereas  if  this  great  affair  were  secured,  you 
might  dehght  in  reflection,  as  much  as  you  now  dread  it ;  and 
conscience,  of  your  bitterest  enemy,  would  become  a  delightful 
friend,  and  the  testimony  of  it  your  greatest  rejoicing. 

2.  The  care  of  the  soul  is  the  one  thing  needful,  "  because 
without  it  you  cannot  possibly  secure  your  eternal  happiness." 
A  crown  of  everlasting  glory  is  not  surely  such  a  trifle  as 


The  Ca re  of  the  Soul.  29 5 

to  be  thrown  away  on  a  careless  creature,  tli;it  will  not  in  good 
earnest  pursue  it.  God  dotii  not  ordinarily  tleal  tlius,  even  with 
tlie  bounties  of  his  common  providence,  which  are  compara- 
tively of  little  value.  As  to  thest;,  the  hand  of  ihe  diligent  j^e- 
nerally  makes  rich,  and  he  would  be  thought  distr;u;ted,  rather 
than  prudent,  who  should  expect  to  get  an  i;state  merely  by 
wishing  for  it,  or  without  some  resolute  and  continued  applica- 
tion to  a  proper  course  of  action  for  that  purpose.  Now, 
that  we  niay  not  foolishly  dream  of  obtaining  heaven,  in  the 
midst  of  a  course  of  indolence  and  sloth,  we  are  expressly  told 
in  ihc  word  of  God,  that  The  kingdom  of  heave?!  suffers  vio- 
lence, and  the  violent  take  it  by  force  *;  and  are  therefore  ex- 
horted to  Strive,  with  the  greatest  intenseness,  and  eagerness  of 
mind,  as  the  word  properly  signifies,  to  eyiter  in  at  the  strait 
gate,  for  this  great  and  imjiortant  reason,  because  many  shall 
another  day  seek  to  enter  in,  and  shall  not  be  able  f.  Nay,  when 
our  Lord  makes  the  most  gracious  promises  to  the  humble  pe- 
titioner, he  does  it  in  such  a  manner  as  to  exclude  the  hopes  of 
those  who  are  careless  and  indifi'erent.  .^sk,  and  it  shall  be 
given  you  :  seek,  and  you  shall  find ;  knock,  and  it  shall  be 
opened  unto  you  %.  If  therefore  you  do  not  ask,  seek  and 
knock,  the  door  of  mercy  will  not  be  opened,  and  eternal  hap- 
piness will  be  lost. 

And  surely  if  I  could  say  no  more  as  to  the  fatal  conse- 
quences of  your  neglect,  than  this,  that  eternal  happiness  will 
be  lost,  I  should  say  enough  to  impress  every  mind  that  consi- 
ders what  eternity  means.  To  fall  into  a  state  of  everlasting 
forgetfulness  might  indeed  appear  a  refuge  to  a  mind  filled  with 
the  apprehension  of  future  misery.  But,  oh  how  dreadful  a  re- 
fuge is  it  !  Surely  it  is  such  a  refuge,  as  a  vast  precipice,  from 
which  a  man  falling  would  be  dashed  to  pieces  in  a  moment, 
might  appear  to  a  person  pursued  by  the  officers  of  justice,  that 
he  mi'iht  be  brouirht  out  to  a  painful  and  lintjcrincr  execution. 
If  an  extravagant  youtli  would  have  reason  to  look  round  witli 
anguish  on  some  fair  and  ample  paternal  inheritance,  which  he 
had  sold  or  forfeited  merelv  for  the  riot  of  a  few  days  :  How 
much  more  melancholy  would  it  be  for  a  rational  mind  to  think 
that  its  eternal  happiness  is  lost  for  any  earthly  consideration 
Avhatever.  Tormenting  thought  !  had  I  attended  to  that  one 
thing  which  I  have  neglected,  I  might  have  been  great  and  hap- 
py, beyond  expression,  beyond  conception.  Not  merely  for  the 
little  span  often  thousand  thousand  ages,  but  for  ever.  So  that  the 

*  Mat.  xj,  1 :.  t  Luko  xiii.  24.  +  Mat.  vii,  7. 

Go  2 


2&6  ON  THE  DEATH  OF  A  YOUNG  PERSON.       SeR.  I. 

moment  would  have  come,  when,  if  it  had  been  asked  concern- 
ing me,  "  How  long  has  that  glorious  Spirit  been  an  inhabitant 
of  heaven  ?    How  long  has  it  been  enjoying  God,  and  itself,  in 

that  state  of  perfection  r" The  answer  Avotild   have  been 

such,  that  a  line  reaching  even  to  the  remotest  star  would  not 
have  been  able  to  contain  the  number  of  ages,  nor  would  milli- 
ons of  years  have  been  sufficient  to  figure  them  down.  This  is 
eternit}',  but  I  have  lost  it,  and  am  now  on  the  verge  of  being. 
This  lamp,  which  might  have  outlasted  those  of  the  firmament, 
■will  presently  be  extinguished,  and  I  blotted  out  from  amongst 
the  works  of  God,  and  cut  off"  from  all  the  bounties  of  his  hand. 
Would  not  this  be  a  ver}"  miserable  case,  if  this  were  all  ?  And 
"would  it  not  be  sufficient  to  prove  this  to  be  the  better  part, 
■which,  as  our  Lord  observes,  can  never  be  taken  away  ?  But 
God  forbid  that  we  should  be  so  unfaithful  to  him,  and  to  the 
souls  of  men,  as  to  rest  in  such  a  representation  alone.  I  there- 
fore add  once  more, 

3.  The  care  of  the  soul  is  the  one  thing  needful,  because 
*'  without  it  you  cannot  avoid  a  state  of  eternal  misery,  which 
■will  be  aggravated,  rather  than  alleviated  by  all  your  present 
enjoyments." 

Nothing  can  be  more  evident  from  the  word  of  the  God  of 
truth.  If  there  plainly  appears  to  be  a  determined  case,  which 
leaves  no  room  for  a  more  favourable  conjecture  or  hope.  The 
"Wicked  shall  be  turned  into  hell,  even  all  the  nations  that  forget 
God*.  They  shall  go  away  info  everlasting  punishynent  f ,  into 
a  state  where  they  shall  in  vain  seek  death,  and  death  shall  flee 
from  them.  Oh  !  Sirs,  it  is  a  certain,  but  an  avvful  truth,  that 
your  souls  will  be  thinking  and  immortal  beings,  even  in  spite 
of  themselves.  They  may  indeed  torment,  but  they  cannot 
destroy  themselves.  They  can  no  more  suspend  their  power  of 
thought  and  perception,  than  a  mirror  its  property  of  reflecting 
rays  that  fall  on  its  surface.  Do  you  suspect  the  contrary  ? 
Make  the  trial  immediately.  Command  your  minds  to  cease 
from  thinking  but  for  one  quarter  of  an  hour,  or  lor  half  that 
time,  and  exclude  every  idea  and  every  reflection.  Can  you 
succeed  in  that  attempt  ?  Or  rather,  does  not  thought  press  in 
■with  a  more  sensible  violence  on  that  resistance  ;  as  an  anxious 
desire  to  sleep,  makes  us  so  much  the  more  wakeful.  Thus  will 
thought  follow  you  beyond  the  grave,  thus  will  it,  as  an  unwel- 
come guest,  force  itself  upon  you,  when  it  can  serve  only  to 
perplex  and  distress  the  mind.     It  will  for  ever  upbraid  you, 

*  P.S.1I.  ix.  1 7.  f  Mat.  XXV.  46. 


The  Care  of  the  Soul.  297 

that  notwithstanding  all  the  kind  expostulations  of  God  and 
man,  notwithstanding  all  the  keen  remonstrances  of  conscience, 
and  the  plfiuHiigs  of  the  blood  of  Christ,  you  have  gone  on  in 
your  folly,  till  heaven  is  lost,  and  damnation  incurred  ;  and  all 
for  what  ?  for  a  shadow  and  a  dream. 

Oh  think  not,  sinners,  that  the  remembrance  of  your  past 
pleasures,  of  your  success  in  your  other  cares,  whilst  that  of  the 
one  thing  needful  was  forgotten,  think  not  that  this  will  case 
your  minds,  it  will  rather  torment  them  the  more.  Sen,  re- 
vxewber  that  thou  in  thy  life-time  rcceivedst  thy  good  things. 
Bitter  remembrance  !  Well  might  the  heathen  ])oets  represent 
the  unhappy  s])irits  in  the  shades  below,  as  eagerly  catching  at 
the  water  of  forgetfulness,  yet  unable  to  reach  it.  Your  present 
comforts  will  only  serve,  to  give  yon  a  livelier  sense  of  your 
misery,  as  having  tasted  such  degrees  of  enjoyment;  and  to  in- 
flame the  reckoning,  as  you  have  misimproved  those  talents 
lodged  in  your  hands  for  better  purposes.  Surely,  if  these 
things  were  believed,  and  seriousl}"^  considered,  the  sinner  would 
have  no  more  heart  to  rejoice  in  his  present  prosperity,  than  a 
man  would  have  to  amuse  himself  with  the  curiosities  of  a 
fine  garden,  through  which  he  was  led  to  be  broke  upon  the 
rack. 

But  I  will  enlarge  no  farther  on  these  things.  Would  to 
God  that  the  unaccountable  stupidity  of  men's  minds,  and  their 
fatal  attachment  to  the  pleasures  and  cares  of  the  present  life, 
did  not  make  it  necessary  to  insist  on  them  so  frequently  and  so 
copiously ! 

IV.  I  proceed  to  the  reflections  wliicli  naturally  arise  from 
hence,  and  shall  only  mention  two. 

1.  How  mucli  reason  have  we  to  lament  the  folly  of  man- 
kind in  neglecting  the  one  thing  needful. 

If  religion  be  indeed  the  truest  wisdom,  then  surely  we  have 
the  justest  reason  to  say  with  Solomon,  that  folly  and  Madness 
is  in  men's  hearts^.  Is  it  the  ofie  thing  needful  ?  Look  on  the 
conduct  of  the  generality  of  mankind,  and  you  would  imagine 
they  thought  it  the  07ie  thing  needless:  Tiie  vainest  dream  and 
the  idlest  amusement  of  the  mind.  God  is  admonishing  them 
bv  ordinances,  and  providences,  sometimes  by  such  as  are  most 
awful,  to  lay  it  to  heart ;  he  Speaks  once,  yea  twice,  yea,  a  mul- 
titude of  times,  but  man  regards  not -^ .  They  profess  perhaps 
to  believe  all  that  1  have  been  saying,  but  act  as  if  the  contrary 
Were  self  evident ;  they  will  risk  these  souls  and  this  eternity,  for 
a  thing  of  noiight,  lor  that  for  the  sake  of  which  they  would  not 

'  Vx,\,  ;x.  3.  +  Job  xxxiii.  U. 


298         ON  THE  DEATH  OF  A  YOUNG  PERSON,     SeR.  I. 

risk  SO  much  as  a  hand,  or  a  finger,  or  a  joint,  no,  nor  perhaps  a 
toy  that  adorns  it.  Surely  this  is  tlie  wonder  of  angels,  and  per- 
haps of  devils  too,  unless  the  observation  of  so  many  ages  may 
have  rendered  it  familiar  to  both.  And  can  we,  my  christian 
brethren,  behold  sucl)  a  scene  with  indifference?  If  some  epi- 
demical madness  had  seized  our  country,  or  the  places  where  we 
live,  so  that  as  we  went  irom  one  place  to  another,  we  should 
every  where  meet  with  lunatics,  and  see,  among  the  rest,  some 
perhaps  of  the  finest  genius  and  improvements,  and  in  the  most 
eminent  stations  in  life,  amusing  themselves  with  straws  and 
bubbles,  or  wounding  themselves  and  others ;  surely  were  we 
ever  so  secure  from  the  danger  of  infection  or  assault,  the  sight 
would  cut  us  to  the  heart.  Surely  a  good-natured  man  would 
hardly  be  able  to  go  abroad,  or  even  be  desirous  to  live,  if  it 
inust  be  amongst  so  many  sad  spectacles.  Yet  these  poor  crea- 
tures might,  notwithstanding  this,  be  the  children  of  God,  and 
the  higher  their  frenzy  rose,  the  nearer  might  their  complete 
happiness  be.  But  alas,  the  greater  part  of  mankind  are  seized 
with  a  worse  kind  of  madness,  in  which  they  are  ruining  their 
souls :  And  can  Ave  behold  it  with  indifference  !  The  Lord 
awaken  our  compassion,  our  prayer,  and  our  endeavours  in  de- 
pendance  on  divine  grace,  that  we  may  be  instrumental  in 
bringing  them  to  their  right  mind,  and  making  them  wise  indeed, 
that  is,  wise  to  salvation. 

2.  How  necessary  is  it  that  we  should  seriously  enquire  how 
this  07ie  thing  needful  is  regarded  by  us  ! 

Let  me  intreat  you  to  remember  your  own  concern  in  it, 

and  inquire Have  I  thought  seriously  of  it? Have  I  seen 

the  importance  of  it  ? Has  it  lain  with  a  due  and  an  abiding 

weight  on  my  mind  ? Has  it  brought  me  to  Christ,  that  I 

might  lay  the  stress  of  these  great  eternal  interests  on  him  ? 

And  am  I  acting  in  the  main  of  my  life  as  one  that  has  these  con- 
victions ? Am  I  willing  in  fact  to  give  up  other  things,  my 

interests,  my  pleasures,  my  passions  to  this  ? Am  I  convers- 
ing with  God  and  with  man  as  one  that  believes  these  things,  as 
one  that  has  deliberately  chosen  the  better  part,  and  is  determin- 
ed to  abide  by  that  choice  ? 

Observe  the  answer  which  conscience  returns  to  these  in- 
quiries, and  you  will  know  your  own  part  in  that  more  particular 
application,  with  which  I  am  to  conclude  my  discourse. 

1 .  Let  me  address  those  that  are  entirely  unconcerned  about 
the  one  thing  needful. 

Sirs,  I  have  been  stating  the  case  at  large,  and  now  I  appeal 
to  your  consciences,  are  these  things  so  ?  or  are  they  not  ?  God 


The  Care  of  the  Soul.  29^ 

and  your  own  hearts  best  know  for  what  the  care  of  your  soul 
is  neglected  ;  but  be  it  what  it  will,  the  diflerencc  between  one 
grain  of  sand,  and  another,  is  not  great,  when  it  comes  to  be 
•weighed  against  a  talent  of  gold.  Whatever  it  is,  you  had  need 
to  examine  it  carefully.  You  had  need  to  view  that  commodity 
on  all  sides,  of  which  you  do  in  eiVeet  say,  for  this  will  I  sell  my 
soul,  for  this  will  I  give  up  heaven  and  venture  hell,  be  lieaven 
and  hell  whatever  they  may.  In  the  name  of  God,  Sirs,  is  this 
the  part  of  a  man,  of  a  rational  creature  ?  To  go  on  with  your 
eyes  open  towards  a  pit  of  eternal  ruin,  because  there  are  a  few 
gay  f3owers  in  the  way.  Or  what  if  you  shut  your  eyes  ?  will 
that  prevent  your  fall  ?  It  signifies  little  to  say,  I  will  not  think 
of  these  things,  I  will  not  consider  them.  God  has  said,  In  the 
last  days  they  shall  consider  it  perfectly  *,  The  revels  of  a 
drunken  malefactor  will  not  prevent,  nor  respite  his  execution. 
Pardon  my  plainness  ;  if  it  were  a  fable,  or  a  tale,  I  woultl  en- 
deavour to  amuse  you  with  words,  but  I  cannot  do  it  where 
your  souls  are  at  stake. 

2.  I  would  apply  to  those  who  are  convinced  of  the  im- 
portance of  their  souls,  yet  are  inclined  to  defer  that  care  of  them 
a  little  longer,  which  in  the  general  they  see  to  be  necessar}'. 

I  know,  you  that  are  young  are  under  peculiar  temptations 
to  do  this  ;  though  it  is  strange  that  the  death  of  so  many  of 
your  companions  should  not  be  an  answer  to  some  of  the  most 
specious  and  dangerous  of  those  temptations.  Methinks  if  there 
were  the  least  degree  of  uncertainty,  the  importance  is  too 
weighty  to  put  matters  to  the  venture.  But  here  the  uncer- 
tainty is  great  and  apparent.  You  must  surely  know  that 
there  arc  critical  seasons  of  life  for  managing  the  concerns  of 
it,  which  are  of  such  a  nature,  that,  if  once  lost,  they  may 
never  return  :  Here  is  a  critical  season.  Now  is  the  accepted 
time,  now  is  the  day  of  salvation  \.  To-day  if  ye  will  hear 
his  voice,  harden  not  your  hearts  %.  This  language  may  not 
be  spoken  to-morrow  ;  Talk  not  of  a  more  convenient  season^ 
none  can  be  more  convenient :  and  tiiat  to  which  you  would 
probably  refer  it,  is  least  of  all  so.  A  dying  time.  You 
would  not  choose  then  to  have  any  important  business  in 
hand  ;  and  will  you  of  choice  refer  the  greatest  business  of 
all  to  that  languishing,  hurrying,  amazing  hour?  If  a  friend 
were  then  to  come  to  you  with  the  balance  of  an  intricate 
account,  or  a  view  of  a  title  to  an  estate,  you  would  shake 
your  fainting  head,   and  lift  up  your  pale  trembling  hand,  and 

*  Svx.  xxiii.  20.  t  2  Cor.  »i.  2.  X  Heb.  iii.  7,  3. 


300         ON  THE  DEATH  OF  A  YOUNG  PERSON.       SeR,  I. 

say  perhaps  with  a  feeble  voice,  "  Alas,  is  this  a  time  for 
these  things  ?"  And  is  it  a  time  for  so  much  greater  things 
than  these  ?  I  wish  you  knew,  and  would  consider  into  what 
a  strait  we  that  are  ministers  are  sometimes  brought,  when  we 
are  called  to  the  dying  beds  of  those  who  have  spent  their  lives 
in  the  neglect  of  the  07ie  thing  needful.  On  the  one  hand  we 
fear,  lest  if  we  palliate  matters,  and  speak  smooth  thmgs,  we 
shall  betray  and  ruin  their  souls  ;  and  on  the  other,  that  if  we 
use  a  becoming  plainness  and  seriousness,  in  m  arning  them  of 
their  danger,  we  shall  quite  overwhelm  them,  and  hasten  the 
dying  moment  which  is  advancing  by  such  swift  steps.  Oh  let 
me  entreat  you,  for  our  sakes,  and  much  more  for  your  own, 
that  you  do  not  drive  us  to  such  sad  extremities  ;  But  that  if 
you  are  convinced,  as  I  hope  some  of  you  may  now  be,  that  the 
care  of  the  soul  is  that  Jieedful  thing  we  have  represented,  let 
the  conviction  work,  let  it  drive  3'ou  immediately  to  the  throne 
of  grace,  that  from  thence  you  may  derive  that  wisdom  and 
strength  which  may  direct  you  in  alltiie  intricacies  which  intangle 
you,  and  animateyou  in  the  midst  of  difficulty  and  d  iscouragement. 

3.  I  would  in  the  last  place,  address  myself  to  those  happy 
souls  who  have  in  good  earnest  attended  to  the  one  thing  needful, 

I  hope  when  you  see  how  commonly  it  is  neglected,  neg- 
lected indeed  by  many,  whose  natural  capacities,  improvements, 
and  circumstances  in  life,  appear  to  you  superior  to  your  own, 
you  will  humbly  acknowledge,  that  it  was  distinguishing  grace 
that  brought  you  into  this  happy  state,  and  formed  you  to  this 
most  necessary  care.  Bless  the  Lord  therefore  who  hath  given 
you  that  counsel,  in  virtue  of  which  you  can  say  that  he  is  your 

portion. Rejoice  in  the  thought  that  the  great  concern  is 

secured  ;  as  it  is  natural  for  us  to  do,  when  some  important 
affair  is  dispatched  which  has  long  lain  before  us,  and  Avhich  we 
have  been  inchned  to  put  off  from  one  day  to  another,  but  have 

at  length  strenuously  and  successfully  attended. Remember 

still  to  continue  acting  on  these  great  principles  which  at  first 
determined  your  choice;  and  seriously  consider,  that  those  who 
desire  their  life  may  at  last  he  given  them /or  a  prey,  must  con- 
tinue on  their  guard,  in  all  stages  of  their  journey  through  a 
wilderness,  where  daily  dangers  are  still  surrounding  them. 
Having  secured  the  great  concern,  make  yourselves  easy  as  to 
others  of  smaller  importance.  You  have  chosen  The  kingdom 
of  God,  and  his  righteousness,  other  things  therefore  shall  be 
added  unto  you ;  and  if  any  which  you  desire  should  not  be 
added,  comfort  yourselves  Avith  this  thought,  that  you  have 
the  good  part  which  can  never  be  taken  away.    And,  not  to 

3 


The  Care  of  the  Soul.  301 

enlarge  on  tlicsc  obvious  hints,  which  must  so  often  occur,  bo 
very  soHcitous  that  others  may  be  brought  to  a  care  about  the 
oyie  thing  needful.  If  it  be  needful  for  you,  it  is  so  for  your 
children,  your  friends,  your  servants.  Let  them  therefore  sec 
your  concern  in  this  respect  for  them,  as  well  as  for  yourselves. 
Let  parents,  especially,  attend  to  this  exhortation,  whose  care 
for  their  offspring  often  exceeds  in  other  respects,  and  fails  in 
this,  llemcnibcr  that  your  children  may  never  live  to  enjoy  the 
effects  of  your  labour  and  concern,  to  get  them  estates  and  por- 
tions. The  charges  of  their  funerals  may  perhaps  be  all  their 
share  of  what  you  arc  so  anxiously  careful  to  lay  up  for  them. 
And  oh  !  think  what  a  sword  would  pierce  through  your  very 
heart,  if  you  should  stand  by  the  corpse  of  a  beloved  child  with 
this  reflection,  "  This  poor  creature  has  done  with  life  before  it 
learnt  its  great  business  in  it,  and  is  gone  to  eternity,  which  I 
have  seldom  been  warning  it  to  prepare  for,  and  which  per- 
haps it  learnt  of  me  to  forget." 

On  the  whole,  may  this  grand  care  be  awakened  in  those 
by  whom  it  has  been  hitherto  neglected  ;  may  it  be  revived  in 
each  of  our  minds  !  And  that  you  may  be  encouraged  to  pursue 
it  with  greater  cheerfulness,  let  me  conclude  with  this  comfort- 
able thought,  that  in  proportion  to  the  necessity  of  the  case,  is 
the  provision  which  divine  grace  has  made  for  our  assistance. 
If  you  are  disposed  to  sit  down  at  Christ's  feet,  he  will  teach 
you  by  his  word  and  Spirit.  If  you  commit  this  precious  jewel, 
which  is  your  cfernal  all,  into  his  hand,  he  will  preserve  it  unto 
that  day ,'and  will  then  produce  it  richly  adorned,  and  gloriously 
improved  to  his  own  honour,  and  to  your  everlasting  joy.  Amen. 


VOL.  III.  P  P 


FUNERAL  SERMONS. 


SUBMISSIOI^  TO  DIVINE  PROVIDENCE 

IN 

THE  DEATH  OF  CHILDREN, 

Recommended  and  enforced,  in  a  Sermon  preached  at  Northampton,  on  the  Death 
of  a  very  amiable  and  hopeful  Child,  about  Five  Years  old. 


PREFACE. 


The  discourse  which  I  now  offer  to  the  public  was  drawn  vp  on  a  very  sor- 
rowful occasion  ;  the  death  of  a  most  desirable  child,  who  was  formed  in  such 
a  coiTespoiidence  to  my  own  relish  and  temper,  as  to  be  able  to  give  me  a 
degree  of  delight,  and  consequently  of  distress,  which  I  did  not  before  think 
it  possible  I  could  have  received  from  a  little  creature  who  had  not  quite  comi- 
pleted  her  fifth  year. 

Since  the  sermon  was  preached,  it  has  pleased  God  to  make  the  like 
breaches  on  the  families  of  several  of  my  friends ;  and,  with  regard  to  some 
of  them,  the  afiliction  hath  been  attended  with  circumstances  of  yet  sorer 
aggravation.  Though  several  of  them  areremoved  to  a  considerable  distance 
from  me,  and  from  each  other,  I  have  borne  their  afflictions  upon  my  heart 
Avith  coydial  sympathy  ;  and  it  is  with  a  particular  desire  of  serving  them, 
that  I  have  undertaken  the  sad  task  of  reviewing  and  transcribing  these  pa- 
pers; which  may  almost  be  called  the  minutes  of  my  own  sighs  and  tears, 
over  the  poor  remains  of  my  eldest,  and  of  this  kind,  dearest  hope,  when  they 
Avere  not  as  yet  buried  out  of  my  sight. 

They  are,  indeed,  full  of  affection,  and  to  be  sure  some  may  think  they 
are  too  full  of  it :  but  let  them  consider  the  subject, '  and  the  circumstances, 
and  surely  they  will  pardon  it.  1  apprehend,  I  could  not  have  treated  such  a 
subject  coldly,  had  I  writ  upon  it  many  years  ago,  when  1  was  untaught  in 
the  school  of  affliction,  and  knew  nothing  of  such  a  calamity  as  this,  but  by 
speculation  or  report:  how  much  less  could  I  do  it,  when  God  had  touched 
me  in  so  tender  a  part,  and,  to  allude  to  a  celebrated  ancient  story,  called  me 
out  to  appear  on  a  public  stage,  as  with  an  urn  in  my  hand,  which  contained 
the  ashes  of  my  own  child  ! 

In  such  a  sad  situation,  parents,  at  least,  will|forgive  the  tears  of  a  parent, 
and  those  meltings  of  soul  which  over-flow  in  the  following  pages.  I  have 
cot  attempted  to  run  through  the  common-place  of  immoderate  grief,  but 
have  only  selected  a  few  obvious  thoughts  which  I  found  peculiarly  suitable 
to  myself;  and,  I  bless  God,  I  can  truly  say,  they  gave  me  a  solid  and  sub- 
stantial relief,  under  a  shock  of  sorrow,  which  would  otherwise  have  broken 
my  spirits. 

On  my  own  experience,  therefore,  I  would  recommend  them  to  others, 
in  the  like  condition.  And  let  me  intreat  my  friends  and  fellow-sufferers  to 
remember,  that  it  is  not  a  low  degree  of  submission  to  the  divine  will,  which 
is  called  for  in  the  ensuing  discourse.    It  is  comparatively  an  easy  thing  to 


PREFACE,  303 

behave  witli  external  decency,  to  refrain  from  bold  censures,  and  outrageous 
complaints,  nr  to  speali  in  the  outward  language  of  resignation.  But  it  is  not 
so  easy  to  get  rid  of  every  repining  tliougiit,  and  to  forbear  taking  it,  in  some 
degree  at  least,  imkindiy,  that  the  God  whom  we  love  and  serve,  in  whose 
friendsliip  wp  have  long  "trusted  and  rejoiced,  should  act  what,  to  sense,  seems 
so  unfriendly  a  part:  that  lie  should  take  away  a  cliild;  and  if  a  child,  that 
child;  and  if  tiiat  child,  at  that  age;  and  if  at  that  age,  with  this  or  that  par- 
ticular circumstance;  whicli seems  the  very  contrivance  of  provid(.'nce,  to  adtl 
double  anguish  to  the  wound;  and  all  this,  when  ho  could  so  easily  have  re- 
called it ;  when  we  know  him  to  have  done  it  for  so  mauy  others;  when  wc 
so  earnestly  desired  it ;  when  we  sought  it  with  such  importunity,  and  yet,  as 

we  imagine,  with  so  much  submission  too: ^That,  notwithstanding  all  this, 

he  should  tear  it  away  with  an  inexorable  hand,  and  leav«-  us,  it  muy  be  for  a 
■while,  under  the  load,  without  any  extraordinary  comforts  and  supports,  to 

balance  so  grievous  a  trial. In  these  circumstances,  not  only  to  justify,  but 

to  glorify  God  in  ail, cheerfully  to  subscribe  to  his  will, cordially  to 

approve  it  as  merciful  and  gracious, so  as  to  be  able  to  say,  as  the  pious 

and  excellent  archbishopof  Cambray  did,  when  his  royal  pupil,  and  the  hopes 
of  a  nation  were  taken  away*,  "  If  there  needed  no  more  than  to  move  a 
straw  to  bring  him  to  life  again,  I  would  not  do  it,  since  the  divine  pleasure 
is  otherwise." This,  this  is  a  dillicult  lesson  indeed;  a  triumph  of  chris- 
tian faith  and  love,  whicli  1  fear  many  of  us  are  yet  to  learn. 

But  let  us  follow  after  it,  and  watch  against  the  first  rising  of  a  contrary 
temper,  as  most  injurious  to  God,  and  prejudicial  to  ourselves.  To  preserve 
us  against  it,  let  us  review  the  considerations  now  to  be  proposed,  as  what  we 
are  to  digest  into  our  hearts,  and  work  into  our  thoughts  and  our  passions. 
And  I  would  hope,  that  if  we  do  in  good  earnest  make  the  attempt,  we  shall 
find  this  discourse  a  cooling  and  sweetening  medicine,  which  may  allay  that 
inward  heat  and  sharpness,  with  which,  in  a  case  like  ours,  the  heart  is  often 
inflamed  and  corroded.  I  commend  it,  such  as  it  is,  to  the  blessing  of  the 
great  physician,  and  could  wish  the  reader  to  make  up  its  many  deiiciencies, 
by  Mr.  Flavel's  Token  for  xMourners,and  Dr.  Grosvenor's  M<nirner;  to  which 
if  it  suit  his  relish,  he  may  please  to  add  Sir  \Villian\  Temple's  Essay  on  the 
Excess  of  Grief:  Three  tracts  which,  in  their  very  different  strains  and  styles, 
I  cannot  but  look  upon  as  in  the  number  of  the  best  which  our  language,  or, 
perhaps,  any  other,  has  produced  upon  this  subject. 

As  for  this  little  piece  of  mine,  I  question  not,  but,  like  the  generality  of 
single  sermons,  it  will  soon  be  worn  out  and  forgot.  But  in  the  mean  time,  I 
would  humbly  hope,  that  some  tender  parent,  whom  providence  has  joined 
•with  me  in  sad  similitude  of  grief,  may  find  some  consolation  from  it,  while 
sitting  by  the  cofllii  of  a  beloved  child,  or  mourning  over  its  grave.  And  [ 
particularly  hope  it,  with  regard  to  those  dear  and  valuable  friends,  whose 
sorrows,  on  the  like  occasion,  have  lately  been  added  to  my  own.  1  desue  that 
though  they  be  not  expressly  named,  they  would  please  to  consider  this  sermon 
as  most  adectionately  and  respectfully  dedicated  to  then\;  and  would,  in  re- 
turn, give  me  a  share  in  their  prayers,  that  ail  the  vicissitudes  of  life  may  con- 
cur to  quicken  me  in  the  duties  of  it,  and  to  ripen  me  tor  thai  blessed  world. 
>^'here  I  hope  many  of  tiiose  dear  delights,  which  are  now  withering  around 
us,  will  spring  up  in  lairer  and  more  durable  forms.     Amen. 

Noithampton,  Jan.  3h7,  1736-7. 

*  The  tlukc  of  Burgiindv.     See  Cambiay's  Life,  i).  r.2?. 
Pp  2 


POSTSCRIPT, 


I  COULD  easily  shew,  -with  how  much  propriety  I  have  called  the  dear  de- 
ceased an  amiable  and  hopeful  child,  by  a  great  many  little  stories,  which 
parents  would  perhaps  read  with  pleasure,  and  children  might  hear  with  some 
improvement:  yet  as  I  cannot  be  sure  that  no  others  may  happen  to  read  the 
discourse,  I  dare  not  trust  my  pen  and  my  heart  on  so  delicate  a  subject. 
One  circumstance  I  will  however  venture  to  mention,  (as  I  see  here  is  a  blank 
page  left)  which  may  indeed  be  considered  as  a  specimen  of  many  others.  As 
she  was  a  great  darling  with  most  of  our  friends  that  knew  her,  she  often  re- 
ceived invitations  to  different  places  at  the  same  time;  and  when  I  once  ask- 
ed her,  on  such  an  occasion,  what  made  every  body  love  her  so  well ;  she  an- 
swered me,  with  that  simplicity  and  spirit,  which  alas!  charmed  me  too 
much,  Indeed,  papa,  I  cannot  think,  unless  it  be  because  I  love  every  body. 
A  sentiment  obvious  to  the  understanding  of  a  child,  yet  not  unworthy  the 
reflection  of  the  wisest  man  *. 

*  Tibi  monstrabo  araatorlum  sine  medicamento,  sine  lierbis,  sine  nllius  vene^ 
ficae  carmine.  Si  us  amari,  ama.     Sen. 


Submission  to  Providence.  ZOl 

SERMON  II. 


\ 

2  King";  iv.  C5,  QG. — And  it  came  to  pass  w/icii  the  Man  of  Cod  sarv  her  aficr 
op',  t/uit  lie  said  to  Geliitzi,  fiis  Servant,  lieltold,  yonder  is  that  Shnnumite : 
linn  noiv,  I  pray  thcc,  to  meet  her,  and  say,  unto  ha-.  Is  it  uell  leitk  thee  ? 
Is  it  ueli  Ziith  thine  Husband  ?  Is  it  uell  idlh  the  child  ?  ylnd  she  ansiured 
It  is  iuell. 


Wfien 


I  EN  the  apostle  vould  cncoura<Te,  our  Impc  and  trust  in 
the  tenderness  of  Christ  as  the  orcat  liigh  priest,  and  convince 
us  that  he  is  capable  of  beini^  touched  witli  a  sympatheiic  sense 
of  our  infirmities,  he  argues  at  large  from  this  consideratioii 
that  Jesus,  JVas  in  all  points  tempted  like  us  ;  so  that  as  Jie 
himself  has  suffered y  being  tempted,  he  knows  how  more  com- 
passionately to  suceour  those  that  are  inider  the  like  trials*. 
Now  this  must  surely  intimate,  that  it  is  not  in  human  nature 
evcTi  in  its  most  perfect  state,  so  tenderly  to  commiserate  any 
sorrows,  as  those  which  our  own  hearts  have  felt :  as  we  cannot 
form  a  perfect  idea  of  any  bitter  kind  of  draught,  b}-  the  most 
exact  description,  till  we  have  ourselves  tasted  it.  It  is  pro- 
bably for  this  reason,  amongst  others,  that  God  fi'equeutiy 
exercises  such,  as  have  the  honour  to  be  inferior  shcplierds  in 
the  flock  of  Christ,  -with  a  long  train  of  various  afflictions, 
That  "u'e  may  beable  to  eomfort  them  who  are  in  the  like  trouble^ 
with  those  consolations  with  which  we  have  ourselves  been  com- 
forted of  Godf.  And,  if  we  have  the  temper  which  becomes 
our  oflBce,  't  will  greath^  reconcile  us  to  our  trials,  t»)  consider, 
that  from  our  weeping  eyes,  and  our  bleeding  hearts,  a  balm 
may  be  extracted  to  heal  the  sorrows  of  others,  and  a  cordial 
to  revive  their  fainting  spirits.  May  we  never  be  left  to  sink 
under  our  burden,  in  such  a  manner,  that  there  should  be  room, 
after  all  that  we  have  boasted  of  the  strength  of  religious  sup- 
ports, to  apply  to  us  the  words  of  Eliphaz  to  Job  j.  Thou  hast 
strengthened  the  weak  hands,  and  upheld  him  that  was  ready 
to  fall ;  but  now  it  is  come  ypoii  thee,  and  thou  faintest ;  it 
touehes  thee,  and  thou  art  troubled  !  May  we  never  behave,  as 
if  The  consolations  of  God  were  small ^;  lest  it  should  be  ^s 
when  a  standard-bearer  fainteth  ^;  and  whole  companies  of 
soldiers  are  thrown  into  confusion  and  distress  ! 

•'•  II«b.  iv.  15.— ii.  IS.     t  2  Cor.  i.  \,    \  Job  iv.  3—5.      §Job  xC  11.     ||  li.  x.  18, 


306  ON  THE  DEATH  OF  A  CHILD.  SeR.  II. 

My  friends,  you  are  witnesses  for  me,  that  T  have  not  stood 
by  as  an  unconcerned  spectator  amidst  the  desolations  of  your 
respective  families,  when  God's  awful  hand  hath  been  lopping 
off  those  tender  branches  from  them,  which  were  once  our  com- 
mon hope  and  delight.     I  have  often  put  my  soul  in  the  stead  of 
3'ours,  and  endeavoured  to  give  such  a  turn  to  my  pubUc  as 
well  as  my  private  discourses,  as  might  be  a  means  of  compos- 
ing and  cheering  our  minds,  and  forming  you  to  a  submissive 
temper,  that  you  might  Be  subject  to  the  Father  of  spirits,  and 
live  *.     In  this  view  I  have,  at  different  times  largely  insisted 
on  the  example  of  Aaron,  who  Held  his  peace fy  when  his  two 
sons  were  struck  dead  in  a  moment  by  fire  from  the  Lord, 
which  destroyed  them  in  the  very  act  of  their  sin  ;   and  I  have 
also  represented  that  of  Job,  who,  when  the  death  of  ten  child- 
ren by  one  blow  was  added  to  the  spoil  of  his  great  posses- 
sions, could  say,   The  Lord  gave,   and  the  Lord  hath  taken 
away  ;  blessed  be  the  name  of  the  LordX-     The  instance  which 
is   before   us,  is   not  indeed   so  memorable   as  these;  but  to 
present  circumstances  it  is,  m  many  respects,  more  suitable  : 
and  it  may  the  rather  deserve  our  notice,  as  it  shews  us  the 
■wisdom,  composure,  and  piety  of  one  of  the  weaker  and  ten- 
derer sex,  on  an  occasion  of  such  aggravated  distress,  that  had 
Aaron  or  Job  behaved  just  as  she  did,  we  must  have  acknow- 
ledged,  that  they  had  not  sunk  beneath  the  dignity  of  their 
character,  nor  appeared  unworthy  of  our  applause,  and  our 
imitation. 

Indeed  there  may  be  some  reason  to  imagine,  that  it  was 
■with  design  to  humble  those  who  are  in  distinguished  stations 
of  life,  and  who  have  peculiar  advantages  and  obligations  to 
excel  in  religion,  that  God  has  shewn  us  in  scripture,  as  well 
as  in  common  life,  some  bright  examples  of  piety,  where  they 
could  hardly  have  been  expected  in  so  great  a  degree  ;  and 
hath,  as  it  were,  Perfected  praise  out  of  the  mouths  of  babes  and 
sucklings^.  Thus  when  Zacharias\\  an  aged  priest,  doubted 
the  veracity  of  the  angel  which  appeared  to  assure  him  of  the 
birth  of  his  child,  which  was  to  be  produced  in  an  ordinary 
way;  Mary,  an  obscure  3'oung  virgin,  could  believe  a  far  more 
unexampled  event,  and  said,  with  humble  faith  and  thankful 
consent,  Behold  the  handmaid  of  the  Lord,  be  it  unto  me  accord- 
ing to  thy  word^^.  Jonah  the  prophet,  though  favoured  with 
such  immediate  revelations,  and  so  lately  delivered,  in  a  mira- 

*  Il.'h.  xii.  9.  fLov.  x.  3.  +Jobi.  21. 

§  Mat.  x\i.  16.  y  Luke  i.  18.  <(t  Luke  i.  38. 

2 


Submission  to  Providence.  307 

ciiloiis  Avay,  from  tlie  very  lielli/  of  hell  *,  was  thrown  into  a 
most  indecent  transport  of  passion,  on  the  witherinf^  of  a  gourd  ; 
so  that  he  presumed  to  tell  the  Ahnighty  to  his  face,  that  J/e  did 
welt  to  beangnj  even  unto  deathf;  whereas  this  pious  woman  pre- 
serves the  caluiness  and  serenity  of  lier  temy)er,  when  she  had  lost 
a  child,  a  son,  an  only  child  who  had  been  given  bevond  all  natural 
hope,  and  therefore  to  be  sure  was  so  much  the  dearer,  and  the 
expectation  from  him  so  much  the  higher.  Yet  these  expec- 
tations dashed  almost  in  a  moment ;  and  this,  when  he  was 
grown  up  to  an  age  when  children  are  peculiarly  entertaining  ; 
for  he  was  old  enough  to  be  with  his  Father  in  the  field ;  where 
no  doubt  he  was  diverting  him  with  his  fond  prattle  ;  yet  he 
was  not  too  big  to  be  laid  On  his  mother's  knees  %  when  he 
came  home  complaining  of  his  head ;  so  that  he  was  probably 
about  five  or  six  years  old.  This  amiable  child  was  well  in  the 
morning,  and  dead  by  noon  ;  a  pale  corpse  in  his  mother's  arms! 
and  he  now  laj/  dead  in  the  house ;  and  yet  she  had  the  faith, 
and  the  goodness  to  say,  It  is  well. 

This  good  woman  had  found  the  prophet  Elisha  grateful 
for  all  the  favours  he  had  received  at  her  house;  where  she  had 
from  time  to  time  accommodated  him  in  his  journies,  and 
thought  it  an  honour  rather  than  an  incumbrance.  She  had  expe- 
rienced the  power  of  his  prayers,  in  answer  to  which  the  child  had 
been  given ;  and  it  is  extremely  probable,  that  she  also  recol- 
lected the  miracle  which  Elijah  had  wrought  a  few  years  before, 
though  till  that  time  the  like  had  not  been  known  in  Israel,  or 
on  earth  ;  I  mean,  in  raising  from  the  dead  the  child  of  that 
Avidow  of  Sarepta^  Avho  had  nourished  him  during  the  famine. 
She  might  therefore  think  it  a  possible  case,  that  the  mi- 
racle might  be  renewed  ;  at  least,  she  knew  not  how  to  com- 
fort herself  better,  than  by  going  to  so  good  a  friend,  and  ask- 
ing his  counsels  and  his  prayers,  to  enable  her  to  bear  her 
affliction,  if  it  must  not  be  removed  ||. 

Accordingly  she  hasted  to  him  ;  and  he,  on  the  other 
side,  discovered  the  temper  of  a  real  friend,  in  the  message  with 
which  he  sent  Gehazi  his  servant  to  meet  her,  while  she  was  yet 
afar  off.  The  moment  she  appeared,  the  concerns  of  her 
whole  family  seem  to  have  come  into  his  kind  heart  at  once, 
and  he  particularly  asks.  Is  it  well  with  thee  ?  Is  it  well  with 
thine  husband  ?  Is  it  well  with  the  child  ?  A  beautiful  example 
of  that  affectionate  care  for  the  persons  and   faniilies  of  their 

*  Jon.  ii.  2.  f  Joa.  iv.  9.  %  2  Kings  ir.  18,  20. 

i  livings  xvii.  17.  &  seq.     jj  See  Heury,  in  loo. 


SOS  ON  THE  DEATH  OF  A  CHILD.  SeR.  II. 

friends,  which cliristian  ministers  who^  like  the  prophets  of  old, 
are  called  Men  of  God*"  should  habitually  bear  about  in  their 
hearts  ;  which  should  be  awakened  by  every  sight  of  them,  and 
expressed  on  every  proper  occasion. 

Her  answer  was  very  remarkable  :  She  said,  it  is  well. 
Perhaps  she  meant  this,  to  divert  the  more  particular  enquiry 
of  the  servant  ;  as  she  had  before  made  the  same  answer  to  her 
husband,  when  he  had  examined  into  the  reason  of  her  intended 
io\irney,  as  probably  not  knowing  of  the  sad  breach  which  bad 
been  made  :  She  said,  it  is  well  f ;  which  Avas  a  civil  way  of 
intimating  her  desire  that  he  would  not  ask  any  more  particular 
questions.  But  I  cannot  see  any  reason  to  restrain  the  words 
to  this  meaning  alone  :  we  have  ground  to  believe,  from  the 
piety  she  expressed  in  her  first  regards  to  Elisha,  and  the 
opportunities  which  she  had  of  improving  in  religion  by  the 
frequent  converse  of  that  holy  man,  that  when  she  used  this 
language,  she  intended  thereby  to  express  her  resignation  to 
the  divine  M'iJl  ni  what  had  lately  passed  :  and  this  might  be 
the  meaning  of  her  heart,  though  one  ignorant  of  the  particulars 
of  her  case,  might  not  fully  understand  it  from  such  ambiguous 
words ;  "  It  is  well  on  the  whole.  Though  my  family  be 
afflicted,  we  are  afflicted  in  faithfulness  ;  though  my  dear  babe 
be  dead,  yet  my  heavenly  father  is  just,  and  he  is  good  in  all. 
He  knows  how  to  bring  glory  to  himself,  and  advantage  to  us, 
from  this  stroke.  Wliether  this  application  do,  or  do  not  suc- 
ceed, whether  the  child  be,  or  be  not  restored,  it  is  still  well  with 
him,  and  well  with  us  ;  for  we  are  in  such  wise  and  such  graci- 
ous hands,  that  I  would  not  allow  one  murmuring  word,  or 
onej-epining  thought."  So  that,  on  the  whole,  the  sentiment 
of  this  good  Shunamite  was  much  the  same  with  that  of  Hezekiah, 
when  he  answered  to  that  dreadful  threatening  which  imported 
the  destruction  of  his  children.  Good  is  the  word  of  the  Lord 
which  he  hath  spoken  X;  or  that  of  Job,  when  he  heard  that  all 
his  sons  and  his  daughters  were  crushed  under  the  ruins  of  their 
elder  brother's  house,  and  yet,  in  the  fore-cited  words,  blessed 
he  the  name  of  the  Lord. 

Now  this  is  the  temper  to  which,  by  divine  assistance,  we 
should  all  labour  to  bring  our  own  hearts,  when  God  puts  this 
bitter  cup  into  our  hands,  and  takes  away  with  a  stroke  those 
dear  little  ones,  which  were  the  desire  of  our  eyes  §,  and  the  joy 
of  our  hearts.  Let  us  not  content  ourselves,  in  such  circumstan- 
ces, with  keeping  the  door  of  our  lips\,  that  we  break  not  out  into 

=*lTim.vi.  11.  SJTim.iii.  17,  f  2  Kings  iv.  23. 

%  I?,  xxxix.  8.  \  Ezek.  xxiv.  1,6.^        ||  Ps,  cxli.  3, 


Submission  to  Providence.  309 

any  indecencies  of  complaint;  let  us  not  attempt  to  harden  our- 
selves against  our  sorrows  by  a  stern  insensibility,  or  that  sullen 
resolution  which  sometimes  says,  It  is  a  grief,  and  I  must  hear 
it*;  but  let  us  labour,  for  a  great  labour  it  will  indeed  be,  to 
compose  and  quiet  our  souls,  calmly  to  acquiesce  in  this  painful 
dispensation,  nay,  cordially  to  approve  it  as  in  present  circum- 
stances every  way  fit. 

It  will  be  the  main  business  of  this  discourse,  to  prove  how 
reasonable  such  a  temper  is,  or  to  shew  how  much  cause  chris- 
tian parents  have  to  borrow  the  language  of  the  text,  when  their 
infant    ofispring  is    taken  away,  and  to  say  with  the   pious 

Shunamite,  in  the  noblest  sense  that  her  words  will  bear, It 

is  well. 

And  here  I  would  more  particularly  shew, — It  is  well  in  the 
general,  because  God  does  it: — It  is  surely  well  for  the  pious 
parents  in  particular,  because  it  is  the  work  of  their  covenant 
God  : — They  may  see  many  respects  in  which  it  is  evidently  so, 
by  observing  what  useful  lessons  it  has  a  tendency  to  teach  them; 
— And  they  have  reason  to  hope,  it  is  well  with  those  dear  crea- 
tures whom  God  hath  removed  in  their  early  days. 

These  are  surely  convincing  reasons  to  the  understanding  : 
yet  who  can  say,  that  they  shall  be  reasons  to  the  heart  ?  Arise, 
O  God,  and  plead  thine  own  cause  f  in  the  most  effectual  man- 
ner !  INIay  thy  powerful  and  gracious  voice  appease  the  swell- 
ing billows  of  tiic  passions,  and  produce  a  great  and  delightful 
calm  in  our  souls,  in  which  we  may  yet  enjoy  thee  and  our- 
selves, though  a  part  of  our  treasure  be  for  the  present  swallow- 
ed up! 

I,  There  is  surely  reason,  in  such  a  case,  to  say  it  is  well,—* 
because  God  doth  it. 

This  passed  for  an  unanswerable  reason  with  David,  I  was 
dumb,  1  opened  not  my  mouth,  because  thou  didst  z7  J,  and  with 
good  old  Eli,  under  a  severer  trial  than  ours.  It  is  the  Lord,  let 
him  do  as  seemeth  good  in  his  sight  §.  And  shall  we  object 
against  the  force  of  it?  Was  it  a  reason  to  David,  and  to  Eli, 
and  it  is  not  equally  so  to  us?  Or  have  we  any  new  right  to 
Reply  against  God  \\,  which  those  eminent  saints  had  not  ? 

His  kingdom  o-uleth  over  a  11%;  and  there  is  Not  so  much  aa 
a  sparrow  that  falls  to  the  ground  without  our  Father,  but  the 
very  hairs  of  our  head  are  all  nurnbered*'^  by  him.     Can  we 

♦  Jer.  X.  19.  fPsal.  Ixxiv.  <22.  |  Psal.  xxxix.  9.  ^  1  SalUn  iii   l8. 

11  Rom.  ix.  20.      ^  Pial.  ciii.  19.  **  Mat,  x.  29,  30. 

VOL.  III.  Q.  q 


310  ON   THE   DEATH    OF   A   CHILD.  SeR.  II. 

then  imagine  that  our  dear  children  fall  into  their  graves  with- 
out his  notice  or  interposition  ?  Did  that  watchful  eye  that 
Keepeth  Israel^  now,  for  the  first  time,  slumber  and  sleep* ^ 
and  an  enemy  lay  hold  on  that  fatal  moment  to  bear  away  these 
precious  spoils,  and  bury  our  joys  and  our  hopes  in  the  dust  ? 
.Did  some  malignant  hand  stop  up  the  avenues  of  life,  and  break 
its  springs,  so  as  to  baffle  all  the  tenderness  of  the  parent,  and 
all  the  skill  of  the  physician  ?  Whence  does  such  a  thought  come, 
and  whither  would  it  lead  ?  Diseases  and  accidents  are  but  se- 
cond causes,  which  owe  all  their  operations  to  the  continued 
energy  of  the  great  original  cause.  Therefore  God  says  I  will 
bereave  them  of  children  \ ;  I  takeaway  the  desire  of  thine  eyes 
•with  a  stroke  %•  He  changeth  their  countenance,  and  sendeth 
them  away  §.  Thou  Lord  turnest  man  to  destruction,  and  say  est, 
return  ye  children  of  men  ^.  And  what  shall  we  say?  Are  not 
the  administrations  of  his  providence  wise  and  good?  Can  we 
Teach  him  knowledge^?  Can  we  tax  him  with  injustice?  Shall 
the  most  high  God  learn  of  us  how  to  govern  the  world,  and  be 
instructed  by  our  wisdom  when  to  remove  his  creatures  from  one 
state  of  being  to  another  ?  Or  do  we  imagine  that  his  administra- 
tion, in  the  general  right  and  good,  varies  when  he  comes  to 
Touch  our  bone  and  our  flesh*"^?  Is  that  the  secret  language  of 
our  soul,  "  That  it  is  well,  others  should  drink  of  the  cup,  but  not 
we ;  that  any  families  but  ours  should  be  broken,  and  any  hearts 
but  ours  should  be  wounded?"  Who  might  not  claim  the  like 
exemption  ?  And  what  would  become  of  the  divine  government 
in  general ;  or  where  would  be  his  obedient  homage  from  his 
creatures,  if  each  should  begin  to  complain,  as  soon  as  it  comes 
to  his  own  turn  to  suffer  ?  Much  fitter  is  it  for  us  to  conclude, 
that  our  own  afflictions  may  be  as  reasonable  as  those  of  others  ; 
that  amidst  all  the  Clouds  and  darkness  of  his  present  dispensa- 
tion, Righteousness  and  judgment  are  the  habitation  of  his 
throneff;  and,  in  a  word,  that  it  is  well,  because  God  hath  done 
it.  It  suits  the  general  scheme  of  the  divine  providence,  and  to 
an  obedient  submissive  creature  that  might  be  enough;  but  it  is 
far  from  being  all.     For, 

II.  Pious  parents,  under  such  a  dispensation,  may  conclude 
it  is  well  for  them  in  particular, — because  he,  who  hath  done  it, 
is  their  covenant  God. 

This  is  the  great  promise,  to  which  all  the  saints  under  the 
Old  and  New  Testament  are  heirs,  I  will  be  to  them  a  God,  and 

■f  Psal.  cxxi.  4.  t  Jer.  xv.  7.  J  Ezek.  xxiv.  16.  §  Job.  xiv.  20. 

II  Psal,  xc,  3.  ^  Job  xxi,  22.       **  Job  ii.  5.  ft  Psal.  xcvii.  2. 


Submission  to  Providence.  3il 

they  shall  be  to  me  a  people'^:  and  if  wc  are  interested  in  it,  the 
happy  consequence  is,  that  Ave  being  his,  all  our  concerns  are  his 
also  ;  all  are  humbly  resigned  to  him,— and  graciously  admi- 
nistered by  him,— and  incomparably  better  blessings  bestowed 
and  secured,  than  any  which  the  most  afflictive  providence  can 
remove. 

If  we  have  any  share  in  this  everlasting  covenant,  all  that 
wc  are  or  have,  must,  of  course,  have  been  solemnly  surrender- 
ed to  God.     And  this  is  a  thought  peculiarly  applicable  to  the 
case  immediately  in  view.     "  liid  1  not,"  may  the  christian,  in 
such  a  sad  circumstance,  generally  say,  ♦'  did  I  not,  in  a  very 
solemn  manner,  bring  this  my  child  to  God  in  baptism,  and  in 
that  ordinance  recognize  his  right  to  it  ?   Did  1  not,  with  all  hum- 
ble Subjection  to  the  Father  of  spirits  \,  and  Father  of  mercies  X^ 
lay  it  down  at  his  feet,  perhaps  with  an  express,  at  least  to  be 
sure  with  a  tacit  consent,  that  it  should  be  disposed  of  by  him,  as 
his  infinite  Avisdom  and  goodness  should  direct,  whether  for  life 
or  for  death  ?    And  am  I  now  to  complain  of  him,  because  he  has 
removed  not  only  a  creature  of  his  own,  but  one  of  the  children 
of  ins  family  ?  Or  shall  I  pretend,  after  all,  to  set  up  a  claim  in 
opposition  to  his?   A  heathen  parent,  even  from  the  hght  of  na- 
ture, might  have  learned  silent  submission  :  how  much  more  then 
a  christian  parent,  who  hath  presented  his  child  to  God  in  this 
initiatory  ordinance;  and  perhaps  also  many  a  time,  both  before 
and  since,  hath  presented  himself  at  the  table  of  the  Lord !  Have 
I  not  there  taken  that  cup  of  blessings,  with  a  declared  resolu- 
tion of  accepting  every  other  Cup  how  bitter  soever  it  might  be, 
•which  my  heavenly  Father  should  see  fit  to/;M^  into  my  hand^f 
AVhen  1  have  perhaps  felt  some  painful  fore-bodings  of  what  I 
am  now  suffering;  I  have,  in  my  own  thoughts,  particularly 
singled  out  that  dear  object  of  my  cares  and  my  hopes,  to  lay 
it  down  anew  at  my  Father's  feet,  and  say,  Lord  thou  gavest  it 
to  me,  and  I  resign  it  to  thee;  continue,  or  remove  it,  as  thou 
plcasest.     And  did  I  then  mean  to  trifle  with  God  ?    Did  I  mean 
in  elTect  to  sav,  Lord,  I  will  give  it  up,  if  thou  wilt  not  take  it?'* 
Keflcct  farther,  I  beseech  you,  on  your  secret  retirement, 
and  think,  as  surely  someof  3'ou  may,  "  How  often  have  I  there 
been  on  my  knees  before  God  on  account  of  this  child  ;  and 
what  was  then  my  language  ?   Did  I  say,  Lord,  I  absolutely  in- 
sist on  its  recovery ;  I  cannot,  on  any  terms  or  any  considera- 
tions whatsoever,  bear  to  think  of  losing  it?"  Sure  -we  were 

*  Ileb.  >iii,  10.  t  Heb.  xii.  9.  +2  Cor.  i.  3.  §  John  xviii.  11. 

Qq2 


312  ON    THtE    DEATH   OF    A    CHILD.  SeR.  II. 

none  of  us  so  indecently  transported  with  the  fondest  passion,  as 
to  be  so  Rash  with  our  mouths  as  to  utter  such  things  before  the 
great  God*.  Such  presumption  had  deserved  a  much  heavier 
punishment  than  we  are  now  bearing,  and,  if  not  retracted,  may 
perhaps  still  have  it. — Did  not  one  or  another  of  us  rather  say, 
**  Lord,  I  would  humbly  intreat,  with  all  due  submission  to  thy 
superior  wisdom  and  sovereign  pleasure,  that  my  child  may 
live ;  but  if  it  must  be  otherwise.  Not  my  will,  but  thine  be 
donef?  I  and  mine  are  in  thine  hand,  Do  with  me,  and  with 
them,  as  seemeth  good  in  thy  sightX.''''  And  do  we  now  blame 
ourselves  for  this?  Would  we  unsay  it  again,  and,  if  possible, 
take  ourselves  and  our  children  out  of  his  hands,  whom  we  have 
so  often  owned  as  all-wise  and  all-gracious,  and  have  chosen  as 
our  great  guardian  and  theirs  ? 

Let  it  farther  be  considered,  it  is  done  by  that  God  who  has 
accepted  of  this  surrender,  so  as  to  undertake  the  administra- 
tion of  our  affairs :  *'  He  is  become  my  covenant  God  in  Christy" 
may  the  christian  say;  *'  and,  in  consequence  of  that  covenant, 
he  hath  engaged  to  manage  the  concerns  and  interests  of  his 
people  so,  that  All  things  shall  work  together  for  good  to  them 
that  love  him^:  and  do  I  not  love  him  ?  Answer,  Oh  my  heart, 
dost  thou  not  love  thy  God  much  better  than  all  the  blessings 
which  earth  can  boast,  or  which  the  grave  hath  swallowed  up  ? 
Wouldst  thou  resign  thine  interest  in  him  to  recover  these  pre- 
cious spoils,  to  receive  this  dear  child  from  the  dust,  a  thousand 
times  fairer  and  sweeter  than  before  ?  Rather  let  death  devour 
every  remaining  comfort,  and  leave  me  alone  with  him  ;  with 
■whom  when  I  indeed  am,  I  miss  not  the  creatures,  but  rather  re- 
joice in  their  absence,  as  1  am  then  more  intire  with  him  whom 
my  soul  loveth.  And  if  I  do  indeed  love  him,  this  promise  is 
mine,  and  all  things,  and  therefore  this  sad  event  in  particular, 
shall  work  together  for  my  good.  Shall  I  not  then  say,  it  is  well? 
What  if  it  exceeded  all  the  stretch  of  my  thoughts,  to  conceive 
how  it  could,  in  any  instance,  be  so  ?  What  are  my  narrow  con- 
ceptions, that  they  should  pretend  to  circumscribe  infinite  wis- 
dom, faithfulness,  and  mercy?  Let  me  rather,  with  Abraham, 
give  glory  to  God,  and  in  hope  believe  against  Aope  ||." 

Once  more  ;  let  us  consider  how  many  invaluable  blessings 
are  given  us  by  this  covenant,  and  then  judge  whether  we  have 
not  the  utmost  reason  to  acquiesce  in  such  an  event  of  providence. 
"  If  I  am  in  covenant  with  God,"  may  the  believer  say,  then  he 

*  Eccl.  V.  2.  t  Matt.  xxvi.  39.        ^  2  Sam.  xv.  26.        §  Rom.  viii.  28. 

llRom.  iv.  18,20. 


Submission  to  Providence.  313 

bath  pardoned  my  sins,  and  renewed  my  luart,  and  bath  made 
liis  blessed  Spirit  dwelling  in  nie,  the  sacred  bond  of  an  (everlast- 
ing union  between  him  and  my  soul.  He  is  leading  me  through 
the  wilderness,  and  will,  ere  long,  lead  me  out  of  it  to  the  hea- 
venly Canaan.  And  how  far  am  I  alreadv-^  arrived  in  my  jour- 
ney thither,  now  that  I  am  come  to  the  age  of  losing  a  child  ! 
And  when  God  hath  done  all  this  for  me,  is  he  rashly  to  be  sus- 
pected of  unkinduess  ?  He  that  spared  not  his  owji  son  *,  he  that 
gave  me  with  him  his  Spirit  and  his  kingdom,  why  dolh  he  deny, 
or  why  doth  he  remove,  any  other  favour  ?  Did  he  think  the 
hfe  of  this  child  too  great  a  good  to  grant,  when  he  thought  not 
Christ  and  glory  too  precious  ?  Away  with  that  thought,  O  my 
unbelieving  heart,  and  with  every  thought  which  would  derogate 
from  such  rich  amazing  grace,  or  would  bring  any  thing  in 
comparison  with  it.  Art  thou  under  these  obhgations  to  him, 
and  wilt  thou  yet  complain  ?  With  what  grace,  with  what  de- 
cency canst  thou  dispute  this,  or  any  other  matter  with  thy 
God  ?  What  right  have  I  yet  to  cry  any  more  to  the  king  f  ?" 
Would  any  of  my  brethren  venture  to  say.  What  though  I  be  a 
child  of  God,  and  an  heir  of  glory,  it  matters  not,  for  my  gourd 
is  witliered  ;  that  pleasant  plant  which  was  opening  so  fair  and 
so  delightful,  under  the  shadow  of  which  I  expected  long  to  have 
sat,  and  even  the  rock  of  ages  cannot  shelter  me  so  well  ?  I  can 
behold  that  beloved  face  no  more,  and  therefore  I  will  not  look 
upward  to  behold  the  face  of  God,  1  will  not  look  forward  to 
Christ  and  to  heaven?"  Would  this,  my  friends,  be  the  lan- 
guage of  a  real  christian  ?  Nay,  are  there  not  many  abandoned 
sinners  who  would  tremble  at  such  expressions  r  Yet  is  it  not 
in  effect  the  language  of  our  tumultuous  passions,  when,  like 
Kachel,  we  are  Mourning  for  our  children^  and  will  7iot  be  com- 
Jorledy  because  they  are  not  |  ?  Is  it  not  our  language  while 
we  cannot,  like  the  pious  Shunamite  in  the  text,  bring  our 
afflicted  hearts  to  say,  It  is  well  ? 

III.  Pious  parents,   in  such  a  circumstance,  hav^e  f:irther 

reason  to  say,  //  is  well, as  they  may  observe  an  apparent 

tendency  in  such  a  dispensation  to  teach  them  a  variety  of  the 
most  instructive  and  useful  lessons,  in  a  very  convincing  and 
effectual  manner. 

It  is  a  just  observation  of  Solomon,  that  The  rod  and  re- 
proof give  wisdom  §  ;  and  it  is  peculiarly  applicable  to  such  a 
chastisement  of  our  heavenly  Father.  It  should  therefore  be 
our  great  care  to  Hear  the  rod  and  him  that  hath  appointed  it  \\; 

*  Rom.  viii.  32.    f  ?  Sam.  xix.  28.    \  Jer,  xxxi.  15.  §  Pror.  xxix.  15.  jj  Mic  vi.  9. 
'i 


314  ON    THE    DEATH    OF    A   CHILD.  SeR.  II. 

and  so  far  as  it  hath  a  tendency  to  teach  m  our  duty,  and  to  im- 
prove the  divine  Hfe  in  our  souls,  we  have  the  highest  reason  to 
say,  that  it  is  indeed  well. 

Every  affliction  hath  in  its  degree  this  kind  of  tendency, 
and  it  is  the  very  reason  for  which  We  are  thus  chastened,  that 
we  may  projit  by  our  sorrows,  and  be  made  partakers  of  God's 
holiness*.  But  this  dispensation  is  pecuharly  adapted,  in  a 
very  affecting  manner — to  teach  us  the  vanity  of  the  world, — 
to  warn  us  of  the  approach  of  our  own  death,  to  quicken  us  in 
the  duties  incumbent  upon  us,  especially  to  our  surviving  chil- 
dren,— and  to  produce  a  more  intire  resignation  to  the  divine 
will,  which  is  indeed  tlie  surest  foundation  of  quiet,  and  source 
of  happiness. 

I  shall  insist  a  little  more  particularly  on  each  of  these  ; 
and  I  desire  that  it  may  be .  remenibered,  that  the  sight  and 
knowledge  of  such  mournful  providences  as  are  now  before  us, 
should,  in  some  degree,  be  improved  to  these  purposes,  even  by 
those  parents  whose  families  are  most  prosperous  and  joyful  : 
may  they  learn  wisdom  and  piety  from  what  we  suffer,  and 
their  improvements  shall  be  acknowledged  as  an  additional  rea- 
son for  us  to  say,  it  in  welL 

I .  When  God  takes  away  our  children  from  us,  it  is  a  very 
affecting  lesson  of  the  vanity  of  the  world. 

There  is  hardly  a  child  born  into  it,  on  whom  the  parents 
do  not  look  with  some  pleasmg  expectation  that  it  shall  Comfort 
them  concerning  their  labour  f.  This  makes  the  toil  of  educa- 
tion easy  and  delightful :  and  truly  it  is  very  early  that  we  begin 
to  find  a  sweetness  in  it,Avhich  abundantly  repays  all  the  fatigue. 
Five,  or  four,  or  three,  or  two  years,  make  discoveries  which 
afford  immediate  pleasure,  and  which  suggest  future  hopes. 
Their  words,  their  actions,  their  very  looks  touch  us,  if  they  be 
amiable  and  promising  children,  in  a  tender,  but  very  powerful 
manner  ;  their  little  arms  twine  about  our  hearts  ;  and  there  is 
something  more  penetrating  in  their  first  broken  accents  of  en- 
dearment, than  in  all  the  pomp  and  ornament  of  words.  Every 
infant-year  increases  the  pleasure,  and  nourishes  the  hope.  And 
where  is  the  parent  so  wise  and  so  cautious,  and  so  constantly 
intent  on  his  journey  to  heaven,  as  not  to  measure  back  a  few 
steps  to  earth  again,  on  such  a  plausible  and  decent  occasion, 
as  that  of  introducing  the  young  stranger  into  the  amusements, 
nay  perhaps,  where  circumstances  will  admit  it,  into  the  ele- 
gancies of  life,  as  well  as  its  more  serious  and  important  busi- 

*  Heb.  xii.  10.  f  Gen.  v.  29. 


Submission  to  Providence,  315 

ness  !  What  fond  calculations  do  wo  form  of  what  it  will  be, 
from  what  it  is !  How  do  we  in  thonp;ht  ojDcn  every  blossom  of 
sprightlincss,  or  humanity,  or  piety,  to  its  full  spread,  and  ripen 
it  to  a  sudden  maturity  !  Hut,  oh,  who  shall  teach  those  that 
have  never  felt  it,  how  it  tears  the  very  soul,  when  God  roots  up 
tlie  tender  plant  with  an  inexorable  hand,  and  withers  the  bud 
in  which  the  colours  were  beginning  to  glow  !  Where  is  now 
our  delight  ?  Where  is  our  hope  ?  Is  it  in  the  coffin  ?  Is  it  in  the 
grave  ?  Alas  !  all  the  loveliness  of  person,  of  genius,  and  of 
temper,  serves  but  to  point  and  to  poison  the  arrow,  which  is 
drawn  out  of  our  own  quiver  to  wound  us.  Vain,  delusive, 
transitory  joys  !  "  And  such.  Oh  my  soul,"  will  the  christian 
say,  *'  such  are  thine  earthly  comforts  in  every  child,  in  every 
relative,  in  every  possession  of  life  ;  such  are  the  objects  of  thy 
hopes,  and  thy  fears,  thy  schemes,  and  thy  labours,  where 
earth  alone  is  concerned.  Let  me  then,  once  for  all,  direct  mine 
eyes  to  another  and  a  better  state.  From  these  Broken  cisternSy 
the  fragments  of  which  may  hurt  me  indeed,  but  can  no  longer 
refresh  me,  let  me  look  to  t\\c fountain  uf  living  waters*.  From 
these  setting  stars,  or  rather  these  bright  but  vanishing  meteors, 
which  make  my  darkness  so  much  the  more  sensible,  let  me  turn 
to  the  Father  of  lights.  Oil  Lord,  What  wait  I  for  ?  iny  hope  is 
in  theef,  my  sure  abode,  my  everlasting  confidence!  My 
gourds  wither,  my  children  die  ;  but  The  Lord  liveth,  and 
blessed  be  my  rock,  and  let  the  God  of  my  salvation  be  ex- 
alted X  I  see,  in  one  instance  more,  the  sad  eflects  of  having 
over-loved  the  creature  ;  let  me  endeavour  for  the  future,  by 
the  divine  assistance,  to  fix  my  affections  there  where  they 
cannot  exceed  ;  but  where  all  the  ardor  of  them  will  be  as 
much  my  security  and  my  happiness,  as  it  is  now  my  snare  and 
my  distress." 

2.  The  removal  of  our  children  by  such  awful  strokes  may 
warn  us  of  the  approach  of  our  own  death. 

Hereby  God  doth  very  sensibly  shew  us,  and  those  around 
us,  that  Jll  flesh  is  as  grass,  and  all  the  glory  and  loveliness 
of  it  like  the  flower  of  the  field  §.  And  when  our  own  habita- 
tions are  made  the  houses  of  mourning,  and  ourselves  the  lea- 
ders of  that  sad  procession,  it  may  surely  be  expected  that  we 
should  lay  it  to  heart,  so  as  to  be  quickened  and  improved  by 
the  view.  "  Have  my  cliildren  died  in  the  morning  of  their 
days,  and  can  I  promise  myself  that  I  shall  see  the  evening  of 
mine  ?  Now  perhaps  may  I  say,  in  a  more  literal  sense  than 

♦Jer,  ii.  13.  f  Psal.  xxxlx.  7.  +  Psal.  xvlii.  4C.  §  1  Pet.  i.  24. 


315  ON   THE    DEATH   OF    A    CHILD.  SeR.  II. 

ever.  The  graves  are  ready  for  me*.  One  of  my  family,  and 
some  of  us  may  add,  the  first-born  of  it,  is  gone  as  it  were  to 
take  possession  of  the  sepulchre  in  all  our  names  ;  and  ere  long 
I  shall  lie  down  with  my  child  in  the  same  bed  ;  yea,  perhaps, 
many  of  the  feet  that  followed  it  shall  attend  me  thither.  Our 
dust  shortly  shall  be  blended  together  ;  and  who  can  tell  but 
this  providence  might  chiefly  be  intended  as  a  warning  blow 
to  me,  that  these  concluding  days  of  my  life  might  be  more  re- 
gular, more  spiritual,  and  more  useful  than  the  former  ?" 

3.  The  providence  before  us  may  be  farther  improved  to 
quicken  us  in  the  duties  of  life,  and  especially  in  the  education 
of  surviving  children. 

It  is,  on  the  principles  I  hinted  above,  an  engagement,  that 
Whatever  our  hand  jindeth  to  do,  we  should  do  it  with  all  our 
might,  since  it  so  plainly  shews  us  that  we  are  going  to  the 
grave,  where  there  is  no  device,  nor  knowledge,  7ior  working  f  : 
but  permit  me  especially  to  observe,  how  peculiarly  the  senti- 
ments Ave  feel  on  these  sad  occasions,  may  be  improved  for  the 
advantage  of  our  dear  offspring  who  yet  remain,  and  quicken 
us  to  a  proper  care  in  their  religious  education. 

We  all  see  that  it  is  a  very  reasonable  duty,  and  every 
christian  parent  resolves  that  he  will  ere  long  apply  himself  to 
it ;  but  I  am  afraid,  great  advantages  are  lost  by  a  delay,  which 
we  think  we  can  easily  excuse.  Our  hands  are  full  of  a  variety 
of  affairs,  and  our  children  are  yet  very  young  :  we  are  there- 
fore ready  to  imagine  it  is  a  good  husbandry  of  time  to  defer 
our  attempts  for  their  instruction  to  a  more  Convenient  season  J, 
•when  they  may  be  able  to  learn  more  in  an  hour,  than  the  labour 
of  days  could  now  teach  them  ;  besides  that  we  are  apprehen- 
sive of  danger  in  over-loading  their  tender  spirits,  especially 
when  they  are  perhaps  under  indisposition,  and  need  to  be  di- 
verted, rather  than  gravely  advised  and  instructed. 

But  I  beseech  you,  my  friends,  let  us  view  the  matter  with 
that  impartiality,  Avhich  the  eloquence  of  death  hath  a  tendency 
to  produce.  "  That  lovely  creature  that  God  hath  now  taken 
away,  though  its  days  were  few,  though  its  faculties  were  weak, 
yet  might  it  not  have  known  a  great  deal  more  of  religion  than 
it  did,  and  felt  a  great  deal  more  of  it  too,  had  I  faithfully  and 
prudently  done  my  part  ?  How  did  it  learn  language  so  soon, 
and  in  such  a  compass  and  readiness  ?  Not  by  multiplied  rules, 
nor  laboured  instruction,  but  by  conversation.  And  might  it 
not  have  learned  much  more  of  divine  things  by  conversation 

*  Job  xrii.  I.  f  Eccl.  ix.  10.  +  Actsxxiv.  25. 


Submission  to  Providence.  3 17 

too,  if  they  had  been  allowed  a  due  share  in  our  thoughts  and 
our  discourses  ;  accordint^  to  the  charge  given  to  the  Israelites, 
to  Talk  of  them  going  out  and  coming  in,  li/ing  down  and  rising 
up*  ?  How  soon  did  it  learn  trifles,  and  retain  tiieni,  and  after 
its  little  way,  observe  and  reason  upon  them,  perhaps  with  a  vi- 
vacity that  sometimes  surprised  me  !  And  had  I  been  as  diligent 
as  I  ought,  who  can  tell  wjiat  ])rogress  it  might  have  made  iti 
divine  knowledge  ?  Who  can  tell  but,  as  a  reward  to  these 
pious  cares,  God  might  have  put  a  word  into  its  dying  lips, 
uhich  I  might  all  my  life  have  recollected  with  pleasure,  and 
Out  of  its  feeble  mouth  might  have  perfected  praise  f? 

My  friends,  let  us  humble  ourselves  deeply  before  God 
under  a  sense  of  our  past  neglects,  and  let  us  learn  our  future 
duty.  We  may  perhaps  be  ready  fondly  to  say,  *'  Oh  that  it 
■were  possible  my  child  could  be  restored  to  me  again,  though 
it  were  but  for  a  few  weeks  or  days  !  how  diligeutlv  would  I 
attempt  to  supply  my  former  deficiencies  !"  Unprofitable  wish! 
Yet  may  the  thought  be  improved  for  the  good  of  surviving 
children.  How  shall  we  express  our  affection  to  them  ?  Not 
surely  by  indulging  all  the  demands  of  appetite  and  fancy,  in 
many  early  instances  so  hazardous,  and  so  fatal  ;  not  by  a 
solicitude  to  treasure  up  Avealth  for  them,  whose  only  portion 
may  perhaps  be  a  little  coffin  and  shrowd.  No  ;  our  truest 
kindness  to  them  will  be  to  endeavour,  by  divine  grace, to  form 
them  to  an  early  enquiry  after  God,  and  Christ,  and  heaven, 
and  a  love  for  real  goodness  in  all  the  forms  of  it  which  may 
come  within  their  observation  and  notice.  Let  us  apply  our- 
selves immediately  to  this  task,  as  those  that  remember  there 
is  a  double  uncertainty,  in  their  lives,  and  in  ours.  In  a  word, 
let  us  be  that  with  regard  to  every  child  that  yet  remains, 
which  we  proposed  and  engaged  to  be  to  that  which  is  taken 
away,  Avhen  we  pleaded  with  God  for  the  continuance  of  its 
life,  at  least  for  a  little  while,  that  it  might  be  farther  assisted 
in  the  preparations  for  death  and  eternity.  If  such  resolutions 
be  formed  and  pursued,  the  death  of  one  may  be  the  means  of 
spiritual  life  to  many  ;  and  we  shall  surely  have  reason  to  say 
it  is  well,  if  it  teach  us  so  useful  a  lesson. 

4.  The  providence  before  us  may  have  a  special  tendency 
to  improve  our  resignation  to  the  divine  will  ;  and  if  it  does  so, 
it  will  indeed  be  well. 

There  is  surely  no  imaginable  situation  of  mind  so  sweet 

♦  Deut.  vi,  7.  f  Mat.  «i.  IS. 

VOL.  Ill,  R  r 


318  ON  THE  DEATH  OF  A  CH1LI7.  SeR.  It. 

and  so  reasonable,  as  that  which  we  feel  when  we  humbly  refer 
ourselves  in  all  things  to  the  divine  disposal,  in  an  entire  sus- 
pension of  our  own  will,  seeing  and  owning  the  hand  of  God^ 
and  bowing  before  it  with  a  filial  acquiescence.  This  is  chiefly 
to  be  learned  from  sufferings ;  and  perhaps  there  is  no  suffering 
ivhich  is  fitter  to  teach  it,  than  this.  In  many  other  afflictions 
there  is  such  a  mixture  of  human  interposition,  that  we  are 
ready  to  imagine,  we  may  be  allowed  to  complain,  and  to  chide 
a  little.  Indignation  mingles  itself  with  our  grief  ;  and  when 
it  does  so,  it  warms  the  mind,  though  with  a  feverish  kind  of 
heat,  and  in  an  unnatural  flow  of  spirits,  leads  the  heart  into  a 
forgetfulness  of  God.  But  here  it  is  so  apparently  his  hand, 
that  we  must  refer  it  to  him,  and  it  will  appear  bold  impiety 
to  quarrel  at  what  is  done.  In  other  instances  we  can  at  least 
flatter  ourselves  with  hope,  that  the  calamity  may  be  diverted, 
or  the  enjoyment  recovered  ;  but  here  alas  !  there  is  no  hope. 
**  Tears  will  not,"  as  *  Sir  WiUiam  Temple  finely  expresses  it, 
*'  water  the  lovely  plant  so  as  to  cause  it  to  grow  again  ;  sighs 
will  not  give  it  new  breath,  nor  can  we  furnish  it  with  life  and 
spirits  by  the  waste  of  our  own."  The  sentence  is  finally  gone 
forth,  and  the  last  fatal  stroke  irrecoverably  given.  Opposition 
is  vain  ;  a  forced  submission  gives  but  little  rest  to  the  mind  ; 
a  cordial  acquiescense  in  the  divine  will  is  the  only  thing  in  the 
whole  world  that  can  ease  tbe  labouring  heart,  and  restore  true 
serenity.  Remaining  corruption  will  work  on  such  an  odcasion, 
and  a  painful  struggle  will  convince  the  christian  how  imper- 
fect his  present  attainments  are  ;  and  this  will  probably  lead 
him  to  an  attentive  review  of  tbe  great  reasons  for  submission  ; 
it  will  lead  him  to  urge  them  on  his  own  soul,  and  to  plead  them 
with  God  in  prayer  ;  till  at  length  the  storm  is  laid,  and  Tribu' 
lation  worketh  patience,  and  patience  experience,  and  experience 
a  hope  which  maketh  not  ashamed,  while  the  love  of  God  is  so 
shed  abroad  in  the  heart  f,  as  to  humble  it  for  every  preceding 
opposition,  and  to  bring  it  even  to  a  real  approbation  of  all  that 
so  wise  and  good  a  friend  hath  done  ;  resigning  every  other 
interest  and  enjoyment  to  his  disposal,  and  sitting  down  with 
the  sweet  resolution  of  the  prophet.  Though  the  jig-tree  do  not 
blossom,  and  there  be  710  fruit  in  the  vine,  &(c.  yet  will  I  rejoice 
in  the  Lord,  and  joy  in  the  God  of  my  salvationX.  And  when 
we  are  brought  to  this,  the  whole  horizon  clears,  and  the  sun 
breaks  forth  in  its  strength. 

Now  I  appeal  to  every  sincere  cliristian  in  this  assembly, 

*  Temple's  Essays,  Vol.  I.  p.  17S.        f  Rom.  v.'  3—5.        *  Hab.  iii.  17,  13. 


Submissio?i  to  Providence.  319 

wlietber  tliere  will  not  be  reason  indeed  to  say  it  is  well,  if  by 
this  painful  alHiction  we  more  sensibly  learn  tlic  vanity  of  thei 
creature  ;  if  we  are  awakened  to  serious  thoughts  of  our  own 
latter  end  ;  if  bv  it  we  are  quickened  in  the  duties  of  life,  and 
forin»!d  to  a  more  entire  resignation  of  soul,  and  ac(|nicscence 
in  the  divine  will.  I  will  only  add  one  more,  and  it  is  a 
thought  of  delightful  importance, 

IV.  That  pious  parents  have  reason  to  hope,  ii  is  well  with 
those  dear  creatures  who  are  taken  away  in  their  early  days. 

I  see  not  that  the  word  of  God  hath  any  where  passed  a 
damnatory  sentence  on  any  infants  ;  and  if  it  has  not,  I  am  sure 
we  have  no  authority  to  do  it  ;  especially  considering  with  how 
much  compassion  the  Divine  Being  speaks  of  them  in  the  in- 
stance of  the  Ninevites  *,  and  on  some  other  occasions.  Per- 
haps, as  some  pious  divines  have  conjectured,  they  may  con- 
stitute a  very  considerable  part  of  the  number  of  the  elect,  and. 
As  iti  Adam  they  all  died,  the}'  may  in  Christ  all  be  made 
alive  f.  At  least,  methinks,  from  the  covenant  which  God 
tnade  with  Abraham,  and  his  seed,  the  blessings  of  which  are 
come  upon  the  believing  Gentiles  Xy  there  is  reason  to  hope 
■well  concerning  the  infant  offspring  of  God's  people,  early  de- 
voted, and  often  recommended  to  him,  that  their  souls  will  be 
hound  in  the  bundle  of  life^,  and  Be  loved  for  their  parents' 
sa/ces  II . 

It  is,  indeed,  impossible  for  us  to  say,  how  soon  children 
may  be  capable  of  contracting  personal  guilt.  They  are  quickly 
able  to  distinguish,  in  some  degree,  between  right  and  wrong  ; 
and  it  is  too  plain,  that  they  as  quickly,  in  many  instances,  forget 
the  distinction.  The  corruptions  of  nature  begin  early  to  work, 
and  shew  the  need  of  sanctifying  grace  ;  yet,  without  a  miracle, 
it  cannot  he  expected  that  nmch  of  the  christian  scheme  should 
be  understood  by  these  little  creatures,  in  the  hrst  dawning  of 
reason^  though  a  few  evangelical  phrases  may  be  taught,  and, 
sometimes,  by  a  happy  kind  of  accident,  may  be  rightly  applied. 
The  tender  heart  of  a  parent  may,  perhaps,  take  a  hint,  from 
hence  to  terrify  itself,  and  exasperate  all  its  other  sorrows,  by 
that  sad  thought,  "  What  if  my  dear  child  be  perished  for  ever? 
gone  from  our  embraces,  and  all  the  little  pleasures  Ave  could 
give  it,  to  everlasting  darkness  and  ])ain  ?"  Horrible  imagina- 
tion !  and  Satan  may,  perhaps,  take  the  advantage  of  these 
gloomy  moments,  to  aggravate  every  little  infirmity  into  a 

*  Jonah  jv.  n .     f  1  Cor.  xv.  22.     +  Gal.  iii.  U.     §  J  Sam.  Mv.  29.     H  Rom.  xi.  28, 

Rr  2 


^0  Oi:  THE    DEATH   OF   A   CHILD.  SeR.  II, 

crime,  and  throw  us  into  an  agony,  which  no  other  view  of  the 
affliction  can  possibly  give  to  a  soul  penetrated  Avith  a  sense  of 
eternity.  Nor  do  I  know  a  thought,  in  the  whole  compass  of 
nature,  that  hath  a  more  powerful  tendency  to  produce  suspici- 
ous notions  of  God,  and  a  secret  alienation  of  heart  from  him. 

Now  for  this  very  reason,  methinks,  we  should  guard 
against  so  harsh  a  conclusion,  lest  we,  at  once,  injure  the  Divine 
Being,  and  torture  ourselves.  And  surely,  we  may  easily  fall  on 
some  reflections  which  may  encourage  our  hopes,  where  little 
children  are  concerned  ;  and  it  is  only  of  that  case  that  I  am 
row  speaking.  Let  us  think  of  the  blessed  God,  as  the  great 
parent  of  universal  nature  ;  whose  Tender  mercies  are  over  all 
his  works  * ;  who  declares  that  judgment  is  His  strange  work  f  ; 
who  Is  very  pitiful^  and  of  tender  mercy  X^  Gracious  and  full 
of  compassion  §  ;  who  Delighteih  in  mercy  ||  ;  who  Waiteth  to 
he  gracious  ^  ;  and  Endureth,  with  much  long-suffering ,  even 
the  vessels  of  wrath  fitted  to  destruction**.  He  intimately 
Knows  our  frame ff,  and  our  circumstances;  he  sees  the 
weakness  of  the  unformed  mind  ;  how  forcibly'-  the  volatile 
spirits  are  struck  with  a  thousand  new  amusing  objects  around 
it,  and  borne  away  as  a  feather  before  the  wind  ;  and,  on  the 
other  hand,  how,  when  distempers  seize  it,  the  feeble  powers 
are  over-borne  in  a  moment,  and  rendered  incapable  of  any 
degree  of  application  and  attention.  And,  Lord,  wilt  thou 
Ope7i  thine  eyes  on  such  a  one,  to  bring  it  into  strict  judgment 
with  thee  XX  ?  Amidst  all  the  instances  of  thy  patience,  and  thy 
bounty,  to  the  most  abandoned  of  mankind,  are  these  little  help-. 
Jess  creatures  the  objects  of  thy  speedy  vengeance,  and  final 
severity  ? 

Let  us  farther  consider,  as  it  is  a  very  comfortable  thought 
in  these  circumstances,  the  compassionate  regard  which  the 
blessed  .Tesus  expressed  to  little  children.  He  wsls  Much  dis- 
pleased with  those  who  forbad  their  being  brought  to  him; 
and  said,  suffer  them  to  come  unto  me,  arid  forbid  them  not,  for 
of  such  is  the  kingdom  of  God ;  and  taking  them  up  in  his  arms, 
he  laid  his  hands  upon  them,  and  blessed  them  §§.  In  another 
instance  we  are  told,  that  he  Took  a  little  child,  Avho  appears  to 
haye  been  old  enough  to  come  at  his  call,  and  set  him  in 
the  midst  of  his  disciples,  and  said,  Except  ye  become  as  little 
children,  you  shall  in  no  wise  enter  into  the  kingdom  of  hea* 

*Psal.  cxiv,  9.  t  Isa.  xxviii.  21.  |  James  v.  11.  §  Psal.  rri.  4. 

II  Mic.  vii.  18.  51  Isa.  xxx.  18.  **  Rom.  ix.  22.  ff  Psal.  ciii.  14. 

XX  Job  xiv.  3.  §§  Mark  x.  13—16. 


Submission  to  Providence.  Zll 

ven*.  May  ■\Te  not  then  hope  lliat  many  little  children  are  ad- 
iniited  into  it  ?  And  may  not  that  hope  be  greatly  confirmed 
from  whatever,  of  an  amiable  and  regular  disposition,  wc  have 
observed  in  those  that  are  taken  away  ?  If  we  have  seen  f  a  ten- 
derness of  conscience  in  an}  thing  which  they  apjirehended 
^vould  displease  the  great  and  good  God  ;  a  love  to  truth  ;  a 
readiness  to  attend  on  divine  Avorship,  from  some  imperfect  no- 
tion of  its  general  design,  though  the  particulars  of  it  could 
not  be  understood  ;  an  open,  candid,  benevolent  heart ;  a  ten- 
der sense  of  obligation,  and  a  desire,  according  to  their  little 
power,  to  repay  it ;  may  we  not  hope  that  these  were  some  of 
the  First-fruits  of  the  Spirit  X,  "which  he  would,  in  due  time, 
have  ripened  into  christian  graces,  and  ar(;  now,  on  a  sudden, 
perfected  by  that  great  Almighty  Agent  IVho  "worketh  all,  and 
in  all^? 

Sure  I  am,  that  this  blessed  Spirit  hath  no  inconsiderable 
work  to  perform  on  the  most  established  christians,  to  finish 
them  to  a  complete  meetncss  for  the  heavenly  world  :  would  to 
God,  there  were  no  greater  blemishes  to  be  observed  in  their 
character,  than  the  little  vanities  of  children  !  With  inhnite 
ease  then  can  he  perfect  what  is  lacking  in  their  unfinished 
minds,  and  pour  out  upon  them,  in  a  moment,  that  light  and 
grace,  which  shall  qualify  them  for  a  state,  in  comparison  of 
vhich,  ours  on  earth  is  but  childhood  or  infancy. 

Now  what  a  noble  source  of  consolation  is  here  !  Then 
may  the  afl'ectionate  parent  say,  "  It  is  well,  not  only  with 
me,  but  with  the  child  too  :  incomparably  better  than  if  my 
ardent  wishes,  and  importunate  prayers  for  its  recovery,  had 
been  answered.  It  is  indeed  well,  if  that  beloved  creature  be 
Fallen  asleep  in  Christ^;  if  that  dear  lamb  be  folded  in  the 
arms  of  the  compassionate  Shepherd,  and  gathered  into  his 
gracious  bosom.  Self-love  might  have  led  me  to  wish  its  lon- 
ger continuance  here  ;  but  if  I  truly  loved  my  child  with  a 
solid,  rational  affection,  I  should  much  rather  Rejoice  to  think 
it  is  gone  to  a  lieavenly  Father  ^,  and  to  the  world  of  per- 
fected Spirits  above.  Had  it  been  spared  to  me,  how  slowly 
could  I  have  taught  it!  and  in  the  full  ripeness  of  its  age, 
^vhat  had  it  been,  when  compared  with  what  it  now  is  !  How- 
is  it  shot  up  on  a  sudden,  from  the  converse  and  the  toys  of 
children,    to  be  a  companion   with  sauits  and  angels,  in  the 

*  Mat.  xviil.  2,  3. 

t  I  bless  God,  all  these  things  were  very  evident  in  that  dear  child,  nhos« 
death  occasioned  this  discourse. 

%  Rom.  viii.  2 J.        §  1  Cur.  xii.  6.        ||  1  Cor.  nt.  18.        ^  ^ohn  xiv.  23. 


322  CN  THE  DEATH  OF  A  CHILD.         SeR.  IT. 

employment,  and  the  blessedness  of  heaven  !  Shall  I  then  com- 
plain of  it  as  a  rigorous  severity  to  my  family,  that  God  hath 
taken  it  to  the  family  above  ?  And  what  if  he  hath  chosen  to 
bestow  the  distinguished  favour  on  that  one  of  my  little 
flock,  who  was  formed  to  take  the  tenderest  hold  of  my  heart  ? 
Was  their  unkindness  in  that  ?  What  if  he  saw,  that  the 
very  sprightliness  and  softness  which  made  it  to  me  so  ex- 
quisitely delightful,  might,  in  time,  have  betraved  it  into 
ruin  ;  and  took  this  method  of  sheltering  it  from  trials  which 
bad,  otherwise,  been  too  hard  for  it,  and  so  fixing  a  seal  on 
its  character  and  happiness  ?  What  if  that  strong  attachment 
of  my  heait  to  it,  had  been  a  snare  to  the  child,  and  to  me  ? 
Or  what  if  it  had  been  otherwise  ?  Do  I  need  additional  rea- 
sons to  justify  the  divine  conduct,  in  an  instance  which  my 
child  is  celebrating  in  the  songs  of  heaven  ?  If  it  is  a  new 
and  untasted  affliction  to  have  such  a  tender  branch  lopped 
off,  it  is  ^Iso  a  new  honour  to  be  the  parent  of  a  glorified 
saint."  And,  as  good  Mr.  Howe  expressed  it  on  another 
occasion,  "  If  God  be  pleased,  and  his  glorified  creature  be 
pleased,  who  are  we  that  we  should  be  displeased*?" 

Could  I  wish,  that  this  young  inhabitant  of  heaven  should 
be  degraded  to  earth  again  ?  Or  would  it  thank  me  for  that 
wish  ?  Would  it  say,  that  it  was  the  part  of  a  wise  parent,  to 
call  it  down  from  a  sphere  of  such  exalted  services  and  plea- 
sures, to  our  low  life  here  upon  earth  ?  Let  me  rather  be  thank- 
ful for  the  pleasing  hope,  that  though  God  loves  my  child 
too  well  to  permit  it  to  return  to  me,  he  will  ere  long  bring 
me  to  it.  And  then  that  endeared  paternal  affection,  which 
•would  have  been  a  cord  to  tie  me  to  earth,  and  have  added 
new  pangs  to  my  removal  from  it,  will  be  as  a  golden  chain 
to  draw  me  upwards,  and  add  one  farther  charm  and  joy  even 
to  paradise  itself."  And  oh,  how  great  a  joy  !  to  view  the 
change,  and  to  compare  that  dear  idea,  so  fondly  laid  up,  so 
often  reviewed,  with  the  now  glorious  original,  in  the  improve- 
ments of  the  upper  world  !  To  borrow  the  words  of  the  sacred 
writer,  in  a  very  different  sense!"  ^'  I  said,  I  was  desolate 
and  bereaved  of  children ,  ayid  who  hath  brought  up  these?  I 
was  left  alone,  and  these  where  have  they  been  f  9  Was  this  my 
desolation  ?  this  my  sorrow  ?  to  part  with  thee  for  a  few  days, 
That  I  might  receive  thee  for  ever  %,  and  find  thee  what  thou 
art  r"  It  is  for  no  language,  but  that  of  heaven,  to  describe  the 
sacred  joy  which  such  a  meeting  must  occasion. 

*  Howe's  Life,  p.  32.  FoL  Edit.  f  Isa.  xlix.  21^  %  Pbilem.  ver.  15^ 


Submission  to  Providence.  323 

In  the  mean  time,  christians,  let  us  keep  up  the  lively  ex- 
pectation of  it,  and  let  what  has  befallen  us  draw  our  thoughts 
upwards.  Perhaps  they  will  sometimes,  before  we  are  aware, 
sink  to  the  grave,  aiid  dwell  in  the  tombs  that  contain  the  poor 
remains  of  what  was  once  so  dear  to  us.  But  let  them  take  flight 
from  thence  to  more  noble,  more  delightful  scenes.  And  I  will 
add,  let  the  hope  we  have  of  the  happiness  of  our  children  ren- 
der God  still  dearer  to  oin"  souls.  We  feel  a  very  tender  sense 
of  the  kindness  which  our  friends  expressed  towards  them,  and 
think,  indeed  very  justly,  that  their  affectionate  care  for  them 
lays  a  lasting  obligation  upon  us.  What  love  then,  and  what 
service  do  we  owe  to  thee,  oh  gracious  Father,  who  hast,  we 
hope,  received  them  into  thine  house  above,  and  art  now  enter- 
taining them  there  with  unknown  delight,  though  our  former 
methods  of  commerce  with  them  be  cut  off!  Lord,  "  should 
eacli  of  us  say  in  such  a  case,"  I  would  take  what  thou  art  doing 
to  my  child  as  done  to  myself,  and  as  a  specimen  and  earnest  of 
what  shall  shortlv  be  done."     It  is  therefore  ■u^ell. 

It  only  remains,  that  I  conclude  with  a  few  hints  of  farther 
improvement. 

1.  Let  pious  parents,  who  have  lost  hopeful  children  in  a 
maturer  age,  join  with  others  in  saying,  Jt  is  wtll. 

My  friends,  the  reasons  which  1  have  been  urging  at  large, 
are  common  to  you  with  us  ;  and  permit  me  to  add,  that  as 
your  case  has  its  peculiar  distress,  it  has,  I  think,  in  a  yet  greater 
degree,  its  peculiar  consolations  too. 

I  know  you  will  say,  that  it  is  inexpressibly  grievous  and 
painful,  to  part  with  children  who  were  grown  up  into  most 
amiable  friends,  who  were  your  companions  in  the  ways  of  God, 
and  concerning  whom  you  had  a  most  agreeable  prospect,  that 
they  would  have  been  the  ornaments  and  supports  of  religion 
in  the  rising  age,  and  extensive  blessings  to  the  world,  long 
after  you  had  quitted  it.  These  reasonings  have,  undoubtedly, 
their  weight ;  and  they  have  so,  when  considered  in  a  very  dif- 
ferent view.  Must  you  not  acknowledge  it  is  well,  that  you 
enjoyed  so  many  years  of  comfort  in  them  ?  that  you  reaped 
so  much  solid  satisfaction  from  them  ?  and  saw  those  evidences 
of  a  work  of  grace  upon  their  hearts,  which  give  you  such 
abundant  reason  to  conclude  that  they  are  now  received  into 
that  inheritance  of  glory,  for  which  they  were  so  apparently 
made  meet  r  Some  of  them,  perhaps,  had  already  quitted  their 
father's  house  :  as  for  others,  had  God  spared  their  lives,  they 
might  have  been  transplanted  into  families  of  their  own  :  and 
if,  instead  of  being  removed  to  anutlier   iiouse,  or  town,  or 


324        ON  THE  Death  of  a  child.       Ser.  ii. 

countryj  they  are  taken  by  God  into  another  world,  is  that  a 
matter  of  so  great  complaint ;  Avhen  tliat  world  is  so  much 
better,  and  you  are  yourselves  so  near  it  ?  I  put  it  to  your 
hearts,  christians,  would  you  rather  have  chosen  to  have  buried 
them  in  their  infancy,  or  never  to  have  known  the  joys  and  the 
hopes  of  a  parent,  now  you  know  the  vicissitude  of  sorrow,  and 
of  disappointment  ?  But  perhaps,  you  will  say,  that  you  chiefly 
grieve  for  that  loss  which  the  world  has  sustained  by  the  re- 
moval of  those,  from  whom  it  might  reasonably  have  ex- 
pected so  much  future  service.  This  is,  indeed,  a  generous 
and  a  christian  sentiment,  and  there  is  something  noble  in 
those  tears  which  flow  on  such  a  consideration.  But  do  not  so 
remember  your  relation  to  earth,  as  to  forget  that  which  you 
bear  to  heaven  :  and  do  not  so  wrone:  the  divine  wisdom  and 
goodness,  as  to  suppose,  that  when  he  takes  away  from  hence 
promising  instruments  of  service,  he  there  lays  them  by  as 
useless.  Much  more  reasonable  is  it  to  conclude,  that  their 
sphere  of  action,  as  well  as  happiness,  is  enlarged,  and  that 
the  church  above  hath  gained  incomparably  more,  than  that 
below  can  be  supposed  to  have  lost  by  their  death. 

On  the  whole,  therefore,  far  from  complaining  of  the  divin& 
conduct  in  this  respect,  it  will  become  you,  my  friends,  rather 
to  be  very  thankful  that  these  dear  children  were  spared  so  long, 
to  accompau}^  and  entertain  you  in  so  many  stages  of  your  short 
journey  through  life,  to  answer  so  many  of  your  hopes,  and  to 
establish  so  many  more  beyond  all  fear  of  disappointment.  Re- 
flect on  all  that  God  did  in  and  upon  them,  on  all  he  was  begin- 
ning to  do  by  them,  and  on  what  you  have  great  reason  to  be- 
lieve he  is  now  doing  for  them;  and  adore  his  name,  that  he  has 
left  you  these  dear  memorials,  by  which  your  case  is  so  happily 
distinguished  from  ours,  whose  hopes  in  our  children  withered  in 
the  very  bud  ;  or  from  theirs,  who  saw  those  who  were  once  so 
dear  to  them,  perishing,  as  they  have  cause  to  fear,  in  the  paths 
of  the  destroyer. 

But  while  I  speak  thus,  methinks  I  am  alarmed,  lest  I  should 
awaken  the  far  more  grievous  sorrows  of  some  n)ournful  parent, 
whom  it  will  not  be  so  easy  to  comfort.  My  brethren  and  friends, 
what  shall  I  say  to  you,  who  are  lamenting  over  your  Absaloms, 
and  almost  wishing  Vou  had  died  for  theyn*?  Shall  I  urge  you  to 
say  it  is  well?  Perhaps  you  may  think  it  a  great  attainment,  if 
like  Aaron,  when  his  sons  Died  before  the  Lordy  you  can  hold 
your  peace  f,  under  the  a^\  ful  stroke.     My  soul  is  troubled  for 

*  2  Sam.  xvili.  33.  f  Lev.  x.  3. 


Stibmtsswn  to  Providence.  325 

you  ;  viy  words  are  almost  swallowed  up.  I  cannot  unsay  what 
1  have  elsewhere  said  at  large  on  that  melancholy  subject  *.  Yet 
let  me  remind  you  of  this,  that  you  do  not  certainly  know  what 
almighty  grace  might  do  for  these  lamented  creatures,  even  in 
the  latest  moments,  and  have  therefore  no  warrant  confidently 
to  pronounce  that  they  are  assuredly  perished.  And  if  you  can- 
not but  tremble  in  the  too  probable  fear  of  it,  labour  to  turn 
your  eyes  from  so  dark  a  prospect,  to  those  better  hopes  which 
God  is  setting  before  you.  For  surely  you  still  have  abundant 
reason  to  rejoice  in  that  grace,  which  gives  your  own  lives  to  you 
as  a  prey,  and  has  brought  you  so  near  to  that  blessed  world, 
where,  hard  as  it  is  now  to  conceive  it,  you  will  have  laid  aside 
every  alVection  of  nature,  which  interferes  with  the  interests  of 
God,  and  prevents  your  most  cheerful  acquiescence  in  every 
particular  of  his  wise  and  gracious  determinations. 

2.  From  what  we  have  heard,  let  us  learn  not  to  think  of 
the  loss  of  our  children  with  a  slavish  dread. 

It  is  to  a  parent  indeed  such  a  cutting  stroke,  that  I  wonder 
notlf  nature  shrink  back  at  the  very  mention  of  it :  and,  perhaps, 
it  would  make  those  to  whom  God  hath  denied  children  more 
easy,  if  they  knew  what  some  of  the  happiest  parents  feel  in  an 
uncertain  apprehension  of  the  loss  of  theirs:  an  apprehension 
which  strikes  with  peculiar  force  on  the  mind,  when  experiencQ 
hath  taught  us  the  anguish  of  such  an  affliction  in  former  instances. 
But  let  us  not  anticipate  evils:  perhaps  all  our  children,  who  are 
hitherto  spared,  may  follow  us  to  the  grave:  or,  if  otherwise, 
we  Sorrow  not  as  those  wlio  have  no  hope  f .  We  may  have  reason 
still  to  say,  it  is  well;  and,  through  divine  grace,  we  may  also 
have  hearts  to  say  it.  Whatever  we  lose,  if  we  be  the  children 
of  God,  we  shall  never  lose  our  heavenly  Father.  He  will  still 
be  our  support,  and  our  joy.  And  therefore  let  us  turn  all  our 
anxiety  about  uncertain,  future  events,  into  an  holy  solicitude 
to  please  him,  and  to  promote  religious  impressions  in  the  hearts 
of  our  dear  offspring ;  that  if  God  should  see  fit  to  take  them 
away,  we  inay  have  a  claim  to  the  full  consolations,  which  I  have 
been  representing  in  the  preceding  discourse. 

3,  Let  us  not  sink  in  hopeless  sorrow,  or  break  out  into 
clamorous  complaints,  if  God  has  brought  this  heavy  affliction 
upon  us. 

A  stupid  indifference  would  be  absurd  and  unnatural :  God 

*  In  the  sixth  f'f  my  sermons  to  young  persons,  entitled,  The  Refiectioocof  » 
^ous  Parent  on  the  Death  of  a  wicked  Child, 
f  1  Thess.  w.  13. 

VOL.  111.  Sfl 


526  ON   THE   DEATH   OF   A   CHILD.  SeR.  II. 

and  man  might  look  upon  us  as  acting  a  most  unworthy  part^ 
should  we  be  like  the  Ostrich  in  the  wilderness,  which  hardeneih 
herself  against  her  young  ones,  as  if  they  were  not  hers ;  because 
God  hath  deprived  her  of  wisdom,  neither  hath  he  imparted  to 
her  understanding  *.  Let  us  sorrow  like  men,  and  like  parents ; 
but  let  us  not,  in  the  mean  time,  forget  that  we  are  christians. 
Let  us  remember  how  common  the  calamity  is  ;  few  parents  are 
exempt  from  it ;  some  of  the  most  pious  and  excellent  have  lost 
amiable  children,  with  circumstances  perhaps  of  peculiar  aggra- 
vation. It  is  a  trial  which  God  hath  chosen  for  the  exercise  of 
some  who  have  been  eminently  dear  to  him,  as  we  may  learn 
from  a  variety  of  instances  both  ancient  and  modern.  Let  us 
recollect  our  many  offences  against  our  heavenly  Father,  those 
sins  which  such  a  dispensation  may  properly  Bring  to  our  re- 
7ne7nbra7ice\;  and  let  that  silence  us,  and  teach  us  to  own,  that 
It  is  of  the  Lo7^d^s  mercies  we  are  not  consumedX,  and  that  we 
are  Punished  less  than  our  iniquities  deserve^.  Let  us  look 
round  on  our  surviving  comforts;  let  us  look  forward  to  our  fu- 
ture, our  eternal  hopes ;  and  we  shall  surely  see,  that  there  is 
still  room  for  praise,  still  a  call  for  it.  Let  us  review  the  par- 
ticulars mentioned  above,  and  then  let  conscience  determine 
whether  it  doth  not  become  us,  in  this  particular  instance,  to 
Say  it  steadily,  and  cheerfully  too,  even  this  is  well.  And  may 
the  God  of  all  grace  and  comfort  apply  these  considerations  to 
our  mind,  that  we  may  not  only  own  them,  but  feel  them,  as  a 
reviving  cordial  Avhen  our  heart  is  overwhelmed  within  us!  In 
the  mean  time,  let  me  beseech  you  whose  Tabernacles  are  in 
peace  \\,  and  whose  Children  are  yet  about  you  ^,t\\?Lt  yon  would 
not  be  severe  in  censuring  our  tears,  till  you  have  experimental- 
ly known  our  sorrows,  and  yourselves  tasted  the  Wormwood  and 
the  gall,  which  we,  with  all  our  comforts,  must  have  in  a  long 
and  bitter  remembrance  **. 

4.  Let  those  of  us  who  are  under  the  rod,  be  very  solicitous 
to  improve  it  aright,  that  in  the  end  it  may  indeed  be  well. 

Hear,  my  brethren,  my  friends  and  fellow-sufferers,  hear 
and  Suffer  the  word  of  exhortation  ff.  Let  us  be  much  concern- 
ed, that  we  may  not  bear  all  the  smart  of  such  an  affliction,  and, 
through  our  own  folly,  lose  all  that  benefit  which  might,  other- 
wise, be  a  rich  equivalent.  In  proportion  to  the  grievousness 
of  the  stroke,  should  be  our  care  to  attend  to  the  design  of  it. 
Let  us,  now  God  is  calling  us  to  mourning  and  lamentation,  be 

*  Job  xxxix.  16,  17.    t  ^  Kings  xvii.  18.     +  Lam.  Hi.  22.  §  Ezra  ix.  13. 

II  Job  V.  24.  f  Jobxsix.  5.  **  Lam.  iii.  1 9,  20.    ff  Heb.  xiii.  22, 


Subynissio)i  to  Providence.  327 

Searching  and  trying  our  ways^  that  we  may  turn  again  unto 
the  Lord*.  Let  us  rcvjew  tlic  conduct  oi"  our  lives,  and  the 
state  and  tenour  of  our  aifections,  that  we  may  observe  what 
hatli  been  deficient,  and  wliat  irregular  ;  that  proper  rcmedie» 
may  be  apphed,  and  those  important  lessons  more  thoroughly 
learnt,  which  I  was  mentioning  under  the  lormer  branch  of  my 
discourse.  Let  us  pray,  that  through  our  tears  we  may  read 
our  duty,  and  that  by  the  heat  of  the  furnace  we  may  be  so 
melted,  that  our  dross  may  be  purged  away,  and  the  divine 
image  instainped  on  our  souls  in  brighter  and  fairer  characters. 
To  sum  up  all  in  one  word,  let  us  endeavour  to  set  our  hearts 
more  on  that  God,  who  is  infinitely  Better  to  us  than  tc7i  chil- 
dren ^^  who  hath  Given  us  a  name  better  than  that  of  sons  and 
daughtersX)  and  can  abundantly  supply  the  place  of  all  earthly 
enjoyments  with  the  rich  communications  of  his  grace :  nay, 
perhaps,  we  may  add,  who  hath  removed  some  darling  of  our 
hearts,  lest  to  our  infinite  detriment  it  should  fill  his  place  there, 
and,  by  alienating  us  from  his  love  and  service,  have  a  fatal  in- 
fluence on  our  present  peace,  and  our  future  happiness. 

Eternal  glory,  my  friends,  is  so  great  a  thing,  and  the  com- 
plete love  and  enjoyment  of  God  so  unutterably  desirable,  that 
it  is  well  worth  our  while  to  bear  the  sharpest  sorrows,  by  which 
we  may  be  more  perfectly  formed  for  it.  We  may  even  con- 
gratulate the  death  of  our  children,  if  it  bring  us  nearer  to  our 
heavenly  Father  ;  and  teach  us,  (instead  of  filling  this  vacancy 
in  our  heart  with  some  new  vanity,  which  may  shortly  renew 
our  sorrows)  to  consecrate  the  whole  of  it  to  him  who  alone  de- 
serves, and  can  alone  answer  the  most  intense  affection.  Let  us 
try  what  of  this  kind  may  be  done.  We  are  now  going  to  the 
table  of  the  Lord  §,  to  that  very  table  where  our  vows  have  of- 
ten been  sealed,  where  our  comforts  have  often  been  resigned, 
where  our  Isaacs  have  been  conditionally  sacrificed,  and  where 
"we  commemorate  the  real  sacrifice  which  God  hath  made  even 
of  his  only  begotten  Son  for  us.  May  our  other  sorrows  be 
suspended,  while  we  Mourn  /or  him  whom  we  have  pierced,  as 
for  an  only  son,  and  are  in  bitterness  as  for  a  frst-born  |(.  From 
his  blood  consolations  spring  up,  which  will  flourish  even  on  the 
graves  of  our  dear  children ;  and  the  sweetness  of  that  cup 
which  he  there  gives  us,  will  temper  the  most  distasteful  ingre- 

*Lain.  ill.  40,  f  '  Sam,  i.  8,  +  Isa.  Ivi.  5, 

§N,  B.  This  sermon  was  preached  October  3,  1736,  it  being  sacrament  day. 
The  child  died  October  1. 
II  Zcch.  xii.  10. 

Ss2 


328  ON  THE  DEATH  OP  A  CHILD.  SZR.  11. 

dients  of  the  other.  Our  houses  are  not  so  with  Gody  as  they 
once  were,  as  we  once  expected  they  would  have  been,  but  he 
hath  made  with  us  an  everlasting  covenanty  and  these  are  the 
tokens  of  it.  Blessed  be  his  name,  we  hold  not  the  mercies  of 
that  covenant  by  so  precarious  a  tenure  as  the  life  of  any  crea- 
ture :  //  is  well  ordered  in  all  things  and  sure :  may  it  be  all  our 
salvation,  and  all  our  desire*-;  and  then  it  is  but  a  little  while, 
and  all  our  complaints  will  cease.  God  will  wipe  away  these 
tears  from  our  eyes  f ;  our  peaceful  and  happy  spirits  shall  ere 
long  meet  with  those  of  our  children  which  he  hath  taken  to 
himself.  Our  bodies  shall  sleep,  and  ere  long  shall  also  awake, 
and  arise  with  theirs.  Death,  that  inexorable  destroyer,  shall 
be  swallowed  up  in  victory  Xi  while  we  and  ours  surround  the 
throne  with  everlasting  hallelujahs,  and  own,  Avith  another  evi- 
dence than  we  can  now  perceive,  with  another  spirit  than  we  can 
now  express,  that  all  was  indeed  well.    Amen. 

*  2  Sara,  xxiii.  5,  f  Rev.  xxi,  4,  %  1  Cor.  xv,  54» 


Character  and  Translation  of  Enoch.  ^29 


SERMON   III. 


PRACTICAL  REFLECTIONS 


CHARACTER  AND  TRANSLATION  OF  ENOCH, 

Jn  ti  Sermon  preached  at  Welford,in  Northamptonshirey  March  9,  n37-8» 
on  Occasion  of  the  much  lamented  Death  of  the  late  Reverend  Mr.  John 
Nurris, 


Gen.  V.  2i.—j4nd  Enoch  xvalkedwith  God,  and  he  u-as  not,  for  God  took  him. 


T. 


HE  apostle  gives  it  in  charge  to  the  bcHcving  Hebrews, 
that  they  should  Remember  those  who  had  presided  over  them, 
and  had  spoken  to  them  the  word  of  the  gospel,  well  knowing 
it  would  be  one  sweet  and  powerful  engagement,  \.o  follow  their 
faith y  especially  when  they  considered  the  end  of  their  conver- 
sation *. 

I  persuade  myself,  that  it  will  be  a  very  easy  matter 
for  you,  my  friends,  to  remember  that  dear  and  faithful  ser- 
vant of  Christ,  who,  for  so  many  years  f  had  the  pastoral  care 
of  you,  guiding  you,  at  once,  in  the  integrity  of  his  heart,  and 
in  the  skilf  illness  of  his  hands  I.  You  who  have  grown  up,  and 
as  to  some  I  may  add,  have  grown  old  too  under  his  ministry, 
■will  surely  find  the  recollection,  notwithstanding  all  the  sor- 
row that  must  now  attend  it,  both  too  edifying  and  too  delight- 
ful to  be  neglected.  You  must,  no  doubt,  find  some  memo- 
rials of  him,  in  various  places  and  circumstances  of  life  ;  but 
none  more  numerous,  and  none  more  pleasing  than  your  bibles 
will  afford  you.  How  many  awakening  exhortations,  how 
many  comprehensive  precepts,  how  many  precious  promises 

*  Heb.  xiii.  7. 

t  N.  B.  Mr.  Norns  died  Feb.  8, 1737-8,  in  the  63d  year  of  his  age,  having  been 
near  38  years  Minister  atWelford. 
X  Psal,  Ixxviii.  72. 


330  DEATH    OF  THE  REV.   J.    NORRIS.  SeR.  III. 

have  you,  from  sabbath  to  sabbath,  heard  him  unfold  ?  How 
many  instructive  and  amiable  examples  have  you  not  only 
heard,  but  seen  him  illustrate !  It  was  the  care  and  joy  of  his 
life,  to  form  himself  on  those  great  models;  and  beholding  them 
in  the  glass  of  scripture,  he  was  changed  into  the  same  image. 
In  those  originals  therefore  you  will  often  trace  him,  and  in 
which  of  them  is  not  the  resemblance  beautifully  conspicuous  > 
Yet  perhaps  in  few  of  the  miniatures  which  are  there  drawn, 
it  is  more  remarkably  so,  than  in  the  account  given  of  Enoch. 
Jie  walked  with  God,  and  he  was  not,  for  God  took  him.  As 
soon  as  you  heard  me  read  the  words,  you  with  pleasure  saw 
how  well  they  expressed  both  the  distinguished  piety  of  your 
late  minister's  character,  and  the  ease  and  suddenness  of  his 
removal  from  us. 

It  is  impossible  for  me  to  express  the  tender  sympathy, 
with  Avhich  I  undertake  this  melancholy  office,  which  my  ho- 
noured father  was  pleased  to  assign  me.  But  I  will  attempt  to 
break  through  the  difficulty,  and  to  suppress  the  fulness  of  my 
heart,  so  far  as  it  would  obstruct  what  I  have  to  say,  in  humble 
hope,  that,  through  the  divine  blessing,  that  which  was  the 
great  end  of  bis  life  and  labours  among  you,  may  in  some  mea- 
sure be  promoted  by  this  discourse,  occasioned  by  his  death. 
And,  I  am  persuaded,  nothing  will  so  nobly  support  your  hearts 
•under  this  sad  separation,  or  so  effectually  secure  and  promote 
the  pleasure  of  your  future  meeting  with  him,  as  a  dihgent 
cai-e  to  be  followers  of  him,  as  he  was  a  follower  of  Enoch,  and 
all  the  saints  in  that  holy  course  of  walking  with  God,  which  is 
now  to  be  the  subject  of  our  meditation.  And  that  you  may 
be  both  directed  and  animated  in  it,  we  will. 

First,  Explain  the  view  given  us  of  Enoch's  hfe  and  cha- 
racter.    He  walked  with  God. 

Secondly,  Consider  the  happy  close  of  this  pious  course. 
He  was  not,  for  God  took  him. 

When  I  have  handled  these  heads  as  fully  as  the  time  will 
admit,  I  shall, 

Thirdhj,  Conclude  with  some  practical  reflections,  and  an 
address  peculiarly  suited  to  that  awful  providence,  which  hath 
brought  me  among  you  this  day. 

And,  permit  me  to  remmd  you,  that  your  serious  attention 
to  what  shall  now  be  spoken,  is  one  part  of  the  respect  which 
you  owe  to  the  memory  of  that  worthy  and  excellent  man,  in 
whose  place  I  stand. 

First,  Let  us  attentively  survey  the  account  which  is  here 
given  us,  of  the  life  and  character  of  Enoch. 


Character  and  Translation  of  Enoch.  331 

It  is  said,  tliat  he  •walked  with  God;  a  plirase  which  tlie 
same  sacred  historian  useth  concerning  one  of  Enoch's  descend- 
ants, i.  e.  Noah.  He  was  a  jnst  man,  and  perfect  in  his  gene- 
rations, and  Noah  walked  with  God  *  :  and  when  it  is  suid  of 
other  good  men,  that  they  walked  he/ore  the  Lord,  it  seems  to 
be  an  expression  much  of  the  same  import,  and  implies,  that  in 
the  main  series  of  their  hves  they  maintained  a  firm  persuasion 
of  the  being  and  perfections  of  God,  and  of  the  other  important 
principles  of  religion  ;  and  that  in  consequence  of  this  they 
were  careful  to  behave  as  in  the  divine  ])resence  ;  and  on  the 
other  hand,  tliat  they  were  honoured  with  some  gracious  and 
comfortable  tokens  of  the  divine  acceptance  and  favour:  in  a 
■word,  that  there  was  a  mutual  friendship  established  and  exer- 
cised between  God  and  them.  Blessed  character,  and  happy 
state  !  Ma)'  we  be  formed  to  it,  and  improved  in  it,  while  we 
more  particularly  review  it  in  this  instance  of  Enoch, 

1.  When  it  is  said  that  Enoch  walked  with  God,  it  evi- 
dently implies,  that  he  had  a  firm  persuasion  of  the  Divine  Be- 
ing and  perfections,  and  the  other  important  principles  of  true 
religion. 

Of  this  the  apostle  expressly  assures  us,  and  argues  it  from 
the  account  here  given  of  him.  He  had  before  his  translation 
this  testimony,  that  he  pleased  God ;  but  without  faith  it  is  im- 
possible to  please  him ;  for  he  that  cometh  to  God,  must  believe 
that  he  is,  and  that  he  is  the  rewarder  of  them  that  diligentlj/ 
seek  him-f, 

Enoch  had  undoubtedly  this  faith,  by  which  he  believed, 
that  the  worlds  were  made  by  God,  and  that  he  is  the  great 
supporter  of  all.  He  certainly  traced  him  in  his  works  of  crea- 
tion and  providence,  and  considered  him  both  as  the  greatest 
and  the  best  of  beings.  He  was  firmly  persuaded  of  his  immu- 
table existence,  his  almighty  power,  and  unsearchable  wisdom  ; 
and  he  also  considered  him  as  the  wise,  the  righteous,  and  gra- 
cious governor  of  his  rational  creatures  ;  the  Father,  the  guide, 
and  the  portion  of  his  people.  Without  these  reverential  and 
these  fiducial  regards,  v/hat  foundation  or  what  encouragement 
could  there  have  been  for  his  walking  wnth  God  ? 

On  these  principles  Enoch  would  easily  infer  the  certainty 
of  a  future  state  of  rewards  and  punishments  ;  considering  how 
little  the  present  administrations  of  providence  bear  the  face  of 
a  final  retribution.  We  are  also  assured  by  St.  Jude,  that  he, 
by  divine  revelation,  prophecied  of  the  judgment  day  Xt  and 

♦  Gen.  vi.  9.  t  H^l*-  >^i-  5>  6,  %  Jmle  U. 


332  DEATH   OF   THE  REV  J.    NORRIS,  SeR.  Ilf. 

may  from  that  hint  probably  conjecture,  that  other  important 
articles  of  religion  might  in  such  an  extraordinary  -svay  be  dis- 
covered to  him.  We  may  especially  conclude,  that  being  thus 
divinel}'^  instructed  in  the  certainty  and  pomp  of  Christ's  second 
coming,  he  was  not  left  entirely  ignorant  of  the  purposes  of  his 
first  appearance.  And  no  doubt,  Adam,  who  was  for  the  last  300 
years  of  his  life,  contemporary  with  Enoch,  would  not  fail  to 
acquaint  him  with  that  first  important  promise  relating  to  the 
Seed  of  the  woman  *,  as  the  noblest  support  to  the  hopes  of  a 
guilty  creature. 

It  is  indeed  impossible  for  us  to  determine,  how  far  his 
views  of  the  Messiah  reached  ;  but  it  is  highly  congruous  to  the 
rest  of  his  character,  to  conclude,  that  he  traced  every  intima- 
tion of  this  glorious  deliverer  with  pleasure,  and  joyfully  ac- 
cepted him  so  far,  as  he  was  made  known,  as  the  great  medium 
of  his  reconciliation  to  God,  and  converse  with  him. 

2.  In  consequence  of  this  persuasion  of  the  great  truths  of 
religion,  Enoch  made  it  his  care  to  behave  as  in  the  divine  pre- 
sence. 

He  walked  with  God,  i.  e.  he  habitually  conducted  himself 
as  one  that  was  with  God.  And  as  it  is  said  of  Moses,  He  endured 
and  acted  as  seeing  him  who  is  invisible  f.  It  may  be  worth 
our  while,  more  particularly  to  consider,  how  this  would  influ- 
ence his  secret,  his  domestic,  and  his  public  conduct. 

We  may  assure  ourselves,  that  it  had  a  great  influence 
upon  him  in  secret,  not  only  to  restrain  him  from  secret  sins, 
but  to  excite  him  to  the  discharge  of  those  secret  duties,  which 
a  present  deity  so  reasonably  requires,  and  which  they  tliat 
have  a  suitable  sense  of  his  presence  cannot  omit.  This  cer- 
tainly led  him  to  spend  many  an  hour  in  devout  retirement,  me- 
ditation and  prayer  ;  and  Ave  may  reasonably  conclude,  that 
the  good  man  was  never  less  alone  than  Avhen  he  was  alone. 
He  probably  never  made  nearer  approaches  to  heaven,  before 
his  translation  thither,  than  when  he  had  got  rid  of  other  cares, 
other  amusements  and  other  company  ;  that  he  might  be  all  at 
leisure  for  his  God. 

It  is  also  very  evident,  that  this  sense  of  the  divine  pre- 
sence, must  have  influenced  Enoch  in  his  domestic  life.  Short 
as  the  Mosaic  history  of  this  holy  man  is,  we  learn  from  it,  that 
he  was  the  master  of  a  family,  and  stood  in  the  relation  of  a 
luisband  and  a  parent ;  and  which  is  something  remarkable,  we 
do  not  find  that  any  of  the  patriarchs  married  younger  than  he  i 

*  Gen.  iii.  15.  f  Heb,  xi.  27. 


Character  and  Translation  of  Enoch.  333 

for  liis  son  Alothuselah  was  born  in  the  65tli  year  ;  which,  con- 
sidering the  age  of  men  in  the  antediluvian  world,  must  be  the 
bloom  of  his  father's  youth.  With  this  family  lie  lived  .'jOO 
years,  governing  himself,  no  doubt,  by  a  resolution  like  that  of 
pious  Joshua,  That  he  and  his  house  would  serve  the  Lord  *. 
His  care  would  be  like  that  of  Abraham  in  after-ages,  To  com- 
mand  his  household  after  him  to  keep  the  way  of  the  Lord. 

He  would  probably  often  call  them  together  to  join  in  sa- 
crifice and  prayer ;  when  perhaps  his  children,  as  we  read  of 
Job's,  were  remembered,  according  to  the  number  of  them  all. 
He  could  not  but  be  solicitous  to  Train  them  up  in  the  nurture 
and  adynonition  of  the  Lordf,  that  they  might  learn  to  A!"?wz«; 
the  God  of  their  fathers y  and  be  inclined  to  serve  him  with  a 
perfect  heart  and  a  willing  mind  |. 

And  he  would  be  sure  to  enforce  all  his  precepts  by  a  good 
example.  A  soul  so  habitually  near  to  God,  and  so  coustautly 
sensible  of  his  presence,  must  be  open  to  all  the  tenderest  senti- 
ments of  humanity  and  benevolence.  He  would,  of  course,  study 
to  make  ever}-  body  about  him  easy  and  happy,  and,  like  your 
venerable  and  beloved  pastor  now  with  God,  would  wear  a  con- 
stant smile  on  his  countenance,  which  he  probably  saw  re- 
flected from  the  face  of  every  child  and  servant  in  the  family. 
Happy  were  they  that  resided  in  it,  for  surely  the}'  might  have 
continued  there  from  one  century  to  another  with  growing  im- 
provement and  delight. 

And  could  we  have  traced  Enoch  into  public  life,  we  sliould 
undoubtedly  have  found  that  part  of  his  cliaracter  agreeable  to 
the  rest.  Like  Jesus,  He  went  about  doing  good  §,  his  head 
still  full  of  wise  schemes,  and  his  heart  overflowing  with  bene- 
volent affections  ;  so  that  whatever  advantages  his  rank  and 
circumstances  gave  him,  were  faithfully  employed  for  the  com- 
mon good.  We  may  conclude,  that  su(;h  a  person  was  ^Ip- 
proved  by  men,  as  well  as  accepted  of  God\,  that  When  the 
eye  saw  him,  it  blessed  him ;  and  when  the  ear  heard  him,  it 
gave  witness  to  him  ^. 

There  is  great  reason  to  believe,  that  his  lips  as  well  as  his 
hands  fed  many  ;  aud  so  much  the  rather  as  he  was  a  prophet 
commissioned  by  God  to  teach  the  people,  and  to  bring  them 
some  extraordinary  revelations  from  him.  Thus  we  read  in 
■words  which  I  hinted  at  above,  that  Enoch  the  seventh  from 

♦  Josh.  xxiv.  15.        t  Eph.  vi.  4.         \  1  Chron.  xxviii.  9.         \  Acts  x.  38. 
II  Rom.  xiv.  18.  f[  Job  xxix.  11. 

VOL.  III.  T  t 


S3i  DEATH    OF    THE   RLV.   J.    NORRIS.  SeR.  HI 

Adarn^  prophecied,  sayings  Behold  the  Lord  coniefh  with  yvy- 
riads  oj  his  saints,  or  holy  ones,  to  execute  judgment  upon  all; 
and  to  convince  all  that  are  ungodly  among  them,  of  all  their 
ungodly  deeds  which  they  have  impiously  committed,  and  of  all 
their  hard  speeches  which  ungodly  sinners  have  spoken  against 
him  ■*.  From  whence  it  plainly  appears,  that  he  lived  in  a  very 
degenerate  age,  when  impiety  and  immorality  abounded,  when 
insolent  sinners,  as  in  our  days,  Set  their  mouths  against  the 
heavens,  and  gave  their  tongues  an  unbridled  licence  of  walk- 
ing through  the  earth -f.  But  he  bore  his  undaunted  testimo- 
nies to  the  truth  of  God  in  the  midst  of  all  their  opposition 
and  contempt.  He  resolutely  Set  his  face  like  a  fiint,  as  he 
well  knew  that  in  such  a  cause  he  should  never  be  ashamed  §. 
His  heart,  humane  and  tender  as  it  w^as,  could  not  but  be 
warmed  with  a  generous  indignation  at  the  dishonours  which 
were  done  to  the  divine  Majesty,  and  Knowing  the  terrors  of 
the  Lord,  he  endeavoured  to  persuade  men  §.  We  would  hope 
his  endeavours  were  not  entirely  in  vain,  but  that  through  the 
concurrence  of  divine  grace,  he  was  the  happy  instrument  of 
stemming  the  torrent  for  a  while,  or  at  least  of  recovering  and 
preserving  a  few,  who  might  be  the  companions  of  his  walk 
with  God  here,  and  are  now  his  associates  in  glory. 

Such  a  governing  care  to  approve  the  main  series  of  his 
private,  domestic,  and  public  conduct  to  the  Being  in  whose  pre- 
sence he  always  knew  himself  to  be,  must  surely  be  comprehend- 
ed in  the  phrase  before  us ;  and  it  will  be  pleasant  to  consider, 

3.  That  the  expression  farther  intimates  his  being  ho- 
noured with  correspondent  tokens  of  the  divine  acceptance 
and  favour. 

Enoch  walked  with  God,  and  Can  two  walk  together,  ex- 
cept they  be  agreed  \\  ?  It  plainly  implies,  that  he  lived  in  a 
state  of  friendship  Avith  God  ;  or  as  the  apostle  expresseth  it, 
even  before  his  translation,  had  a  Testimony  that  he  pleased  him. 
Thou  meetest,  saith  the  prophet,  him  that  rejoiceth  and  worketh 
righteousness,  even  such  as  remember  thee  in  their  ways  ^. 
Thus  did  Enoch  remember  God,  and  thus  was  he  visited  by 
him.  The  high  ajid  lofty  one  who  inhahiteth  eternity,  who 
dwelleth  in  the  high  and  the  holy  place,  condescended  to  dwell 
with  this  holy  man,  as  he  was  humble,  and  of  a  contrite  spirit  "''•*. 

Public  assemblies  for  divine  worship  Avere,  no  doubt,  sea- 
sons of  delightful  converse  with  God  ;  and  Enoch  would,  on 

*.Tude  14,15.  f  Psal.  Ixxiii.  9,  J  Isa.  1.  7.  §  2  Cor.  ».  II. 

II  Amos  iii.  3.  %  Isa.  Ixiv.  3.  **  Isa,  Ivii.  15. 


Character  and  Translation  of  Enoch.  333 

that  account,  honour  and  love  them,  Avhocvcr  might  forsake 
them,  whoever  might  despise  them.  And  in  his  house  and  liis 
retirements,  his  journeys,  and  his  converse  with  his  friends,  he 
had  God  still  with  him.  lie  ualked  in  the  light  of  God's  conn- 
tenauce,  and  was  surely  looking  up  often  in  a  day,  often  in  an 
hour,  and  saw  by  faith  the  most  delightful  sight  on  tins  side 
heaven,  or  even  in  heaven  itself,  the  smiling  face  of  a  reconciled 
God  and  Father.  He  felt  the  gentle  elapses  of  the  Divine  love 
shed  abroad  on  his  heart  by  the  spirit  given  unto  him  *,  which, 
no  doubt,  though  under  a  darker  dispensation,  Witnessed  with 
his  spirit,  that  he  was  a  child  of  God  f,  and  an  heir  of  eternal 
glory. 

As  piety  was  the  source  of  all  his  social  and  personal  vir- 
tues, the  fragrancy  of  it,  as  a  sacred  perfume,  Avould  mingle 
itself  delightfully  with  all  his  social  and  personal  enjoyments, 
and  heighten  them  to  a  degree  unknown  to  those  who  have  not 
thus  tasted  the  joys  which  a  stranger  intermeddleth  not  with. 
In  every  advantageous  circumstance  of  life  he  saw  and  observed 
the  hand  of  the  divine  bounty,  and  discerning  also  the  interpo- 
sition of  the  same  providence  in  all  his  afflictions,  for  afflictions 
he  undoubtedly  had,  he  not  only  submitted  to  them  in  humble 
silence,  but  cordially  acquiesced  in  them  all,  as  the  means  which 
infinite  wisdom  and  goodness  had  chosen  to  carry  on  his  own 
kind  designs,  for  his  final  everlasting  happiness. 

And  such  universally  are  the  ways,  and  such  the  supports 
and  pleasures  of  those  that  walk  with  God.  Happy  the  men 
that  are  in  such  a  case  ;  yea  happy  the  men  whose  God  is  the 
Lord  X  ;  happy  they  by  whom  he  is  thus  constantly  owned  and 
regarded,  honoured  and  enjoyed.  I  persuade  myself,  that  after 
such  a  description,  I  need  not  insist  largely  on  the  dignity,  the 
security  and  the  delights  of  such  a  life,  especially  as  it  is  to  be 
the  business  of  my  second  general  head. 

Secondly  J  To  consider  the  happy  close  of  this  pious  course. 
He  was  not,  for  God  took  him. 

For  the  farther  illustration  of  which,  you  will  ol)scrve, 

That  he  was  early  and  suddenly  removed  from  our  world. 

That  he  was  taken  to  dwell  with  God. x\nd  that  he  was  re- 
ceived to  that  happy  state  in  a  miraculous  and  unparalleled 
way.  All  these  particulars  evidently  appear  from  the  account 
which  Moses  gives  of  this  important  fact,  as  illustrated  by  the 
writers  of  the  New  Testament. 

*  Rom.  V.  5.  t  Rom.  viii.  IG.  J  Psal.  cxliv.  15. 

T  t  2 


336  DEATH    OF   THE  REV,   J.   NORRIS.  SeR.  III. 

1.  Enoch  was  early  and  suddenly  removed  from  our  world. 

He  was  not.  i.  e.  He  was  no  longer  here.  You  may  per- 
haps wonder  that  I  should  speak  of  his  early  remove,  when  you 
recollect  that  he  was  then  365  years  old.  But  you  will  not 
blame  the  expression,  when  you  consider  the  long  lives  of  men 
in  those  antediluvian  ages,  to  which  this  period  bore  but  a 
small  proportion.  As  his  son  Methuselah  lived  i)69  years,  so 
his  father  Jared  attained  to  962  j'ears  ;  and  therefore,  being 
162  years  old  at  his  birth,  continued  in  the  world  435  years 
after  Enoch  had  left  it ;  whose  age  at  the  time  of  his  translation 
answered  to  about  the  31st  or  32d  year  of  life  at  present,  which 
you  know  is  just  the  vigour  and  prime  of  it.  But  he  had  un- 
doubtedly lived  much  in  a  little  time,  and  had  done  more  for 
God  before  he  had  reached  what  was  then  accounted  the  meri- 
dian of  life,  than  many  who  had  out-stripped  him  in  age  by  se- 
veral centuries.  On  this  a  gracious  God  excused  him  from  the 
trouble  of  passing  through  a  longer  pilgrimage,  and  of  drooping 
under  the  burden  of  declining  years.  And  sure  so  wise  and 
good  a  man  would  have  been  thankful  for  the  favour,  though  it 
had  not  been  bestowed  in  so  extraordinary  a  way  ;  especially 
as  this  removal  was  not  only  early  but  sudden  too, 

This  suddenness  the  words  do  beautifully  express,  He  was 
not,  i.  e.  he  disappeared  at  once,  as  riches  sometimes  do  when 
tfiey  Take  their  wings,  andjij/  away,  as  an  eagle  towards  hea" 
ven.  On  which  account  they  are  called  Things  that  are  not  *  ; 
the  apostle  renders  it  He  was  not  found  f  ;  perhaps  intimating, 
that  some  diligent  search  was  made  after  him,  as  after  Elijah, 
when  in  a  very  distant  succeeding  age  he  was  in  an  extraordi- 
nary manner  received  into  glory. 

Let  us  pause  a  little  on  this  delightful  thought.  What  a 
sudden  transition  this  good  man  had  from  earth  to  heaven  !  He 
li'as  not,  for  God  took  him  :  he  probably  rose  in  the  morning  in 
perfect  health,  and  went  forth  with  his  usual  composure  and 
sweetness  of  temper  to  the  appointed  duties  of  the  day.  And 
while  he  was  perhaps  conversing  with  his  pious  friends,  which 
was  the  case  with  Elijah,  or  while,  like  Christ,  he  was  praying 
with  and  for  them,  or  engaged  in  some  otlier  act  of  social  wor- 
ship, he  was  suddenly  called  away.  No  tedious  illness,  no  sad 
farewel  to  those  that  were  at  home.  This  happy  man  was  in 
the  way  of  his  duty  one  moment,  and  in  tlie  regions  of  immor- 
tality the  next.  He  was  not,  for  God  took  him ;  which  farther 
implies, 

♦  Prov.  xxiii.  5.  f  Heb.  xi.  5. 


Character  and  Translation  of  Enoch.  337 

2.  That  He  "Was  taken  to  dzvell  with  God. 

He  had  walked  with  him  in  this  house  of  his pilgriynage ^yat 
still  his  faith  and  hope  had  been  waitiii<T  for  a  more  noble  and 
more  perfect  state,  and  that  hope  did  not  make  him  ashamed. 
Having  guided  hi)n  by  his  counsels,  God  received  him  to  glory. 
And  this  was  to  him  the  crown  of  all  his  honour  and  joy,  that  he 
was  received  to  God.  Divine  grace  had  long  since  taught  him 
to  say,  Whom  have  I  in  heavtn  but  thee  ?  and  there  is  none  on 
earth  that  I  desire  beside  thee^:  and  God  treated  him  as  a  friend 
that  loved  him,  and  was  beloved  by  him.  As  if  he  had  not  been 
satisfied  M-ith  visiting  him  below,  he  called  him  to  dwell  above. 
He  shewed  him  the  path  of  life,  and  conducted  hi)n  to  his  pre- 
sence, where  there  is  fullness  of  joy ;  and  to  his  right  hand, 
where  there  are  pleasures  for  evermore  ^ . 

And  that  hoi}'  soul,  which  had  been  trained  up  for  heaven 
by  so  long  a  course  of  devotion  and  virtue,  would  find  itself  most 
happily  attempered  and  connaturahzed  to  the  Avorld  to  which  it 
was  received.  He  changed  liis  place  indeed,  but  his  employ- 
ments and  pleasures  were  in  the  main  the  same.  He  still  walked 
with  God,  but  with  a  steadier  pace,  more  unwearied  ardor,  and 
more  exquisite  delight.  How  gladly  would  he  have  obeyed  this 
divine  call  to  that  world,  though  death  in  its  most  dreadful 
forms  had  stood  to  meet  him  in  his  passage  thiiher.  But  through 
the  peculiar  favour  of  God  to  him,  we  are  informed, 

3.  That  he  was  received  to  this  happiness  in  a  miraculous, 
and  till  that  time  an  unparalleled  way. 

For  his  sake  God  Avas  pleaded  to  create  a  new  thing  on  the 
earth,  and  to  permit  a  child  of  Adam  to  enter  the  gates  of  iiis 
glorv,  without  taking  the  road  appointed  to  the  best  of  men 
in  the  course  of  nature,  in  passing  through  the  valley  of  the 
shadow  of  death, 

I  cannot  say  that  we  could  with  any  certainty  have  inferred 
this  from  the  words  of  Moses  alone.  He  was  not,  for  God  took 
him.  That  phrase  might  have  been  interpreted  of  a  sudden 
deatJi :  as  Rachel  is  said  to  lament,  because  Htr  children  were 
notX.  And  .Job  expressed  his  apprehension  of  immediate  death, 
by  saying,  Thou  shall  seek  me  iti  the  morning,  and  I  shall  not 
be  k'  Now  had  Enoch  passed  out  of  life  thus,  it  might  have  been 
said  that  God  took  hiuiy  as  Asaph  speaks  of  being  deceived  into 
glory\[.  And  our  Lord  promises  his  apostles,  who  were  to  go 
the  way  of  all  flesh,  that  lie  would  Come  and  receive  them  to 

*Psal.  Ixxiii.  ?5.  f  P.>al,  xvi.  II.  *  Mat.  Li.  18.  §.?ol)  vii.  CI. 

U  Psal.  Ixxiii.  '24 . 


338,  DEATH    OF   THE    REV.    J.    NORRIS.  SeR.  Ill, 

himself^.  But  St.  Paul,  wlio  was  guided  by  an  unerring  Spirit, 
which  would  sufficiently  secure  him  from  being  imposed  upon 
by  an}'  fanciful  comment,  or  precarious  tradition,  has  fixed  the 
matter  beyond  all  reasonable  doubt,  by  saying,  that  Through 
J'aith  Enoch  was  translated,  that  he  should  not  see  death,  and  was 
not  found,  because  God  had  trayislated  him\. 

Tliis  was  a  case  hitherto  unequalled,  nor  hath  the  like  hap- 
pened even  to  the  present  day,  excepting  only  the  rapture  of 
Elijah,  and  the  ascension  of  Christ, 

We  are  at  large  told  in  the  book  of  Kings  |,  that  the  pious 
Elijah,  Avho  like  Enoch  had  signalized  his  zeal  for  God  in  a  very 
degenerate  age,  was  favoured  with  an  extraordinary  remove 
like  his.  He  was  fetched  up  to  heaven  by  a  detachment  of  an- 
gels, Avho  brought  along  with  them  a  splendid  vehicle,  which  is 
called  a  chariot  of  fire  prepared  for  that  purpose,  and  M^hich 
might  possibly  by  some  unknown  operation  be  the  means  of 
purifying  and  refining  the  mortal  part  of  his  natvire§,  to  such  a 
degree  as  M'as  necessary  in  order  to  its  inhabiting  that  kingdom 
of  God  Arhich  Flesh  and  blood  cannot  enter,  and  which  corrup- 
tion cannot  inherit^. 

I  speak  also  of  the  ascension  of  our  blessed  Redeemer,  as  a 
parallel  instance,  because,  though  he  died,  yet  he  rose  again 
from  the  dead,  and  continued  a  while  upon  earth,  eating  and 
drinkhig,  and  travelling  from  place  to  place,  as  he  had  done  in 
the  days  of  his  flesh  ;  so  that  his  flight  to  the  regions  of  glory 
was  as  miraculous,  and  might  as  properly  be  called  a  translation, 
as  if  he  had  not  died  at  all. 

And  in  this  respect  the  saints  which  are  found  alive  at  the: 
general  judgment,  shall  be  conformed  to  these  great  examples. 
For  we  are  expressly  told  by  St,  Paul,  who  mentions  it  as  a 
mystery  till  then  kept  secret,  and  now  but  imperfectly  revealed, 
that  We  shall  not  all  die,  but  we  shall  all  be  changed,  in  a  mo- 
ment, in  the  twinkling  of  an  eye  *^.  And  he  illustrates  it,  wiien 
he  tells  the  Thcssalonians,  that  after  the  resurrection  of  those 
that  Sleep  in  Jesus,  they  who  are  alive  shall  be  caught  up  with 
them  in  the  clouds  to  meet  the  Lord  in  the  air,  in  order  to  our 
being  for  ever  with  him**.      Words  with  which  we  may  justly 

*  John  xiv.  3,  f  Heb.  xi,  5,  X^  Kings  it. 

§                     CoiTius  mortale  per  auras 
DUapsum  tenues:  ceu  lata  plumbea  fundfi 
Missa  solet  medio  glans  intabcscere  ccelo. 
Piilchi-asubitfacies. Ovid.  Met.  Lib,  xiv.  v.  824-,  &c. 

g  1  Cor.  XV.  50.  %  I  Cor.  xv,  51,  52.  1*  i  Tiiess.  iv,  16, 17. 


Character  and  Translation  of  Enoch.  :{ }9 

rouiftjrt  ourselves,  and  cacli  other,  for  tliose  eonsulatlons  of  God 
are  not  small. 

And  it  is  exceeding  probable  this  would  have  been  the 
stated  manner  of  passing  from  earth  to  heaven,  had  not  sin  madu 
its  I'atal  iin'oads  upon  us,  and  death  entered  in  its  train.  For 
nothing-  can  be  more  certain  than  that,  had  not  the  increasing- 
numbers  of  ni;mkiiid  been  one  way  or  another  thinned  anil  di- 
minished, earth  would  several  thousand  years  ago  have  been  too 
small  to  nourish,  or  even  to  receive  its  inhabitants. 

It  would  be  great  presumption  in  me  to  pretend  to  describe 
the  change  made  in  the  body  of  Enoch,  by  this  translation,  or  to 
give  an  account  of  the  circumstances  that  attended  it;  since  the 
sacred  historian  hath  not  thought  fit  to  record  them.  I  will  not 
pretend  to  say  how  much  reason  a  learned  and  ingenious  writer 
of  our  own  *  might  have  to  conjecture,  that  all  the  antediluvian 
patriarchs  whom  IMoses  mentions,  except  Adam,  who  was  now 
dead,  and  Noah  not  yet  born,  might  be  assembled,  perhaps  with 
multitudes  more,  to  see  this  great  sight ;  yet  I  cannot  think  it 
passed  without  any  witness  at  all.  When  Elijah  was  to  be  taken 
up,  it  is  very  evident,  that  not  only  he  himself  had  some  intima- 
tions of  the  time  and  manner,  but  that  it  was  divinely  revealed 
to  the  prophets  of  Bethel  and  Jericho,  as  well  as  that  Elislia  was 
permitted  to  be  an  eye-Avitness  of  it.  And  when  Christ  ascend- 
ed, it  was  in  the  presence  of  all  the  apostles,  while  he  Spake 
i£ith  them ,  and  they  beheld,  and  looked stedfasthj  npon  him  f .  And 
there  is  the  greater  reason  to  believe  that  something  like  this 
might  be  the  case  with  Enoch,  because  his  translation  might 
probably  be  intended  to  answer  many  valuable  and  important 
purposes,  which  required  at  least  some;  competent  munber  of 
w  itnesses,  if  not  a  large  and  public  assembly. 

So  far  as  this  important  fact  was  known,  it  would  be  the 
most  glorious  testimony  the  world  had  ever  received  of  God's 
regard  to  singular  and  distinguished  piety.  His  jiermitting 
righteous  Abel  to  fall  by  the  hand  of  his  cruel  and  wicked  bro- 
ther, might  have  been  a  stone  of  stumbling ,  and  a  rock  of  offence, 
and  that  career  of  prosperous  tvrannvand  violence,  with  which 
the  giants  of  those  ages  were  then  lllling  the  earth,  might  have 
tempted  men  to  suspect  that  the  Lord  had  forsaken  it.  Tliis  no 
doubt  emboldened  ungodly  sinners  in  their  hard  and  impious 
speeches,  as  well  as  their  ungodly  deeds.  But  when  Enoch,  that 
hoi}-  proi)het,  who  had  so  lung  been  the  object  of  their  profane 
mockery  and  derision,  was  thus  singled  out  from  the  whole  race 

*Dr.  Hunt,  ofDiv.  Rev.  p.  43.  fActs  i.  9,  10. 


340  DEATH   OF   THE    REV.   J.    NORRIS.  SeR.  III. 

of  men,  as  the  friend  of  God,  and  taken  to  dwell  with  him,  it 
■would  evidently  appear,  there  was  a  Reward  for  the  righteous, 
and  a  God  who  judged  in  the  earth  *. 

It  would  also  be  a  sensible  demonstration  of  the  reality  of 
an  invisible  Avorld,  and  would,  by  a  train  of  easy  consequences, 
confirm  men's  natural  apprehensions  of  the  immortality  of  the 
soul,  and  of  the  existence  of  some  nobler  orders  of  beings  in  the 
upper  world,  with  whom  wise  and  righteous  men  are  at  length 
to  be  incorporated,  as  members  of  the  same  blessed  society. 

And  as  the  body  of  Enoch  was  thus  translated,  it  would  na- 
turally appear  an  intimation,  that  God  had  prepared  a  future 
happiness  for  the  bodies  of  his  people,  as  well  as  their  souls,  and 
consequently  that  the  trophies  of  the  grave  should  at  length  be 
recovered,  and  the  sleeping  dust  of  the  saints  raised  and  animat- 
ed anew.  And  a  future  state  of  punishment  for  the  wicked,  is 
so  evident  a  counterpart  to  this  doctrine,  that  few  could  be  so 
stupid  as  not  to  infer  it,  from  the  fact  here  under  consideration. 

Such  important  lessons  as  these  might  the  world  have  learnt 
from  the  translation  of  an}^  persons  of  distinguished  piety  ;  but 
there  were  some  peculiar  purposes  to  be  answered  by  that  of 
Enoch,  considered  not  only  as  a  preacher  of  righteousness,  but 
as  a  prophet  too,  and  as  one  who  had  foretold  the  Coming  of  the 
Lord  with  ten  thousayid  of  his  saints  f ,  to  take  vengeance  on  re- 
bellious and  impenitent  smners  ;  and  a  day  of  vengeance  to  them, 
must  surely  imply  a  day  of  reward,  and  glory  to  those  men 
"whom  they  had  despised,  reviled  and  oppressed.  Now  if  Enoch 
in  his  life  on  earth  ^vrought  no  miracles,  as  Ave  find  not  that  he 
did,  his  ascension  would  be  a  most  convincing  proof  of  his  di- 
vine mission  ;  and  indeed,  as  many  of  the  miracles  of  Christ  also 
were,  it  Avould  be  a  specimen,  as  well  as  a  seal,  of  the  truth  of 
the  doctrine  which  he  taught. 

On  all  these  accounts  I  think  I  may  venture  to  say,  tlie 
translation  of  Enoch  would  be  a  more  important  favour  to  others, 
than  it  was  even  to  himself,  and  consequently  it  is  reasonable  to 
believe,  that  the  same  goodness  which  induced  the  divine  Being 
to  perpetuate  the  memory  of  this  fact  for  the  instruction  and  en- 
couragement of  future  ages,  would  likewise  induce  him  to  make 
it  so  public  and  visible,  that  there  should  be  at  least  a  few  credi- 
ble eye-witnesses  to  attest  it|. 

*Psal.  Iviii.  11.  f  juJe  14. 

\  I  have  taken  no  notice  of  tliat  singular  account  which  the  ingenious  au- 
thor of  the  Essay  on  Divine  Dispensation,  &.c.  gives  of  Enoch's  translation  ;  which 
he  supposes  was  his  being  taken  to  dwell  with  tlie  Shekinah,  in  the  terrestrial 
paradise.     I  have  waved  the  motion  of  this,  because  it  depends  on  a  very  precarious 

3 


Character  and  Translation  of  Enoch.  341 

And  thus,  my  brethren,  you  have  heard  (jf  the  piety  of 
Enoch,  and  you  have  seen,  as  James  expresses  it,  the  End  oj the 
Lord*.     I  shall  conclude. 

Thirdly,  with  a  few  hints,  by  way  of  improvement,  which 
I  shall  leave  you  farther  to  prosecute  in  your  own  meditations. 

You  will  naturally  fix  on  such  reflections  as  these. 

1.  How  pleasant  it  is  to  thmk  of  this  friendly  intercourse, 
which  through  a  Redeemer  is  established  between  heaven  and 
earth. 

It  is  strongly  illustrated  in  this  great  instance,  Enoch  nalk' 
ed  with  God,  and  God  took  him.  Is  it  not  at  once  a  delightful 
and  a  surprising  thought?  That  the  great  Sovereign  of  universal 
nature,  who  humbleth  himself  to  behold  the  angels,  when  they 
stand  around  him,  vailing  their  faces,  and  covefing  their  feet 
in  his  presence,  should  form  such  a  friendship  with  human,  yea 
Avith  sinful  creatures,  that  they  may  he  said  to  walk  with  him; 
even  they  whose  guilt  might  cause  them  to  flee  from  his  pre- 
sence, like  our  fallen  parents,  and  from  whose  pollutions  he 
might  justly  turn  away  his  holy  eyes  with  abhorrence.  Yet 
Ave  see  all  these  obstacles  overcome;  and  hear  of  it,  not  as  the 
privilege  of  Enoch  alone,  but  of  all  his  true  Israel,  that  He  will 
dwell  in  them,  and  walk  with  him,  that  they  shall  be  his  people, 
ajid  that  he  will  be  their  Godf. 

And  in  consequence  of  this,  we  are  also  raised  to  the  bless- 
ed hope  of  being  at  length  taketi  to  him,  though  not  in  so  imme- 
diate a  manner,  yet  as  surely,  and  at  length  as  completely  as 
Enoch  was.  A  mortal  creature  may  say.  Thou  roilt  guide  me  by 
thy  coiaisel,  and  afterward  receive  vie  to  glory  %.  Yea  the 
lowest  real  christian  has  the  security  of  his  word  and  covenant, 
that  he  shall  at  last  have  a  yet  more  solemn  and  more  Abundant 
entrance  administered  to  him  into  the  kingdom  of  h'.s  Father  and 
his  God^. 

And  whence  are  these  privileges  and  these  hopes,  my  bre- 
thren ?  Let  us  often  ask  our  own  hearts  the  question,  when  we 
are  enjoying  God's  presence,  and  waiting  for  his  salvation.  And 
Jet  us  answer  it  in  those  words  of  the  apostle,  We  that  were  once 

coDJPcturc!  that  the  Shckinah  had  his  stated  abode  there  ;  and  also  because  were 
this  to  be  allowed,  since  this  author  doth  not  pretend  to  say,  that  Euooh  was  with  the 
Shekinah  in  the  ark,  where  he  supposes  that  to  have  been  duriug  the  deluge,  he  must 
prant  that  he  ascended  into  heaven  some  time  before  the  flood.  So  that  I  cannot  sec 
any  end  at  all  to  l)c  answered,  by  supposing  this  translation  was  any  thine  differeu* 
from  that  ascension. 

*  James  V.  U.         fl  Cor.  vi.  16.  17.         *  Psal.  Ixxiii.  24.         §  2  Pet.  i.  U, 
VOL.  HI,  U  U 


342  DEATH   OF    THE    REV.   J.    NORRIS.  SeR,  III 

afar  off,  are  brought  near  by  the  blood  of  Christ*.  By  Christ 
hath  God  reconciled  us  to  himself,  b}-  Christ  have  we  now  ac- 
cess to  him  as  our  Father  ;  and  as  Christ,  who  liath  the  keys  of 
death  and  the  unseen  world,  is  the  person  A\'ho  is  to  call  us  from 
hence  into  that  which  is  within  the  vail;  so  he  is  at  length  to 
complete  the  purposes  of  divine  love  to  us,  by  coming  again  and 
receiving  us  to  himself ,  that  we,  like  triumphant  Enoch,  yea, 
and  with  him  too  in  that  day  of  his  greatest  triumph,  may  in  our 
entire  persons  ascend  to  the  regions  of  immortal  holiness,  and 
perfect  joy :  let  us  labour  continually  to  feel  the  greatness  of 
our  obligations  to  this  blessed  Redeemer,  and  with  daily  depen- 
dance  on  his  atonement  and  righteousness,  his  intercession  and 
grace,  let  us,  in  every  remaining  step  of  this  pilgrimage,  be 
Walking  humbly  with  our  Godf. 

2.  How  solicitous  should  we  be  that  we  may  have  our  lot, 
both  in  time  and  eternity,  with  those  Avho,  like  Enoch,  have 
walked  with  God  ? 

I  havf^  now  been  describing  the  character  and  temper  of  a 
truly  good  man,  a  character  common  to  all  the  children  of  God, 
whatever  their  particular  denomination  or  profession  may  be. 
But  must  I  not  reasonably  fear,  that  some  among  you  are  so 
much  strangers  to  it,  that  you  find  this  an  unintelligible  language? 
Let  me  address  myself  to  such  of  you  with  a  word  of  expostula- 
tion, and  to  all  with  a  serious  exhortation.  Oh,  that  it  might 
penetrate  each  of  our  hearts ! 

Why  are  you  strangers  to  walking  with  God  ?  Is  it  an 
imaginary  thing,  even  this  which  scripture  so  honourably  re- 
cords, winch  God  himself  so  singularly  owned,  and  through  the 
riches  of  his  grace  rewarded  too?  Oh  Sirs  there  was  surely  as 
much  reality  and  solidity  in  it,  as  in  the  heavenly  world,  in  which 
it  ended. 

And  let  conscience  answer ;  Is  it  not  an  honourable,  is  it  not 
a  pleasant  .wa)'-  of  passing  through  life  ?  Do  j-ou  think  that 
wdiile  Enoch  was  thus  employed,  and  entertained,  he  had  indeed 
any  reason  to  envy  the  richest,  the  greatest,  the  most  prosper- 
ous, or  the  most  luxurious  sinner  ?  Do  you  not  in  your  heai-ts 
believe,  that  it  must  be  a  very  comfortable  thing  to  converse 
daily  with  God  as  a  friend  and  a  father,  to  conduct  ourselves 
before  him  in  such  a  manner  as  to  be  assured  of  his  approba- 
tion, and  to  be  able  to  rejoice  that  he  knows  every  most  secret 
thought  of  our  soul  ^  Do  you  not  think  it  must  sweeten  solitude, 
to  think  of  him  as  always  near  us,  and  increase  the  pleasures  of 

*Eph.  ii.  13.  tMic.  vi.  8; 


Character  and  Translatio7i  of  Eiicch.  343 

society  too,  •when  our  converse  with  others  is  miule  subservient 
to  our  communion  with  him?  And  al)ove  all,  do  you  not  really 
apprehend  that  reflections  on  a  life  like  this  would  greatly  soften 
the  approach  of  de^th,  and  cpiitc  transform  the  very  appearance 
of  it  ? 

And  I  beseech  voii  to  consider  that  this  is  not  a  light  thought. 
However  you  may  neglect  God  now,  you  must  have  one  awful 
interview  with  him  ;  and  if  you  do  not,  and  will  not  walk  with 
him.,  he  will  in  another,  and  very  difl'erent  sense  of  the  word, 
tuke  you.  He  will  arrest  your  fugitive  souls  in  the  midst  of 
these  thoughtless  ungrate'ful  wanderings,  and  your  spirits  must 
return  to  God  that  gave  them.  Now  doth  not  your  own  rea- 
son, as  well  as  the  divine  Avord,  tell  you,  that  there  Avill  be  an 
unspeakable  difference  between  the  manner  in  which  different 
souls  are  received  by  him  on  that  return  :  a  difference  between 
the  reception  of  those  who  have  lived  in  a  holy  friendship  with 
him,  and  those  who,  like  yourselves,  have  always  been  strangers 
to  him  ;  wiiose  language  it  hath  in  effect  been,  *'  Let  them  walk 
■with  God  that  w  ill,  but  I  for  my  part  have  other  company,  and 
pleasures,  and  business  to  attend."  Is  there  not  an  apparent 
fitness  that  the  former  should  be  taken  into  a  state  of  everlasting 
nearness  to  God,  and  the  latter  driven  to  a  perpetual  distance 
from  him,  whom  they  have  chosen  to  forget  and  forsake  ?  And 
•with  all  your  self-partiality,  would  it  not  appear  an  indecency 
and  irregularity  in  the  divine  administration,  to  treat  such  dif- 
ferent persons  upon  a  foot  of  equal  friendship  ? 

See  to  it,  my  friends,  that  you  are  not  self-condemned.  See 
to  it,  that  you  do  not  pass  a  sentence  against  your  own  souls, 
and  judge  yourselves  unworthy  of  eternal  life.  Acquaint  your- 
selves with  God  now y  and  be  at  peace  with  him*,  lest  he  resent 
the  injury  done  to  his  offered  friendship,  and  turn  away  from 
you  in  the  day  of  your  final  distress,  with  a  righteous  disdain  ; 
for  it  is  an  everlasting,  most  obvious,  but  most  important  truth, 
that  They  who  are  far  frotn  God,  shall  perish  f. 

Let  me  also  address  a  solemn  exhortation  to  those  that  have 
experimentally  known  what  such  converse  with  God  means,  and 
•who  by  his  good  Spirit  have  been  led  into  a  holy  walk  with 
him.  Pursue  it,  I  beseech  you,  with  greater  resolution  and  care ; 
for,  surely,  it  is  well  worth  your  pursuit.  I  appeal  to  you, 
christians,  with  pleasure  on  this  head.  Have  not  those  beea 
your  most  comfortable  days  in  which  you  have  most  constantly 

*  Job  xxii.  21.  fTtti.  Uxiii.  27. 

Uu2 


3H  DEATH   OF   THE   REV.   J.    NORRIS.  SeR.  IH. 

attended  to  it  ?  DsLys  which  have  passed  with  the  greatest  de- 
light, and  which  have  been  reflected  upon  with  the  greatest 
satisfaction  ?  Is  not  this  and  that  place  recommended  to  you,  by 
the  dear  remembrance,  tliat  you  have  walked  with  God  there  ? 
This  and  that  book  and  friend  endeared,  as  having  been  instru- 
mental in  promoting  that  converse  ?  Say  then  whether  it  be  not 
^Torth  your  while,  with  most  attentive  reflection,  to  concert  mea- 
sures for  improving  and  cultivating  this  divine  friendship  ? 
Whether,  when  you  have  fixed  upon  them,  it  will  not  be  your 
wisdom  dihgently  to  pursue  them,  though  some  considerable  diffi- 
culties may  be  in  your  way?  Let  not  any  estrangedness  grow 
between  God  and  your  souls,  but  review  the  various  branches  of 
Enoch's  character  as  your  own  model,  if  you  would  live  with  joy, 
and  die  with  courage.  Let  your  conduct  be  such,  especially  in 
secret,  and  then  we  may  reasonably  conclude,  that  your  domes- 
tic and  public  behaviour  will  not  be  much  unlike  it.  And  then 
you  may  enter  into  the  spirit  of  our  next  reflection,  which  is  all 
I  shall  add. 

3.  With  how  much  pleasure  should  we  look  up  after  those 
holy  souls,  who,  having  walked  with  God  upon  earth,  are  no\r 
taken  by  him  to  an  heavenly  abode  ! 

Can  any  of  us  apprehend,  that  if  the  nearest  relatives  of 
Enoch  were  witnesses  of  his  translation,  they  beheld  it  M'ith 
weeping  eyes,  or  sent  out  a  gale  of  sighs  or  peal  of  groans  after 
him  ;  how  tenderly  soever  they  loved  him,  and  how  much  soever 
of  the  support  or  delight  of  their  lives  might  seem  to  depend  on 
his  continuance  with  him  ?  Or  if  their  fondness  thus  prevailed 
over  their  reason  and  their  faith,  can  we  imagine  that  their  as- 
cending triumphant  friend  would  have  approved  of  such  a  con- 
duct ?  Would  he  not  rather  have  beheld  it  with  a  mixture  of 
compassion  and  displeasure  ;  if  displeasure  could  have  been  felt 
in  so  happv  a  circumstance  ?  But  we  will  rather  hope,  that  they 
hailed  his  flight  to  the  paradise  of  God,  and  bore  it  away  with 
them,  as  a  long  and  a  powerful  cordial,  under  all  the  sorrows 
and  distresses  of  life,  that  Enoch  was  so  comfortably  and  so 
honourably  delivered  from  them,  and  secured  by  adamantine 
walls  from  every  invasion  of  sorrow  and  of  sin ;  yea,  from  the 
sight  of  those  crimes  and  miseries  which  had  formerly  tormented 
his  righteous  and  tender  spirit. 

And  why  should  not  we  in  like  manner  congratulate  our 
dear  deceased  friends,  who  are  not  any  longer  here  with  us,  be- 
cause God  hath  taken  them  ?  You  will  perhaps  have  a  ready 
answer,  and  immediately  say,  Enoch  was  translated,  but  the 
friends  we  lament  are  dead,  and  our  tears  flow  from  that  consi- 


Character  and  Translation  of  Enoch.  345 

deration.  But  let  mc  farther  ask,  is  there  not  a  passage  to  the 
presence  of  God  through  the  valley  of  the  shadow  of  death  ? 
And  do  we  not  firmly  believe  they  have  found  that  passage  ? 
In  some  cases,  especially  in  a  case  like  this  now  before  us,  we 
should  think  it  a  kind  of  impiety  to  doubt  of  it.  And  if  so, 
methinks  there  is  not  so  much  difterence  between  the  temper, 
with  which  we  should  regard  the  deceased  and  translated  saints, 
as  we  may  be  ready  at  first  to  imagine. 

It  is  true  the  persons  of  whom  we  now  speak  liave  dropped 
their  bodies  in  the  grave  ;  but  that  is  no  pain  to  them,  nor  any 
such  important  loss,  as  that  for  their  sakes  we  should  greatly 
et  it. 

If  we  saw  them  after  the  labour  of  a  fatiguing  day,  or  af - 
tcr  a  long  fit  of  painful  and  languishing  illness,  fallen  into  a 
gentle  slumber,  and  knew  that  their  minds  were,  during  that 
interval,  entertained  with  the  visions  of  God,  like  those  which 
the  prophets  saw,  and  raised  to  sublime  and  elevated  devotion, 
beyond  what  they  had  ever  before  felt,  should  we  mourn  over 
them  because  their  senses  were  locked  up,  and  they  did  not,  for 
that  time,  see  the  light  of  the  sun,  nor  hear  such  poor  conver- 
sation as  ours  ?  Should  we  not  rather  rejoice  and  be  tenderly 
solicitous  to  guard  their  sleeping  moments,  and  watch  that  no- 
thing might  break  m  upon  them,  and  call  them  down  to  earth 
and  vanity  too  soon  ?  And  are  not  their  slumbers  now  as  sweet, 
and  are  not  their  visions  as  bright  and  glorious  ?  What,  though 
they  do  not  breatlie  ?  What,  though  their  blood  does  not  circu- 
late, and  the  curtains  of  the  grave  be  drawn  around  them  ?  Is 
there  so  much  in  these  circumstances,  to  give  us  anxiety  and 
distress  ? 

Oh  but  you  will  say,  we  should  have  a  secret  hope  that  our 
sleeping  friends  would  awake  again,  and  renewing  the  inter- 
rupted converse,  relate  to  us  what  had  passed  in  that  interval  ; 
and  we  could  with  pleasure  wait  Aveeks  and  months  in  expecta- 
tion of  that.  Nay,  but  shall  we  not  ourselves  ere  long  awake, 
if  we  are  christians  indeed  ?  If  we  are  walking  with  God,  shall 
we  not  ere  long  be  taken  by  him,  not  to  the  amusements  of  a 
pleasing  dream,  but  to  those  solid  substantial  everlasting  plea- 
sures, which  his  saints  above  are  drinking  in  with  unutterable 
delight. 

Lord  We  are  hoping  for  thy  salvation,  may  we  in  the  mean 
time  be  doing  thy  commandments  *  !  while  we  walk  with  thee, 
we  will  not  complain  of  the  length  or  the  roughness  of  the 

*  PsiU.  cxix.  166. 


346  DEATH    OF   THE    REV.   J.  NORRIS.  SeR.  III. 

way  ;  nor  will  we  be  inconsolable  for  the  loss  of  the  most  plea- 
sant companion,  or  most  able  guide.  For  thy  name's  sake  do 
thou  lead  us  and  guide  us  *,  and  we  will  wait  thy  call  to  enter 
into  thy  rest. 

Sucli  were  the  sentiments  and  such  the  temper  of  that  truly 
reverend  and  excellent  person,  whose  death  was  the  occasion,  the 
very  mournful  occasion  of  my  appearing  this  day  amongst  you  ; 
on  whose  character  it  would  be  easy  for  me  to  dilate  much  more 
largely  than  my  time  will  now  admit,  or  than  I  judge  proper  to  do 
in  a  funeral  discourse,  where  flattery  is  so  often  introduced,  that 
the  simplicity  of  most  obvious  truth  is  ready  to  be  suspected.  I 
shall  only  say  in  a  few  words,  that  what  I  said  of  Enoch  in  the  first 
head  of  my  discourse,  excepting  only  what  was  peculiar  to  his 
circumstances  as  a  patriarch  and  a  prophet,  is  what,  by  long 
observation,  I  had  seen  in  Mr.  Norris.  And  I  appeal  to  tjiose  of  his 
family,  and  to  you  his  people,  whether  there  was  not,  in  almost 
every  sentence,  a  visible  resemblance,  and  whether  it  might  not 
very  properly  be  repeated  here  \vith  a  mere  alteration  of  the 
name.  So  evident  was  it  that  he  \valked  closely  with  God,  and 
firmly  believing  the  great  doctrines  both  of  natural  and  revealed 
religion,  made  it  his  constant  care  to  behave  as  in  the  divine  pre- 
sence, and  lived  under  the  sensible  tokens  of  divine  acceptance 
and  favour  ;  which  diffused  over  his  heart,  and  even  over  his 
countenance,  an  habitual  joy,  Avhich  is  no  where  to  be  found 
on  earth,  but  in  christians  of  such  distinguished  attainments 
in  piety. 

But,  though  I  must  not  allow  myself  to  dwell  on  this 
pleasing  subject,  I  hope  I  may  be  permitted  publicly  to  ac- 
knowledge the  sense  I  have  of  the  favour  of  divine  providence 
to  me,  in  leading  me  so  early  into  the  acquaintance  of  this  ex- 
cellent person,  and  blessing  me  with  so  great  a  share  of  his 
friendship ;  Math  which  I  was  honoured  from  my  first  entrance 
into  the  ministrj'-,  and  which  his  singular  humanity  and  con- 
descension, wisdom  and  piety,  have  rendered  exceeding  de- 
lightful and  improving  to  me  in  all  the  succeeding  years 
of  life. 

And  surely  I  should  be  greatly  deficient  in  the  duty  of 
this  day,  if  I  did  not  solemnly  charge  it  upon  you  fre- 
quently to  recollect  your  obligations  to  the  divine  goodness, 
in  giving  you  so  able  and  so  tender  a  shepherd,  and  in  continu- 
ing him  amongst  you  for  so  long  a  time  with  such  cordial 
love,  that  repeated,  unanimous,  and  earnest  solicitations  frona 

Psal.  xxxi.  3, 


Character  and  Translation  of  Enoch.  GH 

tlie  most  considerable  congregations  in  tli(«  neiglibouring  coun- 
ties *,  could  not  prevail  upon  hitn  to  remove  from  you.  So 
evident  was  it  that  lie  took  tiie  oversight  of  you,  Not  bij 
cojistraint,  but  willinglij ;  not  for  Jilt hy  lucre,  but  of  a  ready 
mind  f. 

It  may  eminently  be  said  of  you,  my  friends,  in  a  spi- 
ritual sense,  that  you  have  been  Fed  with  the  finest  of  the 
wheat,  as  the  jiure  and  uneorrupted  truths  of  the  gospel  have 
been  preached  amongst  you,  M-ith  plainness  and  seriousness, 
and  in  the  spirit  of  love.  Your  minds  have  not  been  amused 
vitli  useless  subtleties  and  l)arren  speculations :  you  have  not 
been  vexed  with  Strifes  of  words  unprofitable  and  vain,  nor 
grieved  with  passionate  invectives  against  your  brethren  of 
any  denomination  :  Invectives  which  are  never  more  criminal 
than  when  dchv^ered  in  the  name  of  the  Lord,  and  which  too 
often  turn  the  food  of  souls  into  poison,  and  that  which  should 
have  been  for  their  welfare  into  a  trap.  Tiiis  Good  man  brought 
out  of  the  good  treasure  of  his  heart  good  things  %•  His  gene- 
rous and  benevolent  soul  overflowed  v.-ith  sentiments  of  candour 
and  love,  and  he  was  never  more  in  his  own  element,  than  when 
he  was  telling  you  that  the  Kingdom  of  God  is  not  meat  or  drink, 
but  righteousness  and  peace  and  joy  in  the  Holy  Ghost  %.  And 
I  firml}'  believe,  that  in  the  eight  and  thirty  years  of  his  minis- 
try among  you,  he  never  delivered  a  sermon,  or  a  sentence,  in- 
consistent with  that  great  principle. 

I  join  w^if  h  you  in  lamenting  that  none  of  those  elaborate 
and  judicious  discourses  which  he  delivered  among  you,  from 
sabbath  to  sabbath,  are,  or  can  be,  published  to  the  world.  For 
though  it  is  certain,  that  his  graceful  and  venerable  aspect,  and 
liis  easy  yet  livelv  manner,  gave  a  peculiar  beauty  to  them,  as 
delivered  by  himself  ;  yet,  when  I  consider  how  judiciously  his 
thoughts  were  selected,  how  methodically  they  were  disposed, 
and  with  what  propriety,  elegance,  and  spirit,  they  were  ex- 
pressed, I  am  well  assured,  they  woukl  generally  have  been 
esteemed  a  rich  addition  to  that  great  number  of  practical 
Avritings,  with  which  our  age  and  country  is  already  blessed, 
and  with  which  I  hope  it  will  still  abound. 

But  I  trust,  m}''  friends,  it  is  not  in  vain  you  have  heard 
those  discourses  which  you  cannot  review.  I  know  they  fell  as 
soft  as  showers  of  snow  on  the  ears  of  his  hearers  ;  and  I  hope 
they  also  penetrated  your  hearts,  and  left  permanent  and  fructi- 

*  Partioulailv  Birmingham  and  Nottingham.         f  1  Pet.  v.  2.         X  Mat.  xii.  35. 
§  Rom.  .xiv.  1 7. 


348  DEATH  OF  THE   REV,   J.    NORRIS.  SeR.  HI. 

fying  effects  there,  which  will  not  pass  away  like  snow  before 
the  sun.  Let  your  profiting  then  appear  unto  all  men.  And  so 
much  the  rather,  as  you  have  had  the  advantage  of  seeing  his 
precepts  illustrated  by  the  most  prudent,  inoffensive,  and  amia- 
ble behaviour.  You  have  seen  him  providing  things  honest  and 
honourable  in  the  sight  of  all  men.  You  know  how  gentle,  how 
benevolent,  how  cheerful,  and  how  useful  his  conversation  was. 
How  open  his  hand  and  his  heart  were  to  every  office  of  friend- 
ship, to  every  work  of  charity.  Go  ye  therefore,  and  do 
likewise. 

As  for  what  he  w*as  in  the  domestic  relation  of  life,  I  had 
almost  said,  I  wish  it  be  not  too  long,  but  I  will  rather  say, 
too  tenderly  remembered.  The  loss  of  a  husband  so  con- 
jitantly  obliging,  so  affectionately  sympathizing,  so  well  fur- 
nished as  a  prudent  guide,  and  a  pleasant  companion,  and 
so  w^ell  disposed  for  the  offices  of  both,  will,  I  fear,  be  too 
deeply  felt.  May  the  sense  of  it  be  tempered  with  those  di- 
vine consolations,  which  he  was  so  eminently  fit  to  administer, 
but  which  have  not  surely  lost  their  value,  and  will  not,  I 
hope,  lose  their  relish,  though  no  longer  administered  by  him  ! 
May  the  children,  which  were  dear  to  him  as  his  own,  never 
forget  with  how  much  diligence  he  instructed  them,  with  hoAv 
much  importunity  and  constancy  he  prayed  for  them,  and 
with  what  tenderness  he  watched  over  all  their  interests ! 
May  they  ever  behave  ansMerably  to  those  advantages,  that 
the  numberless  petitions  which  have  been  put  up  for  them, 
may  descend  in  the  richest  blessings  on  their  heads  ! 

I  know,  my  friends,  that  the  loss  must  sit  heavy  on  all 
your  hearts,  and  as  to  those  with  whom  I  have  personally 
conversed,  since  this  breach  was  made,  I  have  heard  your 
lamentations,  and  seen  your  tears.  But  remember,  I  beseech 
you,  how  much  you  owe  to  the  divine  goodness  in  giving 
you  such  a  minister,  and  such  a  friend,  in  continuing  him 
among  you,  with  such  vigour  of  health  and  cheerfulness  of 
spirits,  for  so  many  years,  a  burning  and  shining  light ;  I  may- 
add,  even  in  the  decUne  of  life,  growing  brighter  and  brighter. 
And  though  his  removal,  while  his  capacities  of  usefulness 
were  to  the  last  so  great  *,  must  be  very  affective  to  you, 
yet  I  cannot   forbear  saying,    that  you   have   some    peculiar 

*  It  is  obson-alle  that  Mi-,  Norris  preached  tlie  last  sahbath  he  lived,  and  con- 
cluded the  public  service  u  ith  a  copious,  lively  and  atfeiUonatt-  prayer  for  his  people, 
whicli  could  not  have  been  more  suitable  il  he  iiud  known  lie  ua?  thefl  taking  bis 
Jast  fure\w:lU 


Character  a)id  Translation  of  Enoch.  349 

reason  to  be  thankful  for  the  manner  and  circumstances  of 
his  death. 

Nature  was  not  racked  with  tormenting  pain,  nor  worn 
out  by  a  tedious  consuming  ilhiess  ;  but  the  good  man  grew 
a  little  drowsy  towards  the  evening  of  his  long  day,  and 
having  served  his  generation  according  to  the  will  of  God, 
gently  fell  asleep,  as  he  was  going  from  one  apartment  of  his 
house  to  another  ;  and  all  the  business  and  struggle  of  dying 
was  over,  in  less  time  tlian  could  have  served  liim  to  get  up 
tlie  stairs,  as  he  was  attempting  to  do.  It  is  a  delightful 
thought  that  God  dismissed  his  servant  in  so  peaceful  a  man- 
ner, that  his  death  so  much  resembled  a  translation,  and  he 
was  noty  for  God  took  him. 

I  doubt  not,  but  every  one  of  us  is  ready  to  say,  *♦  so 
may  I  live,  and  so  may  I  die  !"  But  while  we  live  here,  if 
we  have  any  regard  to  our  own  comfort,  or  the  public  good, 
it  must  grieve  iis,  to  see  our  breaches  thus  multiplied  upon 
us,  to  see  the  lights  of  the  sanctuary  extinguished,  and  his 
people  here,  and  in  so  many  neighbouring  flocks,  even  at 
the  very  same  time,  left  as  sheep,  having  no  shepherd.  Yet  I 
must  hope  the  good  Shepherd  of  Israel  will  continue  to  feed 
you,  and  as  the  residue  of  the  -Spirit  is  with  him,  will  raise  up 
a  suitable  supply.  To  him  I  most  cordially  recommend  you 
and  all  my  other  friends,  who  are  mourning  your  losses  and 
their  own.  And  under  all  that  burden  of  care  and  sorrow, 
in  which  mv  share  is  so  peculiarly  apparent,  would  exhort  you 
to  say,  and  join  with  you  in  saying.  The  Lord  liveth,  and 
blessed  be  our  rock,  a7id  let  the  God  of  our  salvation  be  exalted*. 

*  Psal.  xvii).  46, 


VOL.  II!.  X  X 


FUNERAL  SERMONS. 


CHRISTIAN  WARRIOR  ANIMATED  AND  CROWNED  : 

A  Sermon  occasioned  bi/  the  Heroic  Death  of  the  Honourable  Col.  James 
Gardiner,  xvho  tvas  slain  in  the  Battle  at  Preslon-Pans,  September  21, 
n-iS.     Preached  at  Northampton,  October  13. 


RIGHT  HON.  THE  LADY  FRANCES  GARDINER. 

MADAM, 

The  intimate  knowledge  which  I  had  of  Colonel  Gardiner's  private  as  well 
as  public  character,  and  of  that  endeared  friendship  which  so  long  subsisted 
between  him  and  your  Ladyship,  makes  me  more  sensible  than  most  others 
can  be,  both  of  the  inexpressible  loss  you  have  sustained,  and  of  the  exquisite 
sense  you  have  of  it.  I  might,  in  some  degree,  argue  what  you  felt,  from 
the  agony  with  which  my  own  heart  was  torn  by  that  ever  to  be  lamented 
stroke,  which  deprived  the  nation,  and  tlie  church,  of  so  great  an  ornament 
and  blessing:  And  indeed.  Madam,  I  was  so  sensible  of  your  calamity,  as  to 
be  ready  in  my  first  thoughts  to  congratulate  you,  when  I  heard  the  report 
■which  at  first  prevailed,  that  you  died  under  the  shock.  Yet  cooler  reflec- 
tion teaches  me,  on  many  accounts,  to  rejoice  that  your  Ladyship  has  sur- 
vived that  dearest  part  of  yourself;  though  after  having  been  so  lovely  and 
pleasant  in  your  lives,  it  would  have  been  matter  of  personal  rejoicing,  in 
death  not  to  have  been  divided.  l"he  numerous  and  promising  offspring 
with  which  God  hath  blessed  your  marriage,  had  evidently  the  highest  in- 
terest in  the  continued  life  of  so  pious  and  affectionate  a  mother :  And  I  hope, 
and  assuredly  believe,  there  was  a  more  important,  and  to  you  a  much  dearer 
interest  concerned,  as  God  may  be,  and  is,  signally  honoured,  by  the  manner 
in  wliich  you  bear  this  heaviest  and  most  terrible  stroke  of  his  paternal  rod. 

God  hath  been  pleased.  Madam,  to  make  you  both  eininent  for  a  va- 
riety of  graces;  and  he  has  proportionably  distinguished  you  both,  in  the 
opportunity  he  has  given  you  of  exercising  those,  which  suit  the  most  pain- 
ful scenes  that  can  attend  a  pious  and  an  honourable  life.  But  when  I  consi- 
der, what  it  is,  to  have  lost  such  a  man,  at  such  a  time,  and  in  such  circum- 
stances, I  must  needs  declare,  that  brave  and  heroic  as  the  death  of  the 
Colonel  was,  your  Ladyship's  part  is  beyond  all  comparison  the  hardest. 
Yet  even  here  has  the  grace  of  Christ  been  sufficient  for  you ;  and  I  join  with 
your  Ladyship  in  adoring  the  power  and  faithfulness  of  him,  who  has  here 


DEDICATION'.  3.51 

sorcinnikiibly  sliewn,  that  he  forgets  not  his  promise  to  all  his  people  of  a 
streiigtli  proportioiiabli;  to  their  day  ;  that  they  may  be  enabled  to  glorify 
him  ill  the  hottest  fiiniaee,  into  which  it  is  possible  they  should  be  cast. 

'I'o  hear,  as  I  have  heard  from  several  pei-soiis  of  distinguished  charac- 
ter, who  have  lately  had  the  happiness  of  being  near  your  Ladyship,  of  that 
meek  resignation  to  the  divine  will,  of  that  calm  patience,  of  that  christian 
courage,  with  whicii,  in  so  weak  a  state  of  health  and  sjiirits,  you  have  sup- 
ported under  Ih-is  awful  providence,  has  given  me  great  pleasure,  but  no  sur- 
prise. So  near  a  relation  to  so  brave  u  man  might  have  taught  some  degree 
of  fortitude,  to  a  soul  less  susceptible  of  it  than  your  Ladyship's.  Nor  is 
there  any  doubt,  but  tliat  tiie  prayers  he  has  so  long  b<jen  laying  up  in  store 
for  you,  especially  since  the  decay  of  his  constitution  gave  him  reason  to  ex- 
pi.'ct  a  speedy  remove,  will  assuredly  at  such  a  season  come  into  remembrance 
before  (jod.  And  above  all,  the  sublime  princi|)les  of  the  christian  religion, 
so  deeply  imbibed  into  your  own  heart  as  well  as  his,  will  not  fail  to  exert 
tlieir  energy  on  such  an  occasion.  I'hese,  Madam,  will  teach  you  to  view 
the  hand  of  a  wise,  a  righteous,  and  a  gracious  God  in  this  event;  and  will 
shew  you,  tliat  a  friendsliip  founded  on  such  a  basis,  so  very  endearing,  and 
so  closely  cemented,  as  that  wliich  lias  been  here  for  many  years  a  blessing  to 
you  both,  can  know  only  a  very  short  interruption,  and  will  soon  grow  up 
into  an  union  infinitely  nobler  and  more  delightful,  which  never  shall  be  liable 
to  any  separation. 

In  the  mean  time.  Madam,  it  may  comfort  us  not  a  little  under  the 
sense  of  our  present  loss,  to  think  what  religious  improvement  we  may  gain 
by  it,  if  we  are  not  wanting  to  ourselves:  And  happy  shall  we  be  indeed,  if 
we  so  hear  the  rod,  as  to  receive  the  instructions  it  so  naturally  suggests  and 
enforces.  Persons  of  any  serious  reflection  will  learn  from  this  awful  event, 
how  little  we  can  judge  of  the  divine  favour  by  the  visible  dispensations  of 
providence  here:  They  will  learn,  and  it  may  be  of  great  importance  to  con- 
sider it,  just  in  such  a  crisis  as  tiiis,  tiiat  no  distinguished  degree  of  piety  can 
secure  the  very  best  of  men  from  liie  sword  of  a  common  enemy :  And  they 
will  see,  written,  alas,  in  characters  of  the  most  precious  blood,  that  war  ever 
spilt  in  our  island,  the  vanity  of  the  surest  protectors  and  comforters  which 
mortality  can  afford,  at  a  time  when  they  are  most  needed, 

'ihese  are  general  instructions,  which,  I  hope,  thousands  will  receive,  on 
this  universally  lamented  occasion  :  But  to  you.  Madam,  and  to  me,  and  to 
ail  that  were  iionoured  with  the  most  intimate  friendship  of  this  christian 
hero,  his  death  has  a  peculiar  voice.  Whilst  it  leads  us  back  into  so  many 
past  scenes  of  delight,  in  the  remembrance  of  which  we  now  pour  out  our 
souls  within  us,  it  calls  aloud,  amidst  all  this  tender  distress,  for  a  tribute  of 
humble  thankfulness  to  God,  that  ever  we  enjoyed  such  a  friend,  and  espe- 
cially in  such  an  intimacy  of  mutual  affection ;  and  that  we  had  an  opportu- 
nity of  observing,  in  so  many  instances,  the  secret  recesses  of  a  heart,  which 
God  had  enriched,  adorned,  and  ennobled  with  so  much  of  his  own  image,  and 
such  abundant  communications  of  his  grace  :  It  calls  for  our  redoubled  dili- 
gence and  resolution,  in  imitating  that  bright  assemblage  of  virtues,  which 
shone  so  resplendent  in  our  illustrious  friend:  And  surely  it  must,  by  a  kind 
of  irresistible  influence,  mortify  our  affections  to  this  impoverished  world  ; 
and  must  cause  nature  to  concur  with  grace,  in  raising  our  Hearts  upwards  to 
that  glorious  abode,  where  he  dwells  triumphant  and  immortal,  and  waits  our 
arrival  with  an  ardor  of  pure  and  elevated  love,  which  it  was  iinposiiblc  for 
death  to  4ueuch. 

X  X  2 


352  DEDICATION. 

Next  to  these  views,  nothing  can  give  your  Ladyship  greater  satis- 
faction, than  to  reflect,  how  happy  you  made  the  amiable  consort  you 
have  lost,  in  that  intimate  relation  you  so  long  bore  to  each  other  ;  in  which,  I 
well  know,  that  growing  years  ripened  and  increased  your  mutual  esteem  and 
friendship.  Nor  will  your  generous  heart  be  insensible  of  that  pleasure, 
which  may  arise  from  reflecting,  that  the  manner  of  his  death,  though  in 
itself  so  terrible,  that  we  dare  not  trust  imagination  with  the  particular  review, 
■was  to  him,  in  those  circumstances,  most  glorious ;  to  religion  highly  ornamen- 
tal ;  and  to  his  country,  great  as  his  loss  is,  on  various  accounts  beneficial. 
Far,  very  far,  be  it  from  us  to  think,  that  Colonel  Gardiner,  though  fallen  by 
the  weapons  of  rebellion  and  treason,  has  fought  and  died  in  vain.  I  trust  in 
God,  that  so  heroic  a  behaviour  will  inspire  our  warriors  with  augmented 
courage,  now  they  are  called  to  exert  it  in  a  cause,  the  most  noble  and 
important  that  can  ever  be  in  question,  the  cause  of  our  Jaws,  our  liberty, 
and  religion.  I  trust,  that  all  who  keep  up  a  correspondence  with  hea- 
ven by  prayer,  will  renew  their  intercession  for  this  bleeding  land  with 
increasing  fervour,  now  we  have  lost  one  who  stood  in  the  breacli  with  such 
unwearied  importunity.  And  I  am  well  assured,  that  of  the  multitudes  who 
lay  up  his  memory  in  their  inmost  hearts  with  veneration  and  love,  not  a  few 
will  be  often  joining  their  most  affectionate  prayers  to  God,  for  your  Lady- 
ship, and  the  dear  rising  branches  of  your  family,  with  those  which  you 
may,  in  consequence  of  a  thousand  obhgations,  always  expect  from 

Madarn, 
Your  Ladyship's  most  faithful 

and  obedient  humble  Servant, 

P.  DODDRIDGE. 

Northampton,  Nov.  21,  1745, 


The  Christian  Warrior  Animated  and  Croumed.        353 


SERMON  IV 


Rev.  ii.  10.  latter  Part. Be.  thou  faithful  unto  Death,  and  Iwillgiic 

thee  a  Ciuiin  of  Life. 


T  is  a  glory  peculiar  to  the  christian  religion,  that  it  is  capable 
of  yielding  joy  and  triumph  to  the  mind,  amidst  calamities,  iu 
vhich  the  strength  of  nature,  and  of  a  ])hilosophy  that  has  no 
higher  a  support,  can  hardl}'  give  it  serenity,  or  even  patience. 
Those  boasted  aids  arc  but  like  a  candle  in  some  tempestuous 
night,  whicii  how  artificially  soever  it  may  be  fenced  iu,  is  often 
extinguished  amidst  tiie  storm,  in  which  it  should  guide  and 
cheer  the  traveller,  or  the  mariner;  whom  it  leaves  on  a  sudden, 
in  darkness,  horror  and  fear:  While  the  consolation  of  the  gos- 
pel, like  the  sun,  makes  a  sure  day  even  when  behind  the  thickest 
cloud,  and  soon  emerges  from  it  with  an  accession  of  more  sensi- 
ble lustre. 

The  observation  is  verified  in  these  words,  considered  in 
connection  with  that  awful  providence,  which  has  this  day  de- 
termined my  thoughts  to  fix  upon  them,  as  the  subject  of  my 
discourse  ;  the  fall  of  that  truly  great  and  good  man.  Colonel 
Gardiner:  The  endearing  tenderness  of  whose  friendship  would 
have  rendered  his  death  an  unspeakable  calamity  to  me,  had  his 
character  been  only  of  the  common  standard ;  as  on  the  other 
hand ,  the  exalted  excellency  of  his  character  makes  his  death  to  be 
lamented  by  thousands,  who  were  not  happy  in  any  peculiar  inti- 
macy or  personal  acquaintance  with  him. 

While  we  mourn  the  brave  warrior,  the  exemplary  chris- 
tian, and  the  affectionate  friend ;  lost  to  ourselves  and  our  coun- 
try, to  the  church  and  the  world,  at  a  time  when  we  most  need- 
ed all  the  defence  of  his  bravery,  all  theedification  of  his  example, 
all  the  comfort  of  his  converse :  Struck  with  the  various  and 
aggravated  sorrow  of  so  sudden,  and  so  terrible  a  blow,  methinks 
there  is  but  one  voice  that  can  cheer  us,  Avhich  is  this  of  the  great 
Captain  of  our  salvation,  so  lately  addressing  him,  and  still  ad- 
dressing us,  in  these  comprehensive  and  animated  words;  Be 
ihoufaithful  unto  death,  and  I  will  give  thee  a  cro-wn  of  life. 


354  ON   THE   DEATH   OF   COLONEL  GARDINER.        SeR.  ?V. 

With  regard  to  the  connection  of  them,  it  may  be  sufficient 
to  observe,  that  our  Lord  in  all  these  seven  epistles  to  the  Asiatic 
churches  represents  the  christian  life  as  a  warfare,  and  the  bless- 
ings of  the  future  state  as  rewards  to  be  bestowed  on  conquerors. 
To  him  that  overcometh  will  I  give  such  and  such  royal  dona- 
tives. Pursuing  the  same  allegory,  he  warns  the  church  of 
Smyrna  of  an  approaching  combat,  which  should  be  attended 
with  some  severe  circumstances.  Some  of  them  were  to  become 
caj)tives  ;  the  devil  shall  cast  some  of  you  into  prison :  And  though 
the  power  of  the  enemy  was  to  be  limited,  in  its  extent,  as  well  as 
its  duration,  to  the  tribulation  of  ten  days,  it  seems  to  be  im- 
plied, that  Avhile  many  were  harrassed  and  distressed  during  that 
time,  some  of  them  should  before  the  close  of  it  be  called  to  re- 
sist unto  blood.  But  their  great  leader  furnishes  them  with  suit- 
able armour,  and  proportionable  courage,  by  this  gracious 
assurance,  which  it  is  our  present  business  farther  to  contem- 
plate: Be  thou  faithful  unto  death,  ajid  I  will  give  thee  a  crown 
of  life. 

In  which  words  you  naturally  observe  a  charge,—- — and  a 

promise  by  which  it  is  enforced. 1  shall  briefly  illustrate  each, 

and  then  conclude  with  some  reflections  upon  the  whole. 

First,  I  am  to  open  the  charge  here  given:  Be  thou  faiths 
fulunto  death. 

Concerning  which  I  would  observe,  that  though  it  is  imme- 
diately addressed  to  the  church  at  Smyrna,  yet  the  nature  of  the 
tiling  and  numberless  passages  of  the  divine  word  concur  to 
prove,  that  it  is  common  in  its  obligation,  to  all  christians,  and 
indeed  to  all  men. 

I  shall  not  be  large  in  explaining  the  nature  of  faithfulness 
in  general;  concerning  which  I  might  shew  you,  that  the  word 
here  rendered  faithful,  has  sometimes  a  relation  to  the  testimony 
which  God  has  given  us,  and  sometimes  to  some  trust  that  he 
Las  reposed  in  us.  In  the  former  sense,  it  is  properly  rendered 
believing,  and  opposed  to  infidelity  :  Be  not  faithless,  but  believ- 
ing*. In  the  latter,  it  is  opposed  to  injustice  :  He  that  is  faith- 
ful in  that  which  is  least,  is  faithful  also  in  much;  whereas  he 
that  is  unjust  in  the  least,  is  unjust  also  in  7nuchf.  And  it  is  in 
reference  to  this  sense  of  it,  that  our  Lord  represents  himself  as 
saying  to  the  man  who  had  improved  his  talents  aright,  JVell 
done,  good  and  faithful  servant  X-'  Our  deceased  friend  was  so 
remarkably  faithful  in  botii  these  senses  ;  so  ready  to  admit,  and 
so  zealous  to  defend  the  faith  once  delivered  to  the  saints ;  and  so 

*  John  XX.  '27.  f  Luke  xvi,  10.  J  Mat.  xxv.  23. 


The  Christian  IVarrior  Animated  and  Crowned.        355 

active  in  improving  those  various  talents,  \viili  w  liicli  in  mevi-.y 
to  nuuiv  others  as  well  as  to  himself,  God  had  t.'iitriistcd  him; 
that  it  was  very  natural  to  touch  upon  these  signilications  ot  the 
■word,  though  it  has  here  a  more  partieular  view  to  another  vir- 
tue, tor  which  he  was  so  illustriously  conspicuous,  I  mean,  the 
courageous  lidelity  of  a  soldier  in  his  warfare. 

In  this  sense  of  the  word,  it  is  opposed  to  treacherv  or 
cowardice,  desertion  or  tlisobedience  to  militarv  orders.  And 
thus  it  is  used  elsewhere  in  this  same  book  of  the  Revelation, 
■when  speaking  of  those  who  war  under  the  banner  of  I'he  Lamh, 
the  King  oj  kings,  and  Lord oj  lords,  the  inspired  writer  tells  us, 
they  are  called,  and  chosen^  and  faithful  *,  a  select  body  of  brave 
and  valiant  soldiers. 

This  hmt  will  also  fix  tiic  easiest  and  plainest  sense  in  wliich 
the  persons,  to  whom  the  text  is  addressed,  are  required  to  be 
faithful  unto  death  :  Which,  though  it  does  indeed  in  general 
ini|)ly  a  Patient  cojitinuance  in  well-doing  f,  in  whatever  scenes 
of  life  divine  providence  may  place  us  ;  yi^t  docs  cspeciallv  re- 
fer to  martial  bravery,  and  express  a  readiness  to  lace  death  in 
its  most  terrible  forms,  when  our  great  general  shall  lead  us  on 
to  it.  You  well  know  this  to  be  an  indispensable  condition  of 
our  being  acknowledged  by  him  in  the  day  of  his  iiiial  triun)ph  : 
And  of  this  he  warned  those  that  gathered  around  iiim,  when  he 
was  first  raismg  his  army,  under  the  greatest  disadvantages  in 
outward  appearance;  expressly  and  plainly  telling  them,  that 
they  must  be  content  to  follow  him  to  martvrdom,  to  follow  hmi 
to  crucifixion,  when  they  receive  the  word  of  counnand  to  do  it ; 
or  that  all  llieir  ])rofession  of  regard  to  him  would  be  in  vain. 
If  any  man,  snys  he,  will  come  after  me,  let  him  deny  himself, 
and  take  vp  his  cross,  and  follow  me  %  :  For  IJe  that  lovcth  his 
vwn  life  more  than  7ne,  is  not  worthy  ofme^;  he  does  not  de- 
serve the  honour  of  bearing  my  name,  and  passing  for  one  of  my 
soldiers  :  indeed  he  Cannot  on  any  terms  be  my  disciple  ||. 

This  therefore  is  in  eH'eet  the  language  of  our  Lord,  when 
he  says,  be  thou  faithful  unto  death:  It  is  as  if  he  had  said, 
*'  Remember  all  you  of  Smyrna,  or  of  any  other  place  and  coun- 
try, that  call  yourselves  christians,  throughout  all  generations, 
that  you  were  by  baptism  enlisted  under  my  banners:  Rcuvem- 
ber,  that  you  have  as  it  were  sealed,  and  subscribed  your  engage- 
ment to  me,  by  every  sacrament  you  have  since  attended  ;"  as 
indeed  it  is  well  known,  the  word  sacrament  originally  signifies 
a  military  oath,  which  soldiers  take  as  a  pledge  of  lidelity  to 

*  Rev.  xvii.  14,     t  Rom.  ii.7.     J  Mark  vjii.  34.     §  Mat.  x.  37,  39.     jj  Luke  xiv.'^G. 


555  ON    THE   DEATH    OF    COLONEL   GRADINER.         SeR.  IV. 

their  general :  "  Remember  therefore,  tliat  you  are  ever  to  con- 
tinue with  me,  and  to  march  forward  under  my  direction,  what- 
ever hardships  and  fatigues  may  he  in  the  way.  And  remember, 
that  if  I  lead  you  on  to  the  most  formidable  combat,  you  must 
cheerfully  obey  the  word  of  command,  and  charge  boldly,  though 
you  should  immediately  die,  whether  by  the  sword,  or  by  fire. 
Should  you  dare  to  flee,  I  am  myself  your  enemy;  and  the  wea- 
pons which  I  bear,  would  iustl\'*be  levelled  at  your  own  traitorous 
heads.  But  if  you  bravely  follow  me,  1  know  how  to  make  you 
ample  amends,  even  in  circumstances  when  no  human  power 
and  gratitude  can  reach  you  ;  for  it  is  my  glorious  prerogative 
to  engage,  that  to  those  who  are  thus/aith/ul  unto  death,  I  will 
give  a  crown  of  life.'^     We  are  therefore, 

Secondly,  to  consider  the  promise,  by  which  the  charge  is 
enforced:  I  will  give  thee  a  crown  of  life. 

And  here  I  might  observe, a  crown  of  life  is  the  glorious 

reward  proposed, and  it  is  to  be  received  from  the  hand  of 

Christ. 

1.  A  crown  of  life  is  the  reward  proposed:  Which  we  are 
sure  in  this  connection  implies,  both  grandeur  and  felicity ;  here, 
though  rarely,  connected  together. 

There  is,  no  doubt,  an  allusion  in  these  words,  to  the  an- 
cient, and  I  think  very  prudent,  custom  of  animating  the  bravery 
of  soldiers  by  honorary  rewards,  and  particularly  by  cro-^ns; 
sometimes  of  laurel,  and  sometimes,  in  some  extraordinary  in- 
stances, of  silver  or  gold  ;  which  they  were  permitted  to  Wear 
on  public  occasions,  and  in  consequence  of  receiving  which  they 
were  sometimes  entitled  to  some  peculiar  immunities.  But  here 
our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  conscious  of  his  own  divine  power  and 
prerogative,  speaks  with  a  dignity  and  elevation,  which  no  earth- 
ly prince  or  commander  could  ever  assume;  promising  a  crown 
of  lifey  and  that,  as  was  observed  before,  even  to  those  who 
should  fall  in  the  battle:  A  crown  of  life  in  the  highest  sense; 
not  only  one,  which  should  ever  be  fresh  and  fair,  but  which 
should  give  immortality  to  the  happy  brow  it  adorned;  and  be 
for  ever  worn,  not  only  as  the  monument  of  braver}'-  and  victory, 
but  as  the  ensign  of  royalty  too :  A  crown  connected  with  a 
kingdom,  and  with  what  no  other  kingdom  can  give,  perpetual 
life  to  enjoy  it ;  perpetual  youth  and  vigour  to  relish  all  its  de- 
lights. And  this  is  agreeable  to  the  language  of  other  scriptures, 
where  we  read  of  the  Crown  of  life,  which  the  Lord  hath  pro- 
mised to  them  that  love  him*  i  a  crowfi  of  righteousness  ^  which 

*  James  1.  1^. 


The  Christian  Warrior  Animated  and  Croivned.        357 

the  Lord  the  righteous  judge  shall  give*;  a  crown  of  glory  ^ 
iohich  Jadeth  not  away  f.  We  may  also  observe, 
2.  Tliat  it  is  said  to  be  given  by  Christ. 
This  some  pious  commentators  liave  explained,  as  intimat- 
ing, that  it  is  the  gift  of  the  iledeemer's  free  and  unmerited 
grace,  and  not  a  retribution  due  to  the  uierit  of  him  that  receivetli 
it.  And  this  is  an  undoubted  truth,  which  it  is  of  the  highest 
imjjortance  to  acknowledge  and  consider.  The  proper  Wages 
of  sin,  is  death ;  but  eternal  life  is,  in  opposition  to  wages,  the 
gift  of  God  through  Jesus  Christ  our  LordX-  We  should  hum- 
bly own  it  every  day,  that  there  is  no  proportion  between  the 
value  of  our  services,  and  the  crown  which  we  expect  to  receive: 
Should  own,  that  it  is  mercy,  that  pardons  our  sins,  and  grace, 
that  accepts  our  services ;  much  more,  that  crowns  them.  Grace, 
grace,  shall,  as  it  were,  be  engraven  upon  that  crown,  in  charac- 
ters large  and  indelible :  Nor  will  that  inscription  diminish  its 
lustre,  or  impair  the  pleasure  with  which  we  shall  receive  it.  I 
could  not  forbear  mentioning  this  thought,  as  a  truth  of  the  ut- 
most importance,  which  stands  on  the  firmest  basis  of  very  many 
express  scriptures;  a  truth,  of  which  perhaps  no  man  living  had 
ever  a  deeper  sense,  than  our  deceased  friend.  But  I  mention 
it  thus  obliquely,  because  it  may  be  doubted  whether  we  can 
justly  argue  it  from  hence;  since  the  word  give  is  sometimes 
used  for  rendering  a  retribution  justly  due,  and  that  in  instances 
where  grace  and  favour  have,  in  propriety  of  speech,  no  concern 
at  all  §. 

But  it  is  certain,  tliat  this  expression,  2  will  give  thee  a 
crown  of  life,  is  intended  to  lead  our  thoughts  to  this  important 
circumstance;  that  this  crown  is  to  be  received  from  the  hand  of 
Christ  himself.  And  the  apostle  Paul  evidently  refers  to  the 
same  circumstance,  in  terms  which  shew  how  nuich  he  entered 
into  the  spirit  of  the  thought,  when  he  says,  The  Lord  the  righ- 
teous judge  shall  give  it  me  \\:  He  himself,  the  great  judge  of 
the  contest,  whose  eye  witnesses  the  whole  course  of  it,  whose 
decision  cannot  err,  and  from  whose  sentence  there  is  no  appeal: 
Alluding  to  the  judge  who  presided  in  the  Grecian  games,  who 
was  always  a  person  of  rank  and  eminence,  and  himself  reached 
forth  the  reward  to  him  who  overcame  in  them. 

So  that  on  the  Avhole,  when  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  says.  Be 

*  2  Tim.  iv.  8,  1 1  Pet-  V.  4.  %  Rom.  vi.  23. 

§  Compare  Mut.  xx.  8.  Ghe  the  labourers  their  hin  with  Col.  ir.  1.  Miuicrtf 
gr.e  unto  your  tenanti  tliat  uAjcA  itjiut  and  equal. 
li  2  Tim.  iv.  8. 
VOL.  111.  Y  y 


358  ON    THE    DEATH    OF    COLONEL   GARDINER,         SeR.  IV. 

thou  faithful  unto  deaths  and  I  will  give  thee  a  crown  of  life; 
nicthinks  our  dev^out  meditations  may  expatiate  upon  the  words, 
in  some  such  paraphrase  as  this.  It  is  as  if  he  liad  said  to  you, 
and  to  me,  and  to  all  his  people,  '*  Oh  my  faithful  soldiers,  fear 
not  death  in  its  most  terrible  array;  for  you  are  immortal.  Fear 
not  them  that  can  kill  the  body  * ;  You  have  a  nobler  part,  which 
they  cannot  reach ;  and  I  will  undertake,  notonl}^  for  its  rescue, 
but  its  happiness.  I  will  answer  for  it,  on  the  honour  of  my 
royal  word,  that  it  shall  live  in  a  state  of  noble  enlargement,  of 
triumphant  joy.  Think  on  me:  I  avi  he  that  liveth^  though  I 
was  dead  :  and  behold,  I  am  alive  for  evermore  ■\:  And  Because 
I  live,  you  shall  live  alsoX;  shall  exist  in  a  state,  that  deserves 
the  great  and  honourable  name  of  life ;  so  that  earth  in  all  its 
lustre  and  pleasure,  when  compared  with  it,  is  but  as  a  scene 
of  death,  or  at  best  as  an  amusing  Dream  when  one  awaketh^.^^ 

We  may  also  consider  him,  as  pursuing  this  animating  ad- 
dress, and  saying,  "  My  brave  companions  in  tribulation  and 
patience,  you  shall  not  only  live,  but  reign.  Think  not,  thou 
good  soldier,  who  art  now  fighting  under  my  banner,  that  thy 
general  will  wear  his  honours  alone.  If  I  have  my  crown,  if  I 
have  my  triumph,  be  assured  that  thou  also  shalt  have  thine. 
Thou  mayest  indeed  seem  to  perish  in  the  combat;  and  thy 
friends  may  mourn,  and  thine  enemies  insult,  as  if  thou  wert 
utterly  cut  off".  But  behold,  true  victory  spreads  over  thee  her 
golden  wing,  and  holds  out,  not  a  garland  of  fading  flowers  or 
leaves,  but  a  crown  that  shall  keep  its  lustre,  when  all  the  cost- 
liest gems  on  earth  are  melted  in  the  general  burning ;  yea,  Avhen 
the  luminaries  of  heaven  are  extinguished,  and  the  sun  and  stars 
fade  away  in  their  orbs." 

*'  Nor  will  I,"  does  he  seem  to  say,  "  send  thee  this  crown 
by  some  inferior  hand  ;  not  even  by  the  noblest  angel,  that  Avaits 
on  the  throne  I  have  now  ascended.  Thou  shalt  receive  it  from 
mine  own  hand;'"  from  that  hand,  which  would  make  the  least 
gift  valuable:  What  a  dignity  then  will  it  add  to  the  greatest! 
"  Nor  will  I  myself  confer  this  reward  in  private  ;  it  shall  be 
given  with  the  most  magnificent  solemnity.  Thou  shalt  be 
brought  to  me  before  the  assembled  world ;  Thy  name  shall  be 
called  over  ;  thou  shalt  appear,  and  I  will  own  thee,  and  crown 
thee,  in  public  view.  Thy  friends  shall  see  it  with  raptures  of 
joy,  and  congratulate  an  honour  in  which  they  shall  also  share. 
Thine  enemies  shall  see  it  with  envy  and  with  rage,  to  increase 
their  confusion  and  misery  :  They  shall  see,  that  while  by  their 

*  Mat.  X.  28.  fRev.  i.  18.  +  John  xLv.  19.  §  Psal.  Ixxiii.  20. 


The  Christian  JVarrior  Animated  and  Crowned'        359 

malicious  assaults  they  were  endeavouring  to  destroy  thee,  they 
were  only  establishing  thy  throne,  and  brightening  the  lustre 
\\\\\i  h  shall  for  ever  atlorn  thy  brow;  while  tluMrs  is  blasted  with 
the  thunder  of  resistless  wrath,  and  deep  engraven  with  the  inde- 
lible marks  of  vengeance.  This  crown  shah  thou  for  ever  wear, 
as  the  perpetual  token  of  my  esteem  and  ailcetion  :  Nor  shall  it 
be  merely  a  shining  ornament:  A  rich  revenue,  a  glorious  au- 
thority, goes  along  with  it.  Thou  shall  reign/or  ever  and  ever*; 
and  be  a  King,  as  well  as  n priest  unto  Godf.^^ 

They  who  enter  by  a  lively  faitli  into  the  import  of  these 
glorious  words,  will,  I  doubt  not,  pardon  mv  having  expatiated 
so  largely  upon  them,  ff^e  have  believed,  and  therefore  have  wc 
spokenX:  And  I  question  riot,  but  that  many  of  you  have  in  the 
course  of  this  representation  prevented  me  in  some  of  the  reflec- 
tions, which  naturally  arise  from  such  a  subject.  Vet  it  may 
not  be  improper  to  assist  your  devout  meditations  upon  them. 

(1.)  What  reason  have  we  to  adore  the  grace  of  our 
blessed  Redeemer,  which  prepares,  and  bestows,  such  rewards  as 
these ! 

While  "WC  hear  him  saying.  Be  thou  faithful  unto  death, 
and  I  will  give  thee  a  crown  of  life;  methinks  it  is  but  natural 
for  each  of  our  hearts  to  answer.  "  Lord,  dost  thou  speak  of 
giving  a  crown,  a  crown  of  life  and  glory  to  me !  Too  great,  too 
great,  might  the  favour  seem,  if  I,  who  have  so  often  lifted  up 
my  rebellious  hand  against  thy  throne,  might  be  allowed  to  lay 
down  this  guilty  head  in  the  dust,  and  lose  the  memory  of  my 
treasons,  and  the  sense  of  m}'  punishment  together,  in  everlast- 
ing iorgetfulness.  And  is  such  a  crown  prepared,  and  wilt  thou, 
my  injured  Sovereign,  who  mightcst  so  justly  arm  thyself  with 
vengeance  against  m(?,  bestow  this  crown  with  thine  own  hand; 
with  all  these  other  circumstances  of  dignity,  so  as  even  to  make 

my  triumphs  thine  own  ! What  is  my  strictest  fidelity  to 

thee?  Though  I  do  indeed,  as  I  humbly  desire  that  I  may,  con- 
tinue faithful  unto  death,  I  am  yet  but  an  Unprofitable  sei-vant ; 
J  have  done  no  more  than  my  duty^.  I  have  pursued  thy  work, 
in  thy  strength  ;  and,  in  consequence  of  that  love  which  thou 
hast  put  into  my  heart,  it  hath  been  its  own  reward:  And  dost 

tliou  thus  crown  one  favour  with  another! Blessed  Jesus,  I 

would  with  all  humility  laij  that  cron'n  at  thy  feet,  acknowledg- 
ing before  thee,  and  the  whole  world,  as  1  shall  at  length  do  in  a 
more  expressive  form,  that  it  is  not  only  the  gift  of  thy  love,  but 

*  R'.v.  xxii.  5.  t  Rev.  i.  6,  %1  Cor,  ir.  13.  §  Luke  xvii.  10. 

Y  y  2 


360  ON   THE    DEATH  OF   COLONEL   GARDINER.         SeR.  IV. 

the  purchase  of  thy  blood.  Never,  never  had  I  beheld  it,  other- 
wise than  at  an  unapproachable  distance,  as  an  aggravation  of 
my  misery  and  despair,  hadst  not  thou  worn  another  crown,  a 
crowp  of  infamy,  and  of  thorns.  The  gems  which  must  for  ever 
adorn  my  temples,  were  formed  from  those  precious  drops,  that 
once  trickled  down  thine ;  and  all  the  splendor  of  my  Robes  of 
triumph  is  owing  to  their  being  washed  in  the  blood  of  the 
Lamb  *."  With  what  pleasing  wonder  may  we  pursue  the 
thought!  And  Avhile  it  employs  our  mind, 

(2.)  How  justly  may  this  awaken  a  generous  ambition  to 
secure  this  crown  to  ourselves  ! 

Dearly  as  it  was  purchased  by  our  blessed  Redeemer,  it  is 
mostfreelT/  offered  to  us,  to  the  youngest,  to  the  meanest,  to  the 
most  unworthy.  It  is  not  prepared,  merely  for  those  that  have 
worn  an  earthly  diadem  or  coronet :  Would  to  God  it  were  not 
despised  by  most  of  them ,  as  a  thing  less  worthy  of  their  thoughts, 
than  the  most  trifling  amusement,  by  which  they  unbend  their 
minds  from  the  weight}^  cares  attending  their  station  !  But  it  is 
prepared  for  you  ;  even  for  every  one,  who  thinks  it  worth  pur- 
suing, and  accepting,  upon  the  terms  of  the  gospel  covenant ; 
for  every  one,  who  believing  in  Christ,  and  loving  him,  is  hum- 
bly determined  through  his  grace  to  he  faithful  unto  death 

And  shall  this  glorious  proposal  be  made  to  you  in  vain  ?  Were 
it  an  earthly  crown  that  could  lawfully  be  obtained,  are  there 
not  many  of  us,  notwithstanding  all  its  weight  of  anxieties,  and 
all  the  piercing  thorns  with  which  we  might  know  it  to  be  lined, 
that  would  be  ready  eagerly  to  seize  it,  and  perhaps  to  contend 
and  quarrel  with  each  other  for  it  ?  But  here  is  no  foundation  for 
contention.  Here  is  a  crown  for  each;  and  such  a  crown,  that 
all  the  royal  ornaments  of  all  the  princes  upon  earth,  when  com- 
pared with  it,  are  lighter  than  a  feather,  and  viler  than  dust. 
And  shall  we  neglect  it  ?  shall  we  refuse  it,  from  such  a  hand 
too,  as  that  by  which  it  is  offered  ?  Shall  we  so  Judge  ourselves 
unworthy  of  eternal  Ifef,  as  thereby  indeed  to  make  ourselves 

worthy  of  eternal  death  ?  For  there  is  no  other  alternative. 

But  blessed  be  God,  it  is  not  universally  neglected.  There  are, 
I  doubt  not,  among  you,  many  who  pursue  it,  many  who  shall 
assuredly  obtain  it.     For  their  sakes  let  us  reflect, 

(3.)  How  courageously  may  the  heads  which  are  to  wear 
such  a  crown,  be  lifted  up  to  face  all  the  trials  of  life  and  death! 

Those  trials  may  be  various,  and  perhaps  extreme ;  but  if 
borne  aright,  far  from  depriving  us  of  this  crown,  they  will  only 

*Rev.  vii.  14.  fActsxiii.  46. 


The  Christian  Warrior  Animated  and  Crowned.       361 

serve  to  Increase  its  lustre.  It  is  the  apostle  PjujI's  express 
assertion  ;  and  he  speaks,  as  transported  with  the  thought : 
For  this  cause  we  faint  not^  but  though  the  outward  man  perishy 
yet  the  inwai^d  man  is  renewed  day  by  day  :  For  our  light  af~ 
Jiiction,  which  is  but  for  a  moment,  workcthfor  us  afar  more 
exceeding  and  eter7ial  weight  of  glory  ;  while  we  look  not  at  the 
things  which  are  seen,  but  at  the  things  which  are  not  seen  ;  Jor 
the  things  which  are  seen  are  temporal,  but  the  things  which 
are  not  seen  are  eternal*.  Surely  with  this  support,  we  may 
not  only  live,  but  triumph,  in  poverty,  in  reproach,  in  weak- 
ness, in  pain  :  And  with  this  we  may  die,  not  only  serenely, 
hut  joyfully.  Oh  my  friends,  where  are  our  hearts  ?  WHicre  is 
our  faith  ?  Nay  I  will  add,  where  is  our  reason  ?  Why  are  not 
our  eyes,  our  desires,  and  our  hopes,  more  frequently  directed 
upward  ?  Surely  one  ray  from  that  resplendent  diadem  might 
he  sufficient  to  confound  all  the  false  charms  of  these  transitory 
vanities,  which  indeed  owe  all  their  lustre  to  the  darkness  in 
which  they  arc  placed.  Surely  when  our  spirits  are  over- 
tchelmed  within  us,  one  glance  of  it  miglit  be  sufficient  to  ani- 
mate and  elevate  them  ;  and  might  teach  us  to  say,  in  the 
midst  of  dangers,  sorrows,  and  death,  In  all  these  things  we  are 
more  than  conquerors ^  through  him  that  loved  us  f .  Thus  have 
some  triumphed  in  the  last  extremities  of  nature  ;  and  both  the 
subject,  aud  the  occasion  also,  loudly  calls  us  to  reflect, 

(4.)  What  reason  we  have  to  congratulate  these  happy 
souls,  that  have  already  received  the  croxmi  of  life  ! 

When  we  are  weeping  over  the  cold,  yea,  the  bleeding  re- 
mains of  such,  surely  it  is  for  ourselves,  aud  not  tor  them,  that 
the  stream  flows.  The  thought  of  their  condition,  far  from 
moving  our  compassion,  may  rather  inspire  us  with  joy,  and 
with  praise.  Look  not  on  their  pale  countenance,  nor  on  the 
■wide  and  deep  wounds,  through  which  perhaps  the  soul  rushed 
out  to  seize  the  great  prize  of  its  faith  and  hope  ;  though  even 
those  wounds  appear  beautiful,  when  earned  by  distinguished 
virtue,  by  piety  to  their  countr}^,  and  their  God.  Look  not  on 
the  eyes  closed  in  death,  or  the  once  honoured  and  beloved 
head,  now  covered  Avith  the  dust  of  the  grave  :  But  view,  by  an 
internal  beheving  eye,  that  difl'erent  form  which  the  exaltt-d  tri- 
umphant spirit  already  wears,  the  earnest  of  a  yet  brighter 
glory.  Their  great  leader,  whose  care  of  them  mc  are  fondly 
ready  to  suspect,  or  secretly  to  complain  of  as  delicient  in  such 
circumstances  as  these,  points,  as  it  were,  to  the  white  robes,  aud 

♦  ■i  Cor.  iv.  16,  17,  18.  t  R"™-  ""•  37. 


362  ON  THE  DEATH  OF  COLONEL  GARDINER.  SeR.  IV. 

the  flourishing  palms,  which  he  has  given  them  ;  and  calls  for 
our  regard  to  the  crowns  of  life  which  he  has  set  on  their  heads, 
and  to  the  songs  of  joy  and  praise  to  which  he  has  formed  their 
exulting  tongues.  And  do  we  sully  and  dishonour  their  tri- 
umphs with  our  tears  ?  Do  we  think  so  meanly  of  heaven,  and 
of  them,  as  to  wish  them  witii  us  again  :  That  they  might  eat 
and  drink  at  our  tables  ;  that  they  might  talk  with  us  in  our 
low  language  ;  that  they  might  travel  with  us  from  stage  to 
stage  in  this  wilderness  ;  and  take  their  share  with  us  in  those 
vanities  of  life,  of  which  we  ourselves  are  so  often  weary,  that 
there  is  hardly  a  week,  or  a  day,  in  which  we  are  not  lifting  up 
our  eyes,  and  saying  with  a  deep  inward  groan,  Oh  that  we  had 
wings  like  a  dove  !  Then  would  we  flee  away,  and  be  at  rest  *. 

Surely  with  relation  to  these  faithfid  soldiers  of  Jesus 
Christ,  who  have  already  fallen,  it  is  a  matter  of  no  small  joy  to 
reflect,  that  their  Warfare  is  accomplished^  ;  that  they  have  at 
length  passed  through  every  scene  in  which  their  fideHty  could 
be  endangered  ;  so  that  now,  they  are  inviolably  secure.  How 
much  more  then  should  we  rejoice,  that  they  are  entered,  not 
only  into  the  rest,  but  into  the  joy  of  their  Lord ;  that  they 
conquered,  even  when  they  fell,  and  are  now  reaping  the  fruits, 
the  celestial  and  immortal  fruits,  of  that  last  great  victory  ? 

A  sense  of  honour  often  taught  the  heathens,  when  attend- 
ino-  those  friends  to  the  funeral  pile,  who  had  died  honourably 
in  their  country's  cause,  to  use  some  ceremonies  expressive  of 
their  joy  for  their  glory  ;  though  that  glory  Avas  an  empty  name, 
and  all  the  reward  of  it  a  wreath  of  laurel,  which  Avas  soon  to 
crackle  in  the  flame,  and  vanish  into  smoak.  And  shall  not  the 
joy  and  glory  of  the  living  spirit  affect  us,  much  more  than  they 
could  be  affected  with  the  honours  paid  to  the  mangled  corpse  ? 

Let  us  then  think  with  reverence,  and  with  joy,  on  the  pi- 
ous dead  ;  and  especially  on  those,  whom  God  honoured  with 
any  special  opportunities  of  approving  their  fidelity,  in  life,  or 
in  death  :  And  if  we  mourn,  as  who,  in  some  circumstances, 
can  forbear  it  ?  let  it  be  as  christians,  with  that  mixture  of  high 
congratulation,  with  that  erect  countenance,  and  that  undaunted 
heart,  which  become  those  that  see  b^^  faith  their  exaltation 
and  felicity  ;  and  burning  with  a  strong  and  sacred  eagerness 
to  join  their  triumphant  company,  let  us  be  ready  to  share  in  the 
most  painful  of  their  trials,  that  we  may  also  share  in  their 
glories. 

And  surely,  if  I  have  ever  known  a  life,  and  a  death,  capa- 

*  Psal.  Iv.  6.  t  Isai.  xl.  <>. 


1  he  Christian  Warrior  Animaled  and  Cro-wned.       363 

ble  of  inspiring  us  with  these  sentiments  in  their  subiimest  ele- 
vations, it  was  tile  hfc  and  the  death  of  that  ilhistrious  christian 
hero,  Colonel  Gardiner  ;  whose  character  was  too  w«,'ll  known 
to  many  of  you,  by  some  montlis  residence  here,  to  need  your 
being  infornied  of  it  from  mo  ;  and  whose  history  was  too  re- 
markable, to  be  conlined  within  those  few  remainiii}^  moments, 
■which  must  be  allotted  to  the  finishinjr  of  this  discourse.  Yet 
there  was  something  so  uncommon  in  both,  that  I  think  it  of 
Jiigh  importance  to  the  honour  of  the  gospel  and  grace  of  Christ, 
that  they  should  be  delivered  down  to  posterity,  in  a  distinct 
and  particular  view.  And  therefore,  as  the  providence  of  God, 
in  concurrence  with  that  most  intimate  and  familiar  friendsiiip 
with  which  this  great  and  good  man  was  pleased  to  honour  me, 
gives  me  an  opportunity  of  speaking  of  many  important  things, 
especially  relating  to  his  religious  experiences,  with  greater 
exactness  and  certainty  than  most  others  might  be  capable  of 
doing  ;  and  as  he  gave  me  his  full  permission,  in  case  I  should 
have  the  affliction  to  survive  him,  to  declare  freely  whatever  I 
knew  of  him,  which  I  might  apprehend  conducive  to  the  glory 
of  God,  and  the  advancement  of  religion  ;  I  purpose  publish- 
ing, in  a  distinct  tract,  some  remarkable  passages  of  his  life, 
illustrated  by  extracts  from  his  own  letters,  which  speak  in  the 
most  forcible  manner  the  genuine  sentiments  of  his  heart.  But 
as  I  promise  myself  considerable  assistance  in  this  work  from 
some  valuable  persons  in  the  northern  part  of  our  island,  and 
possibly  from  some  of  his  own  papers,  to  which  our  present  con- 
fusions forbid  my  access,  I  must  (l(>lay  the  execution  of  this  de- 
sign at  least  for  a  few  months  ;  and  must  likewise  take  heed, 
that  1  do  not  too  much  anticipate  what  I  may  then  ofl'er  to  the 
])ublic  view,  by  what  it  might  otherwise  be  very  proper  to  men- 
tion now. 

Let  it  therefore  suffice  for  the  present  to  remind  you,  that 
Colonel  Gardiner  was  one  of  the  most  illustrious  instances  of 
the  energy,  and  indeed  1  must  also  add,  of  the  sovereignty  of 
divine  grace,  which  I  have  heard  or  read  of  in  modern  history. 
He  was  in  the  most  amazing  and  miraculous  manner,  without 
any  divine  ordinance,  without  any  religious  opportunity,  or 
peculiar  advantage,  deliverance,  or  affliction,  reclaimed  on  a 
sudden,  in  the  vigour  of  life  and  health,  from  the  most  licen- 
tious and  abandoned  sensuality,  not  only  to  a  steady  course  of 
regularity  and  virtue,  but  to  high  devotion,  and  strict,  though 
unatfected  sanctity  of  manners  :  A  course,  in  which  he  persisted 
for  more  than  twenty-six  years,  that  is,  to  the  close  of  life, 
so  remarkably  eminent  for  piety  towards  God,  diffusive  hu- 


564 


ON    THE    DEATH    OF   COLONEL    GARDINER.         SeR.  IV, 


inanity  and  christian  charity,  lively  faith,  deep  humility,  strict 
temperance,  active  diligence  in  improving  time,  meek  resig- 
nation to  the  Avill  of  God,  steady  patience  in  enduring  afflic- 
tions, tuuiffected  contempt  of  secular  interest,  and  resolute 
and  courageous  zeal  in  maintaining  truth,  as  well  as  in  re- 
proving, and,  where  his  authority  might  take  place,  restrain- 
ing vice  and  wickedness  of  every  kind  ;  that  I  must  delibe- 
rately declare,  that  when  I  consider  all  these  particulars  to- 
gether, it  is  hard  for  me  to  say  where,  but  in  the  book  of  God, 
he  found  his  example,  or* where  he  has  left  his  equal.  Every 
one  of  these  articles,  with  many  more,  I  hope,  if  God  spare 
my  life,  to  have  an  opportunity  of  illustrating,  in  such  a 
manner  as  to  shew,  that  he  was  a  living  demonstration  of  the 
energy  and  excellency  of  the  christian  rehgion  ;  nor  can  I 
imagine  Iioav  I  can  serve  its  interests  better,  than  by  record- 
ing what  I  have  seen  and  known  upon  this  head,  known  to 
my   edification,  as  Avell  as  my  joy. 

But  oh,  how  shall  I  lead  back  your  thoughts,  and  my 
own,  to  what  we  once  enjoyed  in  him,  without  too  deep  and 
tender  a  sense  of  Avhat  we  have  lost!  To  ha.ve  poured  out  his 
soul  in  blood  ;  to  have  fallen  by  the  savage  and  rebellious 
hands  of  his  own  countrymen,  at  the  wall  of  his  own  house ; 
deserted  by  those,  who  Avere  under  the  highest  obligations 
that  can  be  imagined  to  have  defended  his  life  with  their  own  ; 
and  above  all,  to  have  seen  with  his  dying  eyes  the  enemies 
of  our  religion  and  liberties  triumphant,  and  to  have  heard  in 
his  latest  moments  the  horrid  noise  of  their  insulting  shouts  ; — 
is  a  scene,  in  the  view  of  which  we  are  almost  tempted  to 
say,  ^Vhere  were  the  shields  of  angels  ?  Where  the  eye  of  pro- 
vidence ?  Where  the  remembrance  of  those  numberless  prayers 
which  had  been  offered  to  God  for  the  preservation  of  such  a 
man,  at  such  a  time  as  this  ? — — But  let  faith  assure  us,  that  he 
was  never  more  dear  and  precious  in  the  eye  of  his  divine  lea- 
der, than  in  these  dreadful  moments,  when  if  sense  Avere  to 
judge,  he  might  seem  most  neglected. 

That  is  of  all  others  the  happiest  death,  which  may  most 
sensibly  approve  our  fidelity  to  God,  and  our  zeal  for  his  glory. 
To  stand  singly  in  the  combat  with  the  fiercest  enemies,  in  the 
best  of  causes,  Avhen  the  whole  regiment  he  commanded,  fled  ; 
to  throw  himself  with  so  noble  an  ardor  to  defend  those  on  foot, 
whom  the  wi)ole  body  which  he  headed  were  appointed  to  sup- 
port, when  he  saw  that  the  fall  of  the  nearest  commander  ex- 
])osed  those  brave  men  to  the  extremity  of  danger,  were  cir- 
cumstances that  evidently  shewed,  how  much  he  held  honour 


The  Christian  Warrior  Animated  and  Crowned.        365 

and  duty  dearer  tlKin  life.  He  could  not  but  be  conscious  of 
the  distinsTuislicd  profession  he  had  made,  imder  a  rch<^ioiis  cha- 
racter; he  could  not  but  be  sensible,  how  much  our  arniv,  in 
circumstances  hke  these,  needs  all  that  the  most  jrenerous  ex- 
amples can  do,  to  animate  its  officers  and  its  soldiers  :  And 
therefore,  although  when  his  men  would  hear  no  voice  but  that 
of  their  fears  he  mi<;ht  have  retreated  without  infamy,  he  seems 
dehbcratcly  and  rightly  to  have  judged,  that  it  was  better  he 
should  sacrifice  in  such  a  cause  the  little  remainder  of  his  life, 
than  attempt  to  preserve  it  by  a  conduct,  which  miglit  leave  the 
least  room  even  for  envy  and  prejudice  to  suggest,  that  the  re- 
gard to  religion  and  the  public  which  he  had  so  remarkably  pro- 
fessed on  all  occasions,  was  not  strong  enough  to  lead  him  to 
face  danger  and  death,  which  natural  bravery  itself  had  in  early 
youth  taught  him  to  despise.  He  had  long  since  felt  the  genuine 
force  of  honour  sanctified  by  piety  ;  and  consequently,  had  too 
just  a  zeal  for  his  king  and  country,  to  bear  the  thought  of  de- 
serting the  trust  committed  to  him  in  such  an  important  mo- 
ment ;  too  warm  a  love  for  the  protestant  religion,  not  to  re- 
joice in  a  call  of  providence  to  bleed  in  its  defence.  And  there- 
fore, tliat  he  might  make  the  last  and  utmost  opposition  in  his 
power  to  a  rebellious  crew,  by  whose  success,  should  it  go  on, 
an  inlet  would  be  opened  to  the  cruel  ravages  of  arbitrary  pow- 
er, and  to  the  bloody  and  relentless  rage  of  popish  superstition, 
lie  Loved  not  his  life  unto  the  death  *.  And  in  this  view  his 
death  was  martyrdom,  and  has,  I  doubt  not,  received  tlie  ap- 
plauses and  rewards  of  it :  For  what  is  martyrdom,  but  volun- 
taril}'  to  meet  death,  for  the  honour  of  God,  and  the  testimony 
of  a  good  c:onscionce  ? 

And  if  it  be  indeed  true,  as  it  is  reported  on  very  consider- 
able authority,  that  before  he  expired,  he  had  an  interview  with 
the  leader  of  tlie  opposite  party,  and  declared  in  his  presence 
*'  the  full  assurance  he  had  of  an  immortal  crown,  which  he  was 
going  to  receive,"  it  is  a  circumstance  w  orthy  of  being  had  in 
everlasting  remembrance  :  As  in  that  case  providence  may  seem 
■wonderfully  to  have  united  two  seemingly  inconsistent  circum- 
stances, in  the  manner  of  his  dying  ;  the  alternative  of  cither 
of  which  he  has  spoken  of  in  my  hearing,  as  what  with  humble 
submission  to  the  great  Lord  of  life  he  could  most  earnestly 
wish  :  "  That  if  he  were  not  called  directly  to  die  for  the  truth," 
which  he  rightly  judged  the  most  glorious  and  happy  lot  of  nior- 

♦  Rev.  xii.  11. 

VOL.  III.  Z  a 


366  ON  THE  DEATH  OF  COLONEL  GARDINER.  SeR.  IV. 

tality,  "  he  might  either  fall  in  the  field  of  battle,  fighting  in 
defence  of  the  religion  and  liberties  of  his  country  ;  or  might 
have  an  opportunity  of  expressing  his  hopes  and  joys,  as  a  chris- 
tian, to  the  honour  of  his  Lord,  and  the  edification  of  those  about 
him,  in  his  departing  moments  ;  and  so  might  go  off  this  earthly 
stage,"  as  in  the  letter  that  relates  his  death,  it  is  expressly 
said  that  he  did,  triumphing  in  the  assurance  of  a  blessed 
immortality." 

How  difficult  it  must  be  in  our  present  circumstances,  to 
gain  certain  and  exact  information,  you  will  easily  perceive  : 
But  enough  is  known, 'and  more  than  enough,  to  shew  how 
justly  the  high  consolations  of  that  glorious  subject,  which  we 
have  been  contemplating,  may  be  applied  to  the  present  so- 
lemn occasion.  From  what  is  certain  with  relation  to  him, 
we  may  presume  to  say,  that  after  he  had  adorned  the  gospel 
by  so  honourable  a  life,  in  such  a  conspicuous  station,  God 
seems  to  have  condescended,  as  with  his  own  hand,  to  raise 
him  an  illustrious  theatre,  on  which  he  might  die  a  venerable 
and  amiable  SpectaeU  to  the  world,  and  to  angels,  and  to  men  *  ; 
balancing  to  his  native  land  by  such  an  exit,  'the  loss  of  what 
future  services  it  could  have  expected,  from  a  constitution  so 
much  broken  as  his  was,  by  the  fatigues  of  his  campaign  in 
Flanders,  where  by  his  indefatigable  services  in  a  very  ex- 
treme season  he  contracted  an  illness,  from  which  he  never 
recovered. 

On  the  whole  therefore,  whatever  cause  we  have,  as  indeed 
we  have  great  cause,  to  S3-mpathize  with  his  wounded  family,  and 
with  his  wounded  country  ;  and  ho^v  decent  soever  it  may  be, 
like  David,  to  take  up  our  lamentation  over  The  mighty  fallen, 
and  the  brightest  weapons  of  our  war  perished  f  ;  and  oh,  how  na- 
turally might  some  of  us  adopt  the  preceding  Avords  too  !  Yet 
alter  all,  let  us  endeavour  to  summon  up  a  spirit,  like  that  with 
which  he  bore  the  loss  of  friends,  eminent  for  their  goodness 
and  usefulness.  And  while  TV e  glorify  God  in  himX,  as  on  so 
many  accounts  we  have  reason  to  do,  let  us  be  animated  by 
such  an  example  to  a  resolution  of  continuing  hke  him,  stedfast 
in  our  duty,  amidst  desertion  and  danger,  and  all  the  terrors 
that  can  beset  us  around.  As  he,  having  been  so  eminently 
faithful  unto  death,  has  undoubtedly  received  a  crown  of  life, 
Avhich  shines  with  distinguished  lustre,  amonc:  those  Who  ore 
C07ne  out  of  much  tribulation  §  ;  let  us  be  courageous  Followers 
of  him,  and  of  all  the  glorious  company  of  those,  who  throvgk 

'^  1  Cor.  iv.  9.  f  2  Sam.  i.  27.  %  Gal.  i.  24.  §  Rev.  vii.  U. 


The  Christian  Warrior  Animated  and  Crowned.       3G7 

faith  and  patience  inherit  the  promises  *.  Then  may  we  be 
able  to  enter  into  the  comfort  and  spirit  of  them  all,  and  of  this 
promise  in  particular  ;  and  shall  not  be  disconra<;cd,  though 
we  are  called  to  i:,^/i(/i^re  a  great  fight  of  aj/lictionsfy  or  even 
to  sacrifice  our  lives,  in  defence  of  our  religion  and  liberties  : 
Since  in  this  cause  we  know,  if  we  should  fall  like  him,  even 
7o  die  is gainX-  We  are  assured  upon  the  best  authority,  that 
as  he  Fought  the  good  fight  with  so  heroic  a  fortitude,  and 
finished  his  course  with  so  steady  a  tenor,  and  kept  the  faith 
with  so  unshaken  a  resolution,  there  is  laid  up  for  liim  a  crown 
o/"  brighter  glory  than  he  has  yet  received,  which  the  Lord  the 
righteous  Judge  will  give  unto  him  in  that  great  expected  day  : 
And  we  know,  that  it  shall  be  given,  not  unto  him  only,  nor 
only  to  those  who  have  had  an  opportunity  of  distinguishing 
themselves  by  the  most  heroic  services  or  sufferings  in  the  cause 
of  their  divine  leader,  but  ujito  all  them  that  love  his  appear' 
ance  §.     Amen. 

»Heb.  vi.  12.  tHeb.x.32.  J  Phil.  i.  21.  §  2  Tim.  iv.  7, 8. 


Z  Z2 


A  HYMN 

SUNG  AFTER  THE  SERMON. 


I. 

Hark  !  'Tis  our  heav'niy  Leader's  voice 

I'rom  his  triumphant  seat: 
'Midst  all  the  war's  tumultuous  noise. 

How  pow'rful,  and  how  sweet! 

ir. 

"  Fight  on,  my  faithful  band,"  he  cries, 

"  Nor  fear  the  mortal  blow ; 
"  Who  first  in  such  a  warfare  dies, 

"  Shall  speediest  victory  know. 

III. 

"  I  have  my  days  of  combat  known, 

"  And  in  the  dust  was  laid : 
*'  But  thence  I  mounted  to  my  throne, 

**  And  glory  crowns  my  head. 

IV. 

**  That  throne,  that  glory,  you  shall  share; 

"  My  hands  the  crown  shall  give: 
*'  And  you  the  sparkling  honours  wear, 

«  While  God  himself  shall  live." 

V. 

Lord,  'tis  enough !  Our  bosoms  glow 

With  courage,  and  with  love : 
Thme  hand  shall  bear  thy  soldieris  thro*. 

And  raise  their  heads  above. 

VL 

My  soul,  while  deaths  beset  me  round. 

Erects  her  ardent  eyes ; 
And  longs,  thro'  some  illustrious  wound. 

To  rush  and  seize  the  prize. 


Future  Revelations  of  Mysterious  Providences.        369 


SERMON  V, 


CHRIST'S 

MYSTERIOUS  CONDUCT  TO  BE  UNFOLDED  HEREAFTER: 

/4  Funeral  Sainon  occasioned  by  the  Death  of  the  Per.  Mr.  Janice  Shepherd 
xiho  died  May  19,  1T4G,  A:.lut.  22.     Preached  at  Aortha/njjlun,  Maij  '2j. 


John  xiii.  7. If'hat  I  do,  thou  knouest  not  noiv,  but  thou  shalt  knozo 

hereafter. 

\j)\JR  Lord  Jesus  Christ  has  in  all  ages  taken  care  to  exercise 
the  faith,  the  patience,  and  submission  of  his  people :  And  he  has 
done  it,  -while  carrying  on  the  kindest  designs  towards  them, 
and  Avhile  he  has  been  acting  in  the  strictest  prosecution  of  those 
designs.  He  was  now  engaged  in  a  work  of  astonishing  con- 
descension and  goodness :  The  disciples  saw  it  with  amazement, 
that  he,  the  Son  of  God,  and  the  heir  of  all  things,  the  promised 
Messiah,  the  King  of  God's  church,  should  condescend  to  wash 
their  feet.  Peter  could  not  bear  the  thoughts  of  permitting  it: 
And  that  occasioned  the  words  I  have  now  been  reading;  ia 
which  we  have  a  general  truth  delivered  by  our  Lord,  which  it  is 
profitable  for  us  frequently  to  reflect  upon,  and  the  reflection  is 
no\v  peculiarly  seasonable. 

The  words  presented  themselves  to  my  mind,  as  soon  as  I 
heard,  to  my  unspeakable  surprise,  the  melancholy  tidings  of  the 
death  of  my  dear  pupil,  and  friend  and  brother,  who  but  the, 
very  last  sacrament-day  was  with  us  at  the  table  of  the  Lord, 
and  "who  but  a  few  days  before  had  been  speaking  to  us  in  his 
name.  When  I  heard,  that  God  had  by  a  sudden  stroke,  which 
left  his  friends  in  a  mixture  of  astonishment  and  distress,  taken 
away  one  so  richly  adorned  with  gifts  and  graces,  so  well  qualifi- 
ed for  public  usefulness,  just  as  he  was  entering  upon  it,  just  as 
I)e  was  unanimously  chosen  to  preside  over  a  ntuu«;rous  and  im- 
portant congregation,  and  was  -withm  a  few  weeks  more  to  have 
gone  from  us  to  have  taken  up  his  stated  residence  among  them  j 


3-70       ON  THE  DEATH  OF  THE  REV.  J.  SHEPHERD.    SeR.  V. 

Struck  with  the  surprise,  I  say,  and  with  the  anguish  of  this  un- 
expected blow,  which  yet  it  was  natural  to  consider  as  coming 
from  the  hand  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Cln-ist,  Avho  is  the  great  So- 
vereign of  his  churcli,  and  Holds  the  keys  of  the  unseen  world 
and  of  death"^ ,  these  words  immediately  presented  themselves 
to  me:  And  therefore  I  determined  to  offer  you  some  plain  and 
serious  meditations  upon  them  ;  and  shall  accordingly  raise  three 
observations  from  them,  which  I  shall  endeavour  to  illustrate  and 
improve. 

I.  That  there  may  be  some  things  in  the  conduct  of  the 
blessed  Redeemer  towards  his  people,  which  they  may  not  at 
present  be  able  fully  to  understand. 

II.  That  nevertheless  the  time  will  come,  when  they  shall 
have  much  clearer  views  of  the  reasons  of  his  dispensations. 

III.  That  in  the  expectation  of  this,  it  is  highly  fit  they 
should  acquiesce  in  what  he  does,  how  unknown  soever  the  rea- 
sons may  at  present  be.  These  several  observations  I  shall 
briefly  speak  to,  and  then, 

IV.  Apply  all  this  to  the  present  occasion. 

I.  There  may  be  some  things  in  the  conduct  of  our  Blessed 
Redeemer  towards  his  people  now,  which  they  may  not  at  pre- 
sent be  able  fully  to  understand. — It  is  a  supposable  case, 

and  when  we  come  to  consider  the  thing,  it  is  also  evidently 
fact. 

1 .  It  is  in  the  nature  of  things  a  very  supposable  case ;  as 

will  appear,  when  we  consider, who  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ 

is, who  and  what  we  are, and  the  relation  in  which  he 

stands  to  us  as  our  Lord  and  Sovereign. 

Consider  who  he  is  ;  no  less  a  person  than  the  only  begotten 
Son  of  God,  In  whom  are  hid  all  the  treasures  of  divine  wisdom 
and  knowledge  i:  And  can  it  be  thought  wonderful,  that  the 
counsels  of  God  are  u?isearchable?  We  know,  that  his  nature  is 
so  ;  for  JVho  can  by  searching  find  out  God  ?  who  can  find  out 
the  Almighty  to  perfectionX?  And  well  may  we  conclude,  his 
schemes  must  be  so  ;  and  therefore  sa}^  with  the  apostle  Paul ; 
Oh  the  depth  of  the  riches,  both  of  the  wisdom  and  knowledge  of 
God!  How  unsearchable  are  his  judgments ,  and  his  ways  past 
finding  out^!  The  God  of  Israel,  and  the  Saviour^  is  oftentimes 
a  God  that  hideth  himself  1|.  His  way  is  in  the  sea,  and  his  path 
in  the  deep  waters^. — The  angels  themselves  cannot  trace  all 

*  Rev,  i.  18.  -J-  Col.  ii.  3.  +  Job  xi,  7.  §  Rom.  xi.  33. 

Jl  Isa,  xlv.  15.  ^  Psal.  lxx^■ii.  19. 


Ftdurc  Revelations  vf  Mysterious  rrovidenccs,         371 

his  footsteps,  and  how  much  less  can  we  poor  trail  mortals,  so 
ohcn  perplexed  in  our  own  counsels,  soofti-n  brought  as  it  were 
to  our  wifs  endy  with  dirticulties  and  entanglements,  that  arise 
from  the  management  of  our  own  little  affairs,  in  this  narrovr 
and  contracted  cir<de  !  Can  we  expect  then  to  fathom  his  depths? 
to  comj^rehcnd  his  schemes?  to  form  a  perfect  judgment  of  his 
royal,  his  imperial  plan  ? — How  little  a  portion  is  it,  that  is  knozvn 
of  him*,  who  is  the  king  of  all  the  world,  and  Head  over  all 
things  to  the  church  f?  God  has  subjected  to  him  all  things  vi- 
sible and  invisible ,  nor  are  we  capable  of  discerning  how  one 
Avhcel  touches  another  in  this  complex  scheme;  how  the  con- 
cerns of  one  province  of  his  kingdom  may  be  interwoven,  as  it 
uere,  with  those  of  another  ;  or  what  curious  Mheels  mav  be 
ivithin  other  wheels,  and  give  them  a  motion  which  we  know  not 
of,  and  which  it  would  be  very  unfit  we  s'hould  know.  It  is  a 
labyrinth  intricate  in  proportion  to  the  art  and  design  with  which 
it  is  wrought  up.  We  n)ay  in  reason  then  expect  it,  should  be 
thus.     And  again, 

2.  It  is  also  what  wc  see  in  fact  to  be  so.  We  know  not  in 
numberless  instances  what  our  Lord  intends:  We  know  not  what 
the  event  will  be.  And  we  do  in  fact  see,  that  though  all  things 
are  under  the  government  of  Christ,  yeX  many  things  happen, 
which  we  should  have  imaijined  his  kindness  and  tenderness  to 
his  pcoi)le  would  have  prevented,  as  we  are  sure  that  his  power 
could  do  it. 

We  ofien  see  his  dearest  children  afflicted ;  we  see  the  most 
holy,  humble,  watchful,  spiritual  souls  often  drooping  and  de- 
jected ;  when  yet  Ave  know,  that  he  could  in  a  moment  pour  in 
the  oil  of  gladness  to  heal  tiieir  wounds,  and  cause  their  faces  to 
shine  and  their  hearts  to  overflow  with  a  divine  joy. 

We  see  generous  and  public  spirited  christians,  who  could 
delight  with  a  liberal  hand  to  relieve  his  poor  members,  them- 
selves poor,  themselves  perhaps,  after  many  a  worthy  service  re- 
duced to  need  that  assistance  from  others,  which  they  have  once 
so  readily  imparted  ;  though  we  know,  that  all  riches  are  in  the 
hand  of  Christ,  that  all  events  and  all  hearts  are  under  his  in- 
fluence. 

We  see  most  useful  and  excellent  persons  removed  and  taken 
©flP,  many  of  them  in  the  prime  of  life,  some  in  the  midst  of  their 
usefulness,  and  some  in  the  very  beginnings  of  it ;  and  these,  not 
only  persons.amiable  and  exemplary  in  private  life,  but  of  pub- 
lic character,  adorned  by  the  hand  of  Christ  himself  with  much 

*Jobxxvi.  14.  f  Eph.  i.  12. 


372       ON  THE  DEATH  OF  THE  REV.  J.  SHEPHERD.    SeR.  V. 

of  his  own  image,  and  with  that  rich  furniture,  which  qualifies 
them  for  being,  as  we  should  imagine,  most  proper  instruments 
to  bring  in  souls  to  himself,  and  greatly  to  build  up  his  languish- 
ing church  and  interest.  We  see  some  of  them  perhaps  cut  off 
before  they  have  made  any  public  appearance  at  all ;  and  others, 
when  they  have  just  began  to  speak  in  the  name  of  the  Lord  : 
And  Avith  regard  to  others.  He  weakens  their  strength  in  the 
viidst  of  the  way  *;  diseases  arrest  them,  and  make  them  pri- 
soners ;  and  threaten,  perhaps,  in  a  little  while  longer  to  bring 
them  doAvn  to  the  dust  with  their  departed  brethren:  Yet  we 
know,  Jesus  is  the  universal  Lord^  to  whom  belong  the  issues  from 
death  f ;  that  he  knows  all  the  secret  springs  of  life,  and  all  the 
secret  sources  of  disease,  and  could  easily  by  one  powerful  word 
remove  the  causes  of  the  complaint,  or  direct  to  means  most 
efficacious  for  recovery. 

We  see  churches  made  desolate  by  the  enemy,  whom  we 
know  he  could  restrain  ;  we  see  them  polluted  with  scandals, 
which  we  know  he  could  prevent;  we  see  their  numbers  dimi- 
nished, though  Ave  know  that  he  could  easily  Send  out  his  spirit, 
and  renew  the  face  of  themX,  and  cause  many  to  enter  for  one 
that  he  removes  :  Yea,  we  see  among  those  whom  we  must  hope 
to  be  his  little  fock,  many  divisions,  many  errors,  many  impru- 
dences and  follies,  that  alienate  the  hearts  of  christians  one  from 
another,  and  bring  religion  into  disgrace,  though  Christ  could 
easily  let  in  beams  of  light  which  should  guide  into  truth,  beams 
of  love  which  should  sweetly  unite  and  cement  multitudes,  so 
that  they  should  sensibly  be  one  in  him. — So  mysterious  is  his 
conduct,  and  so  different  the  face  of  his  poor  church,  as  well  as 
the  state  of  many  of  its  members,  from  what  we  should  expect  it 
to  have  been  under  the  government  of  such  an  Head.  What  he 
does,  we  know  not  now.     But  then  it  was  observed, 

II.  That  nevertheless  the  time  will  come,  when  we  shall 

have  much  clearer  views  of  the  reasons  of  his  dispensations ^ 

Thuu  shalt  know  hereafter.     And  to  illustrate  this  I  would  ob- 
serve,  that  sometimes  these  rea,sons  open,  even  while  we 

continue  in  this  world ; but  we  may  expect  to  know  it  in 

many  other  instances,  when  the  present  scenes  are  closed,  and 
we  enter  on  that  which  is  within  the  veil. 

1,  Sometimes  the  reasons  of  Christ's  mysterious  dispensa- 
tions open  upon  us,  even  while  we  are  here  in  thisAvorld. 

So  in  this  instance  that  the  text  refers  to,  it  was  but  a  few 
minutes,  and  our  Lord  laid  aside  the  towel  with  which  he  was 

*  PsaJ.  cii,  23,  f  Psal,  Ixviii,  20.  %  Ps^l.  civ.  30, 


Future  Revelations  of  Mysterious  Providences.         373 

girded,  and  sat  down  and  told  them,  why  He  had  washed  their 
feet ;  that  it  was  to  teach  them  to  wash  one  another^ s feet* ;  that 
is,  to  promote  their  humility,  and  their  readiness  to  serve  one 
another  in  love,  even  in  the  most  condescendincj  offices  they 
might  have  an  opportunity  of  pcrforminfr.  And  thus  in  many 
other  instances,  though  the  great  end  of  Christ's  dispensations 
be  in  regard  to  the  eternal  world,  yet  there  are  subordinate  ends 
which  may  be  answered  here  ;  and  wiien  we  come  to  find  they 
are  answered,  we  may  learn  the  design  of  providence  in  these 
means  which  we  did  not  before  imderstand.  As  when  the  dis- 
ciples saw  the  honourable  manner  in  which  Christ  dismissed  the 
poor  Canaanitish  woman  at  lastf,  they  saw  the  reasons  why  he 
seemed  to  neglect  her  so  long ;  it  was,  that  her  faith  might  be 
displayed  by  the  trial,  that  they  miglit  see  she  was  a  more  ex- 
cellent woman  than  they  could  otherwise  have  imagined  ;  and 
that  the  mercy  might  be  sweeter  to  her  in  proportion  to  the 
delay. 

And  do  I  not  now  speak  to  the  experience  of  some  that  hear 
me  ? Cannot  many  of  you  reflect  with  me  upon  strange  dis- 
pensations of  providence,  which  have  at  length  produced  the 
happiest  effects?  It  is  a  known  story  of  a  person,  who  having 
lost  all  his  wealth,  was  led  to  apply  himself  to  philosophy,  and 
in  consequence  of  that,  attained  such  a  government  of  himself, 
such  wisdom,  and  such  reputation,  as  made  him  abundantly 
happier  than  he  ever  had  been  ;  so  as  to  make  him  say,  "  I  had 
been  undone,  if  I  had  not  been  undone."  And  thus  perhaps 
one  and  another  of  us  may  say,  *'  The  Lord  took  away  my 
parents  when  I  was  young,  and  I  thought  I  had  lost  my  only 
friends:  But  he  raised  up  those  for  me,  who  did  more  and  bet- 
ter for  me  than  my  parents  could  have  done,  and  shewed  his 
special  love  and  care  in  Taking  me  up  when  my  father  and  my 
viother  forsook  mc  t." 

Another  may  say,  "  In  younger  life  he  exercised  me  with 
many  disappointments,  he  stripped  me  of  many  of  my  comforts, 
and  withered  many  of  my  hopes:  But  I  found  It  good  to  bear 
the  yoke  in  my  youlh\:  And  bv  unthought  of  turns,  it  may  be, 
in  relative  life  he  has  done  much  better  for  me,  than  with  my 
fond  passions  I  should  have  done  for  myself." 

*'  He  has  been  pleased,"  may  a  tliird  say,  "  to  take  away 
my  dear  children,  perhaps  several  of  them  successively,  and 
those  of  them  that  were  peculiarly  the  delight  of  my  eyes:  But 

*  Johu  xiii.  U.  f  Mat.  XK.  2S-         +  Psal.  xxvij.  10.         §  Lam.  iii.  27. 

VOL,  III.  3  A 


574  ON  THE  DEATH  OF  THE  REV.  J.  SHEPHERD.        SeR.  V. 

he  has  drawn  mv  heart  more  powerfully  to  himself  by  it,  and  he 
is  better  to  me  than  ten  children." 

*'  Pie  has  blasted  the  work  of  my  hands,"  may  another  say, 
"  I  have  insensibly  lost,  perhaps  what  I  painfully  got ;  or  1  have 
been  stripped  of  some  considerable  part  of  my  possessions  at 
once:  But  my  poverty  has  enriched  me;  1  have  learned  the 
vanity  of  the  world  more,  and  have  been  more  fiilly  convinced 
that  it  cannot  be  my  happiness." 

*'  My  constitution  has  been  much  impaired,"  may  another 
say,  *'  I  have  passed  solitary  sabbaths,  I  have  known  a  great 
deal  of  pain  and  languishing:  But  it  has  taught  me  to  submit  to 
my  father's  will ;  it  has  directed  my  eyes  to  that  world,  where 
The  inhabitants  shall  not  say,  I  am  sick  *,  and  where  I  shall  be 
fixed  as  a  Pillar  in  the  temple  of  my  Godf.'" 

"  I  would  not  have  been  without  afflictions,"  may  they  all 
say;  *'  nor  without  this  and  that  particular  affliction,"  may  each 
perhaps  reply,  ^'  upon  any  terms.  I  know,  O  Lord,  that  thj/ 
judgments  are  right,  and  that  thou  in  faithfulness  has  ajjlicted 
meX:  Thou  hast  Humbled  vie,  thou  hast  taught  me  to  know  what 
was  in  my  heart  §;  and  I  know  by  my  afflictions,  more  than 
prosperity  might  have  taught  me,  of  the  love  that  is  in  thine 
heart  to  me."     But  then, 

2.  We  may  expect  to  know  the  reasons  of  Christ's  dispen- 
sations in  many  other  instances,  when  we  shall  come  into  the 
future  world.  In  thy  light  shall  we  see  light^:  And  I  doubt 
not,  but  in  the  heavenly  state  many  circumstances  will  concur  to 
give  us  a  much  better  acquaintance  with  the  methods  of  the  di- 
vine dealings,  than  it  is  possible  for  us  to  attain  upon  earth : — 
Our  eye  will  be  strengthened  ; our  prospect  Avill  be  extend- 
ed ; our  company  will  be  improved  ; and  our  Lord  may 

perhaps  give  us  plainer  lessons  by  immediate  discovery  from 
himself. 

In  heaven,  the  eye  of  the  soul  will  be  strengthened,  and  our 
faculties  raised  to  unutterable  degrees.'  All  indolence  will  be 
done  away,  and  we  shall  be  awakened  into  everlasting  attention. 
AH  prejudices  will  be  quite  removed ;  and  we  shall  be  willing  to 
admit  truth  in  all  its  lustre,  and  to  follow  it  wherever  it  may 
lead  us. 

Our  prospect  there  will  be  enlarged,  and  we  shall  have 
much  more  extensive  views  of  things :  For  we  shall  see  the  con- 
duct of  Christ,  in  its  influence  upon  scenes,  that  lie  at  present 

*  Lsa.  xxxiii.  24.        f  Rev.  iii.  12.        %  Psal.  cxix.  75.        §  Dent.  viii.  2. 
II  Psal.  xsxvi,  9. 


Future  Revelations  of  Mysterious  Providences.        37.^ 

unite  out  of  our  siglit.  Wc  sec  Christ's  adniii)istr;itioiis  now,  as 
tliey  regard  this  earth  alone ;  but  then  we  shall  see  them,  as  they 
regard  heaven.  We  may  then  ])erha|)s  see,  that  there  was  .1 
certain  post  of  service  to  be  tilled  above,  Avliicii  reciuiri^d  just 
such  a  one  as  divine  grace  had  n)ade  this  or  that  young  person, 
who  might  indeed  have  been  very  fit  to  have  served  the  clmrch 
below,  but  for  whom  God  meant  much  higher  and  better  things. 

Our  companions  in  glory  may  also  verv  probai)lv  assist  us 
l)y  tlieir  wise  and  good  observations,  when  we  come  to  make 
the  providence  of  God  here  upon  earth,  under  the  guidance  and 
direction  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  the  subject  of  our  mutual 
converse. 

And  it  is  impossible  for  us  to  say,  how  immediately  the 
Lord  Jesus  Christ  may  liimsclf  interpose  in  giving  us  plainer 
lessons,  and  clearing  up  his  conduct  to  us.  By  direct  and  imme- 
diate revelation  he  may  communicate  to  us  what  bis  schemes 
were,  and  shew  us  how  they  were  going  on  in  a  direct  liarmoni- 
ous  manner,  as  the  planets  in  the  visible  heavens,  when  they 
seem  to  us  to  stand  still,  or  to  go  backwards.  In  the  mean  time, 
let  me  observe, 

IlL  That  it  is  highly  fit  we  should  acquiesce  in  wliat  Christ 
does,  how  unknown  soever  the  reasons  of  it  may  be  to  us.    And 

that,  upon  these  iwo  plain  and  certain  principles, that  we 

know,  that  in  all  he  does  his  ends  are  graciously  directed, 

and  that  his  means  arc  wisely  chosen. 

1.  Wc  know,  that  his  ends  are  graciously  directed. 

Wc  know,  that  he  intends  in  all  he  does,  the  honour  of  God, 
and  the  good  of  all  his  people.  Can  we  make  any  doubt  of  this? 
One  would  think,  we  really  did  :  And  yet  we  know,  that  he  has 
given  them  the  most  gracious  promises,  even  of  a  glorious  re- 
surrection, and  of  a  blessed  immortality  ;  and  that  he  has  loved 
them  so  well,  that  he  has  died  for  them,  has  shed  his  own  ])recious 
and  invaluable  blood  for  their  redemption  and  salvation.  And 
can  we,  after  this,  allow  ourselves  to  suspect  him  ?  Can  we  doubt, 
that  he  intends  to  make  his  people  for  ever  happy  ?  And  intend- 
ing this,  can  lie  fail  to  effect  it  in  the  properest  manner  ? 

Surely  I  may  add, 

2.  ^V'e  know,  that  his  means  are  wisely  chosen. 

Can  we  have  any  room  to  question  this?  Is  lie  not  the  incar- 
nate wi'dom  of  God  ?  And  can  you  entertain  any  suspicion  of 
him  ?  If  you  trust  not  fauh  alone,  trust  sense.  Look  up  to  the 
heavens  ;'  look  down  to  the  earth :  Behold,  how  wisely  all  is  or- 
dered, in  the  growth  of  such  a  variety  of  plants,  in  the  provision 

3  A  2 


376  ON  THE  DEATH  OF  THE  REV.  J.  SHEPHERD,        SeR.  V. 

that  is  made  for  such  a  multitude  of  animals  of  various  kinds,  in 
the  subserviency  of  all  to  the  subsistence  and  delight  of  human 
life;  and  then  say,  Does  this  look  like  any  deficiency  in  wis- 
dom ?  And  are  not  these  things  the  work  of  Christ  ?  Did  he 
not  lay  the  plan,  and  execute  it?  Were  not  All  things  created 
by  him,  whether  visible  or  invisible*?  And  will  you  still  doubt, 
whether  he  who  made,  and  who  governs  and  preserves  all  things, 
is  wise  enough  to  conduct  your  affairs,  or  not?  Methinks  our 
Lord  mayjustly  expostulate  with  the  suspicious,  M'ith  the  com- 
plaining christian,  "  Oh  thou  of  little  faith,  wherefore  dost  thou, 
doubt  f?  Whom  wilt  thou  trust,  if  thou  trustest  not  me?  Wilt 
thou  trust  thine  own  wisdom  ?  alas  !  how  often  has  it  deceived 
thee!  Wilt  thou  trust  thy  self  love  ?  alas!  how  utterly  has  it 
undone  thee!  Can  my  Father  trust  me  with  all  the  infinite  con- 
cerns of  his  glory  and  kingdom ;  and  canst  thon  not  trust  me 
w'ith  thy  little  all?  Did  I  die  for  thee!  did  I  pour  out  my  blood 
for  the  redemption  of  thy  immortal  soul!  and  canst  thou 
imagine,  I  will  not  take  care  of  it  ?  And  if  I  do,  will  it  not  be 
safe?  Or  if  thou  canst  confide  in  me,  that  I  will  take  care  of  thy 
soul,  and  make  it  both  safe  and  happy,  canst  thou  not  trust 
thine  estate  with  me,  thy  health,  thy  reputation,  thy  usefulness, 
thy  children,  thy  friends?  Are  these  things  more  than  that  soul, 
which  I  have  so  dearly  purchased,  which  I  have  so  tenderly  re- 
ceived, which  I  have  so  constantly  watched  over,  and  in  which 
I  have  already  made  such  a  change  for  the  better,  that  if  thou 
■wouldst  be  just  to  thyself  and  me,  thou  needest  but  to  look  up- 
on it,  and  mightest  find  an  argument  from  what  it  is,  in  com- 
parison of  what  it  once  was,  to  trust  me  for  every  thing  else?" 

"  Lord,"  should  each  of  us  by  this  time,  say,  "  It  is  enough! 
It  is  more  than  enough !  I  am  ashamed  of  my  weakness  and 
folly.  Behold,  here  I  am,  do  with  me  as  thou  wilt!  Dispose  of 
me,  and  my  concerns,  just  according  to  thine  own  pleasure  !  I 
will  not  object  one  word,  I  will  not  indulge  one  thought  of  sus- 
picion :  I  will  say,  It  is  the  Lord,  let  him  do  what  scemeth  him 
goodX.  I  will  keep  mine  eye  upon  thine  hand ;  I  will  sometimes 
look  back  to  thy  cross,  and  sometimes  look  up  to  thy  throne ; 
and  I  will  not  only  be  contented,  but  thankful.  Yea,  Lord,  I 
will  see  what  I  can  do,  towards  obeying  in  the  midst  of  all  my 
troubles  that  great  command  of  thine,  which,  great  as  it  is,  was 
a  command  fit  for  such  a  Redeemer  to  give.  Rejoice  evermore^: 
Mejoice  in  the  Lord  always ;  and  again  I  say  rejoice  ||." — And 
now,  after  what  has  been  said,  I  would  conclude, 

*Col.i.  16.     fMat.  xiv.  31.      J  1  Sam.  iii.  18.      §  1  Thess.v.  16.      j|Pbil.Jv.  4. 


Future  Revelations  of  Mysterious  Providences.        377 

IV.  With  applying  all  this  to  the  present  occasion,  by  hint- 
ing at  some  ends,  which  we  may  suppose  our  Lord  to  have  liad 
in  view  in  this  solemn  transaction  ol  his  providence,  which 
occasioned  the  discourse  I  have  now  been  delivering. 

Let  us  lay  down  this  as  the  foundation,  that  it  is  the  hand 
of  Christ  ;  that  he  has  turned  the  key  ;  that  he  has  taken  away 
liis  young  servant,  whom  he  raised  up  here,  whom  he  called  so 
early  by  his  grace,  whom  he  taught  to  pray  when  he  was  but  a 
child  ;  and  to  pray  in  such  a  manner,  that  I  will  take  the  liberty 
publicly  to  tell  you,  "  that  the  account  I  had  of  a  prayer  of 
his,  overheard  when  he  little  thought  it  by  a  dear  friend,  al- 
most seventeen  years  ago,  that  is,  when  he  was  but  about  five 
years  old,  had  its  influence  in  engaging  me  to  come  and  settle 
in  this  place."     It  was  from  Christ  that  he  received  that  steadi- 
ness, that  tenderness,  that  ripe  experience  in  the  things  of  God, 
which  made  his  private  and  his  public  labours  so  remarkably 
agreeable  to  the  most  judicious  christians  of  this  society,  and  of 
other  societies.     It  was  the  grace  of  Christ,  which  bore  him  un- 
hurt through  so  many  temptations,  by   wliich  others  have  been 
ensnared  and  dishonoured,  their  characters  sunk,  and  their  use- 
fulness diminished,  if  not  destroyed.     And  let  us  not  imagine, 
that  the  messenger  of  death  came  to  him  without  a  commission 
from  the  great  Lord  of  life.     Let  us  not  imagine,  that  his  spirit 
was  called  out  of  time  into  eternity  Avithout  the  voice  of  a  Re- 
deemer, or  that  the  important  doors  of  the  invisible  world  were 
opened  without  his  hand.     Christ  has  taken  him  awa}- :   And  he 
had  no  doubt  his  reasons  for  it :   Reasons,  many  of  them  perhaps 
unsearchable  to  us,  yet  we  may  conjecture  as  to  some  of  them  : 
And  it  may  be  profitable  for  a  few  remaining  minutes  to  dwell 
upon   the  view  ;   the  rather,  as  so  many  breaches   have  been 
made,  so  many  of  this  kind  too,  which  have  fallen  under  the 
notice  of  many  of  us.     Particularly, 

1.   Our  Lord  by  such  a  providence  might  intend  to  teach 
us,  how  little  he  needs  any  of  our  services. 

Our  dear  departed  friend  seemed  indeed  a  Vessel  of  honour 
fitted  for  his  master^  s  use* ;  but  he  is  broken  in  pieces^  and  we 
are  ready  to  say  with  tlie  afflicted  church  of  old,  The  precious 
sons  of  Ziony  comparable  to  fine  gold,  how  arc  they  esteemed  as 
earthen  pitchers,  the  work  of  the  hands  of  the  potter  \  !  But 
herein  our  great  Lord  displays  his  royaltv  :  He  can  form  the 
most  promising  instruments  of  service  ;  and  can  lay  them  aside, 
and  carry  on  his  cause   without  them.     Let  not  then  any  of 

*2Tim.  ii,21.  +  Lam.  iv.  2. 


»J78     ON  THE  DEATH  OK  THE  REV.  J.  SHEPHERD.    SeR.  V. 

US  imagine  ourselves,  or  each  other,  to  be  necessary  to  him. 
He  nill,  if  he  pleases,  do  us  the  honour  to  use  us  :  If  not,  he 
will  immediately  lay  us  by  in  the  grave.  We,  and  those  who 
esteem  us  most,  and  who  love  us  best,  should  su'_  in't,  and  say, 
Behold,  as  the  clay  is  in  the  hand  of  the  potter,  so  are  we  in  the 
hand  of  the  Lord  our  God-'-.  And  it  is  fit  it  should  be  so  ;  for 
we  are  weak  as  clav,  and  at  the  same  time  also  are  of  as  little 
value,  and  even  less  than  the  dust  of  the  earth  when  compared 
with  him.     Again, 

2.  It  may  be  the  design  of  our  Lord  by  such  a  providence 
as  this,  to  teach  us  to  cease  from  man. 

We  are  instructed  by  it,  not  to  depend  too  much  upon  any 
of  our  survivinnr  brethren  and  friends  :  For  it  is  the  lanwuao;e  of 

o  or? 

this  providence.  Cease  ye  from  man,  whose  breath  is  in  his 
7iostrih;  for  wherein  is  he  to  be  accounted  off  ?  God  changes 
our  countenance,  and  sends  us  aivay  %•  l^i^t  a  few  months  ago, 
who  was  more  likely  to  have  continued  than  dear  Mr.  Shepherd ! 
Eiit  God  sent  a  mortal  distemper  upon  him  in  the  night,  and  his 
friends  in  the  morning  found  him  senseless  ;  and  he  spoke  no 
more,  and  hardly  moved  any  more,  till  he  died.  Such  is  every 
man  in  his  best  estate  !  Thus  may  we  fall,  and  those  on  Avhom 
we  most  depend.  Lord,  what  do  we  then  waitjor  ?  with  regard 
to  ourselves,  with  regard  to  thy  church,  our  hope  is  in  thee^. 
Further, 

3.  Our  Lord  might  thus  intend  in  a  peculiar  manner  to  exer- 
cise our  submission  and  resignation  to  his  wise  and  gracious  will. 

We  should  look  upon  the  death  of  every  friend  in  this  view, 
as  a  call  to  us  to  acknowledge  his  sovereignty  over  life  and 
death.  Behold,  he  taketh  away,  and  who  can  hinder  him  9 
Or  who  shall  say  unto  him.  What  doest  thou  \\  ?  And  the  more 
touching  the  case  is,  the  deeiJttr  ought  our  submission  to  be  ; 
because  the  greater  is  that  natural  tendency  which  we  arc  ready 
to  feel  in  our  minds,  to  rise  against  and  to  dispute  his  determi- 
nations. Particularly,  when  God  takes  a'.vay  from  aged  chris- 
tians a  young  friend  who  has  been  the  delight  of  their  eyes, 
whom  they  have  tenderly  nursed  u[)  from  his  infancy,  just  when 
the}'  most  needed  his  assistance,  and  he  was  most  capable  of  giv- 
ing it,  as  well  as  strongly  inclined  and  determined  to  do  it  :  When 
God  takes  away,  not  only  a  young  minister,  of  eminent  and  dis- 
tinguished abilities,  but  one  who  even  from  his  childhood  had 
been  bred  up  amongst  us ;  one,  who  had  constantl}'  attended 

*  Jer.  xviii.  6.  \-  Isa.  ii.  21.  +  Job  xiv.  20,  §  Fsal.  xxxix.  7. 

(I  Job  Iv.  1.'. 


Future  Revelations  of  Mysterious  Providences.         379 

with  us  every  sabbath-day  on  public  worship,  witli  that  endear- 
ment of  mutual  respect  and  affectioti  on  his  part  and  ours, 
uhicli  must  be  the  result  of  so  mtiniute  a  relation  ;  one,  of  whom 
we  hav(;  so  particularly  thoufrht  when  we  have  been  acknow- 
Icdn^inp^  the  divine  goodness  in  Raising  up  of  our  sons  for  pro- 
phets, and  of  our  young  nien  for  Nazarites-''-  ;  it  is  then  particu- 
larly seasonable,  that  we  should  struji-glc  witli  our  own  hearts 
to  say,  Thij  will  he  done  I  Once  more, 

4.  It  may  be  the  design  of  such  a  providence  as  this,  to 
quicken  ns  all  in  onr  work,  and  especiallv  his  surviving  brethren. 

Had  it  been  tlie  death  of  a  stranger  in  such  circumstances, 
it  might  have  quickened  its  :  To  see  a  young  person  taken  thus 
away  ;  going  to  bed  at  night  tolerably  well,  for  that  was  the 
case,  though  with  some  complaint,  yet  in  no  such  inuuediate 
danger  as  should  give  any  pecidiar  alarm,  and  then  found  in  his 
bed  the  next  morning  speechless  and  seriseless,  and  continuing 
without  perception,  and  in  a  great  mcasm-e  without  motion,  till 
he  expired.  I  repeat  these  circumstances  again,  that  young  in- 
attctitive  minds  ma}'  be  struck  with  them. But  it  is  particu- 
larly striking,  when  we  consider  it  is  one,  whom  we  so  inti- 
mately knew  ;  one,  with  whom  so  manv  of  us  have  been  con- 
versing and  praying  almost  every  day  for  many  years,  as  well  as 
worshipping  every  sabbath,  and  communicating  every  sacra- 
ment-day. May  we  all  hear  that  voice,  which  cries.  Be  ye  also 
ready  f  /  Especially,  may  we  attend  to  it,  who  are  fornung  for, 
or  engaged  in  the  ministerial  work  ! 

Mv  dear  brethren,  and  much  beloved  charge,  suffer  the 
•word  of  exhortation.  You  knew  this  amiable  and  excellent 
youth  in  a  most  intimate  manner :   Let  me  briefly  recommend 

to  you  the  many  things,  which  you  saw  exemplary  in  him  : 

His  constancy  and  reverence  in  attending  divine  worshij),  both 

in  public   and  private  ; His  diligence   in   business  ; His 

steadiness  and  regularity  in  conduct  ; His  prudent  and  ho- 
nourable care  to  avoid  silly  and  extravagant  expenccs  ; His 

solicitude  to  take  every  opportunity  of  improving  in  cvcr^'^ 
branch  of  learning,  that  was  taught  where  he  attended  ;  espe- 
cially what  related  most  directly  to  his  sacred  profession  ; 

His  unwearied  apjilication  to  the  study  of  the  scripture,  and 
continued  watchfulness  for  every  opportunity  of  improving  it ; 

And  above  all,   his  zeal  for  the  glory   of  God,   and  for  the 

gospel  of  Christ,  and  its  glorious  and  peculiarly  distinguishing 
truths.     I  heartily  wish  each  of  you,   who  are  to  appear  under 

*  Amos  ii,  11.  t  Mat.  xxiv,  4  A. 


380  ON   THE   DEATH   OF   THE   REV.  J.  SHEPHERD.        SeR.  V. 

such  a  public  character,  the  like  judgment  aftd  solidity  in  your 
compositions,  the  like  grave,  serious,  unaffected,  and  experi- 
mental strain,  the  same  solicitude  to  do  good  both  to  the  bodies 
and  souls  of  men,  which  made  his  Avork  his  pleasure.  You  see, 
how  short  his  career  of  service  here  has  been  :  Yours  may  per- 
haps be  as  short,  and  yet  shorter.  However  that  be,  I  pray 
God,  that  you  may  fulfil  it  as  worthily  as  he  did  !  And  then, 
should  I  also  see  your  early  deaths,  I  should  congratulate  rather 
than  condole  you  ;  and  esteem  such  a  speedy  removal,  as  a  pe- 
culiar token  of  your  Lord's  favour  to  you,  however,  I  might  la- 
ment it  as  an  awful  stroke  on  those  of  us  Avho  should  survive. 

I  trust,  that  his  dear  aged  relatives  have  that  better  world 
in  too  near  a  prospect  to  stand  in  need  of  much  condolence. 
May  God  sanctify  every  dark  dispensation  of  his  providence  to 
them,  and  to  us,  and  give  us  faith  and  patience  to  Avait  that  day, 
when  the  last  veil  shall  be  taken  off,  and  the  terms  on  which  we 
shall  be  restored  to  each  other  shall  leave  us  no  room  to  mourn, 
that  we  have  been  for  a  while  separated,  with  whatever  circum- 
stances of  surprise  and  distress  that  separation  may  have  been 
attended !     Amen. 


i 


HYMN 

ON  THE  OCCASION. 


I. 

J  RSUS,  wp  own  thy  Sov'reign  hand  : 

Thy  faithful  care  we  own  : 
"SVisciorn  and  love  are  all  thy  ways. 

When  most  to  us  unknown. 

II. 
By  thee  the  springs  of  life  were  forni'd. 

And  by  thy  ineuth  are  broke; 
And  good  is  every  awful  word. 

Our  gracious  Lord  has  spoke. 

III. 

To  thee  we  yield  our  comforts  up; 

To  thee  our  lives  resign  ; 
In  straits  and  dangers,  rich,  and  safe, 

If  we  and  ours  are  thine. 

IV. 

Thy  saints  in  earlier  life  remov'd. 

In  sweeter  accents  sing  ; 
And  bless  the  swiftness  of  the  flight, 
1  hat  bore  them  to  their  king. 

V. 

The  burdens  of  the  lengthen'd  day 
With  patience  we  would  bear; 

For  evening's  welcome  hour  shall  shew. 
We  were  our  Master's  care. 


VOL.  TIT.  3  B 


FUNERAL  SERMONS. 


]MEDITATIONS 


TEARS  OF  JESUS  OVER  THE  GRAVE  OF  LAZARUS; 

Ji  Funeycd  Sermon  preached  at  St.  Albans,  Dec.  16,  1750.  On  occasion  of  the 
much  lamented  Death  of  the  late  Rev.  Samuel  Clark,  D.  D.  vsho  died  the 
4th  of  December,  in  the  66th  Year  of  his  Age. 


TO 

MRS.  SARAH  CLARK, 

THE  WORTHY  RELICT 

OF  MY  EVER  HONOURED  FRIEND  AND  FATHER 

THE  LATE  REV.  DOCTOR  CLARK, 

THIS  SERMON 

IS  MOST  RESPECTFULLY   INSCRIBED, 

AS  A  SINCERE  AND  AFFECTIONATE, 

THO'  INCONSIDERABLE  TOKEN 

OF  TENDER  SYMPATHY  WITH  HER, 

AND  OF  INDELIBLE  VENERATION 

FOR  THE  EXEMPLARY  CHARACTER  OF  THE 

DEAR  DECEASED, 

BY  HER  MOST  OBLIGED 

AND  FAITHFUL  HUMBLE  SERVANT, 

P.  DODDRIDGE. 

Northampton,  Jan.  7,  1750-1. 


Meditations  on  the  Tears  of  Jesus,  ^c.  383 


SERMON   VI. 


John  xi.  35. — Jesus  vjept. 

JL  HE  only  bcfrotten  Son  of  God,  wliile  lie  sojourned  in  lui- 
niiin  flesh,  passed  through  a  sad  variety  of  t^alamities,  and  on  the 
■vvliolc  bore  all  that  a  human  heart,  untainted  with  i^uilt,  antl  un- 
touched with  remorse  of  conscience,  could  sulVer  ;  that  lie 
might  learn  to  pity  us  more  affectionately  under  the  like  sor- 
rows ;  that  he  might  lay  in  for  us  a  stock  of  divine  consolations  ; 
and  especially,  that  he  might  teach  us  by  his  sacred  example  to 
avoid  the  opposite  and  fatal  extremes,  of  Despising  the  chasten- 
ing of  the  Lordy  <i\v\  fainting  when  we  are  rebuked  by  him*-. 
Let  us  lear7i  of  hvn  ;  and  while  we  feel  our  afflictions  like  men, 
we  shall  bear  them  as  the  children  of  God,  and  the  heirs  of 
glory. 

We  here  view  our  blessed  Redeemer  in  a  circumstance,  in 
which  most  of  us  have  frequently,  and  alas  !  very  lately  been  ; 
and  in  which,  should  our  lives  be  prolonged,  we  may  again  and 
again  be  ;  a  circumstance,  which  is  the  common  lot  of  mortality, 
and  must  of  course  be  the  most  frequent  affliction  of  those  who 
are  richest  in  dear  and  valuable  friends,  and  which  will  be  most 
tenderly  felt  by  those  who  best  deserve  to  enjoy  them.  It  is  the 
sad  tribute,  and  I  had  almost  said,  the  sad  equivalent,  which  in 
these  regions  of  death  we  pay  for  loving  and  being  beloved. 
We  see  Jesus  approaching  the  new  grave  of  a  friend  ;  of  such 
a  friend,  as  providence  and  grace  had  concurred  to  render,  in 
some  measure,  worthy  of  those  precious  and  honourable  tears, 
which  were  now  dropped  upon  his  tomb.  It  was  Lazarus  uf 
Bethany.  We  know  the  tender  story  too  well,  to  need  a  large 
rehearsal  of  it  in  moments  so  precious  as  these.  We  know,  that 
when  Jesus  drew  near  to  Bethany  soon  after  the  mternient  of 
his  deceased  friend,  and  was  going  with  his  sisters  and  a  train  of 

other  mourners  to  his  grave,  he  wept. We  shall  enquire  into 

the  cause  of  these  tears, shall  consider  the  useful  lessons  we 

may  naturally  learn  from  them, and  then  shall  give  the  few 

*  Heb.  xii.  5. 

3  B  2 


\ 

384  ON    THE    DEATH  OF  THE  REV.  DR.  S.  CLARKE.       SeR.  VI. 

remaining  moments  of  our  time  to  what  is  peculiar  to  the  sad 
occasion  of  our  present  assembl}'-,  the  death  of  the  truly  reverend, 
pious,  and  amiable  Doctor  Clark  ;  concerning  whom  I  think  I 
'''^y  justl}'^  say,  and  your  consciences  will  attest  how  justl}',  that 
we  have  personally  known  few,  over  whose  tomb  Christ  would 
more  probably  have  wept,  had  he  stood  near  it  in  mortal  flesh. 
Mav  this  seasonable  review  of  his  tears  over  Lazarus,  resfulate 
and  sanctify  those,  which  so  naturally  flow  from  our  eyes  in  the, 
present  circumstance,  where  almost  every  object  we  behold  calls 
them  up  afresh  ! 

I.  Let  us  consider  on  what  accounts  we  may  probably  sup- 
pose that  our  blessed  Redeemer  now  wept. 

All  we  can  do  to  answer  this  enquiry  is,  to  take  an  atten- 
tive survey  of  the  circumstances  of  the  case,  so  far  as  our  infor- 
mation reaches  ;  that  we  may  observe  what  occurred  in  them, 
proper  to  have  impressed  a  wise  and  benevolent  mind.  For 
though  we  pretend  not  to  limit  the  infinitely  more  capacious 
views  of  our  divine  Master,  yet  we  may  assure  ourselves  that 
nothing  material  and  important  was  passed  over  by  him  without 
due  regard. 

On  these  principles  we  may  naturall}"^  observe, — that  our 
Lord  was  now  near  a  grave, — the  grave,  of  a  pious  and  amia- 
ble friend, — surrounded  with  a  train  of  affectionate  mourners, — 
and  with  some  obstinate  sinners  in  his  view,  who  were  bringing 
upon  themselves  dreadful  and  final  destruction. 

1.  Our  Lord  was  now  going  to  visit  a  grave;  and  that 
might  awaken  some  meltings  of  compassion. 

He  was  coming  to  a  place,  where  the  king  of  terrors 
had  lately  erected  a  new  trophy,  and  given  a  specimen  of  his 
universal  triumph.  Now  had  Christ  been  a  stranger  to  the  per- 
son of  Lazarus,  it  might  have  touched  him  to  think  of  his  un- 
timely fate,  for  untimel}'  it  seems  to  have  been;  to  have  seen 
the  sad  monuments  of  mortality  before  his  eyes,  and  to  have 
thought,  "  This  is  the  sepulchre  of  Lazarus :  He,  who  but  a 
little  while  ago  was  in  the  prime  and  vigour  of  his  days,  and  in 
the  ample  enjoyment  of  what  earth  could  afford  to  make  him 
happy  *,  is  now  the  prisoner  of  the  grave.     The  residue  of  his 

*  I  have  here  taken  it  for  granted,  that  Lazarus  was  a  young  man,  and  in 
prosperous  circumstances  of  life.  We  may  probably  conclude  the  former,  as  we 
•only  read  of  his  sisters,  but  of  no  wife  or  children,  and  from  his  living  so  long  after 
this,  as  tradition  tells  us  he  did.  The  latter  seems  verj'  evident,  not  only  from 
their  numerous  acquaintance  at  .Terusalem,  John  xi.  19.  But  also  from  the  splendid 
f'litertaimnent  afterwards  mentioned,  .folm  xii.  2.  3.     Compare  Luke  x.  38,  and  seq. 


Meditations  on  the  Tears  of  Jesus,  S<c.  Z9.  y 

days  is  cut  off'  in  the  viidst  * ;  and  liow  many  purpose;;  arc  Lr(j- 
ken  !  how  many  hopes  arc  blasted  !  How  njchmcholy  a  cliange 
frora  yonder  elegant  and  pleasant  mansion,  to  this  house  of 
darkness  and  of  silence,  from  the  cheerful  converse  of  his  alloc- 
tionate  sisters,  and  these  numerous  friends  who  are  fondly  pro- 
longing their  attendance  though  the  rites  of  his  funeral  are  ended ! 
He  who  was  thus  beloved  and  caressed,  is  already  bronglit  to 
sav  To  corruption.  Thou  art  my  Father;  and  to  the  nonnj 
Thou  art  my  mother  and  my  sister  f.'^ 

*'  Sad  ciiange  !"  might  any  of  us  naturally  have  said  on 
such  an  occasion  ;  "  melancholy  catastrophe  !  not  of  Lazarus 
alone,  but  of  the  whole  human  nature  !  For  7^his  is  the  end  of 
all  menX  ;  this  the  house  appointed  for  all  living^.'"  Here 
their  magnificence  and  power,  their  beauty  and  vigour,  tlieir 
learning  and  v  isdom,  be  they  ever  so  remarkable,  must  ere 
long,  mingle  with  meanness  and  indigence,  deformity  and  weak- 
ness, ignorance  and  folly.  Here  the  human  frame,  that  master- 
piece of  tlie  divine  contrivance,  which  wears  so  much  of  tlie 
image  of  its  Maker,  must  ere  long  be  thrown  aside  As  a  bro- 
ken vessel  in  which  there  is  no  pleasure  || ;  And  all  tlie  present 
generation  of  men,  and  all  that  are  to  arise  in  future  ages  and 
most  distant  nations,  shall  in  their  turns  lie  as  low  as  Lazarus. 
Such  are  the  awful  monuments  of  the  divine  displeasure  for  that 
first  ortence  ;  when  As  b\)  one  man  sin  entered  into  the  worlds 
and  death  by  sin,  so  the  sitntcncc  oi  death  passed  upon  all  ^nen, 
as  all  had  sinned  in  him  *f[.  Hither,  even  to  the  darkness,  the 
abasement,  the  putrefaction  of  the  grave,  are  they  all  travelling 
through  a  road  of  disappointment  and  vanity,  of  pain  and  sor- 
row. Thus  are  the  original  glories  of  man  tarnished  and 
withered,  and  his  paradise  turned  into  a  Golgotha  !  And  all  this 
to  the  apostate  creature  is  only  the  beginni?ig  of  punishment 
and  miserv,  did  not  Sovereign  grace  interpose  for  his  deli- 
verance. 

Who  can  say,  that  such  natural  and  obvious  thoughts  as 
these,  did  not  now  arise  in  the  mind  of  the  blessed  Jesus  ? 
Who  can  think  it  impossible,  that  he  should  thus  from  tlie  tomb 
of  Lazarus  take  a  view  of  this  wide  ruin,  and  drop  a  compassi- 
onate tear  over  the  various  miseries  of  mortal  man  ?  But  such 
teflections  as  these,  might  have  arisen  from  the  funeral  of  one. 
who  had  been  an  intire  stranger  to  iuin  :  Wc  are  therefore  far- 
ther to  consider, 

*  Isa.  xxxviii.  10.        t  Job  xvii.  U.  t  Eccl.  vii,  2.  §  Job  xxx,  2.^ 

11  Pial.  xxxi.  IC,     Jer.  xxii.28.  r.  Rwu  ▼.  i:. 


.3S6      ON  THE  DEATH  OF  THE  REV.  DR.  S.  CLARK.    SeR.  VI. 

2.  That  our  Lord  was  noAv  attending  the  grave  of  a  pious 
and  amiable  friend  ;  and  on  that  account  it  Avould  be  very  natu- 
ral for  him  to  weep. 

The  evangelist  takes  particular  care  to  tell  us,  ver.  5.  that 
Jesus  loved  Lazarus,  and  Martha,  and  Mary  ;  nor  do  we  read 
of  any  family,  in  which  he  more  frequently  lodged  when  he 
came  up  to  Jerusalem,  or  where  he  conversed  with  more  free- 
dom and  endearment.  We  may  therefore  assure  ourselves, 
that  on  the  death  of  Lazarus  the  remembrance  of  this  intimate 
friendship  would  be  recollected  by  the  faithful  and  aflectionate 
Jesus  with  due  regard  :  And  accordingly  we  see,  that  when  he 
would  inform  his  followers  of  this  mournful  providence,  he  uses 
this  kind  language,  ver.  11.  Our  friend  Lazarus  slecpetlu 
Where  by  the  way  Ave  may  observe,  that  he  not  only  speaks  of 
him  b}^  the  appellation  of  friend,  but  represents  his  death  as  a 
sleep ;  as  if  there  were  something  in  the  word  dead,  so  harsh 
and  doleful  that  he  hardly  kncAV  hoAv  to  connect  it  with  so  dear 
a  name  *.  Now  on  the  same  principles  it  is  natural  to  conclude, 
that  when  our  Lord  came  to  tha  house  of  his  deceased  friend,  and 
saw  the  apartments  or  gardens,  in  which  he  had  often  conversed 
■with  him  to  their  mutual  delight ;  when  he  reviewed  the  places, 
in  which  they  had  taken  sweet  counsel  together,  and  from 
whence  they  had  gone  to  the  house  of  God  in  company  ;  the 
recollection  must  naturally  awaken  a  tender  sorrow,  not  unlike 
what  we  feel  on  such  an  occasion. 

Christ  could  not  fail  to  recollect,  what  a  friend  Lazarus 
had  been  to  him  and  to  his  interests,  and  according  to  his  abi- 
lity to  the  village  of  Bethany,  and  the  city  of  Jerusalem, 
whence  so  many  came  to  pay  their  last  office  of  respect  to  his 
remains.  Had  he  been  employed  in  the  ministerial  work,  as  I 
think  ecclesiastical  history  tells  us,  that  after  his  resurrection 
he  was,  his  fidelity  and  zeal  under  that  character  would,  no 
doubt,  have  been  tenderly  recollected.  As  it  was,  we  may 
assure  ourselves,  that  if  Christ  will  anotiier  day  acknowledge 
so  cheap  a  kindness  as  a  Cup  of  cold  water  bestowed  on  a  dis- 
ciple in  his  name  f,  he  could  not  possibly  forget,  how  hospita- 
bly he  had  himself  been  entertained  by  Lazarus  ;  how  cheer- 
fully, and  how  thankfully,  that  generous  man  had  opened,  not 
only  his  house,  but  his  heart  to  him,  and  to  the  least  of  his  ser- 

*  So  as  Mr.  RoUin  has  observed  with  his  iisual  elegance  and  propriety,  when 
Homer  describes  Antilochus  as  bringing  word  to  Achilles  of  the  death  of  hfe 
friend  Patroclus,  he  makes  him  only  say,  Ke*T«»  ^«^po>c^OJ,  Patfoclus  is  fallen. 
Roll.  Man.  dc  Etud.     Vol.  i.  p.  407. 

f  Mat.  X.  42. 


Meditations  on  the  Tears  of  Jesus,  ^c.  387 

vants,  who  no  doubt  had  been  cordially  welcome  to  liim  for  his 
master's  sake.  A  tear  over  the  grave  of  sucii  a  friend  niij2;ht 
have  seemed  but  an  equitable  tribute,  had  it  fallen  from  any 
other  eye  ;  and  a  common  spectator  would  have  thoufrht  of  no 
farther  cause.  Accordinj]jly  the  Jews  who  were  present,  made 
this  reflection  upon  it,  ver.  36.  Behold,  how  he  loved  him  ! 
viiicli  by  the  way  seems  to  intimate,  that  it  was  not  only  a  drop 
or  two,  which  silently  stole  down  the  cheeks  of  our  Lord,  but 
that  it  was  a  copious  shower  ;  and  as  before  it  is  expressly  said, 
that  he  groaned  in  spirit,  so  perhaps  some  strong  gestures  might 
concur  to  express  iiis  grief.  And  though  the  immediate  pros- 
pect of  the  resurrection  of  Lazarus  would  administer  a  relief 
peculiar  to  this  case  ;  yet  the  thoughts  of  those  agonies  througli 
which  he  had  passed,  of  the  melanchol}'  situation  in  which  the 
body  now  lay,  and  perhaps  of  the  death  he  M-as  again  to  en- 
counter, and  from  which  he  should  not  arise  till  the  heavens 
were  no  more,  might  all  contribute  to  melt  the  com])assionato 
heart  of  the  blessed  Jesus  ;  especially  in  concurrence  with 
what  we  are  next  to  mention  :  For, 

3.  Our  Lord  certainly  a'^/?^,  out  of  compassion  to  survivuig 
relatives  and  friends,  whom  he  saw  almost  overwhelmed  Avith 
their  sorrow. 

This  reason  is  expressly  assigned  in  the  33d  verse  :  When 
Jesus  saw  her,  that  is,  Mary,  weeping,  and  the  Jews  also  weep- 
ing which  came  with  her,  he  groaned  in  spirit,  ajid  was 
troubled.  The  original  expression  -  properly  signifies,  he  trou- 
bled or  afflicted  himself ;  that  is,  he  gave  the  reins  in  some  mea- 
sure to  his  grief ;  he  allowed  a  set  of  sorrowful  ideas  to  arise  and 
lodge  in  his  mind,  Avhich  he  could  at  pleasure  have  banished  or 
exclianged  :  And  thus  he  set  himself  to  practise  that  lesson, 
which  he  afterwards  taught  by  his  apostle,  of  Weeping  with 
them  that  weepf  I 

And  indeed,  it  was  in  this  respect  a  very  moving  scene, 
w^hich  may  justly  demand  a  tear  from  us  in  the  review  of  it. 
Had  the  deceased  left  behind  him  an  affectionate  M'idow,  who 
might  have  seemed  but  half  to  survive,  while  what  she  esteemed 
the  better  part  of  herself  had  been  torn  away  ;  or  had  a  train  of 
lovely  children  appeared,  in  such  various  gradations  of  filial  sor- 
row as  their  respective  ages  might  have  admitted,  like  tender 
flowers  drooping,  their  heads  surcharged  with  rain  ;  we  may  rea- 
sonably conclude,  a  suitable  sympathy  would  have  been  extend- 
ed to  them,  and  an  additional  tear  have  been  given  to  each.  But 

*  ilapafty  lai/lov,  f  Rom.  xii.  15, 


388      ON  THE  DEATH  OF  THE  REV.  DR.  S.  CLARK.   »SeR.  VI. 

here  were  the  two  pious  sisters,  whom  friendship  and  grace  had 
concurred  to  join  in  such  endearing  bonds  to  the  deceased,  and 
to  Jesus  himself.  The  Jews  also  were  weeping ;  partly  for 
Lazarus,  partly  for  his  sisters,  and  partly  for  themselves ;  and 
perhay)s  some  of  them,  for  that  sorrow  which  Jesus  himself  dis- 
covered in  his  aspect  and  deportment,  before  these  tears  fell. 
Now  we  cannot  wonder,  that  this  penetrated  the  heart  of  Christ 
yet  more  deeplj^  when  he  saw  grief  reflected  from  breast  to 
breast,  and  each  affectionate  friend  in  that  mournful  assembly 
bearing,  as  it  werie,  the  burden  of  all. What  I  now  see  be- 
fore me,  what  I  persuade  myself  we  all  feel,  gives,  me  so  lively 
an  idea  of  this  part  of  my  subject,  that  it  will  scarce  permit  me 

to  pursue  it. 1  will  only  add,  that  if  there  were  anj'  of  the 

spectators  then  present,  who  did  not  weep  with  the  rest,  and 
bore  no  part  in  so  general  a  lamentation,  even  they  might  per- 
haps be  an  occasion  of  yet  greater  distress  to  him,  who  always 
formed  the  truest  estimate  of  things,  and  saw  through  every 
iailacious  appearaiice  by  which  our  ignorance  and  credulity  are 
daily  misled  :  Which  leads  me  to  add, 

4.  The  Lord  Jesus  Christ  himself  might  justly  weep,  to 
think  of  that  dreadful  ruin  which  M^as  coming  on  some  present 
for  their  continued  impenitency  and  unbelief. 

He  who  saw  what  was  in  man,  undoubtedly  discerned  that 
malignity  of  heart,  which  so  soon  bore  some  of  them  to  contrive 
the  death  of  Lazarus*,  that  he  might  not  remain  a  living  testi- 
mony of  Christ's  miraculous  power;  and  which  Avould  so  soon 
lead  them  to  reject  the  yet  more  important  evidence  of  his  mis- 
sion, produced  by  his  own  resurrection  from  the  dead,  expressly 
foretold  and  appealed  to  in  that  view.  He  saw  all  the  dreadful 
consequences  of  this  obstinacy,  in  their  utter  ruin  by  the  Ro- 
mans: And  as  Hell  was  open  to  him,  and  destruction  had  no  co^ 
vermgf,  he  foresaw  distinctly  the  horrors  of  their  guilty  spirits, 
when  they  entered  these  gloomy  regions;  and  the  increasing 
horrors  that  should  seize  them  in  the  judgment-day,  when  /;» 
ihetr  graves  they  should  hear  the  voice  of  the  Son  of  God,  and 
come  forth  to  the  resurrection  of  eternal  damnation  X  •  And 
though  our  Lord  could  not  but  on  the  whole  approve  of  that 
vengeance,  by  which  a  righteous  God  would  plead  his  cause, 
and  revenge  the  quarrel  of  his  rejected  gospel ;  yet  some  senti- 
ments of  pity  mingled  themselves  with  the  view,  as  when  he  had 
lately  Wept  over  Jerusalem^  :  Just  as  a  humane  and  compas- 
sionate judge  looks  with  compassion  on  those  criminals,  whom 


'John  xii.  10. 


t  Job  \x\\.  6.  +  John  V.  28,  <29.  §  Luke  xix.  -il. 


Meditations  on  the  Tears  of  Jesus,  Sic.    .  389 

for  wise,  and  on  tlie  wliole,  benevolent  reasons,  he  gives  up  to 

destruction. But  I  mention  this  only  incitientally,  as  it  is  not 

liinted  at  in  the  context,  and  has  no  iniinediate  connection  with 
the  event  which  is  now  so  ready  to  engross  our  thoughts. — We 
have  seen  the  cause  of  tlicse  tears  ;   and  now, 

II.  Let  us  consider  to  what  purposes  ot  practical  ediiication 
we  may  improve  tliem. 

The  following  rejections  may  natiually  arise  from  the  sub- 
ject ;  and  I  iiope,  it  may  be  useful  to  dwell  a  while  upon  eaclj 
of  them. 

J.  This  may  serve  to  vindicate  a  compassionate  temper 
from  the  imputation  of  contemptible  weakness. 

The  fierceness  of  some  minds,  and  the  indolence  of  others, 
leads  them  to  despise  those  whom  they  frequently  see  under  the 
impression  of  tender  passions.  But  wherefore  should  they  des- 
pise them  ?  Surely  \v  hen  God  implanted  in  our  nature  these 
mcltincr  emotions  of  soul,  he  intended  them  for  some  valuable 
purpose;  and  not  that  we  should  look  u|)on  them  as  weeds,  to 
be  rooted  out  of  every  well  cultivated  soil.  I  am  sure,  we  can- 
not learn  any  such  stoical  maxims  from  the  word  of  God ;  for 
there,  not  only  the  most  eminent  saints,  but  many  of  the  bravest 
heroes,  are  described  with  the  softest  sentiments  of  humanity 
about  them,  and  are  frequently  painted  in  tears*.  What  grea- 
ter names  has  the  Old  Testament  history  transmitted  to  us,  than 
those  of  Abraham  t  and  Joseph  ^:,  Duvid§  and  Jonathan  ||, 
Hezekiah  f  and  Jeremiah'^*?  Yet  we  are  told  of  various  occa- 
sions on  which  they  wept.  And  the  tears  of  Paul,  that  great 
christian  hero,  who  could  so  courageously  face  imprisonment 
and  martyrdom  for  tiie  cause  of  truth  and  goodness,  are  fre- 
quently spoken  of,  either  in  his  history,  or  his  letters  ff.  But  a 
greater  than  these  is  here  :  Jesus  wept.  In  the  days  of  his  flesh, 
he  poured  out  tears,  not  onlv  under  the  pressure  of  his  own  per- 
sonal sorrow,  but  somctmics  out  oi  compassion  tor  others:  And 
he  particularly  did  it  in  the  instance  before  us,  though  he  was 
to  receive  a  public  honour,  which  rendered  this  day  one  ot  the 
most  illustrious  of  those  which  j)reccded  his  own  resurrection. 

*  So  those  of  Homer  and  Virgil,  are  often  represented;  which  plainly  shews, 
that  those  most  judicious  discerners  of  huuiau  nature  thought,  fiierc  was  noUiing  m 
such  a  turn  of  mind  inconsistent  with  t!ie  mo.U  exalted  courage  and  magnanimity. 

t  Gen.  xxiii.  2.  %  Gen-  xlii.  '24.  xliii.  30.  xlvi.  29.  1.  1.  §  1  Sam.  -\xx-  4. 
2  Sam.  i.  12.  iii.  32.  xiii.  36.  xviii.  33.  ||  1  Sam.  XX.  41.  ^2  Kings  xx.  3.  Isa. 
xxxvili.  3.  **Jer.  ix.  1.  xiii.  17.  xiv.  17.  xlviii,  52.  Lam.  i.  16.  ii.  18.  ft  Acts 
XX.  19,  31.     2Cor.il.  4.     Phil.  iii.  13. 

VOL.  Ill,  3  C 


390      ON  THE  DEATH  OF  THE  REV.  DR.  S.  CLARK,    SeR.  VI. 

He  behaved  in  every  circumstance  of  his  conduct,  with  a  dignity 
Avorthy  of  his  general  character,  and  of  the  present  occasion*  ; 
as  one  equal  to  the  great  work  to  be  performed,  and  no  way 
elevated  or  transported  at  the  signal  honour  it  did  him :  Yet,  to 
allude  to  an  expression  of  Job  concerning  himself,  while  he  was 
amongst  them  with  a  Majesty  beyond  that  of  a  king  even  in  his 
army,  he  tempered  that  majesty  with  the  gentlest  sympathy 
which  could  have  been  expected  from  one,  whose  professed 
business  it  was  to  Comfort  the  mourners-^.  Surely  in  this  re- 
spect, as  Avell  as  every  other,  The  disciple  is  not  above  his  mas- 
terX;  nor  can  those  marks  of  tenderness  be  a  reproach  to  us, 
which  were  not  unbecoming  in  him.  In  circumstances  like  these 
in  which  Jesus  wept,  tears  are  so  far  from  being  an  unmanly 
•weakness,  that  they  may  rather  be  called,  as  they  are  by  one  of 
the  most  celebrated  of  the  Roman  poets,  nostri  pars  optima 
senses,  one  of  the  most  amiable  parts  in  the  constitution  of  human 
nature;  which  God  seems  to  have  provided  on  purpose,  that  we 
might  be  able  to  sfive  each  other  a  sensible  token  of  commisera- 
tion  and  affection,  which  cannot  so  easily  be  counterfeited  as 
fond  words  may  ;  and  he  has  taken  care,  that  while  they  testify 
our  passions,  they  should  also  ease  them,  and  unload  the  heart 
when  almost  ready  to  sink  under  its  pressure. 

2.  We  may  also  learn  from  the  preceding  discourse,  what 
may  be  of  use  to  direct  our  compassion  in  the  most  affectionate 
workings  of  it. 

We  well  know,  that  the  blessed  Jesus  had  all  the  passions  in 
the  most  harmonious  order,  and  that  the  s\*mmetry  of  his  soul 
w'as  entirely  unbroken.  We  may  therefore  assure  ourselves,  that 
tears  which  flow  from  the  considerations  on  which  he  shed  them, 
are  the  drops  of  wisdom  and  of  virtue. 

To  weep  with  him  over  the  grave  of  a  departed  friend, 
especially  of  one  remarkable  for  piety  and  usefulness,  is  most 
easy  and  natural.  The  more  difficult  task  will  be,  to  restrain 
those  tears  within  such  bounds,  that  they  may  not  swell  into  a 
torrent,  which  will  bear  down  our  comforts,  our  hopes,  and  our 
graces.  But  while  they  are  duly  moderated,  and  submitted  to 
the  great  Lord  of  life,  we  shelter  ourselves  under  the  great  ex- 
ample of  Jesus.  4tnd  indeed,  Avithout  such  an  authority,  our 
sorrows  on  such  an  occasion  might  be  vindicated,  not  only  as  a 
tribute  of  humanity  due  to  the  living  as  well  as  the  dead,  but  in 

*  This  is  most  beautifully  illustrated  by  the  Rev.  Dr.  Lardner,  in  his  vindication 
of  this  story  against  Mr.  Woolaston's  ob)ections;  which  is  written  with  a  spirit  of 
criticism  as  just  and  noble,as  that  of  his  antagonist  was  false,  invidious,  and  mean. 

+Jobxxix,25.  iMat.  X.  24. 


Meditations  on  the  Tears  of  Jesus,  &(c.  39 1 

some  dep;rce  as  u  proper  expression  of  our  pious  humiliation  un- 
der God's  rebukin![j^  liand.  For  nothing  is  an  aiUiction,  any  far- 
ther tlian  it  is  felt ;  and  the  very  end  of  providence  with  respect 
to  us  would  be  frustrated,  if  our  hearts  were  not  deeply  penetrat- 
ed and  impressed  by  the  stroke. 

But  let  not  personal  and  domestic  calamities  engross  all  the 
tenderness  of  our  souls.     Let  our  compassions  spread  themselves 
all  abroad,  and  take  in  every  proper  object  which  may  fall  un- 
der their  notice.     Let  us  endeavour  to  pass  through  the  world, 
as  the  friends  of  God,  and  of  mankind;  as  those,  who  have  a 
cordial  alVection  for  the  whole  human  species,  and  being  our- 
selves men,  can  think  no  human  concern  entirely  foreign  to  our 
hearts.     Let  us  often  think  of  the  state  of  human  nature  in  gene- 
ral;  how  it  is  defaced  and  pained,  and  wounded  even  to  death: 
How  man  grows  up  to  lamentation  and  mourning;  and  every 
age,  and  station,  and  circumstance,  has  its  affliction  !  Even  ten- 
der and  innocent  infancy  is  not  excepted  ;  those  little  helpless 
strangers  in  life,  though  they  Have  not  sinned  after  the  similitude 
of  /Idanis  transgression^^  are  born  under  the  sentence  of  it. 
What  numbers  of  them  are  brought  into  the  world,  only  to  smart, 
and  weep,   and  die  !    And  in  other  instances,  when  the  human 
blossom  begins  to  open,  and  the  beautiful  colours  discover  them- 
selves in  tiie  bud,  how  does  it  wither  before  it  be  fully  blown  ! 
Children,  who  have  all  the  charms  and  all  the  hopes  their  early 
age  can  admit,  seem  to  have  been  spared  for  a  few  years,  only 
to  take  a  deeper  root  in  a  parent's  heart,  that  it  might  ach  and 
bleed  the  more,  when  they  arc  plucked  up,  sometimes  by  a  sud- 
den stroke,  and  sometimes  b}'  a  slow  progress  which  prolongs 
to  weeks  and  months  that  dreadful  operation  by   which  we  arc 
losing  a  part  of  ourselves.     Youtlis  are  taken  aw.iy  in  the  full 
bloom  and  vigour  of  their  nature,  in  the  gay  delusive  dream  of 
tli(!ir  mortal  holies.     And  Ave  who  survive,  iind  so  many  thorns 
springing  up  in  our  most  pleasing  paths,  that  we  are  sometimes 
tempted,  with  him  who   knew  most  of  the  magnificence  and 
luxury  of  life,  and  so  most  of  its  vanity,  to  Bless  the  dead  which 
are  already  dead,  rather  than  the  living  which  are  yet  alive  f. 
Such  IS  the  course  of  mortal  man.     Thus  are  we,  like  the  re- 
bellious Israelites,   doomed  to  wander   in   the  wilderness,  with 
but  one  certainty'  before  us  in  it,  the  sad  assurance  of  dropping 
our  carcases  there  !    Surely  had  we  no  distinct  and  ])eculiar  sor- 
rows of  our  own  we  might  feel  those  of  this  unhappy  family  to 

*Rom,  V.  14.  f  Eccl.  iv.  C, 

3C  2 


392      ON  THE  DEATH  OF  THE  REV.  DR.  S.  CLARK-    SeR.  VI, 

which  wc  are  allied  ;  and  there  would  be  an  evident  propriety, 
as  well  as  humanit}^,  in  the  tears  we  shed  for  it.  Yet  Avhile  we 
are  lamenting  its  ruined  state,  let  us  OAvn  the  righteous  sentence 
of  that  God,  who  is  thus  Consummg  our  days  in  vanity^  ajid  our 
years  in  trouble  *,  so  that  we  spend  them  As  a  tale  that  is  toldy 
or  rather,  as  the  word  might  be  much  better  translated,  like  a 
sigh  or  a groaji-f. 

But  there  is  another  subject  of  yet  juster  lamentation,  to 
which  our  thoughts  are  directed  by  what  we  have  now  been  hear- 
ing ;  I  mean,  that  obstinacy  of  heart,  with  which  multitudes 
reject  the  cowisel  of  God  against  themselves,  and  despise  that  so- 
vereign remedy  which  divine  grace  has  provided  for  all  their 
sorrows  in  the  everlasting  gospel.  How  mau}^  wilfully  make 
themselves,  as  it  were,  blind  and  deaf,  Lest  they  should  see  with 
their  eyes,  and  hear  with  their  ears,  and  be  converted  and  heal- 
edX.  Dying  souls  are  a  sad  spectacle  indeed  ;  especially,  when 
they  are  dying  under  the  means  and  offers  of  life,  and  aggravate 
tlieir  ruin  by  the  only  method  of  cure.  Where  is  the  faith  of 
christians,  if  we  do  not  regard  them  as  on  the  borders  of  eter- 
nal ruin?  and  where  is  the  tenderness  of  human  nature,  if  we 
can  see  them  with  indifference  in  so  dangerous  and  miserable 
a  state  ?  David  Beheld  the  transgressors,  and  was  grieved^;  and 
Rivers  of  waters  ran  down  his  tyes,  because  men  kept  not  God^s 
law\.  Will  it  be  less  fatal,  to  reject  his  gospel  ?  Or  should  we 
be  less  impressed,  when  the  tears  of  the  Redeemer  over  perish- 
ing sinners  are  added  to  all  the  other  moving  considerations, 
which  attend  their  case  ?  Oh  that  our  head  werewaters,  and  our 
eyes  were  fountains  of  tears,  that  we  might  weep  day  and  nighty, 
for  our  neighboui*s,  our  friends,  it  may  be  some  of  our  dearest 
relatives  too!  who  seem  so  near  to  that  state,  where  there  will 
be  perpetually  Weeping  and  wailing,  and  even  gnashing  of 
teeth*^ ;  where  the  torment  of  all  the  raging,  shall  be  added  to 
the  distress  of  the  mourning  passions. 

3.  With  what  cheerfulness  may  we  address  this  compas- 
sionate Saviour,  when  we  are  weeping  on  such  accounts  as  call- 
ed forth  his  own  tears .? 

I  might  take  occasion  from  hence  to  argue  the  encourage- 
ments we  have,  at  all  times,  and  on  all  occasions,  to  apply  our- 
selves to  him,  as,  according  to  the  apostle's  representation,  A 
high  priest  who  can  be  touched  with  the  feeling  of  our  infirmi- 
ties\\;  or,  according  to  Isaiah's  description,  a  gracious  ^yAfjo- 

*Psal.  Ixxviii.  33.     f  Psal.  xc.  9.  HJin  pD.      J  Isa.  vi.  10.         §  Psal.  cxix.  158. 
U  Psal.  cxix.  136.      ^  Jer.  ix.  1.  **  Mat.  viii.  12.  ft  Heb.  iv.  15. 


Meditations  on  the  Tears  of  Jesus,  fiCc-  393 

/lerd,  who  gathers  the  lambs  in  his  arms,  and  carries  them  in  his 
bosoin,  and  gently  leads  those  that  are  with  young*. 

But  that  we  may  not  too  much  clifi;rcss  on  so  copious,  though 
so  delightful  a  theme,  let  us  now  apply  the  thought  to  the  view 
of  those  sorrows  in  particular,  which  gave  occasion  to  the 
mention  of  it ;  the  removal  of  dear  and  pious  friends,  and  the 
consideration  of  the  calamity  and  degeneracy  of  mankind. 

When  our  heart  is  overwhelmed  within  us,  on  occasion  of 
tlie  removal  of  those  who  were  dearest  to  us  in  the  bands  of  na- 
ture and  of  love,  what  a  shelter  is  here!  to  come  to  this  immor- 
tal friend,  and  open  to  him  all  the  anguish  of  our  souls  !  "  Bless- 
ed Redeemer!  Behold  me  in  a  case,  which  was  once  thine  own! 
Thou  knowest  what  it  is  to  be  in  this  sad  circumstance,  to  be 
weeping  over  the  grave  of  a  friend.  Let  what  thine  own  gentle 
benevolent  heart  tlien  felt,  engage  thee  to  pity  what  I  now  feel, 
and  to  pour  balm  into  this  deep  and  painful  wound!  Oh  let  my 
heart  be  more  open  to  thee,  now  this  dear  guest  has  quilted  its 
apartment  in  it!  Raise  my  soul  from  that  dust  to  which  it  i.s 
fondly  cleaving,  to  thy  glorious  and  amiable  self!  Make  up  my 
loss  in  a  more  abundant  communication  of  thy  divine  friendship, 
and  I  shall  own  it  a  rich  equivalent  for  whatever  mortality  can 
invade !" 

Again,  under  that  distress  on  account  of  the  calamities  or 
degeneracy  of  human  nature,  which  the  best  of  men  do  most  ten- 
derly feel,  let  us  apply  ourselves  to  Christ,  as  the  great  ph^-sician, 
who  can  cure  the  one  and  the  other;  as  one  who  condescended 
to  Come  into  the  world,  that  the  world  through  him  might  be 
savedf.  And  when  we  see,  as  we  shall  often  see,  the  feebleness 
of  our  own  attempts;  and  are  grieved  to  observe,  how  little  we 
can  do  to  su[)ply  the  necessitous,  to  comfort  the  sorrowful,  or  to 
reform  the  vicious;  let  us  humbly  commend  them  to  him,  whose 
arm  is  almighty,  M'hose  treasures  of  grace  and  love  are  inex- 
haustible. In  a  word,  let  us  with  all  the  importunity  of  faith 
and  prayer  urge  him  to  redress  what  he  once  bewailed,  and  to 
hasten  that  happy  day,  when  Every  thing  that  offends  shall  be 
taken  out  of  his  kingdom  %,  and  a  face  of  universal  holiness  and 
joy  shall  be  spread  through  all  its  spacious  provinces,  and 
triumph  for  ever  there. 

4.  From  the  tears  of  Christ  at  the  grave  of  Lazarus  we  may 
infer,  that  the  death  of  his  saints  is  still  precious  in  his  sight. 

There  is  not  surely  in  human  life  a  more  cutting  circum- 
stance, than  the  sight  of  a  dying  friend.     When  all  the  impor- 

=*  Isa.  .\1.  11.  t  John  iii.  17.  +  Mat.  xiii.  41. 


SSI  ON  THE  DEATH  OF  THE  REV.  DR.  S.  CLARK.         SeR.  VI. 

tunity  of  prayer,  the  prescriptions  of  art,  and  the  offices*of  love 
liave  been  tried  in  vain  ;  when  physicians  own  the  case  to  be 
desperate,  and  the  symptoms  of  it  are  so  evident,  that  we  can- 
not so  much  as  ilatter  ourselves  with  one  remaining,  though 
delusive  hope,  in  favour  of  a  life  which  perhaps  we  would 
gladly  ransom  with  our  own  :  Yet  even  then,  with  what  offi- 
cious though  unavailing  eagerness  do  Ave  return  to  the  bed 
of  languishing  ?  and  while  our  eyes  are  weeping,  and  our 
hearts  bleeding,  how  willingly  do  we  pass  through  days  of 
confinement  and  nights  of  wakefulness,  if  we  may  but  con- 
tribute to  make  the  passage  to  the  grave  a  little  smoother, 
-when  the  journey  cannot  be  prevented  ?  But  alas,  how  poor 
do  our  efforts  appear,  and  how  weak  and  impotent  all  our 
pity  and  our  friendship ! 

Let  us  then,  from  the  subject  we  are  now  upon,  draw  a 
consolation  with  regard  to  our  pious  friends,  which  may  surely 
as  a  reviving  cordial  raise  our  spirits  when  they  droop,  and 
mingle  praises  with  our  tears.  Jesus  attends  them,  though 
in  an  invisible  form  ;  and  the  eye  that  wept  over  Lazarus,  is 
with  incessant  care  fixed  upon  them.  Can  Ave  imagine,  that  he 
is  grown  less  gracious  on  his  removal  to  the  heavenly  Avorld ! 
It  is  true,  that  he  has  laid  aside  those  expressions  of  com- 
passion,  Avhich  are  peculiar  to  animal  nature  in  this  inferior 
state,  and  drops  of  grief,  and  sentiments  of  sorrow,  can  have 
no  farther  place.  Yet  still  on  the  throne  of  his  glory  he  re- 
tains a  kind  of  royal  compassion  ;  and  in  this  respect,  as  Avell 
as  another.  Having  loved  his  own  that  are  in  the  world,  he  loves 
them  even  to  the  end*.  He  doth  indeed,  for  Avise  and  gra- 
cious reasons,  permit  and  appoint  their  death  ;  but  as  he  can- 
not be  absent  from  any  place,  or  unacquainted  Avith  any  cir- 
cumstance of  mankind,  Ave  may  assure  ourseh-es,  that  he  is 
not  an  unconcerned  spectator,  Avhen  his  servants  are  struggling 
away  their  breath,  and  fainting  off  from  the  stage  of  mortality. 
The  compassions  of  a  fellow-mortal  are  vain  and  fruitless ; 
but  those  of  a  God  are  infinitely  important.  He  can  mode- 
rate their  dying  agonies,  or  communicate  inward  strength  in 
proportion  to  them.  He  has  a  gentle  voice,  Avhich  can  assure 
them,  that  their  sins  are  forgiven  them  ;  and  attendant  angels 
are  at  his  command,  to  convoy  them  to  the  regions  of  alo- 
ry.  Nay,  Ave  may  assure  ourselves,  that  as  their  great  and 
good  Shepherd,  he  Avill  himself.  Be  with  them^  when  they  pass 
through  the  dark  Valley  of  the  shadow  of  death  ;  and  his  rod  and 

*  John  xiii,  1, 


Meditations  on  the  Tears  of  Jcsiis,  &(c.  395 

his  staJI\  Avill  yet  comfort  them '* .  Wc  may  hoj)i\  that  by  his 
care,  rays  of  glory  shall  cheer  them  through  the  gloom  :  and  thr^ 
<s:a.tcrioi' Thciyivisible  world.,  of  which  he  holds  the  keys  \.,  shall 
be  opened  upon  them,  in  a  maimer  winch  shall  least  shock  and 
surprise.  He  will  surely  manifest  himself  to  them  by  such  gra- 
cious tokens,  and  embrace  their  separate  spirits,  with  such  un- 
knot n  endearments,  as  shall  leave  no  room  for  one  moment's 
terror,  or  even  a  moment's  suspicion.  He  will  delight  to  teach 
them  the  songs  of  h.  avon,  as  soon  as  the  breath  passes  from  tlieir 
mortal  lips;  and  attemper  the  rays  of  opening  glorj'  in  such  a 
manner,  as  he  knows  most  suitable  to  tliestate  of  spirits  new-born 
from  flesh. 

These  meditations  seem  naturally  connected  with  the  sub- 
ject ;  and  I  am  sure,  they  are  full  of  divine  consolation,  to  sup- 
j)ort  us  under  the  death  of  our  pious  friends,  and  in  the  views  of 
our  own,  which  is  so  soon  to  succeed  it:  especially,  when  con- 
nected with  the  last  reflection  I  shall  suggest,  viz. 

5.  With  what  holy  triumph  will  Christ  rejoice  over  all  his 
people,  when  he  hath  fiivdWy  7'ecove7rd  them  from  the  poxver  of  the 
grave,  and  destroyed  that  last  enemy  ? 

What  our  Lord  did  in  this  instance  for  Lazarus,  was  but 
an  imperfect  specimen  of  what  he  intends  shortly  to  do  for  all 
that  sleep  in  him.  Jll  that  are  in  their  graves  shall  hear  his 
voice,  and  come  forth  %  ?  and  the  Dead  in  Christ  shall  rise  first  §. 
Delightful  prospect,  for  the  Redeemer,  and  all  the  redeemed  ! 
A\'hile  Christ  was  thus  weeping  over  Lazarus,  he  Kneww^hathe 
would  do  II  ;  and  we  may  assure  om-selves,  that  his  gracious 
heart  felt  a  secret  unutterable  pleasure  in  the  thought  of  it.  Jt 
must  be  delightful  to  him,  Avhile  sympathizing  with  these 
mourners,  to  reflect  how  soon  he  should  Give  them  beauty  for 
ashes,  the  oil  of  joy  for  mourning,  and  the  garment  of  praise 
for  the  spirit  of  heaviness^  ;  how  soon  he  should  turn  their  sor- 
row into  raptures  of  pleasing  surprise,  by  the  revival  of  this  la- 
mented friend.  And  when  he  came  to  the  tomb,  and  spake 
those  divinely  efhcacious  words,  Lazarus  come  forth  ,-  who  can 
describe,  or  imagine,  the  moving  circumstances  that  attended 
it  !  \\'ith  what  transport  did  Lazarus,  and  Martha,  and  Mary, 
embrace  and  congratulate  each  other  ^  With  what  a  mi.xture  of 
amazement  and  gratitude  did  they  all  prostrate  themselves  at 
the  feet  of  their  Almighty  Saviour  ?  and  with  what  fervours  of 
devotion  and  love  did  the  newly  ransomed  captive  of  the  grave 

♦  Psal.  xxiii.  4.  f  Rev.  i.  18.  *  Jo'*"  ^-  -^t  -?•         {  ^  Thcss.  iv.  16. 

I]  John  vi.  6.  <f  Isa.  Ixi.  ^. 


396  ON  THE  DEATH  OF  THE  REV.  DR.  S.  CLARK.  SeR.  VI. 

consecrate  to  him  the  life  which  he  had  renewed  ?  A  stranger 
must  have  beheld  siich  a  sight  with  pleasure  :  How  much  sub- 
limer  delight  must  it  then  give  to  the  great  Author  of  such  mu- 
tual happiness ! 

But,  Oh  my  brethren,  Avhat  was  this  resurrection  of  Laza- 
rus to  a  mortal  and  a  sinful  state  on  earth,  when  compared  with 
that  resurrection  to  immortal  holiness  and  glory  which  Christ  is 
designing  for  all  his  people  !  Surely  the  very  prospect  of  it  must 
delight  his  compassionate  heart,  and  add  new  joys  to  his  throne 
at  the  right  hand  of  the  Majesty  on  high.  Death  is  making 
havoc  among  his  subjects  here  ;  those  whom  he  loveth,  are  sick 
and  dying ;  their  Countenances  gather  blackness^,  and  their 
Bones  aire  scattered  at  the  gravels  mouth  f  :  But  he  foresees  the 
day,  when  he  sliall  lead  captivity  captive  ;  and  he  seems  to  glory 
in  the  view  of  it,  and  to  comfort  himself,  as  it  were,  in  the 
thought  of  that  ample  vengeance  which  he  will  shortly  take  on 
their  cruel  destroyer.  Is  not  that  the  language  of  those  sublime 
words  ?  /  will  rajisom  themjrom  the  power  oj  the  grave :  I 
will  redeem  them  from  death  :  O  death,  I  will  he  thy  plagues ; 
O  grave,  I  will  be  thy  destruction ;  Bepentance  shall  be  hid 
from  mine  eyesX-  "  Like  an  inexorable  conqueror,  I  will 
abolish  the  very  memorial  of  thee." 

And  when  the  glorious  work  is  accomplished,  with  what 
complacency  and  delight  will  he  survey  it !  How  joyfully  will 
he  welcome  that  important  day,  which  is  to  Avipe  away  the  re- 
proach of  his  servants,  and  to  clothe  them  with  beauty,  honour, 
and  immortality  !  When  he  sees  them  springing  out  of  their 
graves,  as  a  mighty  nation  born  at  once,  and  shining  in  his  own 
complete  likeness,  with  what  pleasure  will  he  view  that  happ}^ 
change,  hear  their  mutual  congratulations,  and  accept  their 
united  praises !  Attendant  angels  will  undoubtedly  rejoice ; 
The  morning  stars  will  sing  sweeter,  than  at  laying  tiie  founda- 
tions of  the  earth,  and  the  Sons  of  God  will  shout  louderybr  joy  §. 
With  what  pleasure  then  must  the  blessed  Jesus  view  it,  as  the 
work  of  his  own  love,  and  the  travail  of  his  very  soul ! 

It  is  a  known  circumstance  in  the  story  of  Augustus  Caesar, 
that  when  he  was.quittiiig  empire  and  life,  he  expressed  his 
great  satisfaction  in  the  improvements  he  had  made  in  the  build- 
ings of  Rome,  so  tliat  whereas  he  found  it  brick,  he  left  it  mar- 
ble ||.     But  surely  Christ  may  much  more  justly  glory   in  it, 

*  Joel  ii.  6,         f  Psal.  cxli.  7.  +  Hos,  xiLi,  U.  §  Job  xxxviii.  T. 

II  Jure  lit  gloriatus  marmoream  se  relinquere,  quam  lateritiam  accepisset, 
Sueton.  Vit.  Aug.  cap.  28. 

3 


Meditations  on  the  Tears  of  Jesus,  isc.  397 

^vhen  lio  descends  in  all  the  pomp  of  tlu;  resurrection-day,  tliat 
he  has  made  a  nobler  change,  even  in  this  corporeal  part  of  our 
nature  ;  and  that  wliereas  he  found  it  mortal  corruptible  clay, 
he  has  raised  it  to  a  strength  and  splendor  superior  to  that  of 
marble  or  adamant.  Tiiis  is  the  joy  and  triumpli  of  the  blessed 
Jesns  :  IMiis  is  the  glorious  hope,  that  animates  the  christian  un- 
der tile  mournful  prospect  of  the  ravages  of  death. 

Glorious  hope  !  reviving  thought !  at  once  adequate  to  the 
sorrows  of  this  day  ;  to  the  solemn  occasion  of  w  hich  I  must 
now  turn,  and  persuade  myself,  I  shall  not  trespass  on  your  pa- 
tience, though  I  should  a  little  transgress  the  limits  of  your 
time,  while  I  speak  of  that  venerable  and  excellent  person,  of 
that  dear,  amiable,  generous  friend,  whose  much  lamented  re- 
moval has  directed  our  meditations  to  this  fruitful  subject,  on 
M'hich  it  has  been  so  hard  to  confine  them. 

The  Reverend  and  eminently  worthy  Dr.  Samuel  Clark  had 
the  honour  to  be  descended  from  ancestors  remarkable  for  their 
learning  and  piety,  Mr.  Samuel  Clark  of  Bennet  Fink,  so  well 
knowti  by  his  historical  writings,  was  his  great  grandfather  by  the 
father's  side  *  ;  and  Mr.  Samuel  Clark  of  Aylesbury,  the  autlior 
of  those  judicious  annotations  on  the  bible,  which  are  still  so 
generally  esteemed,  was  his  mother's  father.  As  he  bore  the 
name  of  each,  he  imitated  them  both,  as  well  in  their  ministerial, 
as  christian  character.  His?  immediate  parents  were  very  valua- 
ble persons,  whom  God  spared  to  an  advanced  age  to  rejoice  in 
such  a  son  ;  whom,  in  regard  to  the  early  marks  both  of  genius 
and  seriousness  which  they  discerned  in  him,  they  early  conse- 
crated, together  with  his  younger  brother,  the  late  Reverend 
Mr.  Daniel  Clark,  to  the  service  of  the  sanctuary.  He  pur- 
sued his  academical  studies  under  the  direction  of  the  learned 
Dr.  Ker,  with  whom,  as  I  have  been  assured  bv  those  who  were 
then  his  companions,  he  acquired  an  early  reputation  ;  particu- 
larly, for  that  accurate  acquaintance  with  the  greek  language, 
and  that  intimate  knowledge  of  the  scriptures,  both  of  ttie  Old 
and  New  Testament,  in  the  original,  which  is  so  important,  I 
had  almost  said,  so  indispensable  a  part  of  ministerial  furniture. 
When  he  left  the  academy-,   he  did   not  chuse  to  enter  on 

*  I  have  often  heard  Dr.  Clavk  express  the  great  satisfaction  he  had,  in  reading 
a  piece  of  this  author,  winch  is  called  Select  Lives,  in  a  small  folio.  It  uideed  con- 
tains many  very  memorable  thinjis,  no. where  else  to  be  found;  and  Dr.  Clark  said, 
his  early  acquaintance  with  it  had  so  happy  a  tendency  to  form  his  ininJ  to  the 
knowledge  and  love  of  inward  religion,  and  its  secret  exercises  j  that  he  could  not  but 
earnestly  recommend  it  toothers,  especially  to  young  theological  students. 

VOL.  III.  J  D 


8J»8     ON  THE  DEATH  OF  THE  REV.  DR.  S.  CLARK.    SeR.  VI. 

preacliinfT  directly,  though  I  behove  few  of  his  years  Avere  better 
quahfied  for  it :  JUit  he  resided  some  time  in  two  famihes  of 
rank,  under  the  capacity  of  a  chaplain  and  tutor  ;  where,  while 
he  was  directing  the  studies  of  young  gentlemen  committed  to 
his  care,  he  was  greatly  improving  his  own.     He  had  in  one  or 
these  families  considerable  otl^'ers  of  preferment  in  the  established 
church  ;  which,  in  concurrence  with  other  much  weightier  con- 
siderations, put  him  on  studying  the  foundations  of  noncon- 
forinit}-  with  great  attention.     The  result  is  well  known  to  you, 
by  the  happy  effects  of  it,  which  you  enioyed  for  so  many  years  : 
And  though  no  man  was  less  insla\  ed  to  a  party-spirit,   or  more 
ready  to  do  justice  and  honour  to  learning,  moderation,  and 
piety,  wherever  he  found  any  of  them  ;  yet  I  am  authorised  to 
say,  he  never  repented  the  choice  he  made,  under  all  its  tempo- 
ral disadvantages  :  Nor  is  it  any  M'onder  to  me,  that  the  observa- 
tion of  growing  years,  and  the  freest  converse  with  men  and 
books,  and  above  all,  the  nearest  views  of  eternity  increased  his 
satisfaction  in  it. 

During  this  period  of  retirement,  of  which  I  have  just  been 
speaking,  he  gave  that  accurate  examination  to  all  the  most  re- 
markable theological  controversies,  on  which  he  fixed  his  judg- 
ment in  relation  to  them.     And   as  he  heard  all   the  different 
parties  of  christians  pleading  for  themselves,  and  endeavoured 
to  try  them  all  by  scripture,   as  the  only  infallible  standard,  he 
happily  steered  between  opposite  extremes  :   And  his  great  na- 
tural sagacity  enabling   him  to  see   much  farther  into  many 
questions,   than  the  generality  of  mankind  do,  he  plainly  dis- 
cerned, that  many  matters  which  have  been  most  warmly  de- 
bated, have  related  to  what  is  circumstantial  rather  than  essen- 
tial in  the  doctrines  of  Christianity,  and  when  sifted  to  the  bot- 
tom, relate  rather  to   different   phrases,  than  different  ideas. 
This  gave  him  that  moderation,  for  which  he  was  so  eminently 
remarkable  and  amiable  ;  and  engaged  him,  while  he  was  vigo- 
rously supporting   and   strongly  enforcing  the  great  peculiari- 
ties of  the  gospel,  to  hold  the  truth  in  love,  and  not  only  to  bear 
with  those  that  expressed  themselves  differently  with  respect  to 
some  of  them,   but  to  pay  a  real  deference  to  those   valuable 
qualities   which  he  discerned   in  them,  and  to   whi(;h  no  man 
seemed   to   render  more  impartial  justice.     It   was  a  maxim, 
which  he  early  imbibed,  and  constantly  retained,  ''  that  all  the 
heresies   which  had   corrupted  and  afflicted  the  church,   owed 
their  original  to  men's  departing  from  the  simplicity  of  scrip- 
ture, and  must  derive  their  cure  from  a  return  to  it." 

\V'hen  he  appeared  under  the  character  of  a  preacher,  he 


Meditations  on  the  Tears  of  Jesus,  S(c.  3!>9 

li.ippily  ioiiicd  the  rational  and  pathetic  with  tlie  scriptural  and 
evangelical  strain.  In  consc(|uence  of  this,  the  most  judicious 
hearers  were  entertained,  whilst  the  least  knowing  were  in- 
structed, and  tJK'V  who  had  niatle  the  greatest  progress  in  the 
divine  life  were  led  on  to  farther  improvements.  It  was  an 
honour  to  the  taste  and  judgment  of  those  who  then  constituted 
this  society,  that  they  inianiniouslv  made  choice  of  him  for 
their  pastor  :  And  who  can  express  how  great  a  hlessing  it  has 
been  to  the  church  and  auditory,  to  have  enjoyed  the  benefit  of 
his  labours  more  than  thirtv-eight  years  ?  During  which,  as 
t'verv  public  assembly  in  which  he  presided,  has  been  witness 
to  the  fervency  of  his  prayers,  and  the  excellent  matter  and 
tendency  of  his  discourses ;  so  he  has  had  a  testimony  in 
the  conscience  of  every  one  that  knew  him,  liow  powerful  his 
instructions  and  exhortations  were  enforced  by  the  most  blame- 
less and  honourable  conversation. 

Most  remarkably  may  it  be  said  of  him,  that  in  strenu- 
ous imitation  of  his  Divine  Master,  he  went  about  doing  good ; 
and  all  the  branches  of  his  work  were  his  deligiit.  As  his 
mind  was  furnished  with  a  rich  variety  of  knowledge,  in 
consequence  of  a  long  and  very  close  attention  to  reading, 
meditation,  and  prayer  ;  so  he  was  always  ready  to  commu- 
nicate it,  and  desirous  to  support,  wherever  he  came,  a  spi- 
rit of  rational  and  improving  conversation  ;  that  he  might  fill 
up  his  time  profitably  abroad  as  well  as  at  home,  and  redeem 
the  hours  which  are  so  frequently  lost  even  1)y  persons  of 
knowledge  and  piety.  Seasons  appointed  for  meals  were  not 
exempted  from  his  care  ;  and  as  the  book  of  God,  of  course, 
fnrnislud  out  his  own  family  food  for  the  mind  during  that 
of  the  morning*,  so  what  he  daily  met  with  in  other  books, 
often  greatly  improved  by  his  own  judicious  reflections,  was 
happily  introduced  on  other  occasions. 

His  generous  heart  was  always  working  with  some  bene- 
volent and  useful  design  ;  and  he  endeavoured  to  inspire  all 
about  him  with  such  sentiments,  and  to  encourage  to  the  ut- 
most every  worthy  pursuit,  whether  in  his  brethren  in  the 
ministrv,  or  in  private  christians.  His  steadiness  of  temper 
carried  him  through  the  various  accidents  of  life,  with  uncom- 
mon  composure.     Far   from   that  desultory  temper,   which  is 

*  It  was  ill  Dr.  Clark's  family  a  Rrneral  custonii  if  no  oUicr  ncrcssary  snb- 
joct  of  conversatioa  occurred,  for  ovcry  member  of  it  present  at  breakfaii  to 
roprat  a  text  of  scripture  ;  and  I  have  known  it  from  thcuce  transplanted  else- 
wiiere. 

3  D  2 


400       ON  THE  DEATH  OF  THE  REV.  DR.  S.  CLARK.   SeR.  VI, 

often  so  fatal  to  the  usefulness  even  of  great  men,  he  pursued 
with  persevering  patience  whatever  good  design  he  undertook  ; 
and  that  prudence  which  was  so  distinguished  a  part  of  his  cha- 
racter, enabled  him  to  judge  of  the  importance  of  ends,  and  the 
properest  measures  of  obtaining  them  :  So  that  I  have  seldom 
known  any,  who  appeared  to  suffer  fewer  disappointments  in 
the  prosecution  of  their  schemes,  than  he. 

His  great  modesty  did  indeed  prevent  him  from  some 
public  services,  of  which  he  was  on  many  accounts  very  ca- 
pable :  I  mean,  instructing  the  world  more  frequently  from  the 
press.  But  the  few  specimens  of  this  kind  Avhich  he  has  given, 
are  sufficient  to  make  us  regret  there  are  no  more,  and  to  excite 
our  wishes  that  some  way  may  be  found  of  rescuing  from  obli- 
vion some  of  his  many  valuable  remains. 

It  was  one  instance  of  Dr.  Clark's  remai'kable  wisdom,  that 
he  was  a  most  attentive  observer  of  providence  :  And  the  con- 
duct of  providence  towards  him  was,  in  many  respects,  pecu- 
liarly worthy  of  observation  :  He  delighted  himself  in  the 
Almighty,  and  God  gave  him  the  desire  of  his  heart. 

He  was  undoubtedly  one  of  the  happiest,  as  well  as  one 
of  the  best  of  men,  in  domestic  life  ;  and  indeed,  for  a  long 
course  of  years,  prosperity  seemed  to  attend  on  all  his  steps. 
As  he  was  greatly  blessed  in  a  most  suitable,  affectionate,  and 
amiable  consort,  and  in  a  train  of  lovely  children,  he  treated 
them  always  with  the  most  endearing  tenderness,  and  was  per- 
petually labouring  to  improve  all  his  influence  over  them,  for 
their  advancement  in  religion,  and  in  whatever  else  might  make 
them  capable  of  increasing  happiness. 

Prudence  taught  him  to  form  friendship  with  due  delibera- 
tion, and  none  could  cultivate  it  more  faithfully  ;  nor  could  any 
one  be  happier  in  expressing  the  kind  sentiments  with  which  his 
heart  overflowed,  wherever  he  professed  it,  or  more  ready  to 
think  himself  obliged,  or  to  return  with  interest  every  good  of- 
fice he  received.  And  the  good  hand  of  his  God  was  remark- 
ably upon  him  in  this  respect,  in  sparing  to  him  for  many  years 
some  intimate  friends,  for  whom  he  had  through  life  the  highest 
esteem  ;  and  in  raising  up  others  towards  the  close  of  his  life, 
who  shewed  in  the  most  obliging  manner  the  high  respect  they 
paid  to  his  merit  as  soon  as  they  began  to  know  it,  and  the 
pleasure  they  took  in  contributing  to  his  happiness. 

As  God  had  placed  him  in  more  plentiful  circumstances 
than  many  of  his  brethren,  it  appeared  that  he  well  knew  how 
to  use  and  to  become  them.  His  mind  was  too  great  to  be  in 
any  degree  elated  with  them,  too  wise  and  too  good  to  fail  of 
improving  them  for  the  best  purposes.     His  liberal  soul  devis- 


Meditations  07i  the  Tears  of  Jesus,  S^c.  401 

ed  liberal  things,  uiiich  y(^t  he  was  studious  to  conceal.  lie 
took  a  peculiar  pleasure,  ui  hospitably  sharint^  witli  his  brethren 
and  friends  the  bounties  of  divine  Providence  ;  and  gave  and 
received  a  new  supply  of  spirits,  while  he  was  conversing 
with  them  in  such  circumstances. 

Thus  did  this  good  and  happy  man  pass  through  a  long 
series  of  years,  increasing  in  knowledge  and  in  piety,  in  zeal 
and  usefulness  ;  loving  all,  and  by  all  beloved  ;  honouring  all, 
who  deserved  any  peculiar  regard,  and  by  all  such  honoured,  in 
proportion  to  their  knowledge  of  him  ;  bringing  joy  into  cvi^yy 
house  which  he  entered,  and  most  of  all  into  his  own  when  he 
returned  to  it.  And  when  towards  the  close  of  so  bright  a  day, 
heavy  afflictions  visited  him,  he  took  occasions  from  them  to 
exhibit  new  virtues  and  graces,  and  to  demonstrate  that  it  was 
not  from  speculation  alone,  he  had  known  how  so  well  in  pros- 
perity to  inculcate  the  duties  of  adversity.  He  bore  frequent 
visits  of" acute  pain,  with  uncommon  patience  and  cheerfulness  : 
And  though  the  unutterable  pleasure  betook  in  exerting  him- 
self continually  in  public  service,  rendered  his  paralytic  disor- 
ders peculiarly  grievous  ;  yet  even  these  he  supported  with 
great  resignation  to  the  will  of  God,  and  cheerful  hope  in  his 
long  experienced  goodness.  And  in  this  visitation,  mercy  sur- 
rounded him  in  a  manner  well  worthy  of  our  recollection. 
Though  his  speech  was  so  much  affected  by  it,  as  to  render  him, 
for.  more  than  a  year  and  an  half,  incapable  of  the;  labours  of 
tlic  pulpit,  yet  his  understanding  continued  in  its  full  vigour  ; 
nor  did  I  ever  hear  him  discourse  with  more  sagacity  and  pene- 
tration, or  pray  with  more  readiness  or  pro|)riety  of  expression, 
than  since  this  lamented  complaint  seized  him:  And  he  was  still 
capable  of  study,  which  to  his  latest  days  he  pursued  with  as 
much  eagerness,  as  if  he  had  just  been  laying  in  his  furniture 
for  the  ministry. 

There  seemed  also  a  providential  beauty  in  the  vicissitudes 
of  Dr.  Clark's  illness  and  recovery.  A\'hereas  he  was  so  ex- 
tremely afflicted  for  a  considerable  time  at  Bath  with  a  compli- 
cation of  distempers,  that  his  skilful  physician  scarce  expected 
to  have  found  him  alive  at  his  return,  for  several  (.lays  ;  his 
spirits  still  kept  up  to  the  amazement  of  all  that  were  around 
him,  and  he  discovered  a  serenity  which  nothing  could  discom- 
pose, a  cheerfulness  which  nothing  could  overbear.  Thus  he 
triumphed  over  death,  when  it  seemed  to  make  its  nearest  and 
most  deliberate  approaches :  And  after  this  you  know,  in  how 
surprising  a  manner  he  was  given  back  to  the  prayers  which 
were  olfered  for  him,  and  restored  to  his  own  house,  and  the 
bouse  of  his  friends  again  ;   yea,  what  was  to  him  most  delight- 


402      ON  THE  DEATH  OF  THE  REV.  DR.  S.  CLARK.   SeR.  VI. 

ful  of  all,  restored  to  the  house  of  his  God.  I  cannot  express 
the  pleasure  with  which  I  reflect  upon  it,  that  the  last  sabbath, 
and  almost  the  last  day  of  his  Ufe,  was  spent  with  you  in  this 
place  ;  and  that  he  was  administring  the  sacrament  of  the 
Lord's-supper  to  you,  but  a  few  hours  before  he  received  his 
final  discharge  from  the  service  of  this  lower  world*.  And 
truly,  I  think  the  circumstances  of  that  discharge  peculiarly 
favourable.  To  be  so  suddenly  struck,  as  to  be  able  only  by 
a  speaking  smile  to  testify  to  the  dear  relatives  then  near  him, 
the  secret  tranquility  and  joy  of  his  heart,  when  all  the  powers 
of  utterance  and  of  nature  were  failing  him  at  once  ;  and  then 
to  take  flight  for  heaven,  without  so  much  as  a  groan,  is  a  death 
greatly  to  be  congratulated,  when  viewed  in  connexion  v/ith 
such  a  life. 

Oh  my  brethren,  what  shall  I  say  ?  With  difficulty  indeed 
do  I  restrain  a  thousand  thoughts  which  are  rising  in  my  mind, 
while  I  speak  of  my  friend,  of  my  father,  for  such  I  may  pro- 
perly call  him,  if  all  the  offices  of  paternal  tenderness  and  care 
can  merit  that  title.  We  cannot  but  mourn,  yet  let  us  rejoice  too. 
Let  us  rejoice  that  we  have  known  him,  and  known  him  to  be 
such  a  man  ;  that  he  has  marked  his  way  with  such  distinguished 
usefulness,  and  scatterd  so  many  blessings,  of  which  so  many  are 
left  behind  him.  As  when  Dorcas  was  gone,  surviving  friends 
shewed  the  garments  which  she  had  made  for  the  poor,  as  memorials 
of  her  goodness  so  may  I  this  day  shew  many  remaining,  many 
present  eflfects  of  Dr.  Clark's  piety  and  zeal;  and  though  so  many 
of  them  may  seem  to  be  hidden  in  the  grave,  yet  neither  are  they 
lost.  To  him,  I  ma}^  truly  say,  that  under  God  I  owe  even  my- 
self, and  all  my  opportunities  of  public  usefulness  in  the  church  ; 
to  him,  who  was  not  only  the  instructor  of  my  childhood  and 
3"outh  in  the  principles  of  religion,  but  my  guardian  when  an 
helpless  orphan,  as  well  as  the  generous,  tender,  faithful  friend, 
of  all  my  advancing  years.  By  him,  were  many  of  you  in- 
structed with  me  in  the  course  of  catechistical  lectures,  and 
other  exercises  of  the  like  kind,  which  he  so  happily  invented 
and  diversified  for  the  benefit  of  the  rising  generation. f  To 
him,  as  the  instrument  in  the  hand  of  divine  grace,  do  many  of 
you  owe  it,  that  early  religious  impressions  were  made  upon 
3'our  minds  ;   that  you  were  introduced  betimes  to  the  table  of 

*  On  Lord's-day,  December  2,  whereas  he  died  on  the  Tuesday  following. 

\  It  was  oustomaiy  with  Dr.  Clark  for  many  years,  to  meet  youni^  persons  at 
the  vestry  on  the  Thursday  evenings  for  religious  conversations,  in  which  he  went 
over  successively  some  useful  subjects,  of  wJiich  he  gave  them  some  schemes  in 
writing,  that  tliey  might  give  him  an  account  of  them.     Thus  he  went  over  the 


Meditations  oti  the  Tears  of  Jesus,  &V.  40;? 

tlie  Lord  ;  and  that  you  were  formi-d,  by  all  tlic  advantap^es  of 
instruction  and  example,  to  tliose  cliaraclers  wiiieli  many  ot'you 
so  wortliilv  and  usefully  sustain.  In  some  families  he  has  been 
in  all  tlies<'  r<.'sj)ects  successively  ahlcssini;  to  parents  and  child- 
ren ;  anil  he  has  with  unutteral)le  pleasure  se(;n  in  many  of  you, 
that  his  Labours  have  not  been  in  vain  in  the  Lord.  And  I  cannot 
look  upon  the  childnMi  of  the  charity  school  now  present,  with- 
out recollecting-,  iliat  it  is  now  more  than  thirty  years  since  it 
was  founded  by  his  pious  care,  exciting  the  gencralitv^  of  jiis 
flock,  to  make,  if  I  mistake  not,  the  first  ellbrts  of  this  kind,  that 
was  ever  made  among  the  dissenters  in  the  country  ;  which  has 
since  been  followed  in  niaiiy  other  places  with  liappy  success, 
and  which  I  hope  will  still  be,  as  I  am  sure  the  institution  hera 
lias  already  been  a  means  of  great  good,  with  respect  both  to 
the  temporal  and  eternal  interest  of  many,  ^vho  must  otherwise 
have  been  exposed  to  great  ignorance  and  wretchedness. 

Such  are  the  monuments,  which  our  honoured  friend  lias 
left  behind  him:  And  may  they  long  remain!  May  the  effects 
of  his  pious  and  excellent  labours  be  more  and  more  conspicu- 
ous !  Grievous  indeed  would  it  be,  if  any  who  heard  such 
exhortations,  and  saw  them  illustrated  by  such  an  example, 
should  remain  unimpressed  with  a  sense  of  divine  things.  If 
there  be  any  such  present,  let  me  entreat  them  to  hear  him 
once  more  while  dead,  yet  speaking.  Let  me  entreat  them  to 
give  an  attentive  perusal  to  those  excellent  sermons  on  the  folly 
of  irresolution  in  religion,  which  at  our  united  request  he  pub- 
lished :  They  seem  sufficient  to  convince  every  conscience  ; 
and  oh  that  divine  grace  might  add  efficacy  to  the  conviction  ! 
As  for  those  of  us,  who  by  that  grace  have  felt  and  submitted 
to  the  power  of  such  considerations,  and  are  now  serving  God 
in  the  sincerity  of  our  liearts,  what  can  be  more  seasonable, 
under  our  present  distress,  than  to  have  recourse  to  that  col- 
lection of  scripture-promises,  which  he  so  judiciously  ranged 
in  connexion  with  the  characters  to  which  they  are  made. 
Let  us  drink  of  these  living  streams,  from  that  fountain  which 
never  can  be  drawn  dry,  and  our  souls  shall  be  refreslied  ;  and 
we  shall  be  taught  to  say,  with  a  joy  which  a  loss  like  this  will 
not  be  able  to  take  away.  The  Lord  liveth,  and  blessed  be  our 
lock  ;    and  let  the  God  of  our  salvation  be  exalted.     Amen. 

historj'  of  scripture,  the  evidences  of  natural  and  revealed  religion,  tlie  reasons  of 
the  reformation  from  poperj",  and  the  ethics  of  Solomon,  collected  fi-oiu  a  very 
judicious  analysis  which  he  made  of  his  proverbs  and  book  of  Ecilesiastes.  He 
has  left  behind  him  fairly  transcribed  in  short  hand,  between  two  and  three  huiid* 
red  discourses  on  this  last  subject,  which  I  could  wish  in  every  hand,  so  far  *s  I 
can  judge  of  the  specimen  I  have  seen  of  them. 


404  ON  THE  DEATH  OF  THE  REV.  J.  NEWMAK. 


AN    ORATION 

AT    THE    GRAVE    OF 

THE  REV.    MR.    JOHN    NEWMAN. 

Spoke  on  July  31,  1741. 

The  substance  ofuhrU  ivas  delivered  at  the  interment  of  the  Rev.  Mr.  Netvman, 
JuhjZX,  1741  ,■  zviihthe  addition  of  so?ne particulars,  xvhich  there  was  not 
time  then  to  irUroduce. 


A> 


.S  we  advance  from  one  stage  to  another  in  the  journey  of 
life,  we  grow  still  more  familiarl}'^  acquainted  with  its  various 
afflictions.  And  this  is  the  constitution  of  a  wise  and  gracious 
God,  who  is  thus  training  us  up  for  that  world,  where  we  shall 
be  above  the  need  of  sorrow,  and  so  for  ever  above  the  rea<5h 
of  it.  In  the  mean  time,  our  heavenly  father  doth  not  leave  us 
comfortless  ;  and  blessed  be  his  name,  his  Consolations  are  not 
small.  On  the  contrary,  they  are  most  important,  as  well  as 
various,  and  so  accommodated,  .both  to  the  weight,  and  to  the 
variety  of  our  distresses. 

We  are  now  an  assembly  of  mourners,  gathered  together 
around  the  grave  of  a  very  worthy  and  excellent  person.  Some 
of  us  have  lost  one  of  the  most  affectionate  of  all  parents  ;  others, 
a  wise,  watchful,  and  diligent  pastor  ;  and  all  that  knew  him 
to  any  degree  of  intimacy,  so  faithful,  and  so  tender  a  friend, 
that  we  must  be  strangely  happy,  if  we  find  a  great  many  like 
him,  in  this  imperfect  and  impoverished  world.  But  there  are 
comforts  in  the  word  of  God,  suited  exactly  to  such  a  case 
as  this,  and  expressly  designed  to  teach  us,  that  we  should  not 
sorrow  as  those  who  have  no  hope,  for  the  removal  of  such  as, 
like  him,  sleep  in  Jesus.  God  would  have  us  cheered  m  such  a 
touching  circumstance  ;  and  that  the  comfort  may  be  adminis- 
tered in  the  most  proper  and  effectual  manner,  he  puts  words 
into  our  mouth  upon  such  an  occasion,  that  we  may  not  be  at  a 
loss,  even  when  our  own  are  swallowed  up  :  many  words, 
■which  have  been  through  succeeding  ages,  ever  since  they  were 


Funeral  Oration.  405 

xrritten,  the  joy  of  dyinir  and  surviving  christians,  in  whatever 
circumstances  "they  might  die  or  survive.  And  these  consola- 
tions are,  indeed,  hke  some  kinds  of  rich  perfume,  winch  rctam 
their  fragrancy  from  one  age  to  another  :  hut  with  this  glorious 
dilTercnre,  that  whereas  those  cordial  productions  of  nature 
gradually  lose  their  sweetness,  though  hy  slow  degrees,  these 
consolations  rather  grow  more  and  more  powerful,  as  the  great 
obiects  of  that  hope  which  they  administer  come  nearer  and 

nearer  to  us. 

Attend  to  them  therefore  with  faith, and  you  must  surely, 
if  you  are  indeed  cliristians,  attend   with   pleasure.     Let  the 
most  pained  heart,  though  contracted  with  the  most  distin- 
guished share  of  sorrow  on  this  mournful  occasion,    open  itself 
to  these  comforts;  and  let  the  dejected,  weeping,  overflowing 
eye,  be  raised  to  meet  so  glorious  a  prospect.     For  I  say  and 
testify  to  you  by  the  word  of  the  Lord,  as  spoken  to  us  by  that 
illustrious  apostle  St.  Paul,  that  the  pious  dead  are  not  perished  ; 
but  that  i/we  believe  I  hat  Jesus  died  and  rose  again,  we  have  all 
imaginable  reason  to  depend  upon  it,  that  such  as  s/ecp  in  Jesus 
God  will  bring  with  him  :  For  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  himself 
shall  descend  from  heaven  with  a  shout,   with  the  voice  of  the 
arch-angel,  and  with  the  trump  of  God ;   and  the  dead  in  Christ 
shall  rise  first :   Then  we  also,  i.  e.  those  of  us  christians,  who 
in  our  different  generations  arc  all  but  one  body,  who  remain 
alive,  shall  he  caught  up  together  with  them   to  meet  the  Lord 
in  the  air  ;    and  so  shall  we  ever  be  xvith  the  Lord.     Wherefore y 
comfort  ye  one  another  with  these  words. 

Lift  up  your  heads,  oh  !  ye  mourning  christians,  to  survey 
more  distinctly  this  delightful  prospect.  Lift  them  up  with  joy; 
for  your  redemption,  and  that  of  your  now  lamented  tnend's, 
most  assuredly  draweth  nigh. 

The  grave  is  continually  multiplying  its  triumphs  ;  and 
with  how  many  of  its  affecting  trophies  ar(i  we  here  surrounded  ! 
we  die  by  the  righteous  sentence  of  God  against  sin,  agamst 
the  first  sin  of  the  common  founder  of  our  race  :  But  as  by  man 
came  death,  by  man  comes  also  the  resurrection  of  the  dead;  ami 
as  we  are  bearing  the  image  of  the  earthly  /Idam,  and  shall  ere 
lono  like,  him,  return  to  the  dust,  we  shall  also  bear  the  nnage  of 

the  heavenly. 

It  docs  not  surelv  seem  an  incredible  thing  to  any  of  us, 

that  God  should  raise  the  dead.     And  if  it  seem  not  incredible, 

it  cannot  possibly  be  thought  inconsiderable  :    especially  when 

we  reflect  on  the  glorious  manner,   in  which  the  resurrection 

VOL.  III.  y  ^ 


406  ON  THE  DEATH  OF  THE  REV.  J.  NBVVMAN. 

of  the  just  is  to  be  accomplished.  Our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  will 
see  to  it,  that  it  be  done  ;  yea,  lie  will  himself  be  present  at  it : 
it  shall  be  done  by  his  express  care,  command,  and  power. 
The  Lord  himself  will  descend  frojn  heaven  on  this  account, 
while  all  his  celestial  attendants  shall  shout  forth  their  joys  on 
the  illustrious  occasion.  And  the  first  thing  whicli  he  does  iipoa 
that  descent,  even  before  he  takes  any  visible  and  distinct 
notice  of  the  saints  then  alive,  will  be  to  call  out  of  their  graves 
those  that  sleep  in  him  :  as  if  he  were  impatient  of  that  bondage 
in  which  their  bodies  had  been  detained,  and  a  declared  enmity 
against  that  destroyer.  O  death,  says  he,  with  a  majestic  indig- 
nation, /  will  be  thy  plagues  !  Repentance  shall  be  hid  from 
mine  eyes.  I  will  not  leave  thee  one  of  my  servants  to  triumph 
over  :  however  obscure  in  life  ;  how  long  soever  forgotten  in 
the  dust ;  I  will  redeem  all  my  Israel,  and  not  a  hoof  shall  be  left 
behind. 

And,  oh,  let  us  consider  in  what  forms  they  shall  appear : 
He  willchange  these  vile  bodies,  that  they  may  be  fashioned  like 
unto  his  own  glorious  body,  according  to  that  mighty  power 
whereby  he  is  able  to  subdue  all  things  unto  himself:  Then 
■shall  be  brought  to  pass  the  saying  that  is  written.  Death  is 
swallowed  up  in  Victory  :  not  the  least  trace  of  it  remaining  in 
all  the  redeemed  world  :  nothing  by  w^hich  it  could  be  known, 
that  any  one  of  all  the  thousands  and  ten  thousands  of  God's 
Israel  had  ever  been  for  one  moment  under  its  power.  Glori- 
ous display  of  the  royalty  and  magnificence  of  God's  love  to 
Lis  people  !  That  though  it  be  not  in  itself  absolutely  necessary 
to  their  happiness  ;  yet  the  meaner  part  of  their  nature  shall 
be  rescued  from  the  abasements  of  the  grave,  and  not  only 
recovered,  but  beautified,  invigorated,  and  adorned  ! 

Nor  is  this  to  be  merely  the  triumph  of  one  public  and 
solemn  day.  It  is  added,  as  the  crown  of  all,  so  shall  we  ever 
be  with  the  Lord  I  And  let  it  be  remembered ,  that  it  is 
said,  not  of  the  apostles  alone,  or  of  those,  who  like  our  reverend 
father,  whose  remains  we  now  attend,  have  borne  sacred  offices 
in  the  church,  and  honoured  God  in  them  by  distinguished 
services  ;  but  it  is  said  of  every  true  believer,  and  was  intended 
to  include  us,  on  Avhom  the  ends  of  the  world  are  come,  who 
are,  so  far  as  our  character  answers  our  christian  profession,  as 
dear  to  Christ,  as  if  we  had  lived  seventeen  hundred  years  ago, 
and  ministered  to  him,  or  to  his  apostles.  And  how  much  is 
implied  in  this  ?  We  shall  be  Avith  Christ !  Glorious  hope, 
worth  dying  for  ?  Who,  that  indeed  love^  him,  does  not  say 
in  his  heart,  even  now,  with  all  these  solemn  ensigns  of  death 


Funeral  Oration.  407 

before  his  eyes,  I  desire  to  depart  and  to  be  10101  Christ:  And 
let  the  worms  destroy  this  bodj/,  and  let  tlie  tomb  press  it  down: 
May  Init  my  enlarged  spirit  soar  up  to  him,  though  corporeal 
delights,  and  creatnre  converse  were  to  be  known  no  more!  But 
you  will  remember,  Ave  are  to  be  with  the  Lord  in  our  complete 
persons,  and  in  one  complete  society  too  :  and  what  is  the  crown 
of  all,  and  aflbrds,  in  a  few  words,  if  I  may  so  speak,  a  kind  of 
infinite  delight,  wd  shall  be  for  ever  with  him.  Nothing  shall 
ever  separate  us  from  him  ;  nothing  imbitter,  nothing  interrupt, 
so  much  as  for  a  moment,  the  pleasure  of  our  endeared  converse 
with  him. 

And  now  I  will  appeal  to  you,  my  dear  friends,  who  are 
most  painfully  wounded  by  this  sad  stroke  ;  and  to  whom  all  the 
tender  names  of  father,  and  pastor,  and  friend,  are  grown  sounds 
of  sorrowful  memorial,  in  proportion  to  the  degree  in  which  they 
were  once  delightful ;  yet  I  will  ajjpeal  even  to  yon,  if  these  are 
not  good  and  comfortable  words,  fit  for  an  apostle  to  write,  and 
for  God  himself  to  dictate  to  his  mourning  children.  It  appears 
from  what  I  have  been  saying,  that  it  is  well  with  our  dear  de- 
parted friends  who  sleep  in  Jesus:  they  are  sealed  up  among 
God's  treasures:  Theij  enter  into  peace,  they  rest  in  their  beds; 
and  they  shall  rise  from  them  in  the  morning  of  the  resurrection, 
not  like  Lazarus,  with  his  grave  clothes  about  him  ;  but  dressed 
in  the  robes  of  glory  and  immortality.  And  if  this  were  all  that 
could  be  said  with  relation  to  them,  were  it  not  to  sound  reason 
and  a  lively  fuith  much,  were  it  not  abundantly  enough  to  vindi- 
cate the  kindness  of  God's  dispensations  towards  them,  though 
they  might  seem  for  a  short  moment,  while  they  lie  in  the  dust, 
as  under  his  rebnkes  ?  were  it  not  enough  to  awaken  our  con- 
gratulations rather  than  our  condolences  ?  Yet  to  increase  the 
pleasure,  Avith  which  we  look  after  these  beloved  objects,  now 
removed  from  our  sight,  we  are  farther  told,  and  it  is  by  no 
means  to  be  forgotten,  that  even  now,  Avhilc  absent  from  the 
bodiy,  they  arc  in  an  important  sense  and  degree  preseyit  with  the 
Lord;  and  so  present,  that  their  most  intimate  converse  with 
liim  on  earth  was,  in  comparison  with  this,  but  absence  from 
Imn.  It  is  then  well  wiih  them  indeed  ;  and  it  shall  be  well  with 
mn  too,  if  we  are  christians ;  so  soon,  so  certainly,  so  entirely 
Avell.  that  I  wonder  at  the  weakness  of  our  minds,  that  they 
-liould  be  so  much  depressed  with  this  short  separation:  for 
these  very  scriptures  assure  us,  we  shall  meet  with  them  again; 
lor  they  and  we  being  with  the  Lord,  we  must  be  Avith  each  other. 
Wh-AX  a  delightful  thonght  is  this !   Avhen  we  run  over  the  long 

3  E  2 


408  ON  THE  DEATH  OF  THE  REV.  J.  NEWMAN". 

Catalogue  of  excellent  friends,  which  we  rashly  say  we  have  lost, 
to  think,  each  of  us,  I  also  shall  be  gathered  to  my  people,  to 
those  whom  my  heart  still  owns  under  that  character,  with  an 
affection  Avhich  death  could  not  cancel,  nor  these  years  of  ab- 
sence erase.  Nature  takes  a  fond  kind  of  pleasure  in  the  secret 
thought,  that  with  regard  to  some  of  them,  our  coffins  shall 
in  a  little  time  stand  by  theirs,  and  our  dust  must  be  mingled 
in  the  same  grave.  Poor  trifling  comfort!  as  if  dust  could  tell 
where  it  M^as,  and  with  what  it  was  mingled.  But  the  gospel 
assures  us,  that  if  we  he  followers  of  them,  who  through  faith 
and  patience  do  now  inherit  the  promises,  our  spirits  shall  ere 
long  join  with  theirs,  in  the  services  and  pleasures  of  the  heaven- 
ly world.  And  how  far  Avili  this  be  beyond  all  that  pleasure 
with  which  on  earth  we  have  taken  sweet  counsel  together,  and 
gone  to  the  house  of  God  in  company !  And  it  also  assures  us, 
that,  at  last,  we,  who  have  taken  our  parts  in  the  sad  procession 
©f  mourners,  that  conveyed  them  to  this  house  of  darkness  and 
silence,  if  we  indeed  believe  in  him  who  is  the  resurrection  and 
the  life,  shall  also  have  our  place  in  that  bright  procession,  in 
which  Christ  shall  lead  them  on  to  the  gates  of  glory,  in  that  day, 
when  he  will  say,  in  a  yet  more  important  sense  than  he  did  in 
the  day  of  his  agony,  and  with  his  expiring  breath,  "  //  is  fini- 
shed: the  purposes  of  my  dying  love  are  completely  accom- 
plished, and  my  people  are  what  I  always  intended  they  should 
at  last  be,  and  always  rejoiced  in  the  views  of  making  them." 

Only  let  us  all  suffer  the  word  of  exhortation,  and  make  it 
our  care,  that  seeing  we  look  for  such  things,  we  receive  Christ 
Jesus  the  Lord,  and  walk  in  him.  It  is  a  terrible,  but  most  cer- 
tain truth,  that  there  are  many  who  wear  the  name  of  Christ 
now,  whom  he  will  at  last  disown,  and  will  say  to  them,  Depart 
from  7ne,  I  know  you  not  whence  you  are.  It  is  most  certain, 
we  must  be  united  to  Christ  by  faith  now,  and  conformed  to  him 
in  true  holiness,  or  we  shall  have  no  part  or  lot  in  this  matter. 
Let  us  therefore  gird  up  the  loins  of  our  mind,  let  us  renew  our 
resolution,  and  our  watchfulness,  and  so  hope  to  the  end,  for  the 
grace  that  shall  be  brought  unto  us  at  the  revelation  of  our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ,  when  he  shall  administer  to  all  his  faithful  servants 
an  abundant  entrance  into  his  heavenly  kingdom.     Amen. 


FUNERAL  SERMONS. 


CHRISTIAN'S  TRIUMPH  OVER  DEATH: 

A  SERMON  OCCASIONED  BY  THE  MUCH-LAMENTED  DEATH  OF  THE 

REV.  PHILIP  DODDRIDGE,  D.  D. 

AND    MINISTER    OF    THE    GOSPEL    AT    NORTHAMPTON. 

Wlioditd  October  26,  1731,  in  the  Fiftieth  Year  of  his  Age. 
BY  JOB  ORTON. 


THE  CHURCH  OF  CHRIST  AT  NORTHAMPION, 

t.ATFLY 

Under  the  Pastoral  Care  of  the  Rev.  Dr.  Doddridge; 
Grace,  Mercy,  and  Peace  from  God  our  Father,  and  from  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ. 


MY    DEAR    FRIENDS, 

Though  providence  has  removed  me  to  a  distance  from  you,  I  share  largely 
in  tiiose  sorrows,  with  which  your  minds  arc  filled  on  account  of  the  death  of 
your  learned,  pious,  and  excellent  pastor ;  an  event  which  all  our  churches 
greatly  and  justly  lament.     When  he  assigned  to  me  the  work  of  preatlnng 
the  sermon  on  that  occasion,  he  was  sensible  my  respect  for  you,  as  well  as  lor 
him,  would  not  suffer  me  to  decline  it.     In  compliance  with  his  desire  the 
following  discourse  was  drawn  up,  in  the  best  manner  I  could,  amidst  the 
languors  of  an  infirm  constitution,  and  the  interruption  of  many  necessary 
avocations.     And  it  had  been  long  ago  preached  among  you,  had  not  a  wise 
providence  permitted  an  unhappy  accident  to  befal  me,  which  conhnes  me  at 
home.    It  is  the  most  grievous  circumstance  in  this  allliction,  that  I  am  prevent- 
ed from  vibiting  vou,  performing  the  service  assigned  me  by  my  cvcr-honoui-- 
ed  friend  and  fm'hcr,  and  personally  suggesting  to  you  such  consolations  and 
advices  as  may,  in  present  circumstances,  be  peculiarly  useful.    'lo  su|>ply 
this  lack  of  service,  I  am  constrained  to  send  you  the  discourse  Irom  the  press: 
And  this,  I  hope,  will  be  a  sullkienl  apology  with  those,  who  may  thmk  it  un- 
worthy of  public  regard.     It  is  some  satisfaction  to  me  to  relied,  that  dis- 
courses,  on  such  solemn  occasions,  have  been  attended  with  great  uselulness, 
especially  to  the  acquaintance  and  friends  of  the  deceased,  which  has  often 
flowed,  not  so  much  from  the  thoughts  and  advices  contained  in  llicm  couii- 


410  DEDICATION. 

^ered  alone,  as  viewed  in  connection  with  the  awful  events  wliich  occasioned 
tliem.  I  liope  tfierefore,  tliat  a  recollection  of  the  Doctor's  eminent  worth,  and 
the  loss  his  family,  his  flock,  and  the  public  sustain  by  his  death,  will  cast  a 
veil  over  the  imperfections  of  this  discourse,  and  fill  every  reader's  heart  with 
so  much  seriousness  and  tenderness,  as  may  make  way,  for  the  plain  remarks 
and  admonitions  contained  therein,  to  impress  it,  and  through  the  influences 
of  tlie  Spirit  of  Jesus,  produce  some  valuable  effect. 

I  cannot  conclude  this  address  without  expressing  my  warmest  gratitude 
to  you.  for  all  the  respect  and  affection  with  which  you  honoured  me,  during 
the  agreeable  years  I  spent  amongst  you.  And  it  is  my  earnest  wish  and 
prayer,  that  you  may  yet  flourish,  and  be  edified,  xvalking  in  the  fear  of  the 
Lord,  and  the  con  forts  of  the  Hohj  Ghost:  Particularly  that  you  may  act  upon 
those  noble  and  truly  christian  maxims  of  candor  and  unanimity,  wliich  your 
late  pastor  inculcated  upon  you,  and  the  public,  in  all  your  future  conduct, 
and  especially  in  the  choice  of  his  successor;  that  the  Jiead  of  the  church 
■would  give  you  a  pastor  after  his  own  heart,  under  whom  you  may  daily  grow 
in  christian  knowledge  and  holiness,  and  be  training  up  for  the  perfection  and 
happiness  of  the  heavenly  state.    These  are  the  daily  prayers  of, 

Mtj  d^ar  Friends, 

Your  very  affectionate  Friend, 
and  Servant,  for  Jestis  sake, 

JOB  ORTON. 


The  Christians  Triumph  over  Death.  41  L 


SERMON  VIll. 


1  Cor.  xv.  54.  latter  part. Dcutk  isszvalbuxd  up  in  Hdory. 

A  HE  dying  bed  of  an  eminent  christian  is  a  most  melancholy, 
and,  at  the  same  time,  a  most  delightful  scene  :  Grief  for  the  do- 
minion of  sin  and  death,  and  the  loss  we  are  sustaining  by  his 
removal,  joy  in  the  supports  of  religion  he  feels,  and  the  pro- 
mises of  the  gospel  he  rests  upon,  take  place  in  our  minds  by 
turns,  and  sometimes  mingle  together.  But  in  a  soul  formed  to 
a  relish  for  virtuous  friendship,  and  deeply  impressed  with  the 
great  truths  of  Christianity,  the  joy  will  preponderate  ;  and  the 
pious  heart  will  overflow  with  sacred  delight  to  see  the  terrors 
of  death  removed,  to  observe  how  wonderfully  God  sustains  his 
servants  in  their  last  conflict,  and  what  an  attestation  they  give 
to  the  fulness  and  sweetness  of  christian  consolations.  In  this 
instance  in  particular,  God  graciously  makes  his  providence  a 
commentary  upon  his  word,  and  illustrates  the  promises  of  his 
gospel  by  the  joy  and  peace  he  diffuses  into  the  hearts  of  his 
dying  saints.  Our  text  has  often  been  the  means  of  producing 
this  joy,  and  is  indeed  one  of  the  most  comfortable  declarations, 
that  mortal  creatures  can  hear;  and  the  awful  event,  which 
directs  my  thoughts  to  it,  conhrms  the  excellency  and  suitable- 
ness of  it.  It  should,  certainly',  be  regarded  by  all  with  an  at- 
tention becoming  dying  creatures.  But  there  are  two  circum- 
stances, my  friends,  to  recommend  it  to  your  peculiar  regard, 
viz.  that  it  was  exemplified  in  the  closing  scenes  of  the  life  of 
your  late  worthy  pastor,  so  justly  dear  to  you  and  to  me,  and 
that,  out  of  a  particular  concern  for  your  support  and  encourage- 
ment, living  and  dying,  it  was  his  express,  his  last,  and  almost 
dying  request,  that  I  would  discourse  to  you  from  it,  on  this 
very  melancholy  occasion. 

The  excellent  and  reviving  chapter  of  which  the  text  is  a 
part,  was  intended  to  confute  the  opinion  of  those  who  said, 
there  was  A'o  resurrection  oj  the  dead*.  Their  error  seems  to 
have  been  in  asserting,  that  what  Christ  and  his  apostles  had  said 

♦  Whitby  in  loe. 


412   ON  THE  DEATH  OF  THE  REV.  DR.  DODDRIDGE.  SeR.  VHI. 

of  a  resurrection,  did  not  refer  to  a  resurrection  of  the  dead,  but 
a  resurrection  or  renovation  to  a  life  of  holiness  from  a  state  of 
sin,  which  is  justly  and  beautifully  described  as  a  state  of  death. 
This,  probably,  Avas  the  error  of  Hymeneus  and  Philetus,  who 
said,  that  The  resurrectmi  is  past  already  *.  The  apostle  Paul 
therefore  sets  himself  to  prove  at  large,  that  there  shall  be  a  re- 
surrection of  the  dead.  He  proves  it  possible,  from  the  resur- 
rection of  Christ;  a  well  known  and  undisputed  fact.  He  proves 
it  certain,  from  the  connection  between  this  fact,  and  the  au- 
thority of  the  apostles  to  publish  his  religion  ;  of  which  this  doc- 
trine was  so  distinguishing  and  glorious  a  part  ;  and  also  from 
the  relation,  in  which  Christ,  the  last  Adam  stood  to  mankind. 
And  as  the  objections  against  this  doctrine  chiefly  arose  from  not 
understanding  its  nature,  and  the  circumstances  of  the  new  body, 
he  enlarges  upon  these  topics  in  the  latter  part  of  the  chapter ; 
and  concludes  it  with  a  divine  and  most  eloquent  rapture,  de- 
scribing the  glorious  resurrection  of  the  saints,  of  whom  alone 
he  there  speaks,  and  triumphing  in  the  prospect  of  this  blissful 
event ;  So,  says  he,  when  this  corruptible  shall  have  put  on  iyicor- 
ruption,  and  this  mortal  shall  have  put  on  immortality ,  then 
shall  be  brought  to  pass  the  saying  that  is  written,  "  Death  is 
swallowed  up  in  Victory.''''  The  text  is  a  quotation  from  the  pro- 
phecies of  Isaiah,  where  it  is  said.  He  will  swallow  up  death  in 
victory  f  ;  and  probably  refers  to  the  deliverance  of  the  Israelites 
from  that  utter  destruction,  which  the  king  of  Assyria  threaten- 
ed, and  attempted  to  bring  upon  them  :  A  deliverance  that  was 
indeed,  life  from  the  dead.  It  is  with  great  propriety  and  beauty, 
that  these  sublime  and  comfortable  words  are  by  St.  Paul  ac- 
commodated to  the  resurrection  of  the  dead.  The  text  suggests 
to  us  these  two  remarks,  which  I  will  endeavour  to  illustrate,  and 
then  direct  you  to  the  proper  improvement  of  them. 

I.  Death  may  naturally  be  considered  as  an  enemy. 

II.  True  christians  shall  obtain  a  complete  victory  over  it. 

I.  Death  may  naturally  be  considered  as  an  enemy. 

This  is  implied  in  the  text,  Avhen  the  apostle  speaks  of  a 
victory;  and  it  is  expressly  asserted  in  verse  26.  The  last  ene- 
my that  shall  be  destroyed  is  Death.  It  is  an  enemy  we  are  every 
one  to  conflict  with,  for  There  is  no  discharge  in  that  warX- 
Death  is,  by  an  elegant  figure,  often  described  in  the  scriptures, 
as  a  person,  or  intelligent  agent.  It  is  emphatically  styled  The 
king  of  terrors^,  and  said  to  Reign  over  mankind  by  one  riians 

*  2  Tim.  ii.  18.  f  Isa.  xxv.  8.  +  Eccl.  viii.  3.  §  Job  xviii.  U. 

3 


The  ChristiarCs  Triumph  over  Death.  4 1 3 

offence*.     Nature  and  experience  teach  us  to  consider  death  as 
an  enemy;  for 

It  dissolves  tlie  union  between  soul  and  body.  It  dislodp^es 
the  soul,  willing  or  unwilling;  and  separates  it  from  its  old  and 
dear  companion.  Providence  has  wisely  implanted  in  every  hu- 
man mind  a  love  to  the  body  to  which  it  is  united,  and  a  tender 
concern  for  Its  health ;  insomuch  that,  No  man  ever  yet  hated 
his  own  flesh,  but  nourisketh  and  chcrisheth  itf.  Conscqiienb- 
ly  a  separation  must  be  painful.  Though  good  men  while  In 
this  tabernacle,  this  mean  precarious  building, ^?-ortn,  being  bur- 
dened, yet  there  is  a  natural  aversion  to  put  it  olf.  Not^  says 
the  apostle,  for  that  ice  -would  be  unclothedX-  It  would  be  more 
agreeable  to  take  the  body  with  us  to  another  world,  than  go 
through  the  pain  and  terror  of  dying,  and  have  these  two  bosom 
friends  divorced.  This  is  a  circumst.uicc  Ave  would  be  glad  to 
be  excused  from,  especially  as  it  is  the  consequence  and  punish- 
ment of  sin  ;  but  death  will  pull  down  this  structure,  which, 
mean  as  it  is,  we  are  fond  of,  having  dwelt  in  it  so  long,  and 
having  been  at  so  nmch  care  and  pains  to  keep  it  in  tolerable  re- 
pair, and  will  force  the  inhabitant  to  remove. 

Again,  Death  destroys  the  a(-tivity  and  beauty  of  the  bod}-, 
and  turns  it  into  loathsomeness  and  corruptions.     Diseases,  its 
forerunners,  generally  Consume  away  the  flesh  that  it  cannot  be 
see?iy  and  the  bones  that  were  not  seen,  stick  out  §.     At  length  the 
comeliness  of  the  body  is  turned  into  deformity,  and  what  was  an 
object  of  delight,  becomes  a  spectacle  of  horror.     The  limbs  that 
were   sprightly  and  active,   grow  stiff  and   useless  :  The  eyes 
Avhich  sparkled  with  life  and  vigour,  are  sunk  and  ghastly  :  The 
learned  brain,  in  which  so  many  curious  traces  were  lodged,  so 
many  ideas  ranged  with  the  utmost  care,  and  retained  by  close 
recollection,  has  lost  its  exquisite  sensibility;   and  the  entertain- 
ing and  instructive  tongue  is  sealed  up  in  silence.     The  vitals  of 
the  body  have  lost  their  powers.     The  lungs  cease  to  play,  and 
the  heart  to  beat.     The  silver  cord  is  loosed,  and  the  golden,  bowl 
broken,  the  pitcher  is  broken  at  thejountain,  and  the  wheel  broken 
at  the  cistern  ||.     Then  we  are  willing  to  bury  our  dead  out  of 
our  sight ;  to  cast  the  desire  of  our  eyes  into  the  grave,  to  mingle 
with  conmion  dust,  and  lie  in  dishonour  and  darkness  for  ages  to 
come. 

Further,  Death  removes  us  from  our  most  near  and  intimate 
friends,  and  other  earthly  comforts. 

*  Rom.  V.  17.      f  Kph.  v.  29.      J  2  Cor.  v.  4.      §  Job  xxxiii.  21.      j|  Ecd.  xii.  6. 
VOL.  HI.  3    F 


414   ON  THE  DEATH  OF  THE  REV*  DR.  DODDRIDGE.  SeR.  VIH. 

It  dissolves  tlie  ties  of  nature,  and  the  alliances  of  friend- 
sliip  ;  and  breaks  down  the  pleasing  fabric  of  happiness,  which 
love  had  been  for  many  years  erecting.  The  benevolent  heart 
is  ready  to  take  up  Hezekiah's  mournful  complaint,  I  shall  be- 
hold man  no  more  with  the  inhabitants  of  the  zi'orld*. 

Further,  it  breaks  off  men's  tiioughts  and  purposes  relating 
to  this  world,  for  the  good  of  their  families,  neighbourhood,  and 
the  public.  Tlie  great  thoughts  of  wise  and  pious  men  for  the 
glory  of  God  and  the  advancement  of  religion  perish  ;  and  the 
charitable  schemes,  which  depended  on  the  continuance  of  their 
lives,  are  defeated. 

Finally,  The  little  acquaintance  we  have  with  the  other 
world,  to  Avhich  death  transmits  us,  increases  the  fear  of  a  re- 
moval hence. 

We  know  so  little  of  our  souls  and  their  manner  of  existence 
and  operation  without  a  body,  and  there  are  so  many  doubts  and 
fears  about  their  eternal  condition  prevailing  in  us,  that  it  is  no 
wonder,  the  thought  of  quitting  the  present  scene  is  painful, 
and  death,  as  it  removes  us  from  it,  is  considered  as  an  enemy. 

Whose  heart  is  not  ready  to  fail  him  in  the  prospect?  Who 
does  not  find  his  reason  and  sometimes  his  faith  too,  ready  to 
sink,  when  he  is  going  to  encounter  the  king  of  terrors,  and  pass 
through  his  dark  and  gloomy  regions  to  an  unknown  and  mialter- 
able  state?  And  in  vain  we  call  to  reason,  and  ask  philosophy 
to  furnish  us  with  sufficient  armour  of  defence,  and  to  fortify 
our  minds  against  the  attacks  of  this  stern  invader.  It  is  the 
peculiar  glory  of  the  gospel  of  Christ  to  assist  our  reason,  and 
increase  our  faith  in  proportion  to  the  strength  of  theenem}^,  and 
the  different  impressions  which  the  apprehensions  of  it  make 
upon  our  minds.  And  this  it  does  by  the  discovery  it  makes  of 
a  future  state,  a  glorious  resurrection,  and  a  final  everlasting 
triumph  over  death. 

Having  thus  briefly  viewed  the  frightful  features  of  the 
enemy,  let  us  turn  our  eyes  to  a  more  bright  and  agreeable 
scene ;  and  observe 

II.  True  christians  shall  obtain  a  complete  victory  over  death. 

The  text  informs  us  that  a  victory  shall  be  gained,  and  it 
shall  be  so  complete,  that  death  may  be  said  to  be  even  swallow- 
ed up  in  it,  quite  destroyed,  and  no  traces  or  remainders  of  it 
be  found.  This  is  confirmed  by  the  passage  already  mentioned ; 
verse  26.  The  last  enemy  that  shall  be  destroyed  is  death.  The 
word  (ital»p7£t1«»)  rendered  destroyed.,  signifies  being  divested  of 

*  Is  a.  xxxviii.  II. 


The  Christianas  Triumph  over  Dcalh.  415 

an  authority  it  Iiad  before,  and  beiiifr  reduced  to  an  incapacity 
of  exortinj^  any  further  power  '\  Thus  alter  the  same  apostle  had 
been  spcakinp^  oi  Persecution,  peril,  and  sivord,  of  being  killed 
all  the  day-long y  as  the  lot  of  himself  and  his  fellow-christiaus, 
he  adds,  7iay  in  all  these  things  xve  are  more  than  conquerors  f  y 
complete,  glorious,  triumphant  conquerors — and  this  is  agree- 
able to  wiiat  God  himself  declares  concerning  this  formidable 
enemy,  with  so  much  grandeur  and  majesty.  J  will  ransom 
them  from  the  power  of  the  grave  :  I  will  redeem  them  from 
death  :  O  death,  I  will  be  t hi/  plagues ;  O  grave,  I  will  be  thy 
destruction  ;    repentance  shall  he  hid  from  my  eyesX. 

For  the  further  illustration  of  this  comfortable  truth,  let  us 
observe,  that  the  victory  is  in  some  measure  obtained  in  the 
present  life — but  it  sliall  be  perfected  in  tiie  future. 

1 .  The  victory  is  in  some  m(;asure  obtained  even  in  the 
present  life. 

Christ  gained  a  victory  by  his  own  resurrection,  and  the 
revelation  and  promise  of  a  happiness  beyond  the  grave  ;  for  he 
hath  yJbolished  death,  abolisiied  its  tyranny,  destroyed  its  force, 
and  i-endered  it,  comparatively,  of  none  effect,  and  hath  brought 
life  and  immortality  to  light  through  the  gospel^.  He  has 
assured  us  of  the  certainty  and  eternity  of  the  future  state,  and 

largely  explained  its  nature he  lias  not  indeed  removed  the 

natural  fears  of  death  Avhich  are  wrought  into  our  very  consti- 
tution, and  are  the  springs  of  many  of  our  actions  ;  nor  is  it 
his  intention  entirely  to  remove  from  the  minds  of  good  men 
that  fear  of  death,  which  has  an  apparent  tendency  to  promote 
seriousness  and  watchfulness,  an  heavenly  disposition  which 
keeps  them  always  prepared  for  the  coming  of  the  Lord.  But 
Jie  has  taken  away  the  slavish  apprehensions  of  it,  and  delivered 
them,  who,  Through/ear  of  death,  were,  all  their  life  longy 
subject  to  bondage.  Death  has  now,  in  efl'ect,  changed  its 
nature.  It  only  hurts  the  body,  not  the  soul.  It  only  puts  an 
end  to  those  pursuits,  employments,  and  entertainments,  which 
are  suited  to  the  body,  and  this  present  world  ;  but  not  to  those, 
about  which  holy  souls  are  engaged,  and  with  which  they  are 
delighted  and  imjirovcd.  Nav,  it  is  become,  on  many  accounts, 
a  benefit  ;  as  it  puts  an  cud  to  their  temptations  and  conflicts, 
doubts  and  fears  ;  as  it  hides  their  bodies  in  the  grave,  for  ever 

*  Compare  verse  QV.  whore  Uio  same  word  is  rendered,  p«/  doivn,  f  Rom.  viii.  H". 
X  IIos.  xiii.  14.  §  2  Tim.  i.  10.  eomparcd  with  Rom.  ii.  7.  1  Cor.  i,  28.  xiii.  3. 
]fph.  ii.  \b.  Ilcb.  i.  14. 

3F2 


416      ON  THE  DEATH  OF  THE  REV.  DR.  DODDRIDGE.       SeR.  VIII. 

shelters  them  from  the  pains  and  sorrows  to  which  they  are 
here  exposed,  and  transports  their  separate  spirits  to  everlasting 
purity  and  peace. 

A  present  victory  is  obtained  by  the  calmness  with  which 
the  saints  die  ;  and  that^oj/  unspeakable  and  full  of  glory,  with 
which  the  Spirit  of  Christ  sometimes  replenishes  their  hearts, 
when  the  flesh  is  sinking  into  the  dust. — Are  they  not  conque- 
rors, wlien,  with  smiles  in  their  -pale  countenances,  and  songs 
of  praise  upon  their  quivering  lips,  they  calmly  yield  to  the 
stroke  of  death,  and,  through  Christ  who  strengthened  them, 
triumph  over  all  its  frightful  poAvers,  saying,  O  death  where  is 
thy  sting  ?  O  grave  where  is  thy  victory  ?  Let  me  add,  this  is 
death's  last  attack.  It  strikes  once,  but  can  never  strike  more  ; 
and  "  all  the  hurt  it  can  possibly  do  them,  is  to  put  it  abso- 
lutely out  of  his  own  power  ever  to  hm't  them  any  more*". 
Which  leads  me  to  add  further, 

2.  The  victory  shall  be  perfected  in  the  future  world. 

And  this  will  appear,  when  we  consider,  that  all  the  faithful 
servants  of  Christ  shall  be  raised  again  ;  their  bodies  shall  be 
transformed  into  the  likeness  of  Christ's  body  ;  and  they  shall 
be  fixed  in  a  state  of  complete  and  everlasting  happiness. 

1.  All  the  faithful  servants  of  Christ  shall  be  raised  again. 

They  are  laid  in  the  grave,  but  not  one  of  them  shall  be 
lost  there.  Death  feeds  on  therUy  but  at  the  great  day  they  shall 
have  the  dominion.  That  there  shall  be  a  resurrection  of  the 
dead,  that  their  bodies,  which  are  turned  to  corruption,  sliall 
be  redeemed,  and  so  much  of  each,  as  shall  be  sufficient  to 
denominate  it  their  own  body,  collected  and  united  by  the 
almighty  power  of  God,  is  certainly  declared  in  the  holy  scrip- 
tures. We  have  some  intimations  of  this  in  the  Old  Testa- 
ment, upon  which  the  Jews  grounded  their  belief  that  there 
should  be  a  Resurrection  of  the  dead,  both  of  the  just  and  the 
unjust  f .  But  it  is  plainly  revealed  in  the  New.  The  hour 
is  coming  when  all,  that  are  in  their  graves^  shall  hear  the  voice 
of  Christ,  and  come  forthX  This,  says  he,  is  the  will  of  him  that 
sent  me,  that  every  one  which  seeth  the  Son,  and  believeth  on 
him,  may  have  everlasting  life,  and  I  will  raise  him  up  at  the 
last  day^.  This  doctrine  the  apostles  preached  ;  they  assured 
the  christians,  that  Ffe  Who  raised  up  Christ  from  the  dead, 
should  quicken  their  mortal  bodies]].  That  Christ  was  risen 
from  the  dead,  and  become  the  jirst  fruits  of  them  that  slept^,''^ 

*  Mr.  How.  f  Acts  xxiv.  15.  |  John  v.  28.  §  John  vi.  40. 

l\  Rom.  viii.  11.        5f  I  Cor.  xv.  20. 


The  Christians  Triumph  over  Death,  417 

of  that  plentiful  harvest  wliich  should  spring  out  of  the  dust, 
when  the  Lord  should  descend  again  from  heaven.  The  resur- 
rection of  Christ,  illustrated  by  the  resurrection  of  otiier  dead 
])0(hes,  proves  what  God  can  do,  and  testilles  what  he  will  do. 
And  this  chapter  alone  will  keep  up  the  belief  of  this  great 
event,  till  the  trumpet  shall  sound,  and  the  resurrection  ])rove 
itself.  Captivity  shall  be  led  captive,  and  death,  which  has 
triumphed  over  the  whole  human  race,  shall  himself  be 
triumphed  over,  when  the  cartlj  and  the  sea  shall  p;ive  up  their 
dead.  Though  we  now  say  to  corruption,  thou  art  my  father, 
and  to  the  devouring  worm,  tliou  art  my  mother  and  mv  sister : 
The  authority  and  power  of  Christ  shall  at  length  dissolve  the 
disagreeable  relation,  and  the  grave  claim  wo  more  acquain- 
tance with  us.  But,  as  a  bare  resurrection  is  common  to  good 
and  bad  ;  and  since,  As  in  Adam  all  die,  even  so  in  Christ 
shall  all  be  made  alive  ;   therefore  we  must  add, 

2.  Tlieir  bodies  shall  be  transformed  into  the  image  of 
Christ's   body. 

This  is  their  peculiar  honour  ;  and  the  apostle  Paul  asserts 
it  in  very  strong  terms  ;  Who  shall  change  our  vile  body,  thai 
it  may  be  fashioned  like  unto  his  glorious  body,  according  to  the 
working  whereby  he  isable  even  to  subdue  all  things  unto  himself*. 
The  doctrine  of  the  resurrection  was  ridiculed  by  the  weaker 
heathens  as  impossible,  and  represented  by  the  wiser  as  unde- 
sirable ;  turning  the  soul  again  into  a  prison,  and  laying  upon 
it  an  insupportable  burden  :  But  the  account  tiie  apostle  gives 
us  in  this  chapter,  of  the  great  alteration  which  shall  be  made 
in  the  bodies  of  the  saints,  answers  their  objections.  He  assures 
us,  that  tveakness,  corruption,  and  dishonour  sliall  be  left  in 
the  grave  ;  and  the  body  be  raised  in  incorruption,  glory  and 
power  i  a  spiritual  body,  not  an  animal  one.  And  as  we  have 
borne  the  image  of  the  earthly,  we  shall  also  bear  the  image  of 
the  heavenly.  The  body  shall  he  quite  refined  from  gross  mat- 
ter, be  more  active  and  sprightly,  and  more  easily  moved  from 
place  to  place,  than  it  now  is,  in  its  utmost  flow  of  health  and 
spirits.  It  shall  have  no  gross  organs  to  obscure  the  faculties 
of  the  soul,  or  clog  its  operations.  It  shall  need  no  such  sup- 
ports as  it  now  does,  nor  feel  any  of  those  appetites,  Avhich 
are  often  temptations  to  sin,  and  which,  without  resolute  go- 
vcrnnu'iit,  injure  the  hea'th,  and  prevent  the  serviceableness 
of  the  body,  as  well  as  interrupt  the  tranquility  and  peace  of 
the  mind.     It  shall  have  no  corrupt  blood,  or  sour  juices  to  oc- 

*  Phil.  iii.  21, 


418    ON  THE  DEATH  OF  THE  REV.  DR.   DODDRIDGE.        SeR.  VIII. 

casion  irregular  ferments,  to  excite  the  angry  passions,  or 
produce  a  melancholy,  or  a  fretful  disposition.  There  will  be 
no  law  in  the  members  warring  against  the  law  of  the  mind, 
and  bringing  it  into  captitity.  It  will  exert  itself  with  the  ut- 
most vigour  in  God's  service,  without  being  wearied  with  it, 
or  worn  out  by  it.  Then  shall  the  righteous  shine  forth  as  the 
sun  in  the  kingdom  of  their  Father.  The  place,  the  company, 
the  work  of  heaven,  will  all  tend  to  increase  their  lustre  and 
activity.  If  IMoses's  converse  with  God  for  a  few  days  left  such 
a  brightness  on  his  countenance,  that  the  Israelites  could  not 
bear  to  behold  it,  it  is  very  natural  to  infer,  that  dwelling  in 
the  presence  of  God,  the  fountain  of  light,  beholding  the  glory 
of  Christ  for  years  and  ages,  will  improve  the  splendor  of  pure, 
spiritual,  incorruptible  bodies.  And,  it  is  probable,  a  cover- 
ing of  effulgent  glory  will  be  thrown  over  them,  as  there  was 
over  Christ's  body  when  he  was  transfigured.  And  his  face  shone 
as  the  sun,  and  his  raiment  was  white  as  the  light  *;  and  make 
them  shine  as  the  brightness  of  the  firmament.  And  the  more  they 
resemble  Christ  in  moral  excellenc}',  the  more  will  their  spiritual 
bodies  resemble  his,  and  the  more  illustrious  be  this  mark  of 
distinction  and  dignit}^  But  what  is  the  precise  nature  of  these 
bodies  ;  how  they  Avill  move  and  act ;  whether  new  organs 
will  be  added,  or  the  present  altered  ;  in  what  manner  the  soul 
■will  act,  and  be  influenced  by  them  ;  are  questions  which  we 
cannot  solve,  while  we  dwell  in  Houses  of  clay.  It  is  sufficient 
for  us  to  know,  that  every  thing,  Avhich  was  an  imperfection 
or  a  mark  of  the  divine  displeasure  against  sin,  shall  be  entirely 
removed  ;  that  the  body  shall  be  so  changed  and  new  moulded, 
as  to  be  every  way  suited  to  assist  the  holy  and  happy  spirit  to 
which  it  is  re-united,  in  the  noblest  services  and  enjoyments. 
Thus  when  Christ  appears,  every  saint  shall  awake  in  his  like- 
ness, and  appear  with  him  in  glory.  What  a  noble  triumph 
over  death  will  this  be,  when  every  captive  shall  be  released, 
and  every  one  clothed  with  the  robes  of  glory  ?  Especially 
when  we  consider, 

3.  They  shall  be  fixed  in  a  state  of  complete  and  everlasting 
happiness. 

Of  this  also  the  scriptures  of  truth  assure  us ;  They  which 
shall  be  accounted  worthy  to  obtain  that  world,  and  the  resurrec- 
tion from  the  dead,  cannot  die  any  more  ;  for  they  are  like  the 
angels  f .  Mortality  or  that  which  is  mortal  shall  be  swallowed 
up  of  life  Xi  and  no  traces  of  it  left.     It  is  a  very  considerable 

•  Mat.  xvii.  2.    t  Luke  xx.  35,  36.     Mat.  xxii.  50.    %  2  Cor.  v.  4. 


The  Christian'' s  Triumph  over  Death.  419 

part  of  the  glory  of  tlic  hcuvciily  vorld,  that  There  shall  be  no 
viore  death^.  Some  Dotcd  coiunieiitiitorsf  avouIcI  interpret  the 
Avords,  here  rendered,  iyi  victory,  for  ever,  as  denoting  the  utter 
destrtietion  of  death.  The  idea  is  plainly  suggested  in  the  phntse, 
swalUnced  up;  and  this  truth  is  conlirnied  by  the  passages  al- 
ready mentioned,  and  many  more  in  the  scriptures,  that  not  one 
true  christian  shall  be  liable  to  the  attack  of  death  any  more. 

There  shall  be  no  fear  of  death  remaining.  A  conquered 
enemy  may  recover  his  strength,  assault  us  again,  and  j)revail, 
at  least  so  far  as  to  alarm  and  terrify  us;  but  death  is  swallowed 
up,  and  has  no  more  power  to  overcome,  or  disturb  the  exalted, 
glorified  servants  of  Christ  for  ever  ;  not  so  much  as  one  of  the 
harbingers,  or  attendants  of  death,  shall  ever  incommode  them. 
There  is  no  fear  of  the  return  of  acute  pains  or  pining  sickness  ; 
■which  arc  often  so  grievous,  as  to  dispose  the  heart  to  Long  for 
death,  as  a  relief,  and  be  glad  to  find  the  gravel.  Their  bodies 
ai'e  not  varnisiied  over  witii  an  outward  lustre,  but  perfectly  free 
from  all  principles  of  decay.  They  are  not  onl}^  secure  from 
external  violence,  but  full  of  unfading,  immortal  vigour.  Death 
lias  no  power  to  take  away,  to  molest,  or  even  alarm  any  one  of 
their  friends  and  associates  in  that  better  country  ;  but  because 
Christ  lives,  they  shall  also  live,  and  their  duration  be  equal  to 

his. Finally,  There  shall    be    no   painful  remembrance  of 

death.  A  recollection  of  violent  pains  and  cutting  sorrows  often 
gives  uneasiness:  When,  as  Jeremiah  exprc^sscth  it,  concerning 
his  own  misery,  the  soul  hath  the  IVorurxood  and  gall  still  in  re- 
viembrance^,  it  embitters  present  enjoyments.  But  the  remem- 
brance of  death  shall  not  be  terrifying,  but  agreeable.  A  com- 
parison of  the  present  with  the  former  state,  will  only  tend  to 
enhance  their  pleasure  ;  to  excite  high  admiration  of  that  power, 
which  produced  the  surprising  change,  and  give  pccidiar  ar- 
dour to  their  adorations  of  that  grace  which  prepared  them  for 
it. — In  short,  the  Lord  of  life  shall  so  entirely  change  the  scene, 
that  all  remainders  of  death  shall  be  done  away,  and  nothing 
shall  appear  by  which  it  might  be  known,  that  it  ever  had  the 
least  dominion  over  anv  of  his  faithful  servants.  I  shall  sum  up 
all  in  the  striking  words  of  the  apostle;  //  doth  not  yet  appear 
what  we  shall  be ;  but  we  know  that,  when  he  shall  appear,  we 
shall  be  like  him;  for  we  shall  see  him  as  he  is  \\.  It  doth  not 
yet  appear  what  we  shall  be!  No,  not  yet,  what  wc  shall  be 
then:  For  although  our  understanding  is  the  distinction  of  our 

*  Rev.  xxi.  4.     f  Vid.  Grot.  &  Whitby  iti  loc.     %  ^^^  ">•  21,  '22,     §  Lam.  iii.  19. 
tl  1  John  iii.  2. 


420      ON    THE    DEATH  OF  THE    REV..  DR.  DODDRIDGE.    &ER.  VIII. 

nature,  and  our  tongue  the  glory  of  our  frame,  the  one  is  over- 
whelmed when  it  labours  to  comprehend,  and  the  other  forced 
into  silence  when  it  attempts  to  describe,  the  objects  and  glories 
<yf  immortality.     And  therefore,  without  presuming  to  take  in 

the  full  meaning  of  the  following  words. But  we  know,  that 

when  he  shall  appear,  we  shall  be  like  him  ;  for  we  shall  see  him 
as  heis. — We  may  venture  to  conclude,  that  we  shall  hereafter 
be  blessed  with  an  immediate,  permanent,  and  influential 
vision  of  the  Lord  of  life  and  glory  ;  and  such  a  vision,  attend- 
ed with  vital  beams  surrounding  us  on  every  side,  transfusing 
themselves  through  our  whole  frame,  invigorating  the  divine 
life  in  us,  and  maintaining  and  increasing  our  sensible  and 
intellectual  joys,  must  import  complete  and  everlasting  happi- 
ness. 

Having  thus  illustrated  the  remarks  founded  on  the  text, 
I  am  now  to  direct  3'ou  to  the  proper  improvement  of  so  noble 
and  interesting  a  subject.  Let  me  then  entreat  your  attention 
to  the  following 

REFLECTIONS. 

Let  US  contemplate  the  power  and  grace  of  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ,  so  illustriously  displayed  in  this  triumph  over  death. 

It  became  him  for  whom  are  all  things,  and  by  whom  are 
all  things,  in  bringing  many  sons  to  glory,  to  appoint  his  son  the 
Captain  of  their  Salvation,  and  to  consecrate  him  to  that  office 
through  sufferings.     He  took  part  of  flesh  and  blood,  that  he 
might  be  capable  of  dying,  and  through  death  destroy  him,  or 
w^eaken,  and  render  inefl'ectual  his  influence,  that  had  the  power 
of  death,  that  is,  the  devil  *;  who  by  his  temptations,  brought 
sin  and  death  into  the  world.     He  died  to  vanquish  the  terrors 
of  death,  and   reconcile    our  minds  to    the  thoughts  an  d  ap- 
proaches of  it.    To  this  work  he  was  set  apart  by  his  father  and 
God  ;    and  he  alone  w^as   fit  for  the    work,  and  worthy  the 
honour  of  overcoming  the  king  of  terrors.     And  because,  for 
this  end,  he  became  obedient  to  death,  even  the  death  of  the 
cross,  God  has  highly  exalted  him,  constituted  him  Lord  both  of 
the  dead  and  the  living,  lodged  the  Keys  of  death,  and  the  invi- 
sible world,  in  his  hands,  and  given  him  power  over  all  fleshy 
that   he  should  give  eternal  life  to  all  his  sincere  and  genuine 
disciples.     He  must  reign  till  he  hath  put  all  enemies  under 
his  feet,  and  death,  the  chief  and  last  of  them,  be  destroyed. — 
These,  brethren  and  fellow-christians,  are  the  reviving  truths  of 

*  Heb,  ii.  10,  14, 
3 


The  Christians  Triumph  over  Death.  421 

our  holy  religion  :  Let  iis  then  rejoice  in  Christ  Jesus,  antl  glory- 
in  our  relation  to  him,  who,  by  his  atoning  sacrilice,  took  away 
the  Sting  of  death,  which  is  sin,   bore  in  his  own  body,  the 
penalty  denounced  against  transgressors,  and  by  the  influences 
of  iiis  spirit,  promotes  a  iioly  temper  and  conversation,  which 
is  the  only  proper  tiualilicatiiMi  for  a  blessed  and  joylul  resurrec- 
tion.    AVe  are  directed  to  consider  him  as  the  Resurrection  and 
the  life,  who  is  to  come  in  power  and  glory  to  judge  the  world, 
the  lustre  of  whose  appearance  shall  penetrate  to  the  deepest 
jrrave,  and   whose  voice  shall  awaketi  evei*y  sleeping  saint. — 
Then  shall  they  come  forth  to  join  their  glorified  Hoiid  and 
Saviour,  to  attend  and  grace  the  solemnity  of  that  day,   which 
shall   complete   his    conquest    over  death,    and   terminate   his 
mediatorial  kingdom. — Since  then  we  are  more  than  conc/uerors 
through  him  that  loved  us,  let  this  encrease  our  veneration  for 
his  gospel,  which  contains  the  record  of  eternal  life  ;  and  with 
an  eye  of  gratitude,  love,  antl  humble  dependence,    let  us  look 
to  Jesus  the  Lord  of  life,  who,  for  the  Joy  that  was  set  be/ore 
him,  of  being  himself  highly  exalted,  and  leading  on  all  his 
good  soldiers  to  conquest  and  to  crowns,  overcame  the  sharp- 
ness of  death,   and  ii'  now  set  down  at  the  right  hand  of  God. 
Let  him  be  precious  to  our  souls,  who  is   the  j)urchaser  and 
author  of  eternal  salvation. 

2.   Let  us  reflect  on  the  difl«!rence  between  good   and  bad 
men  with  regard  to  the  consequences  of  death. 

This  conqueror  hath  dominion  over  all  :  Nevertheless,  all 
shall  rise  again.  But  oh  !  Avith  what  different  appearances,  and 
to  what  different  states  !  Some  shall  awake  to  everlasting  life^ 
and  some  to  shame  and  everlasting  contempt  *.  All  shall  come 
forth  of  their  graves,  but  with  this  awful  distinction.  They  that 
have  done  good,  unto  the  reswrectionof  life,  and  they  that  have 
done  evil,  unto  the  resurrection  of  damnation  \.  With  what 
horror  and  surprise  will  the  wicked  lift  up  their  heads  in  that 
tremendous  day,  and  how  glad  Avill  they  be  to  sink  back  to 
rottenness,  or  even  to  nothing,  from  the  wrath  of  the  Lamb  ! 
But  they  must  come  forth,  although  their  bodies  should  be 
so  changed,  as  to  be  capable  of  more  exquisite  pain,  and  a  more 
lasting  dmation,  than  their  present  frame  will  admit  of.  They 
shall  have  their  part  in  the  Lake  which  burneth  with  fire  and 
brimstone,  which  is  the  second  death  X,   Avhich  shall  be  executed 

*  Dan.  xii.  2.  f  J'^'"^  v. 29,  J  Rev.  xxi.  8. 

VOL.  iH.  :i  G 


422      ON  THE  DEATH  OF  THE  REV.  Dr.  DODDRIDGE.      SeR.  VIII. 

with  circumstances  of  terror  and  anguish,  proportioned  to  their 
crimes. — On  the  other  hand  ;  with   what  a  blooming  air  and 
inconceivable  transport    will  the    saints  lift    up    their  heads 
in  that    glorious    day  !     With  what  unutterable  delight   will 
they  leave  their  dusty  beds,  and  survey  their   empty  tombs  ; 
knowing   that  their   warfare  is  accomplished,   and  that   their 
Lord,  whose   approach  they  hail  with  the  loudest  hosannas, 
Cometh  to  be  glorified  in  his  saints,  and  to  be  admired  in  all  them 
that  believe !  Having  through  the  grace  of  Christ,   which  is 
sufficient  even  for  the  weakest  of  his  servants,  overcome  and 
been  faithful  to  the  end,  they  Shall  not  be  hurt  by  the  second 
death'^y  they  shall  not  die  for  ever,  but  enter  into  eternal  rest. 
And  do  you  believe,  brethren,  that  there  will  be  such  a  vast 
difference  between  the  future  states  of  the  I'ighteous,  and  the 
wicked  ?   I  know  you  believe  it.     Enquire  then,  what  influence 
and  effect  this  faith  hath   upon  your  hearts  and   lives  ;  and 
which  of  these  two  states  will  be  yours.  Let  me  address  you  in 
the  words  of  the  great  Mr.  Howe  f:    "  You  can  never  justify  it 
to  God,  or  your  own  understandings,  to  remain  in  a  dubious 
uncertainty  about  a  matter  of  so   vast  consequence  as  this. 
Unconcernedness  here  is  the  most  unaccountable  thing  in  the 
whole  world.      Things  will  come  to  this  issue  very  shortly  with 
us  that  either  death  must,  as  to  us,  be  swallowed  up  in  victory, 
or  we  be  swallowed  up  of  victorious  death.     With  what  solici- 
tude should  we  all  concern  ourselves  to  be  at  a  certainty  !" 
If  you  would   desire   that  strone:   consolation  which  the  text 
exhibits,  let  me  urge  you  to  fly  for  refuge  to  lay  hold  upon  the 
hope  set  before  you,  to  be  daily  exercising  Repentance  towards 
God  and  faith  towards  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  to  redeem,  your 
time,  and  make  a  wise  improvement  of  the  present  life.     Thus 
you  will  finish  your  course  with  joy,  and  when  This  earthly 
house  of  your  tabernacle  is  dissolved,  you  will  have  a  building 
cfGod,  a  house  not  made  with  hands,  eternal  in  theheavensX. 

Lastly,  Let  the  servants  of  Christ  be  calm  and  resigned,  in 
the  view  of  their  own  death,  and  when  their  pious  friends  are 
removed. 

One  would  think  there  should  be  no  occasion  for  such  an 
exhortation  as  this,  to  any  who  love  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  in 
sincerity,  and  have  peace  with  God  through  him.  One  would 
naturally  suppose  that  in  the  fulness  of  their  hopes  and  joys, 
they  would  desire  to  depart,  and  it  would  be  necessary  frequent- 
ly and  strenuously  to  urge  them  to  wait  patiently  for  the  coming 

*  Rev.  ii.  1 1.    f  Howe's  works,  vol.  II.  page  422.    J  2  Cor.  v,  1. 


The  Christian's  Ti'iumph  over  Death,  423 

of  tlic  T.ord.  One  would  think  that  instead  ofsorrowing,  as  those 
Avho  have  no  hope,  lor  tliem  that  sleep  in  Jesus,  they  should 
rather  rejoice  for  the  victory  they  have  gained  and  the  honour 
to  which  they  arc  advanced.  But  alas  !  such  is  tlie  unreason- 
able and  unhappy  inHuencc  which  present  things  have  upoo 
our  minds,  such  is  the  weakness  of  our  faith  and  hope,  so  lan- 
guid is  our  love  to  Christ,  and  so  injudicious  our  affection  to 
our  friends,  that  we  are  loth  to  remove  ourselves,  and  unwilhng 
to  part  with  them.  God  knew  it  would  be  so.  He  knows  our 
frame,  and  remembers  we  are  dust,  and  therefore  pities  us,  and 
has  laid  in  such  a  stock  of  encouragements  in  his  word,  to 
counteract  the  bias  of  nature,  and  to  correct  the  errors  of  sense. 
J.et  us  then,  brethren,  enterinto  the  spirit,  and  admit  the  force  of 
them.  Remember,  that  although  the  combat  may  be  sharp, 
and  tlie  apprehension  grievous,  5'et  the  victory  is  sure.  The 
enemy  has  been  often  vanquished,  and  it  is  only  a  single  feeble 
eHort  he  can  possibly  make.  Fear  not,  says  the  Redeemer,  / 
am  he  that  liveth  and  was  dead,  and  am  alive  for  evermore^ 
and  have  the  keys  of  death  and  the  unseen  world.  Fear  not  this 
formidable  enemy.  He  has  slain  his  thousands;  slain,  did  I 
say  .?  rather,  he  has  obtained  some  little  advantage  to  his  own 
irreparable  loss  and  their  everlasting  gain.  Though  he  strips 
you  of  the  body,  yet,  to  allude  to  St.  Patil's  words,  you  only 
part  with  it  For  a  season,  that  you  may  receive  it  for  ever^y.^ 
improved  and  beautified,  and  no  more  to  see  corruption. 
Letevery  sincere  christian,  endeavour,  from  such  considerations, 
to  reconcile  his  mind  to  the  approaches  of  death,  and  wish  to 
encounter  this  last  enemy,  as  a  brave  soldier  does  to  enter  upon 
an  action,  which  he  has  the  greatest  reason  to  believe  will  finish 
the  war,  put  an  end  to  all  his  fatigues,  perils,  and  terrors,  and 
bring  repose,  honour,  and  reward.  Frequently  meditate,  O 
christian,  on  that  glorious  morning,  when  thou  shalt  awake, 
burst  the  bands  of  death  with  sweet  and  inexpressible  surprise, 
arise  with  ten  thousands  of  thy  fellow-saints,  and  meet  thy 
Lord  with  songs  of  triumph,  and  everlasting  joy  upon  your 
heads.  Then  shall  he  applaud  thy  resolution  and  labour, 
fidelity  and  patience,  before  his  father,  the  angels,  and  the 
assembled  world,  and  give  thee  a  Crown  of  glory,  that  fadeth 
not  away. 

Let  these  considerations  also  support  our  minds  when  our 
pious  and  valuable  friends  are  removed. 

*Philem.  verse  15. 
3G2 


424      ON  THE  DEATH  OF  THE  REV.  DR.  DODDRIDGE.      SeR.  VIII. 

In  this  view  the  apostle  urges  them,  If  we  believe  that  Jesus 
died,  and  rost  again,  even  them  also  which  sleep  in  Jesus,  will 
God  bring  with  him  ;  the  dead  in  Christ  shall  rise  first,  and  the 
saints,  then  ahve,  being  changed,  shall  be  caught  up  together  with 
them  in  the  clouds  to  meet  the  Lord  in  the  air,  and  so  shall  we 
ever  be  with  the  Lord.  Wherefore  comfort  one  another  with 
these  words*.  And  surely  no  words  can  be  more  full  of  consola- 
tion. Our  pious  friends  departed,  have  gained  the  victor}', 
and  are  present  with  the  Lord.  And  though  we  are  left  behind 
in  a  Avorld,  which  is,  at  best,  a  tiresome  place,  and  less  desirable 
since  they  were  removed  from  it ;  ^et  avc  hope  ere  long  to  be 
restored  to  them,  to  converse  with  them  upon  more  agreeable 
and  advantageous  terms,  and  spend  an  eternity  together.  If 
■we  ^xe.  followers  of  them,  who  through  faith  and  patience  inherit 
the  promises,  God  will  quickl}''  call  us  to  come  up  to  them,  and 
send  a  convoy  of  angels  to  fetch  us  to  the  world  of  spirits  ;  and 
})erhaps  the  first  objects  we  may  meet  with  there,  may  be  some 
of  our  most  intimate  friends,  sent  to  congratulate  our  safe  arri- 
val, and  conduct  us  to  the  appointed  mansions.  And  oh  !  Avith 
•what  joy  and  transport  shall  we  meet  them,  and  be  welcomed 
by  them.  The  small  space  of  time  the  separation  has  continued, 
and  in  which  Ave  have  known  the  sorrow  of  living  Avithout 
them,  Avill  endear  them  to  us,  and  increase  our  bliss.  Especi- 
ally Avhen  Ave  consider  that  there  is  no  fear  of  another  separa- 
tion, that  the  Destructions  of  the  enemy  are  come  to  a  perpetual 
end  f,  and  that  death  has  yielded  up  all  his  poAver  ever  to  di- 
vide us  more, 

I.et  me  particularh*  apply  these  consolations  to  you,  my 
friends,  on  occasion  of  the  sore  breach,  God  has  made  upon 
you.  What  joy  has  it  already  been  to  your  late  Avorthy  and 
pious  pastor,  to  meet  so  many  of  his  flock  in  the  regions  of  the 
blessed,  to  Avhoni  he  administered  these  precious  consolations 
in  their  last  moments,  and  smoothed  their  passage  to  heaA'en  ! 
"What  jov  Aviil  it  be  to  him  to  receive  one  and  another  of  you, 
Avho  have  obeyed  the  gospel,  to  be  partakers  of  his  felicity  ! 
What  a  delight  Avill  it  be  to  him  to  receiA'e  your  thanks,  for  all 
Ills  labours  of  love  for  the  good  of  vour  souls,  and  join  Avith 
vou  in  adoring  that  grace,  Avhich  Avronght  effectually  for  your 
salvation ;  to  Avhich  grace,  you  Avell  know,  he  constantly 
ascribed  his  abilities  and  success  !  W'iiat  joy  Avill  it  afford  you 
to  meet  him  there  ;  to  inform  liim  more  fully  than  you  can  now 
do,  Avhat  pleasure    and  improvement   you  have  recei\'ed  from 

*  1  Thess.  iv.  14—18.  comiiarcd  ^vith  1  Cor.  xv.  .51,  &c.     f  Ps.ix.  6. 


The  Christian's  Triumph  oter  Death.  425 

his  labours  -while  he  lived,  and  his  writings,  by  which  6ei7iff 
dead,  he  is  still  speaking  to  you,  with  the  most  serious  and  af- 
fectionate address,  and  the  most  insinuating  eloquence!  7\nd 
with  regard  to  him  and  all  your  brethren,  who  shall  at  length 
meet  in  our  Father's  house;  how  will  mutual  joy  flow  from  heart 
to  heart,  when  every  enemy  is  cunciuertd,  and  the  tyranny  of 
death  at  an  end!  to  be  for  ever  instructing,  improving,  and  cji- 
tertaining  one  another;  to  recount  your  many  struggles,  tempta- 
tions and  victories ;  and  trace  out  the  wonderous  steps  by  m  hich 
vou  wereconducted  tothis  happiness!  These  friendly  dis])ositions 
will  be  carried  to  the  greatest  height,  conversation  will  never  grow 
dull,  and  social  entertainments  never  cloy.  Fresh  delight  will 
be  springing  up  in  his  soul,  and  yonr*f,  through  eternity;  in  ob- 
serving each  other's  improving  knowledge  and  holiness,  and 
sharino-  tofrether  in  the  smiles  of  the  Redeemer,  and  the  work 
and  happiness  of  heaven. 

After  such  comfortable  thoughts  as  these,  I  have  very  little 
heart  to  renew,  and  increase  your  sorrows  and  my  own,  by  en- 
tering into  any  particulars  of  the  character  of  that  great  and  good 
man,  whom  God  has  removed  from  us.  Nor  is  it  necessary  I 
should;  as  he  has  been  so  long  among  you,  and  so  faithfully 
and  constantly  watched  over  you.  1  may  appeal  to  you  all,  tiiat 
you  have  Fully  known  his  doctrine^  manner  of  life^  piii^ose, 
faith,  long-suflering,  charity ,  patience,  persecution,  and  ajjlic- 
tions"^ ,  ixwd  his  Care  of  the  churches  f.  lie  has  been  labouring 
among  you  with  miexampled  diligence,  and  unwearied  zeal, 
above  twenty  years,  with  increasing  honour,  comfort  and  suc- 
cess. Notwithstanding  his  other  most  important  relations,  as  a 
tutor,  and  the  weight  of  business  he  continually  had  on  his  hands, 
he  was,  in  labours  for  your  souls,  abundant ;  warning,  encourag- 
ino-  and  comforting,  with  all  the  marks  of  a  deep  sense  of  reli- 
gion upon  his  own  soul,  the  most  tender  alfection  to  you  and 
\  our  families,  and  the  utmost  solicitude  for  your  everlasting  wel- 
fare. The  same  disposition  he  carried  Avith  him  in  all  his  visits, 
and  mingled  the  seriousness  and  piety  of  the  christian  minister 
with  the  politeness  of  the  gentleman,  and  the  freedom  and  cheer- 
fulness of  the  friend.  His  great  concern  for  the  rising  genera- 
tion, was  manifested  in  his  discourses  on  education  from  the  pul- 
pit and  the  press,  and  the  most  affectionate  addresses  to  your 
<  liildren  in  his  catechetical  lecttues,  and  occasional  visits.  Y'c 
know  how  heartily  and  compassionately  he  entered  into  your 
personal  and  relative  afflictions;  how  many  disconsolate  hearts 

*2  Tim.  iii.  10.  f  1  Tim.  iii.  5. 


426        ON  THE  DEATH  OF  THE  REV.  DR.  DODDRIDGE.     SeR.  VIII. 

he  has  made  to  rejoice  by  his  liberality,  his  counsels,  and  his 
prayers.  Ye  know  his  faithfulness  and  gentleness  in  brotherly 
reproof,  and  the  exercise  of  godly  discipHne.  In  a  word,  ye 
know,  that,  to  his  power,  and,  unhappily  for  his  family,  for  you 
and  other  churches,  beyond  his  power,  he  went  about  doing 
good,  piously  devising,  and  with  the  most  resolute  application, 

executing  so  many  generous  designs  for  the  public  good. 

I'e  are  witnesses,  and  God  also,  how  much  his  public  addresses 
ivcre  illustrated  and  enforced  by  his  own  temper,  and  conduct, 
and  how  holilij,  and  justly,  and  imblameablj/  he  behaved  himself 

among  you. -By  his  writings,  the  value  of  -which  will,  I  am 

persuaded,  be  continually  increasing,  the  world  will  judge,  what 
a  pastor  God  had  favoured  you  with,  and  how  very  well  you 
have  been  fed  and  taught  for  so  many  j^ears.  And  they  will 
naturally  and  justly  expect,  that  you  should  be  Avise  and  judi- 
cious christians,  and  eminent  for  ever}'^  branch  of  the  christian 
temper.  And  great  will  be  your  guilt  and  your  shame  if  you 
are  not. 

But,  Beloved,  I  am  persuaded  better  things  of  you;  and 
my  persuasion  is  founded  partly  on  my  own  knowledge  of  your 
temper  and  character,  and  partly  on  the  solemn  testimony  your 
late  pastor  has  borne  to  the  goodness  of  them,  in  a  passage  in 
his  last  will,  which  he  desired  might  be  communicated  to  you  on 
this  occasion,  and  which  I  mention  with  pleasure,  as  it  is  at  once 
for  your  honour  and  your  admonition.  Speaking  of  his  inten- 
*  tion  of  being  interred  in  the  place  of  your  meeting,  he  says, 
*'  where  1  have  spent  the  most  delightful  hours  of  my  life,  in 
assisting  the  devotions  of  as  serious,  as  grateful,  and  as  deserv- 
ing a  people,  as  perhaps  any  minister  had  ever  the  honour  and 
happiness  to  serve;  cheerfully  persuading  myself,  that,  when  I 
am  dead,  they  will  hear  me  speaking  in  my  writings  with  all  due 
regard;  and  making  it  my  last  request  to  them,  that  those  of 
tliem  who  have,  or  can  borrow,  my  Family  Expositor,  will  read 
it  over  in  their  families  once  at  least,  beginning  the  Lord's-day 
after  my  funeral;  and  that  they  would  also  read  over  in  their 
families,  on  Lord's-day  evenings,  all  my  sermons  which  they 
have,  or  can  borrow,  especially  those  on  Regeneration,  those  on 
the  Glory  and  Grace  of  Christ,  the  sermons  to  Young  Persons, 
and  that  on  the  one  thing  Jieedful;  and  I  desire  that  every  parent, 
that  can  procure  them,  would  read  in  their  retirements,  my  ser- 
mons on  the  Education  of  Children,  within  one  quarter  of  a  year 
at  least  after  my  death.  And  I  make  this  request  from  an  affec- 
tionate desire  of  the  edification  and  salvation  of  souls  j  and  an 


The  Christian's  Triumph  over  Death.  427 

humble  liope  tliat,  in  consequence  of  it,  I  may  glorify  God,  even 
■when  I  am  laid  in  the  dust." 

I  hope,  my  friends,  you  will  pay  a  serious  and  constant  re- 
gard to  this  his  last  request,  out  of  gratitude  for  his  services, 
and  veneration  for  his  memory  ;  from  a  concern  for  your  own 
further  credit  and  comfort,  and  a  desire  to  increase  his  joy,  and 
your  own,  at  the  day  of  the  Lord, 

As  to  vou,  my  brethren  and  friends,  who  were  more  imme- 
diately under  his  eve  and  care  ;  God  has  taken  your  master 
from  your  head  :  And  you  will  naturally  adopt  the  niournfui 
words  of  Elisha,  when  he  had  lost  his  tutor  Elijah,  My  Fat  her  ^ 
viy  Father,  the  chariot  of  Israel,  and  the  horsemen  thereof*  ! 
He  was  indeed  a  Father  to  you  :  And  I  believe  there  are  few  of 
us,  who  have  had  the  advantage  of  being  his  pupils,  have  found 
more  real  affection  and  tenderness,  and  a  warmer  concern  for 
our  welfare,  in  our  natural  parents,  than  we  have  found  in  him. 
You  remember  his  quickness  of  apprehension,  and  remarkable 
felicity  in  the  dispatch  of  business,  and  yet  his  most  exemplary 
improvement  and  redemption  of  time.  You  know,  how  faith- 
full  v  he  devoted  his  time  and  abilities  to  your  service.  How 
freely  he  communicated  to  you  out  of  those  large  stores  of  know- 
ledge with  which  God  had  furnished  him  :  How  fairly  and  can- 
didly he  proposed  arguments  and  o])iections  on  every  topic,  on 
which  he  lectured.  What  pains  he  took  to  make  you  eminent 
christians,  able  ministers  of  the  New  Testament,  and  scribes 
well  instructed  unto  the  kingdom  of  heaven.  You  will,  I  am 
persuaded,  join  with  me  in  acknowledging,  to  the  praise  of  God, 
that  our  acquaintance  with  him,  and  relation  to  him,  has  been 
our  honour  and  our  happiness.  May  you  and  I  remember  his 
paternal  counsels,  prayers,  and  example,  that,  through  a  supply 
of  the  Spirit  of  Jesus,  we  may  be  fitted  for  eminent  usefulness 
in  the  church,  and  may  do  honour  to  his  memory  and  in- 
structions! 

It  is  but  a  just  tribute  to  the  worth  of  eminently  wise  and 
useful  men,  and  of  great  advantage  to  survivors,  to  display  at 
large  the  virtues  of  their  character,  and  point  out  the  means  by 
which  they  became  so  eminent  ;  and  I  am  not  without  hope, 
that  justice  may  hereafter  be  done,  in  some  distinct  account,  to 
the  distinguished  abilities,  eminent  character,  and  extensive  use- 
fulness of  the  late  reverend  and  learned  Dr.  Doddridge,  who 
shone  so  conspicuously  in  the  relations  of  a  minister  and  a  tutor, 
and  whose  writings  are  in  such  general  esteem.     In  the  mean 

*  2  Kings  ii.  1?. 


428         ON  THE  DEATH  OF  THE  REV.  DR.  DODDRIDGE.      SER.  VIII. 

time  what  has  been  said  concerning  him,  may  serve  to  excite 
you  all,  to  aspire  after  a  temper  a4)cl  beliaviour  becoming  your 
relation  to  him,  whose  removal,  in  the  vigour  of  his  faculties, 
ive  so  justly,  and  shall  so  long  lament;  and,  to  add  greater 
weight  to  the  solemn  exhortation  of  St.  Paul  to  thePhilippians, 
which,  upon  this  occasion,  I  would  address  to  you  all  :  Those 
things  which  ye  have  both  learned,  and  received,  and  heard,  and 
seen  in  him,  do  :  and  the  God  of  peace  shall  be  with  you  *. 

To  conclude  :  God  has  seen  fit  to  call  home  his  good  and 
faithful  setvant ;  and  given  him  not  only  a  calm,  but  a  joyful 
dismission  from  the  labours  and  sufferings  of  life,  and  enabled 
}jim  thereby  to  triumph  over  death.  And  when  we  recollect 
the  words  we  have  been  meditating  upon,  and  this  fresh  seal  to 
the  truth  and  the  comfort  of  them  ;  and  when  by  faith  we  look 
forward  to  that  weight  of  glory  reserved  in  heaven  for  us,  and 
our  pious  friends  ;  let  us  even  now  join  in  the  apostle's  tri- 
imiphant  song,  and  say,  Thanks  be  to  God,  which  giveth  us  the 
victory  through  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ ^f.    Amen. 

*  Phil.  iv.  9.  t  1  Cor.  xv.  i7. 


HYMNS 

FOUNDED  ON   VARIOUS  TEXTS, 

IN    THE 

HOLY   SCRIPTURES. 


1  ESTEEM  NEP05  FOR  HIS  FAITH  AND  DILIGENCE,  HIS  COMMENTS  ON  SCRIPTURE, 
AND  MANY  HYMNS,  WITH  WHICH  THE  BRETHREN  ARE  DEL  I GHTED.— EUSE8. 
ECCL.  HIS.  L.  VII.  C.  24. 


VOL.  III.  3   H 


PREFACE. 


Thf  author  of  the  following  hymns,  uill  known  to  the  world  by  many  exoellent 
andusif..l  writiii-'s,  was  much  solicited  by  his  friends  to  print  them  m  his  lifetime, 
from  ahopethL-ymicht  be  serviceable  to  the  interest  of  religion,  by  assisting  the 
devotion  of  ciinstians  in  tiuir  social  and  secret  worship;  and,  had  God  continued 
his  life  till  his  Family  Expositor  on  the  epistles  had  been  published,  it  is  probable 
he  would  have  complied  witii  their  retiuesl :  But  this  and  many  other  pious  and 
benevolent  purposes  were  broken  off  by  his  much  lamented  death.  During  the 
last  hour  I  spent  with  him,  a  few  weeks  before  that  mournful  event,  he  honoured  me 
with  some  particular  directions  about  traiiseribins  and  pubiishin-  thtm.  I  have  at 
leneth  through  the  good  hand  of  my  God  upon  me,  finished  tiicm,  and  present  them 
to  the  world  with  a  cheerful  hope,  that  they  will  promote  and  diffuse  a  spirit  of  devo- 
tion, and,  together  with  other  assistances  human  and  divine,  prepare  many  to  join 
with  the  devout  author  in  the  nobler  and  everlasting  anthems  ot  heaven. 

These  hvmns  being  composed  to  be  sung,  after  the  author  had  been  preaching 
on  the  texts  prefixed  to  them,  it  was  his  design,  that  they  should  bring  over  again 
the  leading  thoui^hts    in  the   sermon,   and  naturally  express  and  warmly  enforce 
those  devout  sentiments,   which  he   hoped  were   then   rising   in   the    """^l^  "^  '"^ 
hearers,  and  help  to  fix  them  on  the  memory  and  heart :   Accordingly  the  attentive 
reader  wiM  observe,   that  .nost  of    them  illustrate   such  sentiments  as    a    skil.ul 
preacher  would  principally   insist  upon,  when  discoursing  from  the  texts  on  which 
they  are  founded      There  is  a  great  variety  in  the  form  of  them  :  Some  are  devout 
paraphrases  on  the  texts  :  Others  expressive  of  lively  acts  of  devo  ion,    ai  h,  and 
trust  in  God,   love  to  Christ,  desire  of  divine  influences,  and  good  resolutions  of 
cultivating  the  temper  and  practising  the  duties  recommended:  Others  proc  aim 
anhumbl^joy  and  triumph  in  the  gracious  promises  -'V^r'^hT'ture  o      '; 
tore,  particu  arly  in  the  discovery  and  prospe,  t  of  eternal  lite.     The  nature  of  the 
s«bi.cts  will  easily  account  for  the  difference  of  composure,  why  --''-«  --« 
plain  and  artless,  others  more  lively,  sublime,  and  full  of  poetic  fire.     I   any  of  them 
s  '^Id  at  first  reading  appear  flat  or  obscure,  it  may  well  be  supposed  they  wo  Id 
affect  the  mind   in   I  st'.nger  manner,   when  used  in   a  -1^.-0-  assem  1^  af    r 
sermons  upon  the  texts,    in  which  the  context  hath  been  considered  (ifthat  ^^cre 
necessary     parallel  places  compared,  the   design  of  the   inspired  writer  judiciously 
opened,  and'the  beauty,  propriety,  and  emphasis  of  the  several  ^'au-s  o  the  tex 
iUustra  ed:  They  therefore  who  use  them  in  their  devout  retirements,  should  fi  st 
read  and  consid^-  the  text  and  contexts  .    and  if  they  would  --ult  sou.e  expositor 
upon  them,  particularly  the  authors  on  the  subjects  taken  from  the  ^e^^  ^^^'^"'I'^'l 
th^y  will  «;«  a  spirit  and  elegance  in  these  composures,  which  may  otherwise  be 
overlooked,  and  be  more  likely  to  reap  real  and  lasting  advantage  by  them 

In  this  collection  there  are  many  hymns  formed  upon  passages  in  the  Old  1  es- 
tament  particularly  in  the  prophets,  directly  relating  to  the  case  of  the  I^^^-l'  «. 
orTome  particular  good  man  among  them,  which  the  author  ^^^^  ^^'^^^^^^l^rt 
the  circumstances  of  christians,  where  he  thouglit  there  was  a  just  and  "''tura  re 
semblance  ;  and  he  apprehended,  that  the  practice  of  the  inspired  -'-^  of  the 
New  Testament  warranted  such  accommodations*.  He  experienced  this  to  be 
a  very  acceptable  and  useful  method  of  preaching  on  the  Old  Testament,  and  ao- 
corln^^  recommended  it  to  his  pupils,  as  what  would  afT-.rd  them  an  opportunity 
oJexpikining  the  design  of  the  prophecies,  displaying  the  wisdom,  faithfulness  and 

*  Compare  Heb.  xiii.  5,  6.  and  Family  Expositor  in  Loc  Note  M-J^'^^^l^ 
also  some  good  remarks  on  this  subject  in  Dr.  Watts's  hohncss  of  times,  pUcei, 
&c.  Dis.  V.  especially  Prop.  15. 

3  H  2 


432  PREFACE. 

grace  of  God,  and  suggesting  many  striking  and  important  instructions :  This  method 
would  at  the  same  time  occasion  an  agreeable  variety  in  their  discourses,  prevent 
their  confining  themselves  to  general  or  common-place  subjects,  (oriii order  to  avoid 
a  frequent  repetition  of  well  known  arguments'*  running  into  dry  and  abstruse  spe- 
culations, which  the  capacities  of  the  generality  of  their  hearers  could  not  compre- 
hend, nor  their  hearts  relish  and  feel :  A  fashion  in  preaching  too  prevalent,  and, 
considering  its  apparent  unprofitableness,  much  to  be  lamented. 

Those  young  ministers,  who  are  desirous  of  entering  into  the  spirit  and  copi- 
ousness of  scripture,  may  find  this  work  greatly  useful  to  them,  by  directing  them 
to  many  very  suitable  texts,  and  to  some  natural  thouglits,  and  useful  reflections  to 
be  insisted  upon  in  discoursing  from  them. 

There  are  several  hymns  in  this  collection  suited  to  special  and  extraordinary 
occasions,  for  which  there  was  not  before  a  sufficient  provision  ;  such  as,  for  open- 
ing a  new  place  of  worship,  the  vacancy  and  settlement  of  churches,  the  ordination  of 
ministers,  their  removal  from  our  world,  &c.  especially  for  days  of  fasting  and  humi- 
liation on  account  of  actual  or  apprehended  calamities  ;  the  want  of  which,  during  the 
late  rebellion  and  war,  was  much  regretted  by  many  ministers  and  private  christians. 

In  these  composures  I  hope  few  low  or  trivial  expressions  will  be  found  :  No- 
thing appears  unsuitable  to  the  gravity  and  dignity  of  a  worshipping  assembly : 
Nothing  hkely  to  darken  or  damp  the  devotion  of  the  humble  christian,  or  excite 
passions  merely  sensual.  There  is  nothing  that  savours  of  a  party-spirit,  or  carries 
an  appearance  of  designing  to  confine  their  use  to  an  j'  of  the  sects  into  which  chris- 
tians are  unhappily  divided.  The  materials  are  divine,  and  the  author's  soul  was 
never  more  enlarged,  than  when  he  was  promoting  a  spirit  of  piety  and  candor  in 
their  just  connection. 

I  chose  to  place  these  hymns  in  the  order  in  which  the  several  texts  lie  in  the 
bible,  as  that  prevents  the  necessity  of  another  index,  and  there  appeared  no  par- 
ticular reason  for  disposing  them  in  any  different  order.  In  a  few  places,  where 
words  occur  not  sufficiently  intelligible  to  common  readers,  I  have  added  some  more 
plain  and  familiar  ones  in  the  margin,  that  they  may  be  read  and  sung  with  under- 
standing ;  preferring  this  method  to  that  of  some  authors,  w1k>  have  collected  and 
explained  them  in  a  particular  index. 

As  these  hymns  were  composed  during  a  series  of  many  years,  amidst  an  un- 
common variety  and  daily  succession  of  most  important  labours,  by  a  man  who  had 
no  ear  for  music,  and  as  they  want  his  retouching  hand,  the  reader  will  be  candid  to 
what  inaccuracies  he  may  discover,  particularly  the  repetition  of  the  same  thoughts 
and  phrases,  which  in  a  few  instances  will  be  found :  And  indeed  some  of  them 
could  scarcely  be  avoided  on  subjects  so  nearly  resembling,  without  the  exclusion  of 
the  most  suitable  and  affecting  sentiment?  or  aspirations,  for  which  the  introduction 
of  a  new  or  more  poetic  thought  and  phrase  would  not  have  been  an  equivalent. 
There  may  perhaps  be  some  improprieties,  owing  to  my  not  being  able  to  read  the 
author's  manuscript  in  particular  places,  and  bemg  obliged,  without  a  poetic  genius, 
to  supply  those  deficiencies,  whereby  the  beauty  of  the  stanza  may  be  greatly  de- 
faced, though  the  sense  is  preserved. 

These  hymns  being  originally  designed  for  the  use  of  a  congregation  of  plain 
unlearned  christians,  it  caimot  be  expected  they  should  entertain  those,  who  may 
peruse  them  merely  for  the  sake  of  the  poetry  :  Yet  I  think  many  of  them  will  stand 
tiie  test  of  a  critical  examination,  and  appear  at  least  equal  to  other  compositions  of 
the  like  kind  ;  and  I  am  persuaded  they  will  all  be  delightful  and  beneficial  to  those, 
who  desire  to  have  their  devotions  enlivened,  their  souls  filled  with  divine  love,  and 
Who.  are  ambitious  to  live  up  to  the  rules  of  the  gospel :  and  that  they  will,  through 
the  influences  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  spread  a  spirit  of  fervent  piety  in  such  congrega- 
tions where  they  may  be  introduced. 

I  have  nothing  to  add  but  my  earnest  wishes  and  prayers,  that  they  may  be 
subservient  to  the  glory  of  God,  the  more  delightful  celebration  of  divine  ordinances, 
and  the  edification  of  my  fellow-christians.     Amen, 

JOB  ORTON. 

Salop,  Jan.  1,  1755. 


HYMNS 

FOUNDED  ON  VARIOUS  TEXTS  IN  THE 

OLD  TESTAMENT. 


I.  EmdCs  Piety  and  Translation.     Genesis  v.  24.  Hebrews  xl.  5. 

1  "pTERNAL  God,  our  wond'ring  souls 
"^  Admire  thy  matchless  grace; 

That  tliou  wilt  walk,  that  thou  wilt  dwell, 
With  Adam's  worthless  race. 

2  O  lead  me  to  that  happy  path, 

Where  I  my  God  may  meet; 
Though  hosts  of  foes  begird  it  round, 
Though  briars  wound  my  feet. 

3  Cheer'd  with  thy  converse,  I  can  trace 

The  desart  with  delight : 
Through  all  the  gloom  one  smile  of  thine 
Can  dissipate  the  night. 

4  Nor  shall  I  through  eternal  days 

A  restless  pilgrim  roam  ; 
Thy  hand,  that  now  directs  my  course, 
Shall  soon  convey  me  home. 

5  I  ask  not  Enoch's  rapturous  flight 

To  realms  of  heavenly  day  ; 
Nor  seek  Elijah's  fiery  steeds 
To  bear  this  flesh  away. 

6  Joyful  mv  spirit  will  consent 

To  drop  its  mortal  load  ; 
And  hail  *  tlie  sharpest  pangs  of  death, 
That  break  its  way  to  God. 

II.  GoiVs  gracious  Approbation  of  a  religious  Care  of  our  Families. 
Genesis  xviii.  19. 

1   77 ATI  I ER  of  men,  thy  care  we  bless, 

Which  crowns  our  families  with  peace: 
From  thi'C  they  sprung,  and  bv  thy  hand 
'i'lu'ir  root  and  branches  are  sustain'd. 

*  .Salute  or  welrome. 


434  GENESIS. 

2  To  God,  most  worthy  to  beprais'd, 
Be  our  domestic  altars  rais'd  ; 

Who,  Lord  of  heaven,  scorns  not  to  dwell 
With  saints  in  their  obscurest  cell. 

3  To  thee  may  each  united  house, 
Morning  and  night,  present  its  vows: 
Our  servants  there,  and  rising  race 
Be  tauglit  thy  precepts,  and  thy  grace. 

4  O  may  each  future  age  proclaim 
The  honours  of  thy  glorious  name; 
While  pleas'd,  and  thankful,  we  remove 
To  join  the  family  above. 

III.  Abraham's  Intercession  for  Sodom.     Genesis  xviii.  32. 

FOR    A    FAST-DAY. 

1  /^REAT  God  !  did  pious  Abram  pray 
^^  For  Sodom's  vile  abandon'd  race  ? 
And  shall  not  all  our  souls  be  rous'd 
For  Britain  to  implore  thy  grace  ? 

2  Base  as  we  are,  does  not  thine  eye 
Its  chosen  thousands  here  survey ; 

Whose  souls,  deep  humbled,  mourn  the  crowds, 
Who  walk  in  sin's  destructive  way  ? 

3  O  Judge  supreme,  let  not  thy  sword 
The  righteous  with  the  wicked  smite : 
Nor  bury  in  promiscuous  heaps 
Rebels,  and  saints  thy  chief  delight. 

4  For  these  thy  children  spare  the  land  j 
Avert  the  thunders  big  with  death ; 
Nor  let  the  seeds  of  latent  *  fire 

Be  kindled  by  thy  flaming  breath. 

5  O  !  be  not  angry,  mighty  God, 
While  dust  and  ashes  seek  thy  face ; 
But  gently  bending  from  thy  throne, 
Renew,  and  still  increase  the  grace. 

6  Jesus  the  intercessor  hear, 

And  for  his  sake  thy  grace  impart, 
Which,  while  it  stops  the  fiery  stream, 
Dissolves  the  most  obdurate  heart. 

7  Sodom  shall  change  to  Zion  then, 
And  heavenly  dews  be  scatter'd  round, 
That  plants  of  paradise  may  spring, 
Where  baleful  f  poisons  curs'd  the  ground. 

*  Hidden,  secret.  f  Destructive. 


EXODUS.  435 

IV.  Jacob's  Foxu.     Genesis  xxviii.  20 — '21. 

1  f\  GOD  of  Jac()l>,  by  whose  hand 
^'^   Tliine  Israel  still  is  foil, 

Who  through  this  weary  pilgrimage 
Hast  all  our  fathers  led. 

2  To  thee  our  humble  vows  wc  raise, 

To  thee  aildress  our  ])rayer, 
And  in  thy  kind  and  faithful  breast 
Deposit  all  our  eare. 

3  If  thou,  through  each  perplexing  path. 

Wilt  be  our  constant  guide  ; 
If  thou  wilt  daily  bread  supply, 
And  raiment  wilt  provide ; 

4  If  thou  wilt  spread  thy  shield  around. 

Till  these  our  wand'rings  cease, 
And  at  our  Father's  lov'd  abode 
Our  souls  arrive  in  peace: 

5  To  thee,  as  to  our  Covenant-God, 

We'll  our  whole  selves  resign  ; 
And  count,  that  not  our  tenth  alone, 
But  all  we  have  is  thine, 

V.  The  Hand  of  the  Lord  upon  (he  Cattle.    Exodus  ix.  3. 

1  'T'HE  creatures,  Lord,  confess  thy  hand, 

-^    Through  earth  and  sky,  through  sea  and  land; 
And  all  their  meanest  orders  share 
Their  Maker's  pity,  and  his  care. 

2  O  look  from  thine  exalted  throne, 
And  hear  our  panting  cattle  moan  ; 
Prone*  o'er  th'  untasted  food  they  lie, 
Groan  out  their  agonies,  and  die. 

3  What  have  these  harmless  creatures  done 
To  draw  this  sore  chastisement  down? 
'Tis  human  guilt  for  vengeance  calls, 
And  heavy  on  the  herds  it  falls. 

4  From  them  to  us  the  stroke  might  pass, 
And  mow  down  thousands  of  our  race  ; 
Till  desolation  reign'd  around, 

Our  cities  void,  untilPd  our  ground. 

5  Prevent  the  ruin  by  thv  grace. 

And  melt  our  hearts  to  seek  thy  face: 

Blest  fruit  of  thy  correcting  rod 

To  lose  our  beasts,  and  find  our  God. 

*  Strctclicd  out  on  the  ground. 
3 


436  EXODUS. 

VI.  Israel  and  Avudek.    Exodus  xvii.  11. 

FOR    A    FAST-DAY. 

1  /^UR  Banner  is  th'  eternal  God, 
^^^  Nor  will  we  yield  to  fear ; 
Amidst  ten  thousand  fierce  assaults, 

His  mighty  aid  is  near. 

2  To  him  the  hands  of  faith  we  stretch. 

And  plead  experienced  grace ; 
To  him  the  voice  of  prayer  we  raise. 
Nor  will  he  hide  his  face, 

3  No  more,  proud  Amalek,  thy  boast, 

"  God's  arm  is  feeble  grown:" 
His  sword  shall  lop  off  every  hand 
That  dares  insult  his  throne. 

4  Awake,  tremendous  Judge,  awake 

Our  nation's  cause  to  plead  ; 
Nor  let  thine  Israel's  foes,  and  thine, 
By  wickedness  succeed, 

5  Our  fainting  hands,  how  soon  they  droop! 

But  thou  the  weak  canst  raise  ; 
And  in  the  mount  of  prayer  canst  leave 
An  altar  to  thy  praise. 

VII.  Against  follotoing  a  Multitude  to  do  Evil.    Exodus  xxiii.  2. 

1  T  ORD,  when  iniquities  abound. 

And  growing  crimes  appear  ; 
We  view  the  deluge  rising  round 
With  sorrow,  and  Avith  fear. 

2  Yet  when  its  waves  most  fiercely  beat, 

And  spread  destruction  wide, 
Thy  Spirit  can  a  standard  raise 
To  stem  *  the  roarins;  tide. 

3  May  thy  triumphant  arm  awake 

Thy  sacred  cause  to  plead  ; 

And  let  the  multitude  confess. 

That  thou  art  God  indeed. 

4  Their  hearts  shall  in  a  moment  turn. 

Like  water,  by  thy  hand ; 
One  word  shall  bow  their  stubborn  necks 
To  own  thy  high  command. 

5  Our  feeble  souls  at  least  support. 

And  there  thy  power  display ; 
Then  multitudes  shall  strive  in  vain 
To  draw  us  from  thy  way. 

*  Restrain. 


EXODUS. 


437 


Vlir.  Christ's  Intercession  ij/pified  by  Aaron's  Breast-plate.   Ex.  xxviii.  29. 

1  IV^^^W"  let  our  cheerful  eyes  survey 
^^     Our  gioat  high  Priest  above, 
And  celebrate  his  constant  care, 

And  sympathetic  love. 

2  Though  rais'd  to  a  superior  throne. 

Where  angels  bow  around, 
And  high  o'er  all  the  shining  train 
With  matchless  honours  crown'd  ; 

3  The  names  of  all  his  saints  he  bears 

Deep  graven  on  his  heart ; 
Nor  shall  the  meanest  christian  say, 
That  he  hath  lost  his  part. 

4  Those  characters  shall  fair  abide. 

Our  everlasting  trust. 
When  gems,  and  monuments,  and  crowns 
Are  moulder'd  down  to  dust, 

5  So,  gracious  Saviour,  on  my  breast 

May  thy  dear  name  be  worn, 
A  sacred  ornament  and  guard. 
To  endless  ages  borne. 


IX.  fTfio  is  on  the  Lord's  Side  ?  Ex.  xxxiii.  26. 

1  TT7HAT  bosom  mov'd  with  pious  zeal 

^^      Doth  for  its  God's  dishonour  feel  ? 
What  heart  with  generous  ardor  glows 
To  plead  his  cause  against  his  foes  ? 

2  Great  God,  what  bosom  can  be  cold  ? 
What  coward  must  not  here  grow  bold  ? 
While  honour,  interest,  truth  and  love 
Concur  our  inmost  souls  to  move  ? 

3  Aromid  thy  standard.  Lord,  we  press. 
Thine  injur'd  honour  to  redress, 

And  with  detcrmin'd  voice  demand 
The  signal  of  thy  conquering  hand. 

4  Thou  shalt  these  sacred  weapons  bless, 
And  lead  through  war  to  endless  peace 
Not  death  itself  our  souls  shall  dread. 
For  thine  own  arm  shall  raise  the  dead. 

X.  Gods  Presence  desirable.    Ex.  xxxiii.  15. 

1  IMMENSE,  eternal  God  ! 

How  marvellous  thy  name ! 
VOL.  III.  2  I 


438  -  EXODUS. 

Thy  presence  all  abroad 
Pervades  all  nature's  frame  ; 
Heaven,  earth,  and  air. 
And  the  dark  cell 
Where  devils  dwell 
In  long  despair. 

2  Yet  thou  hast  chosen  ways 
To  make  thy  presence  known 
To  favourites  of  thy  grace, 
To  upright  souls  alone  : 

This  glory,  Lord, 
My  soul  would  see, 
This  grace  to  me. 
My  God,  afford. 

3  If  thou  thy  lustre  veil, 
The  charms  of  nature  fade ; 
AH  wither'd,  weak,  and  pale. 
They  bow  their  languid  head  , 

My  father,  shine  ; 
For  thou  canst  give 
The  dead  to  live 
By  beams  divine. 

4  Even  Eden's  blisful  lands 
Would  in  thine  absence  mourn 
But  thou  wild  Afric's  sands 
To  paradise  canst  turn. 

If  God  be  there 
The  gloom  is  bright : 
But  noon  is  night, 
Till  thou  appear. 

5  Come,  for  my  spirit  glows 
With  infinite  desire ! 
Strong  love  impatient  grows. 
And  sets  my  heart  on  fire. 

My  father,  come  ; 
That  presence  give. 
On  which  I  live  ; 
Or  call  me  home. 


XT.  Moses's  View  of  the  divine  Glory.    Ex.  xxxiii.  18. 

1  "\T7ITH  humble  pleasure,  Lord,  we  trace 
The  ancient  records  of  thy  grace ; 
And  our  own  consolation  draw, 
From  what  thy  servant  Moses  saw. 


KUMBER8.  *3^ 

2  May  avc  behold  tliy  glory  shine, 
With  gentle  beams  ot  love  divine  ; 
And  hear  thy  secret  voice  proclaim 
The  various  wonders  of  thy  name. 

3  If  feeble  nature  faint  t'  endure 
A  voice  so  sweet,  a  ray  so  pure  ; 
Its  dissolution  would  delight, 

While  death  would  wear  a  form  so  bright. 

4  Death  shall  unveil  that  world  above, 
Where  the  dear  children  of  thy  love. 
Attempered  *  all  to  heavenly  day, 
Bear,  and  reflect  th'  immediate  ray. 

XII.  The  Proclamation  of  God's  Naineto  Moses  ;  or,  divine  Mercy  and  Justice. 
Ex.  xxxiv.  6 — 8. 

1  A  TTEND,  my  soul,  the  voice  divine, 
-^   And  mark  what  beaming  glories  shine 

Around  thy  condescending  God  1 
To  us,  to  us  he  still  proclaims 
His  awful,  his  endearing  names  : 

Attend,  and  sound  them  all  abroad. 

2  '*  Jehovah  I,  the  sovereign  Lord, 

<'  The  mighty  God,  by  heaven  ador'd, 

*<  Down  to  the  earth"  my  footsteps  bend  : 
"  My  heart  the  tendercst  pitv  knows, 
"  Goodness  full-streaming  wide  o'erflows, 
"  And  grace  and  truth  shall  never  end. 

3  "  My  patience  long  can  crimes  endure  : 
"  My  pardoning  love  is  ever  sure, 

"  When  penitential  sorrow  mourns  ; 
<'  To  milUons,  through  unnunriber'd  years, 
«*  New  hope  and  new  delight  it  bears  ; 

*'  Yet  wrath  against  the  sinner  burns." 

4  Make  haste,  my  soul,  the  vision  meet, 
All  prostrate  at  thy  sovereign's  feet, 

And  drink  the  "tuneful  accents  in  ; 
Speak  on,  my  Lord,  repeat  the  voice, 
Diffuse  these  heart-expanding  joys, 

Till  heaven  complete  the  rapturous  scene. 

XUl  The  God  of  Spirits  sougk  to  supply  f^acancies  in  the  Congregations 
of  his  People.     Num.  xxvii.  15 — IT. 

1  "pATHER  of  spirits,  from  thy  hand, 
■■"     Our  souls  immortal  came  ; 
And  still  thine  energy  divine 
Supports  th'  ethereal  flame. 

*  Fitted  and  enabled  to  bear. 
3l2 


440  DEUTERONOMY. 

2  By  thee  our  spirits  all  are  known  ; 

And  each  remotest  thought 
Lies  wide  expanded  to  his  eye, 

By  whom  their  powers  were  wrought. 

3  To  thee,  when  mortal  comforts  fail, 

Thy  flock  deserted  flies  ; 
And,  on  th' eternal  shepherd's  care, 
Our  cheerful  hope  relies. 

4  When  o'er  thy  faithful  servant's  dust 

Thy  dear  assemblies  mourn, 
In  speedy  tokens  of  thy  grace, 
O  Israel's  God,  return. 

5  The  powers  of  nature  all  are  thine, 

And  thine  the  aids  of  grace  ; 
Thine  arm  has  borne  thy  churches  up 
Through  every  rising  race. 

6  Exert  thy  sacred  influence  here, 

And  here  thy  suppliants  bless, 
And  change,  to  strains  of  cheerful  praise, 
Their  accents  of  distress. 

i  With  faithful  heart,  with  skilful  hand. 
May  this  thy  flock  be  fed  ; 
And  with  a  steady  growing  pace 
To  Zion's  mountain  led. 

XIV.  The  Lord^s  People  his  Portion.    Deut.  xxxii.  9. 

1  COVEREIGN  of  nature,  all  is  thine. 

The  air,  the  earth,  the  sea  : 
By  thee  the  orbs  celestial  shine. 
And  cherubs  live  by  thee. 

2  Rich  in  thine  own  essential  store  ; 

Thou  call'st  forth  worlds  at  will: 
Ten  thousand,  and  ten  thousand  more 
Would  hear  thy  summons  still. 

3  What  treasure  wilt  thou  then  confess  ? 

And  thy  own  portion  call  ? 
What  by  peculiar  right  possess, 
Imperial  Lord  of  all  ? 

4  Thine  Israel  thou  wilt  stoop  to  claim. 

Wilt  mark  them  out  for  thine  : 
Ten  thousand  praises  to  thy  name 
For  goodness  so  divine  ! 

5  That  I  am  thine,  my  soul  would  boast, 

And  boast  its  claim  to  thee  ; 
Nor  shall  God's  property  be  lost, 
Nor  God  be  torn  from  me. 


DEUTERONOMY.  441 

XV.  The  eternal  God  his  People's  Refuge  and  Support.     Dcut.  xxxiii.  27. 

1  "DEHOLD  the  cjreat  eternal  God, 

Spreads  evcrlastinir  arms  abroad, 
And  calls  our  souls  to  shelter  then; ; 

Wonders  of  mingled  power  and  grace 

To  all  his  Israel  he  displays, 

Guarded  from  danger,  and  from  fear. 

2  Thither  my  feeble  soul  shall  ily, 
When  terrors  press,  and  death  is  nigh, 

And  there  will  I  delight  to  dwell; 
On  that  high  tower  I  rear  mv  head 
Serene,  nor  knows  my  heart  to  dread, 

Amidst  surrounding  hosts  of  hell. 

3  The  shadow  of  the  Almighty's  wings 
Composure  unmolested  brings, 

While  threat'ning  horrors  round  mc  crowd  ; 
In  vain  the  storms  of  rattling  hail 
The  walls  of  this  retreat  assail. 

And  the  wild  tempest  roars  aloud. 

4  In  louder  strains  my  fearless  tongue 
Shall  warble  its  victorious  song, 

My  Father's  graces  to  proclaimi ; 
He  bears  his  infant  offspring  on 
To  glory  radiant  as  his  throne, 

And  joys  eternal  as  his  name. 

XVI.  The  Happiness  of  God's  Israel.     Deut.  xxxiii.  29. 

1  /^  Israel,  blest  beyond  compare  ! 
^^^  Unrivaled  all  thv  glories  are: 
Jehovah  deigns  to  fill  thy  throne, 
And  calls  thine  interest  all  his  own. 

2  He  is  thv  Saviour ;  he  thy  Lord  ; 

His  shield  is  thine ;  and  thine  his  sword  : 

Review  in  ecstasy  of  thought 

The  grand  redemption  he  has  wrought. 

3  From  Satan's  yoke  he  sets  thee  free. 
Opens  thy  passage  through  the  sea  ; 
He  through  the  desart  is  thy  guide. 
And  heaven  for  Canaan  will  provide. 

4  Not  Jacob's  sons  of  old  could  boast 
Such  favours  to  their  chosen  host ; 
Their  glories,  which  through  ages  shine, 
Are  but  dim  shades,  and  types  of  thine. 


442  JUDGES. 

5  Celestial  Spirit,  teach  our  tongue 
Siiblimer  strains  than  Moses  sung, 
Proportioned  to  the  sweeter  name 
Of  God  the  Saviour,  and  the  Lamb. 

XVII.  Support  in  the  gracious  Presence  of  God  under  the  LoiS  of 
Ministers,  and  other' useful  Friends.    Joshua  i.  2,  4,  5. 

1  IVT  OW  let  our  mourning  hearts  revive. 

And  all  our  tears  be  dry ; 
Why  should  those  eyes  be  drowned  in  grief, 
*  Which  view  a  Saviour  nigh  ? 

2  What  though  the  arm  of  conquering  death 

Does  God's  own  house  invade? 
What  though  the  prophet,  and  the  priest 
Be  numbered  with  the  dead  ? 

3  Though  earthly  shepherds  dwell  in  dust. 

The  aged,  and  the  young, 
The  watchful  eye  in  darkness  closed, 
And  mute  the  instructive  tongue ; 

4  Th'  eternal  shepherd  still  survives, 

New  comfort  to  impart ; 
His  eye  still  guides  us,  and  his  voice 
Still  animates  our  heart. 

5  "  Lo,  I  am  with  you,"  saith  the  Lord, 

"  My  church  shall  safe  abide  ; 

**  For  I  will  ne'er  forsake  my  own, 

"  Whose  souls  in  me  confide." 

6  Through  every  scene  of  life  and  death. 

This  promise  is  our  trust ; 
And  this  shall  be  our  children's  song, 
When  we  are  cold  in  dust. 

"KYlll.  God  insensibly  xvithdraxvn.    Judges  xvi.  20.     i 

1  A  Present  God  is  all  our  strength, 
"^  And  all  our  joy  and  hope ; 
When  he  withdraws,  our  comforts  die, 

And  every  grace  must  droop. 

2  But  flattering  trifles  charm  our  hearts 

To  court  their  false  embrace. 
Till  justly  this  neglected  friend 
Averts  his  angry  face. 

3  He  leaves  us,  and  we  miss  him  not ; 

But  go  presumptuous  on. 
Till  baffled,  wounded,  and  enslaved, 
We  learn,  that  God  is  gone. 


I.   SAMUEL.  443 

4  And  what,  my  soul,  can  then  remain 

One  ruy  oi'  light  to  give  ? 
Sevcr'd  from  him,  their  better  life. 
How  can  his  children  live? 

5  Hence,  all  ye  painted  forms  of  joy, 

And  leave  mv  heart  to  mourn  ; 
I  would  devote  these  eyes  to  tears, 
Till  checr'd  by  his  return. 

G  Look  back,  my  Lord,  and  own  the  place, 
Where  once  thy  temple  stood; 
Forlo,  its  ruins  bear  the  mark 
Of  rich  atoning  blood. 

XIX.  Ehenezer;  or,  God's  fklping  Hand  rciieived  and  acknoiiledged. 
1  Sam.  vii.  12. 

FOR    new-year's    DAY. 

1  A/TY  helper  God  !  I  bless  his  name  : 

The  same  his  power,  his  grace  the  same, 
The  tokens  of  his  friendly  care 
Open,  and  crown,  and  close  the  year. 

2  I  'midst  ten  thousand  dangers  stand, 
Supported  by  his  guardian  hand  ; 
And  see,  when  I  survey  my  ways, 
Tea  thousand  monuments  of  praise. 

3  Thus  far  his  arm  hath  led  me  on  ; 
Thus  far  I  make  his  mercy  known  ; 
And,  while  I  tread  this  desart  land, 
New  mercies  shall  new  songs  demand. 

4  Mv  grateful  soul,  on  Jordan's  shore. 
Shall  raise 'one  sacred  pillar  more  : 
Then  bear,  in  his  bright  courts  above, 
Inscriptions  of  inmiortal  love. 

XX.  T/iC  Saini  encouraging  hmselfin  the  Lord  his  God.     1  Sam.  xxx.  6. 

1  TEHOVAH,  'tis  a  glorious  name, 
"    Still  pregnant  with  delight ; 

It  scatters  round  a  cheerful  beam. 
To  gild  the  darkest  night. 

2  What  though  our  mortal  comforts  fade, 

And  drop  like  withering  flowers  ; 
Nor  time  nor  death  can  break  that  band, 
Which  makes  Jehovah  ours. 

3  My  cares,  I  give  you  to  the  wind, 

And  shake  you  off  like  ilust  ; 
Well  may  I  trust  my  all  with  him, 
With  whom  my  soul  I  trust. 


444  II.    SAMUEL. 

XXI.  Support  in  God's  Covenant  under  doinestlc  Troubles.     2  Sam.  xxiii.  5. 

1  IV/TY  God,  the  covenant  of  thy  love 

Abides  for  ever  sure. 
And  in  its  matchless  grace  I  feel 
My  happiness  secure. 

2  What  though  my  house  be  not  with  thee, 

As  nature  could  desire  ; 
To  nobler  joj^s  than  nature  gives 
Thy  servants  all  aspire. 

3  Since  thou,  the  everlasting  God, 

My  Father  art  become  ; 
Jesus  my  guardian,  and  my  friend. 
And  heaven  my  final  home : 

4  I  welcome  all  thv  sovereign  will. 

For  all  that  will  is  love ; 
And  when  I  know  not  what  thou  dost, 
I  wait  the  light  above. 

.5  Thy  covenant  in  the  darkest  gloom 
Shall  heavenly  rays  impart ; 
Which,  when  my  eye-lids  close  in  death, 
Shall  warm  my  chilling  heart. 

XXII.  Support  in  God's  Covenant  in  the  near  Fieivs  of  Death. 
2  Sam.  xxiii.  1  and  b  compared. 

1  '""piS  mine,  the  covenant  of  his  grace, 

And  every  promise  mine ! 
All  sprung  from  everlasting  love, 
And  seal'd  by  blood  divine. 

2  On  my  unworthy  favour'd  head 

Its  blessings  all  unite  ; 
Blessings  more  numerous  than  the  stars, 
More  lasting,  and  more  bright. 

3  Death,  thou  may'sttear  this  rag  of  flesh, 

And  sink  my  fainting  head  ; 
And  lay  my  ruins  in  the  grave. 
Among  my  kindred  dead: 

4  But  death  and  hell  in  vain  shall  strive 

To  break  that  sacred  rest, 
Wliich  God's  expiring  children  feel, 
While  leaning  on  his  breast. 

5  Th'  enlarged  soul  thou  canst  not  reach, 

Nor  rend  from  Christ  away  ; 
l^hough  o'er  my  moiildering  dust  thou  boast 
The  triumphs  of  a  day. 


EZRA.  444 

C  The  night  is  past,  my  morning  dawns  ; 
My  covenant-God  descends, 
And  wakes  that  dust  to  join  my  soul 
In  bliss  that  never  ends. 

7  That  cov'nant  the  last  accent  claims 
Of  this  poor  faltering  tongue  ; 
And  that  shall  the  (irst  notes  employ 
Of  my  celestial  song. 

XXIII.   Rejoicing  in  our  Covenant-engagements  to  God.  2  Chron.  xv.  15. 

1  {^  HAPPY  day,  that  fixed  my  choice 
^-^  On  thee,  my  Saviour,  and  my  God  ! 
Well  may  this  glowing  heart  rejoice, 
And  tell  its  raptures  all  abroad. 

2  O  happy  bond,  that  seals  my  vows 
To  him,  who  merits  all  my  love  ! 
Let  cheerful  anthems  *  fill  his  house, 
While  to  that  sacred  shrine  f  I  move. 

3  'Tis  done  ;  the  great  transaction's  done  : 
I  am  my  Lord's,  and  he  is  mine  : 

He  drew  me,  and  I  follow'd  on, 
Charm'd  to  confess  the  voice  divine, 

4  Now  rest  my  long-divided  heart, 
Fix'd  on  this  blissful  centre  rest  ; 
With  ashes  who  would  grudge  to  part. 
When  called  on  angels,  bread  to  feast  ? 

5  High  heaven  that  heard  the  solemn  vow. 
That  vow  renew'd  shall  daily  hear  ; 
Till  in  life's  latest  hour  I  bow. 

And  bless  in  death  a  bond  so  dear, 

XXIV.  God  stirring  up  the  Spirit  of  Cyrus  to  redeem  Israel, 
Ezra  i.  I.  compared  with  Isaiali  xliv.  1 — 4. 

1  TTH'  eternal  God  !  his  name  how  great  ! 

How  deep  his  counsels  !  how  complete  ! 
The  hearts  of  kings  his  power  can  sway  ; 
His  word  unconscious  they  obey. 

2  Summon'd  of  old  in  distant  days 

To  serve  his  schemes,  and  shew  his  praise, 
Cyrus,  illustrious  prince,  appears, 
His  people  frees,  his  temple  rears. 

3  Through  legions  arm'd  he  breaks  his  way, 
And  tramples  generals  down  like  clay  ;  " 

*  Hymns  of  praise.  §  Altar,  or  place  of  worship. 

VOL.  III.  3  K 


446  joS. 

The  bars  of  steel  he  cuts  in  twain, 
And  brazen  gates  oppose  in  vain. 

4  But  to  Jehovah's  accents  mild 
The  hero  phant  as  a  child. 

Lays  the  new  cares  of  empire  by, 
Till  Zion  rise,  and  shines  on  high. 

5  Thus,  mighty  God,  shall  every  heart, 
(If  thou  thine  influence  there  exert) 
Throw  its  own  fondest  schemes  aside, 
And  follow  vv'here  thy  hand  shall  guide, 

6  The  foremost  sons  of  fame  shall  boast 
To  raise  thy  temples  from  their  dust ; 
Princes  shall  shout  thy  name  aloud, 

And  new-born  priests  thine  altars  crowd. 

XXV.  A  Glance  froin  God  bringing  us  dowti  to  the  Solitude  of  the  Grave. 

Job  vii.  8. 

1  COVEREIGN  of  life,  before  thine  eye, 

Lo,  mortal  men  by  thousands  die  ! 
One  glance  from  thee  at  once  brings  down 
The  proudest  bfOw,  that  Avears  a  crown. 

2  Banish'd  at  once  from  human  sight 
To  the  dark  grave's  unchanging  night, 
Imprison'd  in  that  dusty  bed. 

We  hide  our  solitary  head. 

3  The  friendly  band  no  more  shall  greet, 
Accents  familiar  once,  and  sweet  : 

No  more  the  well-known  features  trace, 
No  more  renew  the  fond  embrace. 

4  Yet  if  my  Father's  faithful  hand 
Conduct  me  through  this  gloomy  land. 
My  soul  with  pleasure  shall  obey. 
And  follow,  where  he  leads  the  way. 

5  He  nobler  friends,  than  here  I  leave. 
In  brighter  surer  worlds  can  give  ; 
Or  by  the  beamings  of  his  eye 

A  lost  creation  well  supply. 

XXVI.  The  Impossibility  of  prospering  while  Men  harden  iltemsehxs 
agaimt  God.    Job  ix.  4. 

1  'XTIE  great  Jehovah  !  who  shall  dare 

-■■    With  him  to  tempt  unequal  war  ? 
What  heart  of  steel  shall  dare  t'  oppose, 
And  league  among  his  hardened  foes  ? 

2  At  his  command  the  lightnings  dart, 
And  swift  transfix  the  rebel  heart : 


JOB.  447 

Earth  trembles  at  his  look,  and  cleaves. 
And  legions  sink  in  living  graves. 

3  Where  are  the  haughty  monarchs  now, 
Who  scorn'd  his  Avord  with  lowring  brow  ? 
Where  arc  the  trophies  ot'thi;ir  rei<^MS  ? 
Or  where  their  ruin's  last  remains} 

4  See  Pharaoh  sinking  in  the  tide  ! 
See  Babel's  tyrant,  mad  Avith  pride, 
Graze  with  the  beasts !  Hear  Herod  roar, 
While  worms  his  deity  devour! 

5  See  from  the  turrets  of  the  skies, 
Tall  cherubs  sink,  no  more  to  rise  ; 
And  trace  their  rank  on  thrones  of  light 
By  heavier  chains,  and  darker  night  ! 

6  Great  God  I   and  shall  this  soul  of  mine 
Presume  to  challenge  wrath  divine  ? 
Trembling  I  seek  thy  mercy-seat. 
And  lay  my  weapons  at  thy  feet. 

XXVII.  The  great  Journey.    Jobxvi.22. 

1  "D  EHOLD  the  path  that  tnortals  tread 
^^   Down  to  the  regions  of  the  dead ! 
Nor  will  the  fleeting  moments  stay. 
Nor  can  we  measure  back  our  way. 

2  Our  kindred  and  our  friends  are  gone  ; 
Know,  O  my  soul,  this  doom  they  own  ; 
Feeble  as  theirs  my  mortal  frame. 

The  same  my  way,  my  house  the  same. 

3  From  vital  air,  from  cheerful  light. 
To  the  cold  grave's  perpetual  night. 
From  scenes  of  duty,  means  of  grace. 
Must  I  to  God's  tribunal  pass  ! 

4  Important  journey?   Awful  view  ! 

How  great  the  change  !   the  scenes  how  new  ! 

The  golden  gates  of  heav'n  display'd, 

Or  hell's  fierce  flames,  and  gloomy  shade  ! 

5  Awake  my  soul ;   thy  way  prepare, 
And  lose  in  this  each  mortal  care, 
W'nh  steady  feet  that  path  be  trod. 
Which  through  the  grave  conducts  to  God 

6  Jesus,  to  thee  mv  all  I  trust. 
And,  if  thou  call  me  down  to  dust, 
I  know  thy  voice,  I  bless  thy  hand. 
And  die  in  smiles  at  thy  command. 

3  K  2 


448  PSALMS. 

7  What  was  my  terror,  k  my  joy ; 

These  views  my  brightest  hopes  employ, 
To  go,  ere  many  years  are  o'er, 
Secure  I  shall  return  no  more. 

XXVIII.  The  Penitent  brought  backfro7n  the  Pit.    Job  xxxiii.  27,  2S. 

1  'T^HE  Lord,  from  his  exalted  throne, 

-■-    In  majesty  array'd, 
Looks  with  a  melting  pity  down 
On  all  that  seek  his  aid. 

2  When,  touched  with  penitent  remorse, 

Our  follies  past  we  mourn. 

With  what  a  tenderness  of  love 

He  meets  our  first  return ! 

3  From  heaven  he  sent  his  only  Son 

To  ransom  us  with  blood, 
To  snatch  us  from  the  burning  pit, 
When  on  its  brink  Ave  stood. 

4  From  death  and  hell  he  leads  us  up 

By  a  delightful  way  ; 
And  the  bright  beams  of  endless  life 
Doth  round  our  path  display; 

5  Great  God,  we  wonder,  and  adore  ; 

And,  to  exalt  such  grace, 
We  long  to  learn  the  songs  of  heaven 
Ere  yet  we  reach  the  place. 

XXIX.  Communing  with  our  Hearts.    Psalm,  iv.  4. 

1  "D  ETURN,  my  roving  heart,  return, 

■^^  And  chase  these  shadowy  forms  no  more  ; 
Seek  out  some  solitude  to  mourn, 
And  thy  forsaken  God  implore. 

2  Wisdom  and  pleasure  dwell  at  home  ; 
Retir'd  and  silent  seek  them  there  : 
True  conquest  is  ourselves  t'  o'ercome, 
True  strength  to  break  the  tempter's  snare. 

3  And  thou,  my  God,  whose  piercing  eye 
Distinct  surveys  each  deep  recess. 

In  these  abstracted  hours  draw  nigh. 
And  with  thy  presence  fill  the  place. 

4  Through  all  the  mazes  *  of  m}'  heart 
My  search  let  heavenly  wisdom  guide. 
And  still  its  radiant  beams  impart, 
Till  all  besearch'd,  and  purifi'd. 

*  Windings,  perplexities. 


PSALMS.  41 'J 

5  Then,  Avitli  the  visits  of  thy  love, 
Vouchsafe  my  inmost  soul  to  cheer  ; 
Till  every  grace  shall  join  to  prov*;, 
That  God  has  fixed  his  dwelling  there. 

XXX.  God's  Name,  the  Encouragement  of  our  Faith. 

Psalm  ix.  10. 

1  CING  to  the  Lord,  who  loud  proclaims 

His  various,  and  his  saving  names  ; 
O  may  they  not  be  heard  alone. 
But  by  our  sure  experience  known  ! 

2  Let  great  Jehovah  be  ador'd, 
Th'  eternal,  all-sufticient  Lord  ! 

He  through  the  world  most  high  confess'd. 
By  Avhom  'twas  form'd,  and  is  possess'd. 

3  Awake  our  noblest  powers  to  bless 
The  God  of  Abratn,  God  of  peace  ; 
Now  by  a  dearer  title  known, 
Father  and  God  of  Christ  his  Son. 

4  Through  every  age  his  gracious  ear 
Is  open  to  his  servants'  prayer  ; 
Nor  can  one  humble  soul  complain, 
That  it  hath  sought  its  God  in  vain. 

5  What  unbelieving  heart  shall  dare 
In  whispers  to  suggest  a  fear, 
While  still  he  owns  his  ancient  name  ? 
The  same  his  power,  his  love  the  same ! 

6  To  thee  our  souls  in  faith  arise, 
To  thee  we  lift  expecting  eyes  ; 
And  boldly  through  the  desart  tread  ; 

V  or  God  will  guard,  where  God  shall  lead. 

XXXI.  Triumph  in  God's  Protection.      Psalm  xviii.  2. 

1  T   EGIONS  of  foes  beset  me  round, 

^  While  marching  o'er  this  dangerous  ground  ; 
Yet  in  Jehovah's  aid  I  trust, 
And  in  his  power  superior  boast. 

2  My  buckler  he  ;  his  shield  is  spread 
To  cover  this  defenceless  head  : 
Now  let  the  fierc<*st  foes  assail, 
Their  darts  I  count  as  rattling  hail. 

3  He  is  my  rock,  and  he  my  tow'r  ; 

The  base  *"  how  hrni  !    the  walls  how  sure  I 
The  battlements  how  high  they  rise  I 
And  hide  their  summits  f  in  the  skies. 

*  Foundation.  fTop*;. 


450  PSALMS. 

4  Deliverances  to  God  belong  ; 

He  is  my  strength,  and  he  my  song  ; 
The  horn  of  my  salvation  he, 
And  all  my  foes  dispers'd  shall  flee. 

5  Through  the  long  march  my  lips  shall  sing 
My  great  Protector,  and  my  King, 

Till  Zion's  mount  my  feet  ascend, 
And  all  my  painful  warfare  end. 

6  Rais'd  on  the  shining  turrets  there, 
Through  all  the  prospect  wide  and  fair, 
A  land  of  peace  his  hosts  survey. 
And  bless  the  grace,  that  led  the  way. 

XXXII.  Support  in  Death,      Psalm  xxiii.  4. 

1         "DEHOLD  the  gloomy  vale. 

Which  thou,  my  soul,  must  tread. 
Beset  with  terrors  fierce  and  pale, 
That  leads  thee  to  the  dead. 

3         Ye  pleasing  scenes,  adieu*. 
Which  I  so  long  have  known  : 
My  friends  along  farewel  to  3-ou, 
For  I  must  pass  alone. 

3  And  thou,  beloved  cla}^ 
Long  partner  of  my  cares, 

In  this  rough  path  art  torn  away 
With  agony  and  tears. 

4  But  see  a  ray  of  light, 
With  splendors  all  divine, 

Breaks  through  these  doleful  realms  of  night. 
And  makes  its  horrors  shine. 

5  Where  death  and  darkness  reigns, 
Jehovah  is  my  stay  : 

His  rod  my  trembling  feet  sustains. 
His  staff  defends  my  way. 

6  Dear  Shepherd,  lead  me  on  ; 
My  soul  disdains  to  fear  ; 

Death's  gloomy  phantoms  all  are  flown, 
Now  life's  great  Lord  is  near. 

XXXIII.  The  good  Man^s  Prospect  for  Time  and  Eternitif: 
Psalm  xxiii.  C. 

1   ^V/f  Y  soul,  triumphant  in  the  Lord, 
^        Shall  tell  its  joys  abroad  ; 
And  march  with  holy  vigour  on, 
Supported  by  its  God, 


PSALMS.  451 

2  Through  all  the  Avindiiig*  maze  of  life, 

His  hand  hath  hccii  luyguiilc, 
And  in  that  long-c'X|)iTicncc!d  care, 
My  heart  shall  still  confide. 

3  His  grace  through  all  the  depart  flows, 

An  unexliaustud  stream: 
That  grace  on  Zion's  sacred  mount 
Shall  be  my  endless  theme  f. 

4  Beyond  the  choicest  joys  of  earth 

Tht  se  distant  courts  I  love; 
But  O  !  I  burn  with  strong  desire 
To  view  thy  house  above. 

5  Mingled  with  all  the  shining  band. 

My  soul  would  there  adore ; 
A  pillar  in  thy  temple  fixed, 
To  be  removed  no  more. 

XXXIV.  The  Goodness  ultich  God  has  ivrougJU,  and  laid  up  for  his 
People.     Psalm  xxxi.  19. 

1  /^UR  souls  with  pleasing  wonder  view 
^^  The  bounties  of  thy  grace; 

How  much  bestowed !  How  much  reserved 
For  them  that  seek  thy  face ! 

2  Thy  liberal  hand  with  worldly  bliss 

Oft  makes  their  cup  run  o'er; 
And  in  the  covenant  of  thy  love 
They  find  diviner  store. 

3  Here  mercy  hides  their  numerous  sins: 

Here  grace  their  souls  renews ; 
Here  thy  own  reconciled  face 
Doth  heavenly  beams  diffuse. 

4  But  O !  what  treasures  yet  unknown 

Are  lodged  in  worlds  to  come! 
If  these  th'  enjoyments  of  the  wa}', 
How  happy  is  their  home ! 

5  And  what  shall  mortal  worms  reply? 

Or  how  such  goodness  own? 
But  'tis  our  joy  that,  Lord,  to  thee, 
Thy  servants'  hearts  are  known. 

6  Thine  eyes  shall  read  those  grateful  thoughts 

No  language  can  express; 
Yet,  when  our  liveliest  thanks  we  pay. 
Our  debts  do  most  encrease. 

♦  Wilderness.  f  Subject, 


452  PSALMS. 

7  Since  time's  too  short,  all  gracious  God, 
To  utter  half  thy  praise, 
Loud  to  the  honour  of  thy  name 
Eternal  hymns  we'll  raise. 

XXXV.  Relishing  the  divine  Goodness.    Psalm  xxxiv.  8,  9. 

1  T^RIUMPHANT,  Lord,  thy  goodness  reigns 

-*■    Through  all  the  wide  celestial  plains ; 
And  its  full  streams  redundant  flow 
Down  to  the  abodes  of  men  below. 

2  Through  nature's  works  its  glories  shine ; 
The  cares  of  providence  are  thine  : 
And  grace  erects  our  ruined  frame 

A  fairer  temple  to  thy  name. 

3  O  give  to  every  human  heart 

To  taste,  and  feel  how  good  thou  art : 
With  grateful  love,  and  reverend  fear, 
To  know,  how  blest  thy  children  are. 

4  Let  nature  burst  into  a  song  ; 

Ye  echoing  hills,  the  notes  prolong : 
Earth,  seas,  and  stars  your  anthems  raise. 
All  vocal  *  with  your  Maker's  praise. 

5  Ye  saints,  with  joy  the  theme  pursue. 
Its  sweetest  notes  belong  to  you ; 
Chose  by  this  condescending  King 
For  ever  round  his  throne  to  sing. 

XXXVL  God  saying  to  the  Soid,  that  he  is  its  Salvation, 
Psalm  XXXV.  3. 

1  C  ALVATION !  O  melodious  sound 

To  wretched  dying  men  ! 
Salvation,  that  from  God  proceeds. 
And  leads  to  God  again  ! 

2  Rescued  from  hell's  eternal  gloom, 

From  fiends  f,  and  fires,  and  chains: 
Raised  to  a  paradise  of  bliss, 
Where  love  and  glory  reigns  ! 

3  But  O  !  may  a  degenerate  soul, 

Sinful  and  weak  as  mine. 
Presume  to  raise  a  trembling  eye 
To  blessings  so  divine  ? 

4  The  lustre  of  so  bright  a  bliss 

My  feeble  heart  o'erbears ; 

♦  Sounding,  as  if  endowed  with  speech.  f  Evil  spirits. 

3 


PSALMS.  450 

And  unbelief  almost  perverts 
The  promise  into  tears. 

5  My  Saviour-God,  no  voice  but  thine 

These  dying  hopes  can  raise: 
Speak  thy  salvation  to  my  soul, 
And  turn  its  tears  to  praise. 

6  My  Saviour-God,  tiiis  broken  voice 

Transported  shall  proclaim, 

And  call  on  all  th'  angelic  harps 

To  sound  so  sweet  a  name. 

XXXVII.  God's  Coviplacency  in  the  Prosperity  of  Jm  Servants. 
Psalm  XXXV.  27. 

1  'X'HE  Lord  with  pleasure  views  his  saints, 

And  calls  them  all  his  own ; 
And  low  he  bows  to  their  complaints. 
And  pities  every  groan. 

2  In  all  the  joys  they  here  possess, 

He  takes  a  tender  part ; 
And,,  when  they  rise  to  heavenly  bliss, 
Complacence  fills  his  heart. 

3  My  God,  are  all  my  pleasures  thine ? 

My  comforts  thy  delight? 
O  be  thy  happiness  divine 
Most  precious  in  my  sight ! 

4  They  most  in  all  thy  bliss  shall  s])are, 

Whose  hearts  can  love  thee  most ; 
O  could  I  vie  in  ardor  here 
Witli  all  th'  angchc  host. 

XXXVIII.  The  Days  of  the  Upright  kuonn  to  God,  and  their  everJa^l- 
in^-  Inheritance.     Psalin  xxxvii.  18. 

1  T^O  thee,  my  God,  my  days  are  known; 

My  soul  enjoys  the  thought ; 
My  actions  all  before  thy  face. 
Nor  are  my  faults  forgot. 

2  Each  secret  breath  devotion  vents, 

Is  vocal  to  thir)e  ear  ; 
And  all  my  walks  of  daily  life 
Before  thine  eye  appear. 

3  The  vacant  hour,  the  active  scene, 

Thy  mercy  shall  approve  ; 
And  every  pang  of  sympathj-, 
And  every  care  of  love. 

VOL.  III'.*  3  L 


454  PSALMS. 

4  Each  golden  hour  of  beaming  light 

Is  guided  by  thy  rays  ; 
And  dark  affliction's  midnight  gloom 
A  present  God  surveys. 

5  Full  in  thy  view  through  life  I  pass, 

And  in  thy  view  I  die ; 
And,  when  each  mortal  bond  is  broke, 
Shall  find  my  God  is  nigh. 

6  Stripp'd  of  its  little  earthly  all, 

My  soul  in  smiles  shall  go ; 
And  in  an  heavenly  heritage 
Its  father's  bounty  know. 

XXXJX.  Our  Desire  and  Groaning  before  God,  token  proceeding/ram 
the  greatest  Distress.    Psalm  xxxviii.  9, 10. 

1  IV/TY  soul,  the  awful  hour  will  come. 

Apace  it  passeth  on, 
To  bear  this  body  to  the  tomb, 
And  thee  to  scenes  unknown. 

2  My  heart,  long  labouring  Avith  its  woes. 

Shall  pant  and  sink  away; 
And  you,  my  eye-lids,  soon  shall  close 
On  the  last  glimmering  ray. 

3  Whence  in  that  hour  shall  I  receive 

A  cordial  for  my  pain. 
When,  if  earth's  monarchs  were  my  friends. 
Those  friends  would  weep  in  vain? 

4  Great  King  of  nature,  and  of  grace. 

To  thee  my  spirit  flies. 
And  opens  all  its  deep  distress 
Before  thy  pitying  eyes. 

5  All  its  desires  to  thee  are  known. 

And  every  secret  fear, 
The  meaning  of  each  broken  groan 
Well-noticed  by  thine  ear. 

6  O  fix  me  by  that  mighty  power. 

Which  to  such  love  belongs. 
Where  darkness  veils  the  eyes  no  more. 
And  groans  are  chang'd  to  songs. 

XL,  God  magnified  by  those  that  lore  Ms  Salvation.    Psalm  xl.  16. 

1  (^OD  of  salvation,  we  adore 

Thy  saving  love,  thy  saving  power ; 
And  to  our  utmost  stretch  of  thought 
Hail  the  redemption  thou  hast  wrought. 


PSALMS. 


455 


2  We  love  the  stroke,  tliat  breaks  our  chaio, 
The  sword,  by  which  our  sins  arc  slain  : 
And,  while  abas'd  in  dust  we  bow. 

We  sing  the  grace,  that  lays  us  low. 

3  Perish  each  thought  of  iiuman  pride, 
Let  God  alone  be  magnifi'd : 

His  glory  let  the  heavens  resound. 
Shouted  from  earth's  remotest  bound. 

4  Saints,  who  his  full  salvation  know. 
Saints,  who  but  taste  it  here  below, 
Join  every  angel's  voice  to  raise 
Continued,  never-ending  praise. 

XLI.  The  Triumph  of  Christ  in  the  Cause  of  Truth,  Meekness,  and 
Righteousivess.     Psalm  xlv.  3,  4. 

1  T   OUD  to  the  prince  of  heaven 
^  Your  cheerful  voices  raise  ; 
To  him  your  vows  be  given, 
And  fill  his  courts  with  praise  : 

With  conscious  worth 
AH  clad  in  arms, 
All  bright  in  charms, 
He  sallies  forth. 

2  Gird  on  thy  conquering  sword. 
Ascend  thy  shining  car. 

And  march,  Almighty  Lord, 
To  wage  thy  holy  war  : 

Before  his  wheels. 

In  glad  surprise, 

Ye  vallies  rise. 

And  sink,  ye  hills. 

3  Fair  truth,  and  smiling  love, 
And  injur'd  righteousness 
In  thy  retinue  move, 

And  seek  from  thee  redress  : 
Thou  in  their  cause 
Shalt  prosperous  ride. 
And  far  and  wide 
Dispense  thy  laws. 

4  Before  thine  awful  face 
Millions  of  foes  shall  fall, 
The  captives  of  thy  grace, 
That  grace,  which  conquers  all : 

The  world  shall  know, 
Great  King  of  kings, 
What  wonderous  things 
Thine  arm  can  do. 
3L2 


'toG''  PSALMS. 

5  Here  to  my  t\'i]ling  soul 
Bend  thy  triumphant  Ava}'; 
Here  every  foe  controul, 
And  ail  thy  power  display  : 

My  heart,  thy  tiironc, 

Blest  Jesus,  see, 

Bows  low  to  thee) 

To  thee  alone. 

XLII.  Quietness  under  Affliction,  a  proper  Acknoivledgment  of  God. 
Psalm  xlvi.  10. 

J    pEACE,  'tis  the  Lord  Jehovah's  hand, 
That  blasts  our  joys  in  death; 
,         Changes  the  visage  once  so  dear, 
And  gathers  l)ack  our  breath. 

2  'Tis  he,  the  potentate  supreme  > 

Of  all  the  worlds  above, 
Whose  steady  counsels  wisely  rule, 
Nor  from  their  purpose  move. 

3  'Tis  he,  whose  justice  might  demand 

Our  souls  a  sacrifice  ; 
Yet  scatters  with  unwearied  hand 
A  thousand  rich  supplies. 

4  Our  covenant-God  and  Father  he 

h\  Christ  our  bleeding  Lord  ; 
Whose  grace  can  heal  the  bursting  heart  ■ 
With  one  reviving  word. 

5  Fair  garlands  of  immortal  bliss 

He  weaves  for  every  brow ; 
And  shall  tumultuous  passions  rise, 
If  he  correct  us  now  ? 

6  Silent  I  own  Jehovah's  name ; 

I  kiss  thy  scourging  hand  ; 
And  yield  my  comforts,  and  my  life 
To  thy  supreme  command. 

XLIII.  TlieYeur  croivned  xvith  the  divine  Goodness.     Psalm  Ixv.  II. 

FOR    new-year's    day. 

1  "p  TERN  AL  source  of  every  joy! 

Well  may  thy  praise  our  lips  employ, 
While  in  thy  temple  we  appear, 
Whose  goodness  crowns  the  circling  year. 

2  W'hile  as  the  wheels  of  nature  roll. 
Thy  hand  supports  the  steady  pole; 
The  sun  is  taught  by  thee  to  rise. 
And  darkness,  when  to  veil  the  skies. 


PSALMS.  457 

3  Tlie  flo^verv  spring  at  thy  command 
I'lmbalms  the  air,  and  paints  the  land  j 
Tlic  .summer  rays  with  vigour  shine 
To  raise  the  corn,  and  cheer  the  vine. 

4  Tliy  hand  in  autumn  richly  pours 
Tlu'ou'4h  all  our  coasts  rctlundant  stores  ; 
And  winters,  softened  by  thy  care, 

No  more  a  face  of  horror  wear. 

5  Seasons,  and  months,  and  weeks,  and  days 
Demand  successive  songs  of  praise  ; 

Still  be  the  cheerful  homage  j)aid 
^V'ith  opening  light,  and  evening  shade, 

6  Here  in  thy  liouse  shall  incense  rise^ 
As  circling  sabbaths  bless  our  eyes  ; 
Still  will  w  c  make  thy  mercies  known, 
Around  thy  board,  and  round  our  own. 

7  O  may  our  more  harmonious  tongues 
In  worlds  unknown  pursue  the  songs  ; 
And  in  those  brighter  courts  adore, 
Where  days  and  years  revolve  no  more  ! 

XLH'.  Rebels  against  the  supreme  Sovereign  admonished.     Psahn 
Ixvi,  7. 

1  TTIIE  Lord  of  glory  reigns  supremely  great, 

And  o'er  heaven's  arches  builds  his  royal  seat, 
Through  worlds  unknown  his  sovereign  sway  extends, 
Nor  space  nor  time  his  boundless  empire  ends, 
His  eye  beholds  th'  atlairs  of  every  nation. 
And  reads  each  thought  through  his  immense  creation. 

2  Lightnings  and  storms  his  mighty  word  obey, 
And  planets  roll,  where  he  has  marked  their  way  ; 
Unnumber'd  cherubs  veil'd  before  him  stand, 

At  his  first  signal  all  their  wings  expand  ; 
His  praise  gives  harmony  to  all  their  voices. 
And  every  heart  through  the  full  choir  *  rejoices. 

3  Rebellious  mortals,  cease  your  tumults  vain. 
Nor  longer  such  unequal  war  maintain  : 
Let  clay  with  fellowclay  in  combat  strive, 

But  dread  to  brave  the  power,  by  which  you  live  : 
Willi  contrite  hearts  fall  ])rostratc  and  adore  him. 
For,  if  he  frowns,  ye  perish  all  before  him. 

XLV.  God  tlie  Happiness  of  his  People,  and  their  Support  in  the 
eilreinest  Distress.     Psalm  Ixxiii.  25,  26. 

1   A/T^^  God,  whose  all-pervading  f  eye 

"*•  Views  earth  beneath,  and  heaven  above, 

*  Company  of  singers.  f  All  seeing. 


45a  FSALMS. 

Witness,  if  here,  or  there  thou  seest 
An  object  of  mine  equal  love. 

2  Not  the  gay  scenes,  where  mortal  men 
Pursue  their  bhss,  and  find  their  woe. 
Detain  my  rising  heart,  which  springs 
The  nobler  joys  of  heaven  to  view. 

3  Not  all  the  fairest  sons  of  hght, 

That  lead  the  army  round  thy  throne, 
Can  bound  its  flight ;  it  presseth  on. 
And  seeks  its  rest  in  God  alone. 

4  Fix'd  near  th'  immortal  source  of  bhss. 
Dauntless  and  joyous  it  surveys 

Each  form  of  horror  and  distress. 

That  earth,  combin'd  with  hell,  can  raise. 

5  This  feeble  flesh  shall  faint  and  die  ; 
This  heart  renew  its  pulse  no  more  ; 
Even  now  it  views  the  moment  nigh. 
When  life's  last  movements  all  are  o'er. 

6  But  come,  thou  vanquish'd  king  of  dread, 
With  thy  oAvn  hand  thy  power  destroy  ; 
'Tis  thine  to  bear  my  soul  to  God, 

My  portion,  and  eternal  joy. 

XLVI.  The  Rage  of  Enemies  restrained,  and  over-ruled  to  the  divine 
Glory.     Psalm  Ixxvi.  10. 

THANKSGIVING    FOR   THE  SUPPRESSION    OF    THE  REBELLION, 

1746. 

1  A  CCEPT,  great  God,  th}'^  Britain's  songs, 
"^"^  While  grateful  joy  unites  our  tongues 

To  own  the  work,  thy  hand  hath  done  : 
Thy  hand  hath  crush'd  our  cruel  foes. 
When  in  rebellious  troops  they  rose. 

And  swore  to  tread  our  glory  down. 

2  With  hell  confederate  on  their  side, 
People  and  prince  their  rage  defy'd. 

And  in  proud  hope  devour'd  us  all 
Thy  hand  its  banner  hath  display'd, 
Beckon'd  its  hero  to  our  aid. 

And  in  one  day  their  legions  fall. 

3  Thus  shalt  thou  still  maintain  thy  throne, 
And  prove,  that  thou  art  God  alone. 

Though  earth  and  hell  new  efforts  try, 
'Midst  all  the  tumult  they  can  raise, 
Envenom'd  wrath  exalts  thy  praise, 

Till  hush'd  at  thy  rebuke  it  die. 


PSALMS. 


459 


4  So  swell  the  surges  *  of  the  sea, 
And  roar  in  their  impetuous  way. 

As  they  would  deluge  earth  again  : 
So  strike  thev  on  th'  unshaken  rock, 
Dash'd  by  the  fierceness  of  their  shock, 
And  foam  to  feel  their  fury  vain. 

XLVII.  God  furnishing  a  Table  in  the  If'ildemesf.     Pgalm  Ixxviii 
1:^,  20. 

1  pARENT  of  universal  good, 

^Ve  own  thy  bounteous  hand, 
Which  does  so  rich  a  table  spread 
Even  in  this  desart  land. 

2  Struck  by  thy  power,  the  flinty  rocks 

In  gushing  torrents  flow  ; 
The  feather'd  wanderers  of  the  air 
Thy  guiding  instinct  know. 

3  The  pregnant  clouds,  at  thy  command, 

Rain  down  delicious  bread  ; 
And  by  light  drops  of  pearly  dcAV 
Are  numerous  armies  fed. 

4  Supported  thus,  thine  Israel  march'd 

The  promis'd  land  to  gain  : 

And  shall  thy  children  now  begin 

To  seek  their  God  in  vain  ? 

5  Are  all  thy  stores  exhausted  now  ? 

Or  docs  thy  mercy  fail  ? 
That  faith  should  languish  in  our  breasts. 
And  anxious  cares  prevail  ? 
€  Ye  base  unworthy  fears,  be  gone. 
And  wide  disperse  in  air  ; 
Then  may  I  feel  my  father's  rod. 
When  I  suspect  his  care  ! 

XLVIII.  God  speaking  Peace  to  hit  People.    Psalm  Ixxxv.  8. 

1  I^JTNITE,  my  roving  thoughts,  unite 

In  silence  soft  and  sweet : 
And  thou,  my  soul,  sit  gently  down 
At  thy  great  Sovereign's  feet, 

2  Jehovah's  awful  voice  is  heard, 

Yet  gladly  I  attend  ; 
For  lo  !    the  everlasting  God 
Proclaims  himself  niy  friend. 

3  Harmonious  accents  to  my  soul 

The  sounds  of  peace  convey  ,- 

*  Great  waves. 
3 


i60  .  PSALMS. 

Tlje  tempest  at  his  word  subsidesy 
And  winds  and  seas  obey. 

4  By  all  its  joys,  I  charge  my  heart, 
To  grieve  his  love  no  more  ; 
But,  charm'd  by  melody  divine. 
To  give  its  follies  o'er. 

XLIX.  Ttie  Church,  tlie  Birth-Ploice  of  the  SaintSf  and  God's  Care 
of  it.    Psalm  Ixxxvii.  5. 

ON    OPENING    A   NEW    PLACE    OF    WORSHIP. 

J  A  ND  will  the  great  eternal  God 
"^^  On  earth  establish  his  abode  ? 
And  will  he  from  his  radiant  throne 
Avow  our  temples  for  his  OAvn  ? 

2  We  bring  the  tribute  of  our  praise, 
And  sing  that  condescending  grace, 
Which  to  our  notes  will  lend  an  ear. 
And  call  us  sinful  mortals  near. 

3  Our  Father's  watchful  care  Ave  bless. 
Which  guards  our  synagogues  in  peace. 
That  no  tumultuous  foes  invade. 

To  fill  our  worshippers  with  dread. 

4  These  walls  Ave  to  thy  honour  raise  ; 
Long  may  they  echo  with  thy  praise  ; 
And  thou  descending  fill  the  place 
With  choicest  tokens  of  thy  grace  ! 

5  Here  ^t  the  great  Redeemer  reign 
With  all  the  graces  of  his  train  ; 
While  power  divine  his  word  attends 
To  conqueif'  foes,  and  cheer  his  friends  i 

6  And  in  the  great  decisive  day, 
Wiien  God  the  nations  shall  survej'. 
May  it  before  the  world  appear, 

•      That  crowds  were  born  to  glory  here  ! 

L.  The  GospdJuhilee.     Psalm  Ixxxix.  15.  compared  iiiih 
Levit.  XXV.  and  Isaiah  Ixi.  2. 

1  T  OUD  let  the  tuneful  trumpet  sound. 

And  spread  the  joyful  tidings  round  ; 
Let  every  soul  with  transport  hear. 
And  hail  the  Lord's  accepted  year  ! 

2  Ye  debtors,  whom  he  gives  to  know, 
That  you  ton  thousand  talents  owe. 
When  humbled  at  his  feet  ye  fall, 
Your  fjracious  Lord  forgives  them  all- 


PSALMS.  4G1 

3  Slaves,  tliat  have  borne  the  heavy  chain 
Of  sin  and  hell's  tyrannic  reij;n, 

To  hherty  assert  your  claim, 

And  urge  the  great  Redeemer's  name. 

4  The  rich  inheritance  you  lost, 
Restor'd,  improv'd,  you  now  may  boast. 
Fair  Salem  your  arrival  waits. 

To  golden  streets,  and  pearly  gates. 

5  Her  blest  inhabitants  no  more 
Bondage  and  poverty  deplore  : 

No  debt,  but  love  immensely  great, 
Whose  joy  still  rises  with  the  debt. 

6  ()  happy  souls  that  know  the  sound  ! 
God's  light  shall  all  their  steps  surround  ; 
And  shew  that  Jubilee  begun. 

Which  through  eternal  years  shall  run. 

LI.  God  tite  Divelling-Place  of  his  People  through  all  Generations. 
Psalm  .\c.  1. 

1  nPHOU,  Lord,  through  every  changing  scene 

JL    Hast  to  thy  saints  a  refuge  been  : 
Through  every  age,  eternal  God, 
Their  pleasing  home,  their  safe  abode. 

2  In  thee  our  fathers  sought  their  rest ; 
In  thee  our  fathers  still  are  blest  ; 
And,  while  the  tomb  confines  their  dust, 
In  thee  their  souls  abide,  and  trust. 

3  Lo,  we  are  risen,  a  fct^blc  race, 
A  while  to  fill  our  father's  place  : 
Our  helpless  state  with  pity  view, 
And  let  us  share  their  refuge  too. 

4  Through  all  the  thorny  paths  we  trace 
In  this  uncertain  wilderness, 

When  friends  desert,  and  foes  invade. 
Revive  our  heart,   and  guard  our  head. 

5  So  when  this  pilgrimage  is  o'er. 
And  we  must  dwell  in  Hesh  no  more, 
I'o  thee  our  separate  souls  sh;vll  come. 
And  find  in  thee  a  surer  home. 

6  To  thee  our  infant  race  we  leave  ^ 
Them  ma}' their  fathers'  Godrecx'ivo  ; 
That  voices  yet  unform'd  may  raise 
Succeeiling  hynms  of  Inmible  praise. 

VOL.  III.        "  :i  M 


462  PSALMS. 

LII.  Reflections  onthe  Waste  of  Years.     Psalm  xc.  9. 

FOR    new-year's  day. 

1  T>  EMARK,  my  soul,  the  narrow  bounds 

Of  the  revolving  year  ! 
Plow  swift  the  weeks  complete  their  rounds  ! 
How  short  the  months  appear  ! 

2  So  fast  eternity  comes  on , 

And  that  important  day, 
When  all,  that  mortal  life  has  done, 
God's  judgment  shall  survey. 

3  Yet  like  an  idle  tale  we  pass 

The  swift  advancing  year  ; 
And  study  artful  Avays  t'  increase 
The  speed  of  its  career. 

4  AVaken,  O  God,  my  trifling  heart 

Its  great  concern  to  see  ; 
That  I  may  act  the  christian  part, 
And  give  the  year  to  thee. 

5  So  shall  their  course  more  grateful  roll, 

If  future  years  arise  ; 
Or  this  shall  bear  my  smiling  soul 
To  joy,  that  never  dies. 

LIII.  Joy  and  Prosperity  from  the  Presence  and  Blessing  of  God. 
Psahii  xc,  17. 

1  CHINE  on  our  souls,  eternal  God, 

With  rays  of  beauty  shine: 

O  let  thy  favour  crown  our  days, 

And  all  their  round  be  thine! 

2  Did  we  not  raise  our  hands  to  thee. 

Our  hands  might  toil  in  vain  ; 
Small  joy  success  itself  could  give. 
If  thou  thy  love  restrain. 

3  With  thee  let  every  week  begin. 

With  thee  each  day  be  spent, 
For  thee  each  fleeting  hour  improv'd. 
Since  each  by  thee  is  lent. 

4  Thus  cheer  us  through  this  desart  road. 

Till  all  our  labours  cease  ; 
And  heaven  refresh  our  weary  souls 
With  everlasting  peace. 

LIV.  The  Mutability  of  the  Creation,  and  the  Immutability  of  God. 
Psalm  cii.  25—28. 

1  /^REAT  former  of  this  various  frame, 
^^  Our  souls  adore  thine  aAvful  name  j 


PSALMS. 

And  bow  and  tremble,  while  tliey  praise 
The  Ancient  of  eternal  days. 

2  Thou,  Lord,  with  unsurpris'd  survey, 
Saw'st  nature  rising  yesterday  ; 

And,  as  to-morrow,  shall  thine  eye 
See  earth  and  stars  in  ruin  lie. 

3  Beyond  an  angel's  vision  bright, 
Thou  dwell'stin  self-existent  light ; 
Which  shines  with  undiminish'd  ray, 
While  suns  and  worlds  in  smoke  decay. 

4  Our  days  a  transient  period  run, 
And  change  with  every  circling  sun  ; 
And  in  the  firmest  state  we  boast, 

A  moth  can  crush  us  into  dust. 

5  But  let  the  creatures  fall  around  ; 
Let  death  consign  us  to  the  ground  ; 
Let  the  last  general  flame  arise, 
And  melt  the  arches  of  the  skies  : 

6  Calm  as  the  summer's  ocean,  we 
Can  all  the  wreck  *  of  nature  see, 
Wliile  grace  secures  us  an  abode, 
Unshaken  as  the  throne  of  God. 

LV.  Th  FraiUij  of  Human-nature y  and  God's  gracious  Regard  to  it. 
.     Psalm  ciii.  14. 

1  T  ORD,  we  adore  thy  wonderous  name, 
^  And  make  that  name  our  trust, 
Which  rais'd  at  first  this  curious  frauie, 

From  mean  and  lifeless  dust. 

2  By  dust  supported,  still  it  stands, 

Wrought  up  to  various  forms, 
Prepared  l>y  thy  creating  hands 
To  nourish  mortal  worms. 

3  Awhile  these  frail  machines  endure, 

The  fabric  of  a  day  ; 
Then  know  their  vital  powers  no  more, 
But  moulder  back  to  clay. 

4  Yet,  Lord,  whate'er  is  felt  or  foarM, 

This  thought  is  our  repose. 
That  he,  by  whom  this  frame  was  rear'd, 
Its  various  weakness  knows. 

5  Thou  vicw'st  us  with  a  pitying  eye, 

While  struggling  with  our  load  ; 

*  Destruction. 
3  M2 


4G3 


46t  PSALMS, 

In  pains  and  dangers  thou  art  nigh, 
Our  Father,  and  our  God. 

6  Gently  supported  by  thy  love, 
We  tend  to  reahns  of  peace  ; 
Where  every  pain  shall  far  remove, 
And  every  frailty  cease. 

LVI,     God  adored  for  his  Goodness,  and  his  xvonderf id  Works  io  tlit 
Children  of  Men.     Psalm  evil.  31. 

1  X^'^E  sons  of  men,  with  joy  record 

The  various  wonders  of  the  Lord  ; 
And  let  his  power  and  goodness  sound 
Through  all  your  tribes  the  earth  around. 

2  Let  the  high  heavens  your  songs  invite, 
Those  spacious  fields  of  brilliant  light ; 
Where  sun,  and  moon,  and  planets  roll, 
And  stars,  that  glow  from  pole  to  pole. 

3  Sing  earth  in  verdant  robes  array'd, 

Its  herbs  and  flowers,  its  fruit  and  shade  ; 
Peopled  with  life  of  various  forms. 
Fishes  and  fowls,  and  beasts  and  worms. 

4  View  the  broad  sea's  ma.jestic  plains, 
And  think  how  wide  its  Maker  reigns  ; 
That  band  remotest  nations  joins, 
And  on  each  wave  his  goodness  shines. 

5  But  O  !  that  brighter  world  above. 
Where  lives  and  reigns  incarnate  love  ! 
God's  only  Son  in  flesh  array'd, 

For  man  a  bleeding  victim  *  made, 

6  Thither,  ray  soul,  with  rapture  soar  ; 
There  in  the  land  of  praise  adore  ; 
This  theme  demands  an  angel's  lay  f , 
Demands  an  undcclining  day. 

LYII.     Tlie  holy  Soul  returning  to  its  Rest  in  a  grateful  Sense  of 
divine  Bounties.     Psalm  cxvi,  7. 

1  "D  ETURN,  my  soul,  and  seek  thy  rest 

Upon  thy  heavenly  P'ather's  breast : 
Indulge  me,  Lord,  in  that  repose, 
The  soul  which  loves  thee  only  knows. 

2  Lodg'd  in  thine  arms,  I  fear  no  more 
The  tempest's  howl,  the  billow's  roar  : 
Those  storms  must  shake  the  Almight3''s  seat, 
\Vhich  violate  the  saint's  retreat. 

*  Sacrifice.  f  Song. 


PSALMS.  4G5 

3  Thy  bounties,  Lortl,  to  me  surmount 
The  power  of  laii<>iia;j[e  to  recount  ; 
From  morning-dawn,  the  settinj^  sun 
Sees  but  my  work  of  praise  be«>un. 

4  The  mercies,  all  my  moments  bring, 
Ask  an  eternity  to  sir)g  ; 

What  thanks  those  mercies  can  suffice, 
Which  throngh  eternity  shall  rise  ? 

5  llich  in  ten  thousand  gifts  possess'd, 
In  future  hopes  more  richly  bless'd, 
I'll  sit  and  sing,  till  death  shall  raise 
A  note  of  more  proportion'd  praise. 

LVIII.    Deliverance  celebrated.     Psalm  cxvi.  8. 

1  T   OOK  back,  my  soul,  Avith  grateful  love, 

On  what  thy  God  has  done  ; 
Praise  him  for  his  unnumber'd  gifts, 
And  praise  him  for  his  Son. 

2  How  oft  hath  his  indiilgent  hand 

My  Howing  eye-lids  dried. 
And  rescu'd  from  impending  death, 
When  I  in  danger  cri'd  ! 

3  When  on  the  bc;d  of  death  I  lay, 

With  sickness  sore  oppress'd. 
How  oft  hath  he  assuag'd  my  grief. 
And  luU'd  my  eyes  to  rest ! 

4  Back  from  destruction's  yawning  pit 

At  his  command  I  came  ; 
He  fed  th'  expiring  lamp  anew, 
And  rais'd  its  feeble  flame. 

5  My  broken  spirit  he  hath  checr'd, 

When  torn  with  inward  grief ; 
And,  when  temptations  press'd  me  sore. 
Hath  brought  me  swift  relief. 

6  My  soul  from  everlasting  death 

Is  by  his  mercy  brought,  • 

To  tell  in  Zion's  sacred  gates 
The  wonders  he  hath  wrought, 

1  Still  will  I  walk  bi^fore  his  face. 
While  he  this  life  prolongs  ; 
Till  grace  shall  all  its  work  complete. 
And  teach  me  heavenlv  sonirs. 


466  PSALMS. 

LIX.    Deliverance  celebrated,  and  good  Resolutions  formed. 
Psalm  cxvi.  8,  9 . 

1  /^REAT  source  of  life,  our  souls  confess 
^^  The  various  riches  of  thy  grace  ; 
Crown'd  with  thy  mercy,  we  rejoice. 
And  in  thy  praise  exalt  our  voice. 

2  By  thee  heaven's  shining  arch  was  spread ; 
By  thee  Avere  earth's  foundations  laid. 
And  all  the  charms  of  men's  abode 
Proclaim  the  wise,  the  gracious  God. 

3  Thy  tender  hand  restores  our  breath, 
When  trembling  on  the  verge  of  death  ; 
Gently  it  wipes  away  our  tears, 

And  lengthens  life  to  future  years. 

4  These  lives  are  sacred  to  the  Lord  ; 
Kindled  by  him,  by  him  restor'd ; 
And,  while  our  hours  renew  their  race, 
Still  would  we  walk  before  his  face. 

5  So  when  by  him  our  souls  are  led 
Through  unknown  regions  of  the  dead, 
With  joy  triumphant  shall  they  move 
To  seats  of  nobler  life  above. 

LX.     Praise  for  Recovery  from  Sickness.    Psalm  cxviii.  18,19. 

1  COVEREIGN  of  life,  I  own  thy  hand 

In  every  chastening  stroke  ; 
And,  Avhile  I  smart  beneath  thy  rod, 
Thy  presence  I  invoke. 

2  To  thee  in  my  distress  I  cried, 

And  thou  hast  bow'd  thine  ear  ; 
Thy  powerful  word  my  life  prolong'd, 
And  brought  salvation  near. 

3  Unfold,  ye  gates  of  righteousness, 

That,  with  the  pious  throng, 
I  may  record  my  solemn  vows. 
And  tune  my  grateful  song. 

4  Praise  to  the  Lord,  whose  gentle  hand 

Renews  our  labouring  breath  : 
Praise  to  the  Lord,  who  makes  his  saints 
Triumphant  ev'n  in  death. 

5  My  God,  in  thine  appointed  hour 

Those  heavenly  gates  display, 
Where  pain  and  sin,  and  fear  and  death 
For  ever  flee  away. 


PSALMS.  467 

6  There,  while  the  nations  of  the  blessM 
With  raptures  bow  around, 
My  antlicms  to  delivering  grace 
In  sweeter  strains  shall  sound. 

LXI.    Regard  to  Scripture  pressed  upon  aowig  Persons,  that  they  vmy 
cleanse  their  ivai/.     rsalin  cxix.  9. 

1  TNDULGF:NT  God,  witli  pitying  eye, 

The  sons  of  men  survey, 
And  see  how  youthful  siruiers  sport 
In  a  destructive  way. 

2  Ten  thousand  dangers  lurk  around 

To  bear  them  to  the  tomb  ; 
Each  in  an  hour  may  plunge  them  down, 
Where  hope  can  never  come. 

3  Reduce,  O  Lord,  their  wandering  minds 

Amus'd  with  airy  dreams, 
That  heavenly  wisdom  may  dispel, 
Their  visionary  schemes. 

4  With  holy  caution  may  they  walk, 

And  be  thy  word  their  guide  ; 
Till  each,  the  desart  safelv  pass'd. 
On  Zion's  Hill  abide.  "' 

LXII.  Desires  of  being  quickened  hi/  the  IVord  of  God.  Psalm  cxix.  25. 

J  "\7[7TriI  pity,  Lord,  thy  servant  view, 
As  in  the  dust  I  lie. 
Nor,  while  I  raise  my  plaintive  *  voice, 
Disdain  the  broken  cr}-. 

2  Fain  would  I  mount  on  eagles'  wings. 

And  view  thy  lovely  face  ; 
But  cumberous  burdens  drag  me  down 
From  thine  ador'd  embrace. 

3  Thy  quickening  energy  difluse 

O'er  all  my  inmost  frame  ; 
And  animate  these  languid  lips 
To  celebrate  thy  name. 

^  Thy  living  word  has  wonders  wrought  ; 
Tiiose  wonders  here  renew  ; 
And  pour  fresh  vigour  through  my  soul, 
While  I  its  glories  view. 

Tj  From  thee,  great  ever  flowing  spring, 
Let  vital  streams  descend  ; 

*  Mouriifid. 


463  PSALMS. 

And  cheer  me  to  begin  those  songs, 
^\']lich  death  shall  never  end. 

LXIII.  Human  Perfection  no  ivhcre  to  he  found.     Psalm  cxix,  9G. 

1  PERFECTION !  'Tis  an  empty  name, 

Nor  can  repay  our  cares, 
And  he,  that  seeks  it  here  below. 
Must  end  the  search  with  tears. 

2  Great  David  on  liis  royal  throne. 

The  beauteous,  and  the  strong. 

Rich  in  the  spoils  of  conquered  foes. 

Amidst  the  applauding  throng, 

3  With  all  his  mind's  capacious  powers, 

Pursu'd  the  shade  in  vain ; 
Nor  heard  it  his  melodious  voice. 
Or  harp's  angelic  strain. 

4  From  public  to  domestic  scenes 

Th'  impatient  monarch  turns; 
The  friend,  the  husband,  and  the  sire  """ 
In  sad  succession  mourns. 

5  At  length  thy  law,  eternal  God, 

He  through  his  tears  descries f. 
And,  wrapt  amidst  those  sacred  folds. 
He  finds  the  heavenly  prize. 

6  There  will  I  seek  perfection  too, 

Where  David's  God  is  known ; 
Nor  envy,  with  this  volume  blest. 
His  treasures  and  his  throne. 

LXIV.  Beholding  Transgressors  tvith  Grief.     Psalm  cxix.  136,  IjS- 
\     A  RISE,  my  tenderest  thoughts,  arise ; 
■^^  To  torrents  melt  my  streaming  eyes ; 
And  thou,  my  heart,  with  anguish  feel 
Those  evils,  which  thou  canst  not  heal. 

2  See  human  nature  sunk  in  shame  ; 
See  scandals  pour'd  on  .Tesus'  name ; 
The  Father  wounded  through  the  Son; 
The  world  abused;  the  soul  undone. 

3  See  the  short  course  of  vain  delight 
Closing  in  everlasting  night ; 

In  flames,  that  no  abatement  know. 
Though  briny  tears  for  ever  flow. 

j.  M}'  God,  I  feel  the  mournful  scene ; 
My  bowels  yearn  o'er  dying  men  ; 

*  Father.  f  Discerti<=. 


PSALM3.  46i) 

And  fain  my  pity  would  reclaim, 

And  snatch  the  iire-brands  Iroin  the  flame. 

5  But  feeble  my  compassion  proves, 
And  ran  but  weep,  where  most  it  loves  : 
Thy  own  all-saving  arm  employ, 
And  turn  these  drops  of  grief  to  joy. 

LXV.  The  wandtring  Sheep  recovered.     Psalm  cxix.  \1G. 

1  T  ORD,  wc  have  wander'd  from  the  way  ; 
■^  l^ikc  foolish  sheep,  we've  gone  astray  ; 
Our  pleasant  pastures  wc  have  left, 

And  of  their  guard  our  souls  bereft  *. 

2  Expos'd  to  want,  expos'd  to  harm  ; 
Far  from  our  gentle  shepherd's  arm  ; 
Nor  will  these  fatal  wanderings  cease, 
Till  thou  reveal  the  paths  of  peace. 

3  O  seek  thy  thoughtless  servants,  Lord, 
Nor  let  us  quite  forget  thy  word  ; 
Our  erring  souls  do  thou  restore, 
And  keep  us,  that  we  stray  no  more. 


LXVI.  The  ueeping  Seed-time,  and  joyful  Harvest.  Psahu  cxxvi.  5,  6. 

s! 
showers ; 


1  TTHE  darken'd  sky,  how  thick  it  lowers  ' 
Troubled  with  storms,  and  big  with  s 


No  cheerful  gleam  of  light  appears, 
But  nature  pours  forth  all  her  tears. 

2  Yet  let  the  sons  of  grace-revive ; 

God  bids  the  soul,  that  seeks  him,  live  ; 
And  from  the  gloomiest  shade  of  night. 
Calls  forth  a  morning  of  delight. 

3  The  seeds  of  ecstacy  unknown, 
Are  in  these  water'd  furrows  sown  ; 

See  the  green  blades,  how  thick  they  rise. 
And  with  fresh  verdure  bless  our  eyes. 

4  In  secret  foldings  they  contain 
Unnumber'd  ears  of  golden  grain ; 

And  heaven  shall  pour  its  beams  around, 
Till  the  ripe  harvest  load  the  ground. 

5  Then  shall  the  trembling  mourner  come, 
And  find  his  sheaves,  and  bear  them  home : 
The  voice  long  broke  with  sighs  shall  sing, 
Till  heaven  with  hallelujahs  ring. 

*  Deprived, 
VOL.  III.  3  N 


470  PSALMS. 

LXVII.  Thatiks  to  God  for  his  ever-enduring  Goodness.     Psalm 
cxxxvi.  1. 

FOR    new-year's   day. 

.1        T_JOUSE  of  our  God,  with  cheerful  anthems  ring, 
^  While  all  our  lips  and  hearts  his  graces  sing ! 
The  opening  year  his  graces  shall  proclaim, 
And  all  its  days  be  vocal  with  his  name. 
The  Lord  is  good,  his  mercy  never-ending  ; 
His  blessings  in  perpetual  showers  descending. 

2  The  heaven  of  heavens  he  Avith  his  bounty  fills: 
Ye  seraphs  bright  on  ever  blooming  hills, 

His  honours  sound  ;  you  to  whom  good  alone, 
Unmingled,  ever-growing,  has  been  known. 
Through  your  immortal  life,  with  love  increasing, 
Proclaim  your  Maker's  goodness  never-ceasing. 

3  Thou  earth,  enlightened  by  his  rays  divine, 
Pregnant  with  grass,  and  corn,  and  oil,  and  wine, 
Crown'd  with  his  goodness,  let  thy  nations  meet, 
And  lay  their  crowns  at  his  paternal  feet : 

With  grateful  love  that  liberal  hand  confessing, 
W^hich  through  each  heart  diffuseth  every  blessing. 

4  Zion  enrich'd  with  his  distinguish'd  grace, 
Blest  with  the  rays  of  tliine  Emanuel's  face, 
Zion,  Jehovah's  portion,  and  delight. 
Graven  on  his  hands,  and  hourly  in  his  sight, 

In  sacred  strains  exalt  that  grace  excelling. 
Which  makes  thy  humble  hill  his  chosen  dwelling. 

5  His  mercy  never  ends ;  the  dawn,  the  shade 

Still  see  new  bounties  through  new  scenes  display'd: 
Succeeding  ages  bless  this  sure  abode, 
And  children  lean  upon  their  fathers,  God. 
The  deathless  soul,  through  its  inimense  duration, 
Drinks  from  this  source  immortal  consolation. 

6  Burst  into  praise,  my  soul ;  all  nature  join  ; 
Angels  and  men  in  harmony  combine! 
While  human  years  are  measur'd  by  the  sun. 
And  while  eternity  its  course  shall  run, 

His  goodness,  in  perpetual  showers  descending. 
Exalt  in  songs,  and  raptures  never-ending  ! 

LXVIII.  God  strengthening  the  Soids  of  his  praying  People. 
Psalm  cxxxviii.  3. 

1   A/f  Y"  soul,  review  the  trembhng  days, 
In  which  my  God  I  sought; 
I  cry'd  aloud  for  aid  divine, 
And  aid  divine  he  brougiit. 


PSALMS.  471 

2  Tliroufrli  ;ill  my  weak  and  fainting  liemt 

His  secret  strength  ho  spieati, 
Anil  elasjVd  inc  iri  his  arms  of  love, 
And  rais'd  my  thooping  head. 

3  He  call'd  himself  my  covenant-God, 

His  promises  he  shcw'd  ; 
And  wide  display 'd  their  solemn  seal 
In  the  great  surety's  blood. 

4  I  heard  his  people  shout  around, 

Andjoin'd  their  cheerful  song; 
And  saw  from  far  the  shining  seats. 
Which  to  his  saints  belong. 

5  My  God,  what  inward  strength  thou  giv'st 

J  to  thy  service  vow ; 
And  in  thy  strength  would  upward  march. 
Till  at  thy  throne  1  bow. 

LXIX.  Singiitg  in  Oie  Ways  of  God.    Psalm  cxxxviii.  5. 

1  IV'OW  let  our  voices  join. 

To  form  one  pleasant  song : 
Ye  pilgrims  in  Jehovah's  ways. 
With  music  pass  along. 

2  How  straight  the  path  appears ! 
How  open,  and  how  fair  ! 

No  lurking  gins  t'  entrap  our  feet; 
No  fierce  destroyer  there. 

3  But  flowers  of  paradise 
In  rich  profusion  spring  ; 

The  sun  of  glory  gilds  the  path, 
And  dear  companions  sing. 

4  See  Salem's  golden  spires 
In  beauteous  prospect  rise ; 

And  brighter  crowns  than  mortals  Avear, 
Which  sparkle  through  the  skies. 

i5       AH  honour  to  his  name. 

Who  drew  the  shining  trace  ; 
To  him,  who  leads  the  wanderers  on. 
And  cheers  them  with  his  grace. 

5  Reduce  the  nations,  Lord, 
Teach  all  their  kings  thy  ways, 

That  earth's  full  choir  the  notes  may  swell, 
And  heaven  resound  the  praise. 
3  N  2 


478  PSALMS. 


LXX.  The  innuMerahle  Mercies  of  God  thankfully  acknoivledged. 
Psalm  cxxxix.  17,  18. 

1  TN  glad  amazement,  Lord,  I  stand, 

Amidst  the  bounties  of  thy  hand ; 
How  numberless  those  bounties  are  ! 
How  rich,  how  various,  and  how  fair  ! 

2  But  O  !  -what  poor  returns  I  make! 

What  lifeless  thanks  I  pay  thee  back  !         ; 

Lord,  I  confess  with  humble  shame. 

My  offermgs  scarce  deserve  the  name.     ; 

3  Fain  would  my  labouring  heart  devise 
To  bring  some  nobler  sacrifice  ; 

It  sinks  beneath  the  mighty  load  : 
What  shall  I  render  to  my  God  ? 

4  To  him  I  consecrate  my  praise, 
And  vow  the  remnant  of  my  days  ; 
Yet  what  at  best  can  I  pretend 
Worthy  such  gifts  from  such  a  friend  ? 

5  In  deep  abasement,  Lord,  I  see 
Mv  emptiness  and  povert}': 
Enrich  my  soul  with  grace  divine, 
And  make  it  worthier  to  be  thine. 

6  Give  me  at  length  an  angel's  tongue, 
That  heav-en  may  echo  with  my  song; 
The  theme,  too  great  for  time,  shall  be 
The  jdy  of  long  eternity. 

LXXI.  Praising  God  through  the  Wlwle  of  our  Existence. 
Psalm  cxlvi.  2. 

1  r^  OD  of  my  life,  through  all  its  days 

^"^  My  grateful  powers  shall  sound  thy  praise ; 
The  song  shall  wake  with  opening  light, 
And  warble  to  the  silent  night. 

2  When  anxious  cares  would  break  my  rest. 
And  griefs  would  tear  my  throbbing  breast, 
Thy  tuneful  praises  rais'd  on  high 

Shall  check  the  murmur  and  the  sigh. 

3  When  death  o'er  nature  shall  prevail. 
And  all  its  powers  of  language  fail, 

Joy  through  my  swimming  eyes  shall  break, 
And  mean  the  thanks  I  cannot  speak. 

4  But  O  !  when  that  last  conflict's  o'er. 
And  I  am  chain'd  to  flesh  no  more, 
With  Avhat  glad  accents  shall  I  rise, 
To  join  the  music  of  the  skies! 


i 


PROVERBS.  i 

5  Soon  sliall  I  learn  tW  exalted  strains, 
Which  echo  o'er  the  heavenly  plains  ; 
Anil  emulate,  with  jov  unknown, 

The  glowing  seraphs  round  thy  throne. 

6  The  cheerful  tribute  will  I  give, 
Long  as  a  deathless  soul  can  live  ; 
A  work  so  sweet,  a  theme  so  high, 
Demands,  and  crowns  eternity. 

LXXir.    T/te  Metk  beautified  iviih  Salvation.    Psalm  cxlix.  4. 

1  ^V'E  humhle  soids  rejoioe, 

And  cheerful  trium])hs  sing; 
Wake  all  your  harmony  of  voice, 
For  Jesus  is  your  King. 

2  That  meek  and  lowly  Lord, 
Whom  here  your  souls  have  known, 

Pledges  the  honour  of  his  word 
T'  avow  3'ou  for  his  own. 

3  He  hrings  salvation  near, 

For  which  his  blood  was  paid  : 
How  beauteous  shall  your  souls  appear 
Thus  sumptuously  array 'd  ! 

4  J^ing,  for  the  day  is  nigh, 
When  near  your  Leader's  seat 

The  tallest  sons  of  pride  shall  lie. 
The  footstool  of  your  feet. 

5  Salvation,  Lord,  is  thine  ; 
And  all  thy  saints  confess, 

The  royal  robes,  in  which  they  shine, 
Were  wrought  by  sovereign  grace. 

LXXIII.  The  Reproofs  ofH'isdom  mingled  uitk  Promises,  and  Threat' 
nings  to  reclaim  ivandering  Simiers.     Proverbs  i.  23. 

1  TLTARK  !   for  'tis  wisdom's  voice, 

"^I'hat  breaks  in  gentle  sound  : 
Listen,  ye  sons  of  earth  and  sin. 
And  gather  all  around. 

2  What  though  she  speaks  rebukes. 
That  pierce  the  soul  with  smart ; 

True  love  through  all  her  chastenings  runs, 
By  pain  to  mend  the  heart. 

3  "Ye  that  have  wander'd  long 
**  In  sin's  destructive  ways, 

**  Turn,  turn,"  the  heavenly  charmer  cries, 
And  seize  the  offer'd  grace. 


474  PROVERBS. 

4  *'  I  know  your  souls  are  weak, 
"  And  mortal  efforts  vain 

**  To  grapple  with  the  prince  of  hell, 
*'  And  break  his  cursed  chain. 

5  *'  But  I'll  my  spirit  pour 
"  In  torrents  from  above, 

*'  To  arm  jou  with  superior  strength, 
*'  And  melt  your  hearts  in  love. 

6  "  Come,  while  these  offers  last, 
*'  Ye  sinners,  and  be  wise  : 

''  He  lives,  who  hears  this  friendly  call, 
*'  But  he  that  slights  it,  dies." 

JL,XXIV.    Tlie  Voice  of  Christ  addressed  to  the  Children  of  Men. 
Proverbs  viii.  4. 

1  IVfOW  let  the  listening  world  around 
,        In  silent  reverence  hear  ; 

While  from  on  high  the  Saviour's  voice 
Tlius  strikes  th'  attentive  ear. 

2  "  To  you,  O  sons  of  men,  1  call, 

"  And  from  my  lofty  throne 
*'  Recliii'd,  in  gentle  pity  bow 
*'  To  bring  salvation  down. 

3  ''  Ye  thoughtless  sinners,  hear  my  voice, 

"  Attend  my  words  and  live  ; 

*'  IMy  words  conduct  to  solid  joys, 

*'  And  endless  blessings  give. 

4  "  Each  faithful  minister  is  sent 

*'  This  message  to  proclaim  ; 
*'  In  every  various  providence 
"  The  language  is  the  same, 

5  "  And  could  the  pale  forgotten  dead, 

"  Though  deep  in  dust  they  lie, 
*'  Arise  in  visionary  crouds, 
"  They'd  join  the  solemn  cry. 

6  "  Forgetful  mortals,  yet  be  wise, 

"  While  o'er  the  grave  ye  stand  j 
**  Lest  long  neglected  love  provoke 
*'  The  vengeance  of  my  hand. 

7  "  In  glad  submission  bow  ye  down, 

**  Nor  steel  that  stubborn  heart ; 
*'  Till  mine  inexorable  voice 

"  Pronounce  the  word.  Depart.'* 

8  Blest  Jesus,  may  thy  Spirit  breathe 

On  souls,  which  else  msst  dit^  j 


I'RO  VERBS.  475 

For,  till  fhy  grace  reflect  the  sound, 
Thy  word  in  vain  will  cry. 

JLXXV.     The  Encouragement  young  Persons  hare  to  ieck,  and  love 
Christ.     Prov.  viii.  17. 

1  \^I''  hearts  with  youthful  vigour  warm, 

In  smiling  crouds  draw  near, 
And  turn  from  every  mortal  charm, 
A  Saviour's  voice  to  hear. 

2  He,  Lord  of  all  the  worlds  on  high, 

Stoops  to  converse  with  you  ; 
And  lays  his  radiant  glories  by. 
Your  friendship  to  pursue. 

3  *'  The  soul,  that  longs  to  see  my  face, 

**  Is  sure  my  love  to  gain  ; 
*'  And  those,  that  early  seek  my  grace, 
"  Shall  never  seek  in  vain." 

4  What  object,  Lord,  my  soul  should  move, 

If  once  compar'd  with  thee? 
What  beauty  should  command  my  love. 
Like  what  in  Christ  I  see  ? 

5  Away,  ye  false  delusive  toys, 

Vain  tempters  of  the  mind  ! 
'Tis  here  I  fix  my  lasting  choice. 
And  here  true  bliss  I  find. 

LXXVI.     The  House  and  Feast  of  IVisdom.     Prov.  ix.  1     6. 

1  C  KE  the  fair  structure  wisdom  rears, 

Her  messengers  attend  ; 
And  charm'd  by  her  persuasive  voice, 
To  her  your  footsteps  bend. 

2  Hear  me,  ye  simple  ones,  she  cries, 

*'  That  lur'd  by  folly  stray, 
"  And  languish  to  eternal  death 
"  In  her  detested  way. 

3  *'  Enter  my  hospitable  gate, 

"  And  all  my  banquet  share  ; 
**  P'or  heavenly  wine  surrounds  my  board, 
"  And  angels'  food  is  there. 

4  *'  Freely  of  every  dainty  taste  ; 

**  Taste,  and  for  ever  lire  ; 
**  And  mingle  with  your  joys  the  hopes 
"  Of  all  a  god  can  give. 

5  "  But  if  seduc'd  by  folly's  arts, 

**  Ye  seek  her  poisonous  food ; 


416  PROVERBS. 

*'  Know,  that  the  dreadful  moment  hastes, 
*'  Which  pays  the  feast  with  blood." 

LXXVII.     Tlw  Excellency  of  the  RigJdemis,  with  Regard  to  their 
Temper.     Prov.  xii.  26.     Part  1st. 

1  TIJOW  glorious,  Lord,  art  thou  ! 

■■■  -'-  How  bright  thy  splendors  shine  ! 
AVhose  rays  reflected  gild  thy  saints 
With  ornaments  divine. 

2  With  lowliness  and  love, 
Wisdom  and  courage  meet ; 

The  grateful  heart,  the  cheerful  eye. 
How  reverend  and  how  sweet ! 

3  In  beauties  such  as  these, 
Thy  children  n«>w  are  drest ; 

But  brighter  habits  shall  they  wear 
In  regions  of  the  blest. 

4  In  nature's  barren  soil. 
Who  could  such  glories  raise  ? 

We  own,  O  God,  the  work  is  thine. 
And  thine  be  all  the  praise  ! 

LXXVIII.  The  Excellency  of  the  Righteous,  zuith  Regard  to  their  Rela- 
tions, Employments,  Pleasures,  and  Hopes.  Prov.  xii.  26.  Part  2tl. 

1  r\  Israel,  thou  art  blest; 

^~^  Who  may  with  thee  comi)are  ? 
Thine  excellencies  stand  confessed ; 
How  bright  thy  glories  are  ! 

2  O  God  of  Israel,  hear. 

And  make  this  bliss  our  own ; 
Make  us  the  children  of  thy  care. 
The  members  of  thy  Son. 

3  Thus  honoured,  thus  employ'd. 
By  these  great  motives  fir'd, 

Be  paradise  on  earth  enjoy'd, 
And  brighter  hopes  inspir'd. 

4  Thy  people,  Lord,  we  love  ; 
Their  God  our  souls  embrace  ; 

So  may  we  find  in  worlds  above 
Among  thy  saints  a  place. 

LXXIX.    Walking  xvith  God ;  or  being  in  his  Fear  all  the  Day  long. 
Proverbs  xxiii.  IT. 

1   nPHRICE  happy  souls,  who  born  from  heaven, 
-■-     While  yet  they  sojourn  here. 
Thus  ail  their  days  w^ith  God  begin. 
And  spend  them  in  his  fear  I 


PROVERBS. 

2  So  mav  our  eves  with  holy  zeal 
Prevent  the  ihiwnhig  duy  ; 
Ami  turn  the  surred  pages*  o'er, 
And  priiise  thy  name  and  pray. 

y  'Midst  hourly  eares,  may  love  present 
Its  ineense  to  thy  thronu  ; 
And,  while  the  world  our  hands  employs, 
Our  hearts  he  thine  alone  ! 

4  As  sanctifi'd  to  nohlest  ends 

Be  eaeh  refreshment  sought ; 
Andbyeaeh  various  providence 
Some  wise  instruction  brougiit! 

5  When  to  laborious  duties  call'd, 

Or  by  temptations  try'd, 
We'll  seek  the  shelter  of  thy  wings, 
And  m  thy  strength  confide. 

6  As  different  scenes  of  life  arise, 

Our  grateful  hearts  would  be 
With  thee,  amidst  the  social  band  ; 
In  solitude,  with  thee. 

1  At  night  we  lean  our  weary  heads 
On  thv  paternal  breast ; 
And,  safely  folded  in  thine  arius, 
Resign  our  powers  to  rest, 
8  In  solid  pure  delights,  like  these, 
Let  all  my  days  be  past ; 
Nor  shall  I  then  impatient  wish, 
Nor  shall  I  fear  the  last. 

LXXX.    The  obstinale  Sinner  alarmed.     Pmvcrbi  xxix.  1. 

1  ]^OW  let  the  sons  of  Belial  t  liear 
•^^    The  thunders  of  the  Lord  ; 
Unfold  their  long  rebellious  ear, 

And  tremble  at  his  word. 

2  Now  let  the  iron  sinew  bow, 

And  take  his  easy  yoke  ; 
Lest  sudden  vengeance  lay  it  low 
By  one  resistless  stroke. 

3  Though  yet  the  great  physician  wait. 

And  healing  balm  be  found. 
One  hour  may  seal  their  endless  fate, 
And  lix  a  deadly  wound. 

*  The  holy  sciipturt s.  t  Disobedient  rebellious  persons. 

VOL.  111.  3  t^ 


477 


475 


ISAIAH. 


4  Swift  may  thy  mercy,  Lord,  arise, 
Ere  justice  stop  their  breath  ; 
And  hghten  those  deluded  eyes, 
That  sleep  the  sleep  of  death  ! 

LXXXI.     God's  reasonable  Expectations  froin  Ids  Vineyard. 
Isaiah  v.  1 — 7. 

1  'X'HE  vineyard  of  the  Lord,  how  fair  ! 

Planted  by  his  peculiar  care. 
Behold  its  branches  spread,  and  fill 
The  borders  of  his  sacred  hill. 

2  His  eye  hath  mark'd  the  chosen  ground  ; 
His  mighty  hand  hath  fenc'd  it  round  ; 
His  servants  by  his  order  wait, 

To  watch  and  aid  its  tender  state 

3  But  when  the  vintage  he  demands 
For  all  the  labour  of  their  hands. 
What  clusters  doth  his  vine  produce  ? 
The  grapes  are  wild,  and  sour  the  juice. 

4  Well  might  he  tear  its  fence  away. 
And  leave  it  to  the  beasts  of  prey. 
Might  give  it  to  the  v/ild  again, 

And  charge  his  clouds  to  cease  to  rain. 

5  But  spare  our  land,  our  churches  spare, 
Thy  vengeance  long  provok'd  forbear  ; 
Let  the  true  vine  its  influence  give, 
And  bid  our  withering  branches  live  ! 

LXXXII.    Isaiah's  Obedience  to  the  heavenly  Vision.    Isaiah  vi.  S, 

1  ^^UR  God  ascends  his  lofty  throne, 

Array'd  in  majesty  unknown  ; 
4.         His  lustre  all  the  temple  fills, 
'\        And  spreads  o'er  all  th'  ethereal  *  hills. 

2  The  holy,  holy,  holy  Lord, 
By  all  the  Seraphim  ador'd. 

And,  while  they  stand  beneath  his  seat, 
They  veil  their  faces,  and  their  feet. 

3  And  can  a  sinful  worm  endure 
The  presence  of  a  God  so  pure  ? 
Or  these  polluted  lips  proclaim 
The  honours  of  so  grand  a  name  ? 

4  O  for  thine  altar's  glowing  coal 
To  touch  my  lips,  to  fire  my  soul. 
To  purge  the  sordid  dross  away. 
And  into  crystal  turn  my  clay  ! 

*  Heavenly, 


ISAIAH.  479^ 

5  Then,  if  a  messenger  tliou  ask, 
A  labourer  for  the  hardest  task, 
Through  all  my  weakness  and  my  fear, 
Love  shall  reply,  "  Thy  servant's  here." 

6  Nor  should  my  willing  soul  complain, 
Though  all  its  efforts  seeniM  in  vain ; 
It  ample  recompencc  shall  be, 

But  to  have  wrought,  my  God,  for  thee. 

LXXXIII.     T/r  Stupidity  of  Israel,    and  of  Britain  lamented. 
Isaiah  vi.  D—12. 

FOR    A    FAST-DAY. 

1  T  ORD,  when  thine  Israel  we  survey, 
"^  We  in  their  crimes  discern  our  own  ; 
And,  if  thou  turn  our  prayer  away. 
Our  misery  must,  like  theirs,  be  known. 

2  To  us  thy  prophets  have  been  sent 
With  words  of  terror  and  of  love  ; 
But  not  the  vengeance,  nor  the  grace 
Ten  thousand  stubborn  hearts  will  move. 

3  Our  eyes  are  blind,  and  deaf  our  ears  ; 
Our  hearts  areharden'd  into  stone  ; 
As  we  would  bar  thy  mercy  out, 

And  leave  a  way  for  wrath  alone. 

4  Justly  our  God  might  give  us  up 

To  plague  and  famine  and  the  sword  ; 
Till  towns  and  cities  rich  and  fair 
Lay  desolate  without  a  Lord. 

5  O'er  bleeding  wounds  of  slaughter'd  friends 
Rivers  of  helpless  grief  might  flow. 

Till  the  fierce  conquerors'  haughty  rage 
Dragg'd  us  to  chains  and  slaughter  too. 

6  But  spare  a  nation  long  thy  own. 
And  shew  new  miracles  of  grace  ; 
'Tis  thine  to  heal  the  deaf  and  blind, 
And  wake  the  dead  to  life  and  praise. 

LXXXIV.    Confederate  Nations  defied  by  those  who  sanctify  God. 
Isaiah  viii.  9—14. 

FOR    A    FAST-DAY. 

1   /^  REAT  God  of  hosts,  attend  our  prayer, 
^^  And  make  the  British  Isles  thy  care  ; 
To  thee  we  raise  our  suppliant  cries. 
When  angry  nations  round  us  rise. 
302 


480  ISAIAH. 

2  Fain  would  they  tread  our  glory  down, 
And  in  the  dust  defile  our  crown, 
Deluge  our  houses  with  our  blood, 
And  burn  the  temples  of  our  God. 

3  But,  'midst  the  thunder  of  their  rage, 
^Ve  thy  protection  would  engage  : 
O  raise  thy  saving  arm  on  high, 
7\nd  bring  renew'd  deliverance  nigh. 

4  May  Britain,  as  one  man,  be  led 

To  make  the  Lord  her  fear  and  dread  ; 
Our  souls  no  other  fear  shall  know, 
Though  earth  were  leagu'd  with  hell  below. 

5  Give  ear,  ye  countries  from  afar  ; 
Ye  proud  associate  nations,  heai* ; 
While  fix'd  on  him,  who  rules  the  sky, 
Our  hearts  your  threatened  war  defy. 

6  Ye  people,  gird  yourselves  in  vain, 
Your  scatter'd  force  unite  again  ; 
Again  shall  all  that  force  be  broke, 
When  God  with  us  shall  deal  the  stroke. 

7  Now  he  records  our  humble  tears. 
With  ardent  vows  of  future  years, 
And  destines  for  approaching  days 
Victorious  shouts,  and  songs  of  praise. 

S  Emanuel's  land  shall  safe  remain, 
Blest  with  its  Saviour's  gentle  reign  ; 
Till  every  liostile  rumour  cease 
In  the  fair  realms  of  perfect  peace. 

LXXXV.     Chrisi  the  Steiiard  of  God's  Family.     Isaiah  xxii.  22—24. 
compared  with  Rev.  iii.  7. 

1  "\X/^ITH  what  delight  I  raise  my  eyes. 

And  view  the  courts,  where  .Jesus  dwells ! 
Jesus,  who  reigns  beyond  the  skies. 
And  here  below  his  grace  reveals  ! 

2  Of  David's  royal  house  the  key 
Is  borne  by  that  Ma,iestic  hand  ; 
Mansions  and  treasures  there  I  see, 
Subjected  all  to  his  command. 

3  He  shuts,  and  Avorlds  might  strive  in  vain 
The  mighty  obstacle  to  move  ; 

He  looses  all  their  bars  again. 

And  who  shall  shut  the  gates  of  love  ? 

4  Fix'd  in  omnipotence  he  bears 
The  glories  of  his  lather's  name ; 


ISAIAH.  4Sl 

Sustains  his  people's  weighty  cares, 
Through  every  changing  age  the  same. 

5  My  little  all  I  there  suspend. 

Where  the  whole  weight  of  heaven  is  hung  ; 
Secure  I  rest  on  such  a  friend, 
And  into  rapture  wake  my  tongue* 

LXXXVI.    Tfie  rich  Provision  and  ktjipij  Effects  of  the  Gospel. 
Isaiali  xxv.  6 — y. 

1  TJKHOLD  our  God,  he  owns  his  name  j 

Jehovah  all  our  songs  proclaim 

With  shouts  of  wonder  and  of  joy  : 
Long  have  we  waited  for  his  grace, 
No  longer  now  his  love  delays 

For  Zion  his  own  arm  t'  employ. 

2  We  charge  our  souls  the  joy  to  feel  ; 
We  charge  our  tongues  his  praise  to  tell : 

Th'  Almighty  Saviour  !  This  is  he  ! 
He  pours  his  streams  of  grace  abroad. 
Till  all  the  earth  confess  the  God, 

And  lands  remote  his  glory  see. 

3  Dainties  how  rich  his  stores  afford  ! 

How  pure  the  wine,  that  crowns  his  board, 
While  welcome  nations  flock  around  ! 

He  takes  the  veil  of  grief  away  ; 

Through  thickest  shades  he  darts  the  day, 
And  not  one  weeping  eye  is  found. 

4  All-conquering  death,  no  longer  boast 
O'er  millions  humbled  in  the  dust ; 

Our  God  with  scorn  thy  triumph  sees  : 
Soon  as  he  aims  one  shaft  *  at  thee, 
Swallow'd  and  lost  in  victory. 

Thine  empire  and  thy  name  shall  cease. 

LXXXVII.^  The  peaceful  State  of  the  Soul,  that  trusteth  tn  God. 
Isaiah  xwi.  3. 

1  TX/"EARY  and  weak  and  faint, 

I  cast  mine  eyes  around  ; 
My  joints  all  tremble,  and  my  feet 
Sink  deep  in  miry  ground. 

2  Despairing  help  below, 

To  heaven  I  raise  mv  cries  ; 

God  hears,  and  his  Almightv  arm 

(^ut-stretches  from  the  skies. 

3  I  on  that  arm  repose. 
And  all  my  fears  are  o'er  ; 

*  Avio'.y. 


482  ISAIAH. 

New  strength  diffus'd  through  all  my  soul 
Attests  its  vital  power. 

4  My  mind  in  perfect  peace 
Thy  guardian  care  shall  keep  : 

I'll  yield  to  gentle  slumbers  now. 
For  thou  canst  never  sleep. 

5  Happy  the  souls  alone 
On  thee  securely  stay'd  ! 

Nor  shall  they  be  in  life  alarm'd, 
Nor  be  in  death  dismay'd. 

LXXXVIII.   IsraeVs  Obstinacy  under  God's  lifted  Hand. 
Isaiah  xxvi.  11. 

1  T   ORD,  when  thy  hand  is  lifted  up, 

The  wicked  will  not  see ; 
But  they  shall  see  with  glowing  shame. 
Though  they  obdurate  be. 

2  How  few  the  weighty  stroke  regard. 

And  seek  their  Maker's  face ! 
In  vain  may  providence  correct. 
If  not  enforcM  by  grace. 

3  Exert  thy  mighty  influence.  Lord, 

And  melt  the  stony  breast  ; 

Then  shall  thy  justice  be  ador'd, 

Thy  mercy  stand  confess'd. 

4  The  scorner  then  shall  mourn  in  dust, 

And  put  his  sins  away, 
No  more  resist  his  Maker's  hands, 
But  lift  his  own  to  pray. 

LXXXIX.  God  quickening  the  Dead.     Isaiah  xxvi.  19. 

1  nPHE  evei-living  God 

■^    Th'  expiring  church  shall  raise  j 
Our  hearts  his  promises  receive, 
And  wake  a  shout  of  praise. 

2  Death  shall  not  always  reign, 
Where  crrace  hath  fix'd  its  throne ; 

His  soft  compassion  views  the  dust, 
He  once  hath  call'd  his  own. 

:•}       "  Yes,"  saith  the  God'  of  truth, 
*'  My  dead  shall  live  again  ; 
"  The  foe  shall  see  their  leader's  breath 
"  Rt^.animate  the  slain. 

4       "  The  dew  of  heaven  shall  fall 
"'  In  rich  abundance  round, 

2 


ISAIAH.  48: 

**  And  a  redundant  harvest  rise 
"  To  cloatli  the  teeming  ground. 

5  **  Now  from  your  dust  awake, 
*'  And  burst  into  a  song ; 

"  Tlien  spurn  the  earth,  and  mount  tlic  skies 
"  In  a  triumphant  tlirong." 

6  Thy  Zion,  Lord,  believes 
A  promise  so  divine, 

And  h)oks  tliroujih  ail  lier  flow innr  tears 
To  see  the  glory  shine. 

XC.  The  godly  Mart's  Ark.     Isaiah  xxvi.  20. 

1  TT  is  my  Father's  voice ; 

"'■  And  O !  how  sweet  the  sound ! 
It  makes  my  inmost  powers  rejoice, 
My  trembling  heart  rebound. 

2  **  Mark,  the  black  tempest  lowrs, 
"  And  gathers  round  the  sky  ; 

'*  Retire  and  slum  the  sweeping  showers 
*'  Of  indignation  nigh. 

3  "  Come,  my  dear  children,  come, 
*'  And  seek  your  Father's  arms  ; 

*'  There  is  your  siielter,  there  your  home; 
"  'Midst  all  tliesc  dire  alarms. 

4  *'  Enter  at  his  command  ; 

*'  Close  in  your  ark  remain  ; 
"  And  wait  the  signal  of  his  hand 
"  To  call  you  forth  again. 

5  ''  The  moments  to  beguile, 
*'  A  cheerful  song  begin  ; 

*'  Nor  let  the  roaring  thunders  spoil 
**  The  harmony  within. 

6  *'  Ere  long  the  sky  shall  clear, 
*'  The  clouds  be  chas'd  away, 

*'  And  grace  shall  shine  in  radiance  fair 
"  Through  an  eternal  day." 

XCI.  Laying  hold  on  God's  Strength,  that  tie  viay  be  at  Peace  nitk 
him,    isaiali  xxvii.  5. 

1  'T'HU.S  saith  Jehovah  from  his  seat, 

-■-    "  Who  shall  presume  my  wrath  to  meet  ? 
*'  What  rel>el  men  or  angels  dare 
"  To  wage  with  me  unequal  war? 

2  "  Close  let  the  thorns  and  briars  stand, 
**  In  thick  array  on  cither  hand  j 


484  ISAIAH. 

**  Fortli  shall  my  flaming  terrors  fly ; 
"  At  once  they  kindle,  blaze,  and  die. 

3  "  Presumptuous  sinners,  yet  be  wise 
*'  Ere  this  o'erwhelming  ruin  rise  ; 

"  Your  vain  tumultuous  efforts  cease, 

«<  And  seek  in  suppliant  crowds  for  peace." 

4  Great  God,  we  bless  the  gentle  sound. 
And  bow  submissive  to  the  ground  ; 
Thy  prostrate  foes  let  pity  raise, 

And  form  a  people  to  thy  praise  ! 

5  His  thundering  storms  are  silent  now  ; 
Calm  arc  t!ie  terrors  of  his  brow, 
Since  Jesus  makes  the  Father  known, 
Our  guardian  shield,  our  cheering  sun. 

XCII.  The  divine  Goodness  in  moderating  Afflictions.  Isaiah  xxvii. 

1  f~^  REAT  ruler  of  all  nature's  frame, 
^^  We  own  thy  power  divine. 

We  hear  thv  breath  in  every  storm. 
For  all  the  winds  are  thine. 

2  Wide  as  they  sweep  their  sounding  way. 

The}-  work  thy  sovereign  will ; 
And  aw'd  by  thy  majestic  voice 
Confusion  shall  be  still. 

3  Thy  mercy  tempers  every  blast 

To  them  that  seek  thy  face  ; 
^  And  mingles  with  the  tempest's  roar 

The  whispers  of  thy  grace. 

4  Those  gentle  whispers  let  me  hear^ 

Till  all  the  tumult  cease  ; 

And  gales  of  paradise  shall  lull 

My  weary  soul  to  peace. 

XCIII.  God  ivaiting  to  be  gracious.    Isaiah  xxx.  18. 

1  "YXT^AIT  on  the  Lord,  ye  heirs  of  hope, 

And  let  his  word  support  your  souls : 
Well  can  he  bear  your  courage  up. 
And  all  your  foes  and  fears  controut.       \ 

2  He  waits  his  own  well-chosen  hour 
Th'  intended  mercy  to  display; 
And  his  paternal  bowels  move, 
While  wisdom  dictates  the  delay. 

3  With  mingled  majesty  and  love 
At  IcAgth  lie  rises  from  his  throne  j 


ISAIAH.  485 

And,  wliile salvation  he  commands, 
He  makes  his  people's  joy  iiisown. 

4  Blest  arc  the  humble  souls,  that  wait 
Witii  sweet  submission  to  iiis  will ; 
Harmonious  all  their  passions  move, 
And  in  the  midst  of  storms  are  still. 

5  Still,  till  their  Father's  well-known  voice. 
Wakens  their  silence  irito  songs; 

Then  earth  grows  vocal  with  his  praise. 
And  heaven  the  grateful  shout  prolongs. 

XCIV.  The  different  Fiews  of  good  and  bad  Men  in  Times  of  public 
Danger.     Isaiali  xxxiii.  14 — 17. 

1  CEE!  the  destruction  is  begun, 

And  heaps  of  ruin  spread  the  ground  ; 
With  hasty  strides  it  marches  on. 
And  scatters  consternation  round. 

2  Sinners  in  Zion  take  th'  alarm. 
The  hypocrites  astonish'd  cry, 

Who  with  devouring  flames  can  dwell  ? 
Who  in  eternal  burnings  lie  ? 

3  God's  gracious  voice  the  saint  revives ; 
How  sweet  the  heavenly  accents  sound  ! 

*'  Dwell  thou  on  high,  my  child,"  he  says, 
"  Where  rocks  shall  guard  thee  all  around. 

4  *'  There  shall  my  hand  thy  wants  supply, 
**  Thy  water  and  thy  bread  are  sure  ; 

**  There  shall  my  visits  make  thee  glad, 
*'  While  these  alarming  scenes  endure. 

5  *'  Then,  led  in  joyous  triumph  forth, 

"  Thine  eyes  the  distant  land  shall  view; 
*'  Shall  see  thy  King  in  beauty  drest, 
**  And  share  his  royal  honours  too." 

6  My  soul  the  oracle  receives, 
And  feels  its  energy  to  cheer : 

A  promis'd  heaven,  a  present  God 
Forbids  my  grief,  forbids  my  fear. 

XCV.  God  the  Defence  of  his  People  from  invading  Enemies. 
Isaiah  xxxiii.  21 — 23. 

1  T^HE  glorious  Lord  !  his  Israel's  hope! 
'*■    How  Avell  he  bears  their  courage  up  ! 
How  wide  his  saving  power  extends ! 

VOL.  HI.  3  P 


486  ISAIAH. 

His  princely  titles  will  we  sing, 
Our  judge,  our  law-giver,  our  king, 
He  guards  his  subjects  as  his  friends. 

2  Around  the  mountain  where  they  dwell, 
Lo,  at  his  word,  new  waters  swell 

To  deluge  tlie  invading  foe  ! 
Open'd  by  him  that  rules  the  skies, 
Mark  the  broad  rivers  how  they  rise, 

And  with  what  rapid  strength  they  flow ! 

3  To  gain  the  well-defended  shores, 
In  vain  the  gaily  spreads  its  oars, 

And  the  proud  ship  her  sails  displays  : 
The  sails  are  rent,  the  masts  are  broke, 
The  shattered  oars  all  drop  their  stroke, 

And  lightnings  through  thetacklings  blaze. 

4  Shout  your  hosannas  to  the  Lord  ! 
Thus  shall  he  still  his  Zion  guard, 

Till  the  last  foe  be  trampled  down: 
High  as  the  heavens  exalt  his  praise  ! 
High  as  the  heavens  his  hand  shall  raise 

The  soul,  that  here  his  grace  hath  known. 

XCVI.  The  Higli-lFuy  to  Zion.    Isaiah  xxxv.  8,  9,  10. 

1  CING,  ye  redeemed  of  the  Lord, 

Your  great  deliverer  sing  : 
Pilgrims  for  Zion's  city  bound, 
Be  joyful  in  your  king. 

2  See  the  fair  way  his  hand  hath  rais'd ; 

How  holy,  and  how  plain  ! 
Nor  shall  the  simplest  travellers  err. 
Nor  ask  the  track  in  vain. 

3  No  ravening  lion  shall  destroy. 

Nor  lurking  serpent  wound  ; 
Pleasure  and  safety,  peace  and  praise, 
Through  all  the  path  are  found. 

4  A  hand  divine  shall  lead  you  on 

Through  all  the  blissful  road; 
Till  to  the  sacred  mount  you  rise, 
And  see  your  smihng  God, 

.5  There  garlands  of  immortal  joy 
Shall  bloom  on  every  head  ; 
While  sorrow,  sighing,  and  distress. 
Like  shadows  all  are  fled. 

.6  March  on  in  your  Redeemer's  strength ; 
Pursue  his  footsteps  still ; 


ISAIAH.  481 

And  It't  tlio  prospect  cliccr  your  e\c, 
W'liile  labouring  up  the  hill. 

XCVII.  Tin  Greatness  and  Majesty  of  God,  and  the  Meanness  of  the 
Creatures.     Isaiali  xl.  15,  lo",  IT. 

1  X/'E  weak  inliaUitants  of  (-lay, 

Ve  trilling  insects  of"  a  clay, 
Low  in  your  native  dust  how  down 
Before  th'  eternal's  awful  throne. 

2  \\'ith  trembling  heart,  witli  solemn  eye, 
Ik-hold  Jehovah  seated  high  ! 

And  search,  what  worthy  sacrifice 

Your  hands  can  give,  your  thoughts  devise. 

3  Let  Lebanon  her  cedars  bring. 

To  blaze  before  the  sovereign  King  ; 
And  all  the  beasts,  that  on  it  feed. 
As  victims  at  his  altar  bleed. 

4  Loud  let  ten  thousand  trumpets  sound. 
And  call  remotest  nations  round. 
Assembled  on  the  crowded  plains, 
Princes  and  people,  kings  and  swains. 

5  .Toin'd  with  the  living,  let  the  dead 
liising,  the  face  of  earth  o'erspread  ; 
And,  while  his  praise  unites  their  tongues, 
Let  angels  echo  back  the  songs. 

6  The  drop,  that  from  the  bucket  falls, 
The  dust,  that  hangs  upon  the  scales, 
Is  more  to  sky,  and  earth,  atid  sea. 
Than  all  this  pomp,  ()  God,  to  thee. 

XCVIII.  The  timorous  Saint  encouraged  hj  the  Assurance  of  the  di- 
line  Presence  and  Help,     isaiah  xli.  10. 

1  A  ND  art  thou  with  us,  gracious  Lord, 
'^  To  dissipate  our  foar? 

Dost  thou  proclaim  thyself  our  God, 
Our  God  for  ever  near } 

2  Doth  thv  r!;>-ht-hand,  whi<;h  form'd  the  earth. 

And  bears  up  all  the  skies, 
Stretch  from  on  high  its  friendly  aid, 
When  dangers  round  us  ri.sc  ? 

3  Dost  thou  a  Father's  bowels  feel 

For  all  thv  humble  saints  ? 
And  in  such  tender  accents  speak 
To  soothe  their  sad  complaints  ? 
3  P2 


488  ISAIAH. 

4  On  this  stipport  my  soul  shall  lean, 

And  banish  every  care  ; 
The  gloomy  vale  of  death  must  smile. 
If  God  be  with  me  there. 

5  While  I  his  gracious  succour  prove 

'Midst  all  my  various  ways, 
The  darkest  shades,  through  which  I  pass, 
Shall  echo  with  his  praise. 

XCIX.  The  Humiliation  and  Exaltation  of  God's  Israel.    Isaiah 
xli.  14,  13. 

1  A  MAZING  grace  of  God  on  high! 
■^^^  And  will  the  Lord  look  down 
On  sinners,  while  in  dust  they  lie, 

And  dread  his  awful  frown  ? 

2  Weaker  than  worms,  O  Lord,  are  we, 

And  viler  far  than  they  ; 
Yet  in  these  reptiles*  weak  and  vile 
Dost  thou  thy  power  display. 

3  Jehovah's  sovereign  voice  is  heard, 

The  worm  lifts  up  its  head, 
And  mountains,  that  would  crush  it  down, 
Before  the  worm  are  fled. 

4  Thou  holy  one,  thine  Israel's  king. 

Thou  our  Redeemer  art ; 
Nor  shall  the  blessings  of  thy  hand 
From  thy  redeem'd  depart. 

.5  Thy  love  shall  its  own  work  fulfil, 
And  grace  shall  rise  on  grace, 
Till  worms  of  earth  around  thy  throne 
With  angels  find  a  place. 

C.  The  Wilderness  transformed,  or  the  happy  Effects  of  the  Gospel' 
Isaiah  xli.  18,  19.  compared  with  xxxv.  1, 2.  xi.  6 — 9.  Iv.  13,  &c. 

1  A  MAZING  beauteous  change: 
■^~^  A  world  created  new  ! 

My  thoughts  with  transport  range 
The  lovely  scene  to  view  ; 

In  all  I  trace, 

Saviour  divine. 

The  work  is  thine. 

Be  thine  the  praise ! 

2  See  crystal  fountains  play 
Amidst  the  burning  sands  i 

*  Creeping  things. 


ISAIAH. 

The  river's  windinf:^  way 
Shines  through  the  thirsty  lands: 

New  grass  is  seen, 

And  o'er  the  meads 

Its  carpet  spreads 

Of  livin^c  green. 

3  Where  pointed  brambles  grew, 
Entwni'd  with  horrid  thorn, 
Gay  flowers  for  ever  new 

The  painted  fields  adorn^ 
The  blushing  rose. 
And  lily  there. 
In  union  fair 
Their  sweets  disclose. 

4  Where  the  bleak  mountain  stood. 
All  bare  and  disarray 'd, 

See  the  wide-branching  wood 
Diffuse  its  grateful  shade; 

Tall  cedars  nod, 

And  oaks  and  pines. 

And  elms  and  vines 

Confess  the  God. 

5  The  tyrants  of  the  plain 
Their  savage  chase  give  o*er ; 
No  more  they  rend  the  slain. 
And  thirst  for  blood  no  more ; 

But  infant  hands 
Fierce  tigers  stroke, 
And  lions  yoke 
In  flowery  bands. 

6  O  when,  Almighty  Lord, 
Shall  these  glad  scenes  arise 
To  verify  thy  word, 

And  bless  our  wondering  eyes? 
That  earth  may  raise. 
With  all  its  tongues. 
United  songs 
Of  ardent  praise. 

CI.  The    Blind  and  Weak  led  and  supported  in  God's  fVay. 
Isaiah  xlii.  IG. 

1  pRAISE  to  the  radiant  source  of  bliss, 
-*■     Who  gives  the  blind  their  sight, 
And  scatters  round  their  wondering  eyes 

A  flood  of  sacred  light ! 

2  In  paths  unknown  he  leads  them  on 

To  his  divine  abode, 


489 


490  ISAIAH. 

And  shews  new  miracles  of  grace. 
Through  all  the  heavenly  road. 

3  The  ways  all  rugged  and  perplex'd, 

He  renders  smooth  and  straight. 
And  strengthens  every  fcehle  knee 
To  march  to  Zion's  cjate. 

4  Through  all  the  path  FJl  sing  his  name, 

Till  I  the  mount  ascend, 
Where  toils  and  storms  are  known  no  more. 
And  anthems  never  end. 

CI  I.  God  calling  his  Israel  hy  Name,  and  leading  thein  through  Jfater 
and  Fire.     Isaiah  xliii,  1,  2. 

1  T   ET  Jacob  to  his  Maker  sing, 

And  praise  his  great  redeeming  king  ; 
Call'd  by  a  new,  a  gracious  name, 
Let  Israel  loud  his  God  proclaim  I 

2  He  knows  our  souls  in  all  their  fears, 
And  gently  wipes  our  falling  tears  ; 
Forms  trembling  voices  to  a  song. 
And  bids  the  feeble  heart  be  stroncr. 

3  Then  let  the  rivers  swell  around, 
And  rising  floods  o'erflow  the  ground  ; 
Rivers  and  floods  and  seas  divide. 
And  homage  pay  to  Israel's  guide. 

,   4  Then  let  the  fires  their  rage  display, 
And  flaming  terrors  bar  the  way  ; 
Unburnt,  unsing'd,  he  leads  them  through, 
And  makes  the  flames  refreshing  too, 

5  The  fires  but  on  their  bonds  shall  prey  *, 
The  floods  but  wash  their  stains  away. 
And  grace  divine  new  trophies  f  raise 
Amidst  the  deluge,  and  the  blaze. 

cm.  The  Riches  of  pardoning  Grace  celebrated.     Isaiah  xliv.  22,  23. 

1  T   ET  heaven  burst  forth  into  a  song; 

Let  earth  reflect  the  joyful  sound  ; 
Ye  mountains,  with  the  echo  ring. 
And  shout,  ye  forests  all  around  ! 

2  The  Lord  his  Israel  hath  redeem'd, 
Hath  made  his  mourning  people  glad, 
And  the  rich  glories  of  his  name 

In  their  salvation  hath  display'd. 

*  Allubioii  to  the  story  in  Dan.  iii.  19,  &c.       f  Munumcnts  of  victory, 
2 


ISAIAH.  49J 

3  Unn\imbcr'(J  sins,  like  sable  clouds, 
Veil'd  every  cheerful  ray  of  joy, 

And  thunders  unirnuirM  throu<rh  the  gloom, 
AVhile  lightnings  pointed  to  destroy. 

4  He  spake,  and  all  the  clouds  disj)ers'(l, 
And  heaven  unvcil'd  its  shining  face; 
The  whole  creation  smilM  anew, 
Deck'd  in  the  golden  beams  of  grace. 

5  Israel,  return  witii  humble  love, 
Keturn  to  thy  Redeemer's  breast, 
And  charm'd  by  his  melodious  voice. 
Compose  thy  weary  powers  to  rest. 

CIV.  The  little  Success  uhich  attended  the  personal  Ministry  of  Christ. 
Isaiah  xlix.  4. 

1  A  ND  doth  the  Son  of  God  complain, 

"^^  "  Lo,  I  have  spent  my  strength  in  vain, 
**  And  stretch'd  my  hands  whole  days  and  years 
"  To  those,  who  slight  my  words  and  tears  ?" 

2  O  stubborn  hearts,  that  could  withstand 
Such  efforts  from  a  Saviour's  hand  ! 

O  gracious  Saviour,  who  wouldst  bleed, 
When  words  and  tears  could  not  succeed  ! 

.3  Fall  down,  my  soul,  in  humble  woe, 
That  thou  hast  wrong'd  his  goodness  so: 
Now  let  his  grace  resistless  move 
To  melt  the  stubborn  flint  to  love  ! 

4  All-glorious  Lord,  march  forth  and  reign. 
And  reap  the  fruit  of  all  thy  pain  ; 
And,  till  a  nobler  scene  appear, 
Begin  the  happy  conquest  here. 

CV.  God's  Captives  released;  applied  to  spiritual  Deliverances. 
Isaiah  H.  14,  15. 

1  •  (^APTIVES  of  Israel,  hear. 

Who  now  as  exiles  *  mourn ; 
See  your  Almighty  God  appear 
To  hasten  your  return. 

2  Jehovah  is  his  name. 
Lord  of  celestial  hosts  : 

Let  heaven  that  saving  power  proclaim 
In  which  his  Israel  trusts, 

3  Though  helpless  now  ye  lie. 
As  in  a  dungeon  thrown. 

When  parch'd  with  painful  thirst  ye  cry, 
And  when  your  bread  is  gone, 

"^  Bani.'ihed  persons. 


4y2  ISAIAH, 

4  Deliverance  comes  apace  ; 
Ye  shall  not  there  expire  ; 

Prepare  to  sing  redeeming  grace 
With  his  triumphant  choir. 

5  He  smote  the  raging  sea 
'Midst  its  tumultuous  roar, 

And  pav'd  his  chosen  troops  a  way 
Safe  to  its  distant  shore. 

6  In  him  let  Israel  hope, 

At  whose  supreme  command 
Graves  yield  their  breathless  captives  up» 
And  seas  become  dry  land. 

VI.  The  Cup  of  Fury  exchanged/or  the  Cup  of  Blessings.  Isaiah  li.  22. 

1  T^HE  Lord,  our  Lord,  how  rich  his  grace  ! 

-*-    What  stores  of  Sovereign  love 
For  humble  souls,  that  seek  his  face, 
And  to  his  footstool  move ! 

2  He  pleads  the  cause  of  all  his  saints. 

When  foes  against  them  rise  ; 
He  listens  to  their  sad  complaints, 
And  wipes  their  streaming  eyes. 

3  He  takes  away  that  dreadful  cup 

Of  fury  and  of  plagues, 
Which  justice  sentenc'd  them  to  drink. 
And  wring  the  bitter  dregs, 

4  He  gave  it  to  their  Saviour's  hand, 

And  fill'd  it  to  the  brim  ; 
Their  Saviour  drank  the  liquid  death^ 
That  they  might  live  by  him. 

5  "  Now  take  the  cup  of  life,  he  cries, 

"  Where  heavenly  blessings  flow  : 
"  Drink  deep,  nor  fear  to  drain  the  spring 
"  To  which  the  draught  ye  owe." 

6  We  drink,  and  feel  our  life  renew'd, 

And  all  our  woes  forget : 
We  drink,  till  that  transporting  hour, 
When  we  our  Lord  shall  meet. 

CVII.    The  holy  City  purified  and  guarded.    Isaiah  li'i.  1,  ^, 

J  "yRIUMPHANT  Zion,  lift  thy  head 

From  dust,  and  darkness,  and  the  dead, 
Though  humbled  long,  awake  at  length, 
And  gird  thee  with  thy  Saviour's  strength, 

2  Put  all  thy  beauteous  garments  on, 
And  let  thy  various  charms  be  known  ; 


ISAIAH.  493 

The  Avorld  thy  glories  shall  confess, 
Deck'd  in  the  robes  of  righteousness. 

3  No  more  shall  foes  unclean  invade. 
And  till  thy  hallow'd  walls  with  dread  ; 
No  more  shall  hell's  insulting  host 
Their  victory,  and  thy  sorrows  boast. 

4  God  from  on  high  thy  groans  will  hear  ; 
His  hand  thy  ruins  shall  repair  ; 
Rear'd  and  adorn'd  by  love  divine. 
Thy  towers  and  battlements  shall  shine. 

5  Grace  shall  dispose  my  heart  and  voice 
To  share,  and  echo  back  her  joys  ; 
Nor  will  her  watchful  monarch  cease 
To  guard  her  in  eternal  peace. 

CVIII.    Goffs  Government,  2ion's  Joy.    Isaiah  Hi.  7. 

1  \^E  subjects  of  the  Lord,  proclaim 

The  royal  honours  of  his  name  ; 

Jehovah  reigns,  be  all  your  song  : 
'Tis  he,  thy  God,  O  Zion,  reigns, 
Prepare  thy  most  harmonious  strains 

Glad  hallelujahs  to  prolong  ! 

2  Ye  princes,  boast  no  more  your  crowns, 
But  lay  the  glittering  triHes  down 

In  lowly  honour  at  his  feet ; 
A  span  your  narrow  empire  bounds. 
He  reigns  beyond  created  rounds, 

In  self-sufficient  glory  great. 

3  Tremble,  ye  pageants  of  a  day, 
Form'd  like  your  slaves  of  brittle  clay, 

Down  to  the  dust  30ur  sceptres  bend  ! 
To  everlasting  years  he  reigns, 
And  undiminisji'd  pomp  maintains, 

When  kings,  and  suns,  and  time  shall  end. 

4  So  shall  his  favour'd  Zion  live  ; 

In  vain,  confederate  nations  strive 

Her  sacred  turrets  to  destroy  : 
Her  Sovereign  sits  enthron'd  above, 
And  endless  power,  and  endless  love 

Ensure  her  safety,  and  her  joy. 

CIX.   Dhine  Mercies  and  Judgments  compared.    Isaiaii  liv.  7,  8. 

TN  thy  rebukes,  all-gracious  God, 
What  soft  compassion  reigns  ! 

VOL.  iir.  3  Q. 


4y4  ISAIAH. 

What  gentle  accents  of  thy  voice 
Assuage  thy  children's  pains  ! 

2  "  When  I  correct  my  chosen  sons, 

**  A  father's  bowels  move  : 
*'  One  transient  moment  bounds  my  wrath, 
"  But  endless  is  my  love." 

3  Our  faith  shall  look  through  every  tear, 

And  view  thy  smiling  face. 
And  hope  amidst  our  sighs  shall  tune 
An  anthem  to  thy  grace. 

4  Gather  at  length  my  Aveary  soul 

To  join  thy  saints  above  ; 
For  I  would  learn  a  song  of  praise, 
Eternal  as  thy  love. 

ex.    Divine  Teachings,  and  their  Iiaj^y  Consequences.  Isaiah  li  v.  13. 

1  TJ  RIGHT  source  of  intellectual  rays. 

Father  of  spirits,  and  of  grace, 
O  dart  with  energy  unknown 
Celestial  beamings  from  thy  throne  ! 

2  Thy  sacred  book  we  would  survey, 
Enlighten'd  with  that  heavenly  day, 
And  ask  thy  spirit,  with  the  word. 
To  teach  our  souls  to  know  the  Lord. 

3  So  shall  our  children  learn  the  road, 
That  leads  them  to  their  Father's  God  ; 
And,  form'd  by  lessons  so  divine. 

Shall  infant  minds  with  knowledge  shine. 

4  So  shall  the  haughtiest  soul  submit, 
With  children  plac'd  at  Jesus'  feet : 
The  noisy  swell  of  prid^  shall  cease, 
And  thy  sweet  voice  be  heard  in  peace. 

CXI,    Fruitful  Showers,  Emblems  of  the  salutary  Effects  of  the  Gospel. 
Isaiah  Iv.  10,  11,  12. 

1  A/TARK  the  soft-falling  snow. 

And  the  diffusive  rain  ; 
To  heaven,  from  whence  it  fell, 
It  turns  not  back  again  ; 

But  waters  earth 

Through  every  pore, 

And  calls  forth  all 

Its  secret  store.    . 

2  ArrayM  in  beauteous  green 
The  hills  and  vallies  shine, 
And  man  and  beast  is  fed 
By  providence  divine  j 


ISAIAH.  491 


The  harvest  bows 
Its  golden  ears, 
The  copious  seed 
Of  future  years. 

''  So,"  saith  the  God  of  grace, 

"  My  gospel  shall  descend, 

*'  Almighty  to  effect 

*♦  The  purpose  I  intend  j 
"  Millions  of  souls 
*'  Shall  feelits  power, 
"  And  bear  it  down 
**  To  millions  more. 

•*  Joy  shall  begin  your  inarch, 
"  And  peace  protect  your  ways, 
*'  While  all  the  mountaias  round 
*'  Echo  melodious  praise  j 

"  The  vocal  groves 

"  Shall  sing  the  God, 

*'  And  every  tree 

"  Consenting  nod." 


CXI  I.    Comfort/or  pious  Parents,  ivlio  have  been  bereaved  of  their 
Children.     Isaiah  Ivi.  4,  5. 

1  \^E  mourning  saints,  whose  streaming  tear, 

Flow  o'er  your  children  dead  ; 
Say  not  in  transports  of  despair, 
That  ail  your  hopes  are  fled. 

2  While  cleaving  to  that  darling  dust, 

In  fond  distress  ye  lie, 
Rise,  and  with  joy  and  reverence  view 
A  heavenly  parent  nigh. 

3  Though,  your  young  branches  torn  away, 

Like  wither'd  trunks  ye  stand  ; 
With  fairer  verdure  shall  ye  bloom, 
Toucird  by  th'  Almighty's  hand. 

4  "  I'll  give  the  mourner,"  saith  the  Lord, 

*'  In  my  own  house  a  place  ; 
*'  No  names  of  daughters  and  of  sons 
*'  Could  yield  so  high  a  grace. 

5  "  Transient  and  vain  is  every  hope 

"  A  rising  race  can  give  ; 
*'  In  endless  honour  and  deliglit 
"  My  children  all  shall  live." 

.T  Q  2 


496  ISAIAH. 

6  We  welcome,  Lord,  those  rising  tears, 
Through  which  thy  face  we  see, 
And  bless  those  wounds,  which  through  our  hearts 
Prepare  a  way  for  thee. 

CXIII.    The  Stranger  entertained  in  God's  House  of  Prayer.    Isaiah 
Ivi.  6,  7.  compared  with  Mat.  xxi.  13.  and  Eph.  ii,  19. 

1  /^REAT  Father  of  mankind, 
^^  We  bless  that  wondrotis  grace, 
Which  could  for  Gentiles  find 
Within  thy  courts  a  place. 

How  kind  the  care 
Our  God  displays. 
For  us  to  raise 
A  house  of  prayer  ! 

2  Though  once  estranged  far. 
We  now  approacli  the  throne  ; 
For  Jesus  brings  us  near. 

And  makes  our  cause  his  own  : 
Strangers  no  more, 
To  thee  we  come, 
And  find  our  home. 
And  rest  secure. 

3  To  thee  our  souls  we  join, 
And  love  thy  sacred  name  ; 
No  more  our  own,  but  thine, 
We  triumph  in  thy  claim  ; 

Our  Father-king, 
Thy  covenant-grace 
Our  souls  embrace. 
Thy  titles  sing. 

4  Here  in  thy  house  we  feast 
On  dainties  all  divine  ; 

And,  while  such  sweets  we  taste. 
With  joy  our  faces  shine. 

Incense  shall  rise 

From  flames  of  love, 

And  God  approve 

The  sacrifice. 

5  May  all  the  nations  throng 
To  worship  in  thy  house  ; 
And  thou  attend  the  song, 
And  smile  upon  their  vows. 

Indulgent  still. 
Till  earth  conspire 
To  join  the  choir 
On'Zion's  hill. 


ISAIAH.  497 


CXIV    Peace  proclaimed,  ami  the  Fruit  of  the  Lips  created  by  a 
gracious  God.     Isaiah  Ivii.  ly. 

1  TJTARK  !  for  the  preat  Creator  speaks  ; 

In  silence  lot  the  earth  attend, 
And,  when  his  words  of  grace  are  iieard, 
In  grateful  adoration  bend  ! 

2  **  Tis  I  create  the  fruit  of  praise, 

*'  And  give  the  broken  heart  to  sing  ; 

*'  l^eace,  heavenly  peace,  my  lips  proclaim, 

**  Pleas'd  with  the  happy  news  they  bring." 

3  Receive  the  tidings  with  delight, 
Ye  Gentile  nations  from  afar  ; 
And  you,  the  children  of  iiis  love, 
Whom  grace  hath  brought  already  near. 

4  To  these,  to  those,  his  sovereign  hand 
Its  iiealing  energy  imparts  : 

Peace,  peace,  be  echo'd  from  your  tongues, 
And  echo'd  from  consenting  hearts. 

5  Knjoy  the  health,  which  God  liath  wrought; 
Nor  let  the  daily  tribute  cease, 

Till  changed  for  more  exalted  songs 
In  regions  of  eternal  peace. 

CXV.  Tlte  Duty  of  rernonstratiJig  against  ^in,  uhen  Judg7ncnts  are 
threalened.     Isaiah  Iviii.  J. 

1  TTHY  judgments  cry  aloud, 

O  ever-righteous  God, 
And  in  the  sight  of  all  our  land 
Thou  liftest  up  thy  rod. 

2  Aloud  thy  servants  cry, 
Commissioned  from  thy  throne. 

And  like  a  trumpet  raise  their  voice 
To  make  thy  judgments  known. 

3  But  who  that  cry  attends. 
And  makes  his  safety  sure  ? 

Rock'd  by  the  tempest  they  should  flee, 
The}'  sleep  the  more  secure. 

4  Another  trumpet,  Lord, 
The  stupid  slumberers  need  ; 

Nor  will  they  hear  a  feebler  voice 
Than  that,  w))ich  wakes  the  dead. 

■J, 


493  ISAIAH. 


CX\'I.  Unsuccessful  Fasts  accounted  for.    Isaiah  Iviii.  3.  compared 
with  4—8. 

FOR    A    FAST-DAY. 

1  ^^H  !  where  is  sovereign  mercy  gone? 
^-"^  Whither  is  Britain's  God  withdrawn, 
That  through  long  years  she  should  complain, 
She  fasts,  and  mourns,  and  cries  in  vain  ? 

3  Hast  thou  not  seen  her  suppliant  bands 
Through  all  her  coasts  extend  their  hands? 
Or  has  their  oft-repeated  prayer 
Escap'd  thy  ever-listening  ear  ? 

3  Thine  ear  hath  heard,  thine  eye  hath  seen  ; 
But  guilt  hath  spread  a  cloud  between ; 
And,  rising  still  before  thy  face, 

Averts  thy  long-intreated  grace. 

4  Dispel  that  cloud  by  rays  divine, 
And  cause  tlw  cheering  face  to  shine ; 
Our  isle  shall  shout  from  shore  to  shore, 
And  dread  encroaching  foes  no  more. 

5  Our  light  shall  like  the  morning  spring; 
Healing  and  joy  our  God  shall  bring  ; 
Justice  shall  in  our  front  appear. 

And  glory  gather  up  oui;  rear. 

CXVII.  The  Standard  of  the  Spirit  lifted  up.    Isaiah  lix.  19. 

1  f~^  OD  of  the  ocean,  at  whose  voice 

^^  The  threatening  floods  are  heard  no  more, 
Behold  their  madness  and  their  noise, 
And  silence  the  tumultuous  roar. 

2  Here  streams  of  poisonous  error  swell ; 
There  rages  vice  in  every  form ; 
They  join  their  tide,  led  on  by  hell, 
And  Zion  trembles  at  the  storm. 

3  Almighty  Spirit,  raise  thine  arm, 
And  lift  the  Saviour's  standard  high  ; 
Thy  people's  hearts  with  vigour  warm, 
And  call  thy  chosen  legions  nigh. 

4  Wak'd  by  thy  well-known  voice  they  come, 
And  round  the  sacred  banner  throng  ; 
Zion,  prepare  the  conqueror  room, 
While  triumph  bursts  into  a  song. 

5  '*  The  Lord  on  high,  when  billows  roar, 
*'  Superior  majesty  displays, 

**  And,  by  one  breath  of  sovereign  power, 
'*  Hushes  the  noise  of  foaming  seas." 


ISAIAH.  499 

CXVIII.  The  Glory  of  the  Chwch  in  the  latter  Duij.     Isaiah  Ix.  1 . 

1  /^  Zion  tune  thy  voice, 

^^  Ani\  raise  tliv  liands  on  high ; 
Tell  all  the  earth  thy  joys, 
And  boast  salvation  nitjh  ; 

Cheerful  in  God, 

Arise  and  shine, 

While  rays  divine 

Stream  all  abroad. 

2  He  gilds  thy  mourning  face 
With  beams  that  cannot  fade  ; 
His  all-resplendent  grace 

He  pours  around  thy  head  : 
The  nations  round, 
Thy  form  shall  view, 
With  lustre  new 
Divinely  crown'd. 

3  In  honour  to  his  name 
Reflect  that  sacred  light ; 
And  loud  that  grace  proclaim. 
Which  makes  thy  darkness  bright : 

Pursue  his  praise, 
Till  sovereign  love 
In  Avorlds  above 
The  glory  raise. 

4  There  on  his  holy  hill 

A  brighter  sun  shall  rise, 
And  with  his  radiance  fill 
Those  fairer  purer  skies  ; 

While  round  his  throne 

Ten  thousand  stars 

In  nobler  spheres  * 

His  influence  own. 

CXIX.  God  the  ezerlusting  Light  of  the  Saints  above.     Isaiah  Ix.  CO. 

1  \^E  golden  lamps  of  heaven,  farevvel, 

With  all  your  feeble  light ; 
Farevvel,  thou  ever-changing  moon, 
Pale  empress  of  the  night. 

2  And  thou,  refulgent  orb  of  day, 

In  brighter  flames  array'd  ; 
My  soul,  that  springs  beyond  thy  sphere, 
No  more  demands  thine  aid. 

3  Ye  stars  are  but  the  shining  dust 

Of  my  divine  abode, 

*  Orbs,  or  paths,  in  which  the  stars  tnovp. 


500  ISAIAH. 

The  pavement  of  those  heavenly  courts. 
Where  I  shall  reign  with  God. 

4  The  Father  of  eternal  light 

Shall  there  his  beams  display, 
Nor  shall  one  moment's  darkness  mix 
With  that  unvaried  day. 

5  No  more  the  drops  of  piercing  grief 

Shall  swell  into  mine  eyes, 
Nor  the  meridian  sun  decline 
Amidst  those  brighter  skies. 

6  There  all  the  millions  of  his  saints 

Shall  in  one  song  unite. 
And  each  the  bliss  of  all  shall  view 
With  infinite  delight. 

CXX.  Godintreatedfor  Zion.     Isaiah  Ixii.  6,  7. 

FOR  A  fast-day;  or  a  day  of  prayer  for  the  re- 
vival   OF    RELIGION. 

1  INDULGENT  Sovereign  of  the  skies, 
-*•  And  wilt  thou  bow  thy  gracious  ear  ? 
While  feeble  mortals  raise  their  cries, 
Wilt  thou,  the  great  Jehovah,  hear? 

2  How  shall  thy  servants  give  thee  rest, 
Till  Zion's  mouldering  walls  thou  raise? 
Till  thy  own  power  shall  stand  confess'd. 
And  make  Jerusalem  a  praise  ? 

3  For  this,  a  lowly  suppliant  crowd 
Herein  thy  sacred  temple  wait: 
For  this,  we  lift  our  voices  loud. 
And  call,  and  knock  at  mercy's  gate. 

4  Look  down,  O  God,  with  pitying  eye. 
And  view  the  desolation  round  ; 

See  what  wide  realms  in  darkness  lie. 
And  hurl  their  idols  to  the  ground. 

5  Loud  let  the  gospel-trumpet  blow, 
And  call  the  nations  from  afar; 
Let  all  the  Isles  their  Saviour  know, 
And  earth's  remotest  ends  draw  near. 

6  Let  Babylon's  proud  altars  shake. 
And  light  invade  her  darkest  gloom ; 
Tlie  yoke  of  iron  bondage  break. 
The  yoke  of  Satan,  and  of  Rome. 

7  Witli  gentle  beams  on  Britain  shine. 
And  bless  her  princes,  and  her  priests ; 
And,  by  thine  energy  divine. 

Let  sacred  love  o'erliow  their  breasts* 


ISAIAH.  501 

8  Triumphant  here  let  Jesus  reign, 
And  oil  his  vineyiird  sweetly  smile  ; 
While  ail  the  virtues  of  his  train 
Adorn  our  church,  adorn  our  isle. 

9  On  all  our  souls  let  grace  descend, 
Like  heavenly  dew  in  copious  showers; 
That  we  may  call  our  God  our  friend, 
That  we  may  hail  salvation  ours. 

10  Then  shall  each  age  and  rank  agree 
United  shouts  of  joy  to  raise  ; 
And  Zion,  made  a  praise  by  thee, 
To  thee  shall  render  back  the  praise. 

CXXI.    A  Nation  born  in  a  Day !  or.  The  rapid  Progress  of  Oic 
Gospel  desired.      Isaiah  Ixvi.  8. 

1  TOEHOLD  with  pleasing  ecstasy 

The  gospel  standard  lifted  high, 
That  all  the  nations  from  afar 
May  in  the  great  salvation  share  ! 

2  Why  then,  Almighty  Saviour,  why 
Do  wretched  souls  in  millions  die  ? 
While  wide  th'  infernal  tyrant  reigns 
O'er  spacious  realms  in  ponderous  chains. 

3  And  shall  he  still  go  on  to  boast, 
Thy  cross  its  energy  hath  lost  ? 

And  shall  thy  servants  still  complain, 
Their  labours,  and  their  tears  are  vaui  ? 

4  Awake,  all-conquering  arm,  awake. 
And  hell's  extensive  empire  shake  j 
Assert  the  honours  of  thy  throne, 

And  call  this  ruin'd  world  thy  own.  ' 

5  Thine  all  successful  power  display  ; 
Produce  a  nation  in  a  day  ; 

For  at  thy  word  this  barren  earth 
Sliall  travail  with  a  general  birth. 

6  Swift  let  thy  quickening  spirit  breathe 
On  these  abodes  of  sin  and  death  ! 

That  breath  shall  bow  ten  thousand  minds. 
Like  waving  corn  before  the  winds. 

1  Scarce  can  our  glowing  hearts  endure 
A  world,  wlicre  thou  art  known  no  more  ; 
Transform  it.  Lord,  by  concjucring  love; 
Or  bear  us  to  the  realms  above. 
VOL.  III.  3  II 


502  JEREMIAH. 

CXXII.    Backsliding  Israel  invited  to  return  to  God.    Jeremiah 
iiL  12,  13. 

1  gACKSLIDING  Israel,  hear  the  voice 

Of  thy  forgiving  God, 
Nor  force  such  goodness  to  exert 
The  terrors  of  the  rod. 

2  Thus saith  the  Lord,  "  My  mercy  flo\vs 

"  An  unexhausted  stream, 
"  And,  after  all  its  millions  sav'd, 
"  Its  sway  is  still  supreme. 

3  "  One  moment's  wrath  with  weighty  crush 

"  JNIight  sink  you  quick  to  hell  ; 
"  Yet  mercy  points  the  happy  path, 
"  Where  life  and  glory  dwell. 

4  "  Own  but  the  follies  thou  hast  done, 

*'  And  mourn  thy  sins  in  dust, 
*'  And  soon  thy  trembling  heart  shall  learn 
"  To  hope,  and  love,  and  trust." 

5  All-gracious  God,  thy  voice  we  own. 

And,  prostrate  at  thy  feet. 
Our  souls  in  humble  silence  Avait 
A  pardon  there  to  meet. 

CXXIII.    Tli€  Goodness  of  God  acknotvledged  in  gvcing  Pastors  after 
his  oim  Heart.    Jeremiah  iii.  15. 

AT    THE    SETTLEMENT    OF    A    MINISTER. 

1  CHEPHERD  of  Israel,  thou  dost  keep 

With  constant  care  thy  humble  sheep  j; 
By  thee  inferior  pastors  rise 
To  feed  our  souls,  and  bless  our  eyes. 

2  To  all  thy  churches  such  impart, 
ModcU'd  by  thy  own  gracious  heart  ; 
Whose  courage,  watchfulness,  and  loA'e 
Men  may  attest,  and  God  approve. 

3  Fed  by  their  active  tender  care. 
Healthful  may  all  thy  sheep  appear. 
And,  by  their  fair  example  led. 
The  way  to  Zion's  pastures  tread. 

4  Here  hast  thou  listcn'd  to  our  vows, 
And  scatter'd  blessings  on  thy  house  ; 
Thy  saints  are  succour'd,  and  no  more 
As  sheep  without  a  guide  deplore. 

5  Completely  heal  each  former  stroke, 
And  bless  the  Shepherd  and  the  flock ; 
Confirm  the  hopes  thy  mercies  raise, 
And  own  this  tribute  of  our  praise. 


JEREMIAH.  503 

CXXIV.  God's  gracious  .^fethods  of  adopting  Love.  Jeremiah  iii.  19. 

1  A  MAZING  plan  of  sovereiErn  love  ! 
-^^  And  cloth  our  God  look  down 

On  rebels,  whom  his  wrath  might  doom 
To  perish  at  his  frown  ? 

2  Doth  he  project  a  wonderous  scheme 

In  such  a  way  to  save, 
That  justice,  majestv,  and  grace, 
IVIay  one  joint  triiunph  have  ? 

3  One  look  the  stubborn  hearts  subdues, 

And  at  his  feet  they  fall  ; 
They  own  their  Father  with  delight, 
And  he  receives  theui  all. 

4  Number'd  amongst  his  dearest  sons, 

The  pleasant  land  they  share  ; 

On  earth  secur'd  by  power  divine, 

Till  crown'd  with  glory  there. 

5  Father,  in  thine  embraces  lodg'd, 

Our  heaven  begun  we  feci, 
And  wait  the  hour,  which  thou  shalt  mark 
Thy  counsels  to  fulfil. 

CXXV.     Creatures  vain,  and  God  the  Salvation  of  his  People. 
Jercmiali  iii.  23. 


H' 


row  long  shall  dreams  of  creature- bliss 
Our  tiatteriug  hopes  employ, 
And  mock  our  fond  deluded  eyes 
With  visionar}'  *  joy  ? 

2  Why  from  the  mountains  and  the  hills 

Is  om-  salvation  sought, 
While  our  eternal  rock's  forsook, 
And  Irael's  God  forgot  ? 

3  The  living  spring  neglected  flows 

Full  in  our  daily  view, 
Vet  we  with  anxious  fruitless  toil 
Our  broken  cisterns  hew. 

4  These  fatal  errors,  gracious  God, 

With  gentle  pity  see  ; 
To  thee  our  roving  eyes  direct. 
And  fix  our  souls  on  thee. 


CX\\  1.     Invitation  to  return  to  the  Lord,  and  put  anaiy  Ahominu- 
tions.     Jeremiah  iv.  \,2. 
"T  is  the  Lord  of  glory  calls, 
O  let  his  Israel  hear  : 

*  Tlie  appearancp  of  joy. 
3R  2 


I 


504  JEREMIAH. 

"  Stop,  ye  revolters,  in  your  course, 
*'  And  hearken,  and  come  near. 

2  "  What  though  in  sin's  delusive  paths 

"  Ye  from  your  youth  have  stray 'd  ; 
**  What  though  my  messages  of  love 
**  Have  been  with  scorn  repay'd  ; 

3  "  At  last  return,  and  grace  divine 

*'  Your  wanderings  shall  forget ; 
''  If  loyal  zeal  and  love  dethrone 
*'  Each  idol  from  its  seat. 

4  "  Return,  and  dwell  secure  on  earth, 

*'  As  in  your  Lord's  embrace, 
*'  Till  in  the  land  of  perfect  joy 
"  Ye  find  a  nobler  place." 

5  Father  of  mercies,  lo,  we  come, 

Subdu'd  by  such  a  call : 
O  let  the  hand  of  grace  divme 
Reduce,  and  bless  us  all. 

6  So  will  we  teach  the  world  that  love. 

Which  we  are  made  to  see, 
And  wanderers  shall  with  us  return. 
And  bless  themselves  in  thee. 

CXXMI.      Misimproved  Privileges,  arid  disappointed  Hopes. 
Jeremiah  viii.  20. 

1  A  LAS,  how  fast  our  moments  fly  ! 
■^^  How  short  our  months  appear  ! 
How  swift  through  various  seasons  hastes 

The  still-revolving  year  I 

2  Seasons  of  grace,  and  days  of  hope, 

While  Jesus  waiting  stands, 
And  spreads  the  blessings  of  his  love 
With  wide-extended  hands. 

3  But  O  !  how  slow  our  stupid  souls 

These  blessings  to  secure  ! 
Blessings,  which  through  eternal  years 
Unwithering  shall  endure. 

4  Beneath  the  Avord  of  life  we  die  ; 

We  starve  amidst  our  store  ; 
And  what  salvation  should  impart, 
Heigrhtens  our  ruin  more. 

5  Pity  this  madness,  God  of  love. 

And  m;ike  us  truly  wise  : 
So  from  the  pregnant  seeds  of  grace 
Shall  glorious  harvests  rise. 


JEREMIAH.  505 

CXXVni .     Giorying  in  God  alone.     Jcrcmiali  ix.  23,  24. 

1  'T'HF,  righteous  Lord,siiprcmclv  great, 

MaintaJDs  his  universal  state  ; 
O'er  all  the  earth  his  power  extends, 
All  heaven  before  his  tootstool  bends. 

2  Yet  justice  still  with  power  presides, 
And  mercy  all  bis  empire  guides  ; 
Such  works  are  pleasing  in  hissirrht, 
And  such  the  men  of  his  delioht. 

o 

3  No  more,  ye  wise,  your  wisdom  boast : 
No  more,  ye  strong,  your  valour  trust : 
Nor  let  the  rich  survey  his  store, 
Elate  with  heaps  of  shining  ore. 

4  Glory,  my  soul,  in  this  alone, 

That  God,  thy  God,  to  thee  is  known. 
That  thou  hast  own'd  his  sovereign  swayj 
That  thou  hast  felt  his  cheering  ray, 

5  My  wisdom,  wealth,  and  power  I  find 
In  one  Jehovah  all  combin'd  ; 

On  him  I  fix  my  roving  eyes, 
Till  all  my  soul  in  rapture  rise. 

6  All  else,  which  I  my  treasure  call, 
May  in  one  fatal  moment  fall  ; 
But  what  his  happiness  can  move, 
Whom  God  the  blessed  deigns  to  love? 

CXXIX.    Jeremiah's  Tears  oi-er  the  captive  Flock.    Jeremiah 
xiii.  15 — 17. 

1  pLOW  on,  my  tears,  in  rising  streams. 

Ye  briny  fountams,  flow  ; 
While  haughty  sinners  steel  their  hearts, 
Nor  will  Jehovah  know  ! 

2  The  flock  of  God  is  captive  led 

In  Satan's  heavy  chains; 
Led  to  the  borders  of  the  pit, 
Where  endless  horror  reigns. 

3  Lookback,  ye  captives,  and  invoke 

Jehovah's  saving  aid ; 
Give  him  the  glory  of  his  name, 
Whose  hand  your  nature  made. 

4  O  turn,  ere  yet  your  erring  feet 

On  death's  dark  mountain  fall  ; 
Cry,  and  your  gentle  Shepherd's  ear 
Will  hearken  to  your  call. 

5  Then  shall  those  hearts  with  pleasure  spring, 

Which  now  in  sorrow  inch  j 


506  JEREMIAH. 

And  deep  repentance  yield  a  joy- 
Proud  guilt  hath  never  felt. 

6  Almicjhty  grace,  exert  thy  power, 
And  turn  these  slaves  of  sin  ; 
And,  when  they  bring  thy  tribute  due, 
Shall  their  own  bliss  begin. 

CXXX.    Givwg  Gbry  to  God,   before  Darkness  comes  upon  us. 
Jeremiali  xiii.  16. 

1  'T'HE  swift-declining  day, 

How  fast  its  moments  fly  ! 
While  evening's  broad  and  gloomy  shade 
Gains  on  the  western  sky. 

2  Ye  mortals,  mark  its  pace, 
And  use  the  hours  of  light ; 

And  know,  its  Maker  can  command 
An  instantaneous  *  night. 

3  His  word  blots  out  the  sun 
In  its  meridian  blaze  ; 

And  cuts  from  smiling  vigorous  youth 
The  remnant  of  its  days. 

4  On  the  dark  mountain's  brow 
Your  feet  shall  quickly  slide  ; 

And  from  its  airy  summit  dash 
Your  momentary  pride. 

5  Give  glory  to  the  Lord, 

Who  rules  the  whirling  sphere  f; 
Submissive  at  his  footstool  bow. 

And  seek  salvation  there.  i 

6  Then  shall  new  lustre  break 
Through  horror's  darkest  gloom, 

And  lead  you  to  unchanging  light 
In  a  celestial  home. 

CXXX  I.  The  fatal  Consequences  of  forsaking  the  Hope  qf  Israel. 
Jeremiah  xvii.  .13,  14. 

1  r~^REAT  object  of  thine  Israel's  hope, 
^^  Its  Saviour,  and  its  praise. 
Attend,  while  we  to  thee  devote 

The  remnant  of  our  days. 

2  How  wretched  they  that  leave  the  Lord, 

And  from  his  word  withdraw. 
That  lose  his  gospel  from  their  sight. 
And  wander  from  his  law  ! 

■'■f  Sudden.  +  The  revolution  of  the  sun,  moon,  and  stars. 


JEREMIAH.  .^07 

3  O  thou  eternal  sprin<r  offrooil, 

Wliciice  Jiving-  waters  How, 
Let  not  our  thirsty  erring  souls 
To  broken  cisterns  go  ! 

4  Like  characters  inscrib'd  in  dust 

Arc  sinners  borne  away; 
And  alJ  the  treasures  they  can  boast, 
TJie  portion  of  a  day. 

5  But,  Lord,  to  thee  my  heart  shall  turn 

To  heal  it,  and  to  save  ; 
The  joys,  tliat  from  thy  favour  flow, 
Shall  bloom  beyond  the  grave. 

CXXXII.  C/iriit,  the  Lord  our  Righteousness.    Jereniiali  xxiii.  C. 
'   j§AVIOUR  divine,  we  know  thy  name, 
And  in  that  name  we  trust ; 
Thou  art  the  Lord  our  righteousness, 
Thou  art  thine  Israel's  boast. 

2  Guilty  we  plead  before  thy  throne, 

And  low  in  dust  we  lie, " 
Till  .Jesus  stretch  his  gracious  arm 
To  bring  the  guilty  nigh. 

3  The  sins  of  one  most  righteous  day 

Might  plunge  us  in  despair  ; 
Yet  all  the  crimes  of  numerous  years 
Shall  our  great  surety  clear. 

4  That  spotless  robe,  which  he  hath  wrought. 

Shall  deck  us  all  around  ; 
Nor  by  the  piercing  eye  of  God 
Oi>e  blemish  shall  be  found. 

5  Pardon,  and  peace,  and  lively  hope 

To  sinners  now  are  given  ; 
Israel  and  Judah  soon  shall  clianfc 
Their  wilderness  for  heaven. 

6  With  joy  we  taste  that  manna  now. 

Thy  mercy  scatters  down; 
We  seal  our  humble  vows  to  thee 
And  wait  the  promised  crown. 

CXXXIII.  The  Efficacy  of  God's  ff'ord.    Jcremiali  xxiii.  29. 
1  W/'ITH  reverend  awe,  tremendous  Lord, 
We  hear  the  thunders  of  thy  Mord  ; 
The  pride  of  l^banon  it  breaks: 
Swift  the  celestial  fire  descends. 
The  flinty  rock  in  pieces  rends, 
And  earth  to  its  deep  centre  shakes. 


508  JEREMIAH. 

2  Array'd  in  majesty  divine, 
Here  sanctity  and  justice  siiine, 

And  horror  strikes  the  rebel  through; 
While  loud  this  awful  voice  makes  known 
The  wonders  which  thy  sword  hath  done. 

And  what  thy  vengeance  yet  shall  do. 

3  So  spread  the  honours  of  thy  name ; 
The  terrors  of  a  God  proclaim  ; 

Thick  let  the  pointed  arrows  fly; 
Till  sinners,  humbled  in  the  dust, 
Shall  own  the  execution  just, 

And  bless  the  hand  by  which  they  die. 

4  Then  clear  the  dark  tempestuous  day, 
And  radiant  beams  of  love  display  ; 

Each  prostrate  soul  let  mercy  raise : 
So  shall  the  bleeding  captives  feel, 
Thy  word,  which  gave  the  wound,  can  heal,. 

And  change  their  groans  to  songs  of  praise. 

CXXXIV.  The  Possibility  of  dying  this  Year.    Jeremiah  xxviii.  16. 

FOR    new-year's   day. 

1  /^OD  of  my  life,  thy  constant  care 

^-^  With  blessings  crowns  each  opening  year; 
This  guilty  life  dost  thou  prolong, 
And  wake  anew  mine  annual  song. 

2  How  many  precious  souls  are  fled 
To  the  vast  regions  of  the  dead, 
Since  from  this  day  the  changing  sun 
Through  his  last  yearly  period  run  ! 

3  We  yet  survive  ;  but  who  can  say,     . 
Or  through  the  year,  or  month,  or  day, 
*'  I  will  retain  this  vital  breath  ; 

*'  Thus  far  at  least  in  league  with  death*?" 

^  4  That  breath  is  thine,  eternal  God ; 

'Tis  thine  to  fix  my  soul's  abode ; 
It  holds  its  life  from  thee  alone. 
On  earth,  or  in  the  world  unknown. 

5  To  thee  our  spirits  we  resign ; 

Make  them,  and  own  them  still  as  thine; 
So  shall  they  smile,  secure  from  fear, 
Though  death  should  blast  the  rising  year. 

6  Thy  children,  eager  to  be  gone, 
Bid  time's  impetuous  tide  roll  on. 
And  land  them  on  that  blooming  shore, 
Where  years  and  death  are  known  no  more. 

*  Isaiah  xxviii.  15. 


JEREMIAH.  -509 

CXXW.  God's  Coniplacenct/  in  his  Thoughts  of  Pence  toivardU  hit 
Fcople.    Jcreiiiiali  xxix.  11. 

1  T /'ILKIR  than  (hist,  ()  Lord,  are  we ; 

All  J  cl(nl»  tliiiio  aiigcr  cease  ? 
And  doth  thy  gracious  heart  o'erflow 
With  purposes  of"  peace? 

2  And  dost  thou  with  dehght  reflect 

On  what  thy  grace  shall  do  ? 
And  with  complacency  of  soul 
Enjoy  the  distant  view  ? 

3  And  can  thy  often-injur'd  love 

So  kind  a  messac^e  send, 
That  thou  to  all  our  Icngthen'd  woes 
Wilt  give  the  expected  end  ? 

4-  Whv  droop  our  hearts?  Why  flow  our  eyes, 
While  such  a  voice  we  hear? 
Whv  rise  our  sorrows  and  our  fears, 
While  such  a  friend  is  near? 

5  To  all  thy  other  favours  add 
A  hear^,  to  trust  thv  word, 
And  death  itself  shall  hear  us  sing, 
While  resting  on  the  Lord. 

C  XX  XVI.  The  impudent  Rebellion  of  the  Jeivish  Refuges  at  Pathroa, 

Jeremiah  xliv.  16,  17,  28. 

1  "VfZHOSE  words  against  the  Lord  are  stout  ? 

Or  who  presume  to  say, 
"  That  sovereign  law,  which  God  proclaims, 
"  I  dare  to  disobey !"' 

2  Ten  thousand  actions  every  where 

The  impious  language  sj)eak  : 
Yet  power  omnipotent  stands  by, 
Nor  do  its  thunders  break. 

3  But  O !  the  dreadful  day  draws  near. 

When  God's  avenging  hand 
Shall  shew,  if  feeble  mortals  breath. 
Or  God's  own  word  shall  stand. 

4  My  soul,  with  prostrate  reverence  fall. 

Before  the  voice  divine  ; 
And  all  thine  interest,  and  thy  powers 
To  its  command  resign. 

5  Speak,  mighty  Lord  ;  thy  servant  waits 

The  purport  of  thv  will  : 
VOL.  III.  3  S 


SlO  LAMENTATIONb. 

IVIv  heart  with  secret  ardour  glows 
Its  mandates*  to  fulfil. 

6  Let  the  vain  sons  of  Belial  boast 

Their  tongues  and  thoughts  are  free  ; 
Mv  noblest  liberty  1  own, 
When  subject  most  to  thee. 

CXXXVII.  Asking  thelVai/  to  Zion,  in  Order  to  joining  in  Covenant 
zvitk  God.    Jeremiah  1.  5. 

1  Tj^NQUIRE,  ye  pilgrims,  for  the  way, 
-■^  That  leads  to  Zion's  hill, 

And  thither  set  your  steady  face 
With  a  determin'd  will. 

2  Invite  the  strangers  all  around 

Your  pious  march  to  join  ; 
And  spread  the  sentiments  you  feel 
Of  faith  and  love  divine, 

3  Come,  let  us  to  his  temple  haste. 

And  seek  his  favour  there, 
Before  his  footstool  humbly  bow. 
And  pour  out  fervent  prayer. 

4  Come,  let  us  join  our  souls  to  God 

In  everlasting  bands, 
And  seize  the  blessings  he  bestows 
With  eager  hearts  and  hands. 

5  Come,  let  us  seal  Avithout  delay 

The  covenant  of  his  grace  ; 
Nor  shall  the  years  of  distant  life 
Its  memory  efface  f. 

6  Thus  may  our  rising  offspring  haste 

To  seek  their  father's  God, 
Nor  e'er  forsake  the  happy  path 
Their  youthful  feet  have  trod. 

C  XXXVI I  r.    Searching  and  trying  our  Ways.   Lamentations  iii.  40. 

1  npHY  piercing  eye,  O  God,  surveys 

■■•     The  various  windings  of  our  ways ; 
Teach  us  their  tendency  to  know. 
And  judge  the  paths  in  which  we  go. 

2  How  wild,  how  crooked  have  they  been  ! 
A  maze  of  foolishness  and  sin  ! 

With  all  the  light  we  vainly  boast, 
Leaving  our  guide,  our  souls  are  lost. 

*  Commands,  f  Blot  out,  destroy. 


EZEKir.L.  511 

3  Iliid  not  tliy  morcy  been  our  aiJ, 
So  latally  our  feet  had  stravM, 
Sicrn  justice  had  its  prisoners  led 
Down  to  the  rhumbers  of  the  dead. 

4  O  turn  us  back  to  thee  again, 

Or  we  shall  search  our  wavs  in  vain  ; 
Shine,  and  the  path  of  hfe  reveal, 
And  Ijcar  us  on  to  Zion's  hill. 

5  Roll  on,  ye  swift-revolving  years, 
And  end  this  round  of  sn)s  and  cares  ; 
iSo  more  a  wanderer  would  I  roam, 
But  near  my  Father  fix  at  home. 

CXXXIX.     7 he  Breath  nf  our  Nostrils  taktn  in  the  Pits  of  the  Eiii- 
my;  applied  to  Christ.     Lamentations  i  v.  20. 

1  T)  LKST  Saviour,  to  my  heart  more  dear 

Then  balmv  t^ales  of  vital  air  ; 
AW're  thy  sonl-eheering  presence  gone, 
^V'hat  use  of  breath,  unless  to  groan? 

2  Thy  Father's  royal  hand  hath  shed. 
In  rich  profusion  on  thy  head, 
Ten  thousand  graces ;  Thou  alone 
Canst  share,  and  canst  adorn  his  throne. 

3  But  see  the  Sovereign  captive  led, 
Snar'd  in  the  pit,  Avhich  traitors  made, 
Fetter'd  with  ignominious  bands, 
And  murder'd  by  rebellious  hands. 

4  Ye  saints,  to  your  expiring  King, 
Your  tributary  sorrows  bring  : 

In  loyal  crouds  assemble  round. 

And  bathe  in  tears  each  precious  wound. 

5  But  from  the  caverns  of  the  grave 
He  springs,  omnipotent  to  save; 
Tl)e  Ca))tive-King  ascends  and  reigns, 
And  drags  his  conquered  foes  in  chains, 

6  Beneath  his  shade  our  souls  shall  live. 
In  all  the  rapture  heaven  can  give  ; 
Where  Zion  never  shall  deplore, 
And  heathens  vex  his  churcli  uo  more. 

CXL.     Of  lamenting  luitinnal  Sins.     Ezckiel  ix.  4 — G. 

FOR    A    FAST-DAY. 

1   r\  Righteous  God,  thou  Judge  supreme, 
Wc  tremble  at  thy  dreadful  name, 
And  all  our  crvuie:  suilt  we  own 
In  dust  and  tears  before  thy  tlirone. 
3  S  2 


512  EZEKIEL. 

2  So  manifold  our  crimes  have  been, 
Such  crimson  tincture  dyes  our  sin. 
That,  could  we  all  its  horrors  know, 
Our  streaming  eyes  with  blood  might  flow. 

3  Britain,  the  land  thine  arm  hath  sav'd, 
That  arm  most  impiously  hath  brav'd  ; 
Britain,  the  Isle  its  God  hath  lov'd, 

A  rebel  to  that  love  hath  prov'd. 

4  Estrang'd  from  reverential  awe. 
We  trample  on  thy  sacred  law  ; 

And,  though  such  wonders  grace  hathdone^ 
Anew  we  crucify  thy  Son. 

5  Justly  might  this  polluted  land 
Prove  all  the  vengeance  of  thy  hand  ; 

And,  bath'd  in  heaven*,  thy  sword  might  conae 
To  drink  our  blood,  and  seal  our  doom. 

6  Yet  hast  thou  not  a  remnant  here. 
Whose  souls  are  fiU'd  with  pious  fear  ? 
O  bring  thy  wonted  mercy  nigh. 
While  prostrate  at  thy  feet  they  lie. 

7  Behold  their  tears,  attend  their  moan, 
Nor  turn  away  their  secret  groan  : 
With  these  we  join  our  humble  prayer  ; 
Our  nation  shield,  our  country  spare. 

8  But  if  the  sentence  be  decreed. 

And  our  dear  native  land  must  bleed, 
By  thy  sure  mark  may  we  be  known, 
And  safe  in  life  or  death  thy  own. 

CXLI.     The  Iniquity  of  sacrificing  God's  Children;  or,  The  Evil  of 
a  bud  or  neglecled  Education.     Ezekiel  xvi.  20,  2 1  f. 

1  T3EHOLD,  O  Israel's  God, 

From  thine  exalted  throne, 
And  view  the  desolate  abode, 
Thou  once  hastcall'd  thy  own. 

2  The  children  of  thy  flock, 
By  early  covenant  thine. 

See  how  they  pour  their  bleeding  souls 
On  every  idol's  shrine  ! 

3  To  indolence  and  pride 
What  piteous  victims  made ! 

*  Isaiah  xxxiv.  5. 

t  Alluding  to  the  cruel  custom  among  some  heathens  of  SBcrif5cJn!» 
ttiiir  children  to  their  Gods,  to  which  there  are  frequent  references  in 
scripture . 


I 


EZEKIEL.  513 

Crusird  in  their  parent's  fond  embrace. 
And  by  their  care  betray'd. 

4  By  pleasure's  poHsh'd  dart 
What  numbers  here  are  slain  ! 

What  numbers  there  for  slauirhter  bound 
In  Mammon's  golden  chain  ! 

5  O  let  thine  arm  awake, 
And  dash  the  idols  down  ; 

O  call  the  captives  of  their  power 
Their  treasure,  and  thy  crown. 

6  Thee  let  the  fathers  own, 
And  thee  the  sons  adore, 

Join'd  to  the  Lord  by  solemn  vows, 
To  be  forgot  no  more. 

CXLII.  The  riumility  and  Submission  of  a  Penitent.  Kzekiel  xvl.  63. 

1  r\  Injur'd  Majesty  of  heaven, 
^^  Look  from  thy  holy  throne, 
While  prostrate  rebels  own  with  grief 

What  treasons  they  have  done. 

2  Thv  grace,  -when  sin  abounded  most. 

Reigns  with  superior  sway  ; 
And  pardons,  bought  with  Jesus'  blood. 
To  rebels  doth  display. 

3  While  love  its  grateful  anthems  tunes. 

Tears  mingle  with  the  song  ; 
My  heart  with  tender  anguish  bleeds. 
That  I  such  grace  should  wrong. 

4  How  shall  I  lift  these  guilty  eyes 

To  mine  offended  Lord  ? 
Or  how,  beneath  his  heaviest  strokes, 
Pronounce  one  murmuring  word  ? 

5  Remorse  and  shame  my  lips  have  scal'd  ; 

But  O  !  my  Father,  speak  ; 
And  all  the  harmony  of  heaven 
Shall  through  the  silence  break. 

CXLIir.    God  bringing  his  People  into  the  Covenant  under  the  Rod. 
Ezekifl  XX.  37. 

J        TLJOW  gracious  and  how  wise 
-^  ""^  Is  our  chastising  God  ! 
And  O  !  how  rich  the  blessings  are, 
Which  blossom  from  his  rod ! 

2       He  lifts  it  np  on  high 
With  pity  in  his  heart, 


514  EZEKIEL. 

That  every  stroke  his  children  feel 
May  grace  and  peace  impart. 

3  Instructed  thus  they  bow, 
x\nd  ovv'n  his  sovereign  sway  ; 

They  turn  their  erring  footsteps  back 
To  his  forsaken  way. 

4  His  covenant-love  they  seek, 
And  seek  the  happy  bands, 

That  closer  still  engage  their  hearts 
To  honour  his  commands. 

5  Dear  Father,  we  consent 
To  discipline  divine  ; 

And  bless  the  pains,  that  make  our  souls 
Still  more  completely  thine. 

CXLH''.     God's  Condescension  in  becoming  the  Shepherd  of  Men, 
Ezekiel  xxxiv.  31. 

1  A  ND  will  the  Majesty  of  heaven 

Accept  us  for  his  sheep  ? 
And  with  a  shepherd's  tender  care 
Such  worthless  creatures  keep  ? 

2  And  Avill  he  spread  his  guardian-arms 

Round  our  defenceless  head? 
And  cause  us  gently  to  lie  down 
In  his  refreshing  shade  ^ 

3  And  will  he  lead  our  weary  souls 

To  that  delightful  scene. 
Where  rivers  of  salvation  flow 
Through  pastures  ever  green  ? 

4  What  thanks  can  mortal  men  repay 

For  favours  great  as  thine  ? 
Or  how  can  tongues  of  feeble  clay 
Proclaim  such  love  divine  ? 

5  Eternal  God,  how  mean  are  we  ! 

How  richly  gracious  thou  I 
Our  souls,  o'erwhelm'd  with  humble  joy, 
In  silent  transports  bow. 

CXLV.    Seeking  to  God  for  the  Comnmnication  of  his  Spirit. 
Ezekiel  xxxvi.  37. 

1  TJEAR,  gracious  Sovereign,  from  thy  throne, 

And  send  thy  various  blessings  down  : 
While  bv  thine  Israel  thou  art  sought, 
Attend  the  prayer  thy  word  hath  taught, 

2  Come,  sacred  Spirit,  from  above, 
And  fill  the  coldest  heart  with  love  : 


,15 


P.7.F.K1EL. 

Softon  to  flesh  the  niL;t!;c'd  stone, 

Ami  let  tliy  godlike  power  be  knowi). 

3  Speak  thou,  and  from  the  haughtiest  eyes 
Shall  Hoods  of  |)ious  sorrow  rise  ; 
While  all  thiiir  glowing  souls  are  borne 
To  seek  that  grace,  which  now  they  scorn. 

4  O  let  a  holy  flock  await, 
Nunneronsaro\ind  thy  temple  gate, 
Kiu-li  pressing  on  with  zeal  to  be 

A  living  sacrifice  to  thee. 

5  In  answer  to  our  fervent  cries. 
Give  us  to  see  thy  church  arise  ; 
Or,  it'that  blessing  seem  too  great, 
Give  us  to  mourn  its  low  estate. 

CXLVI.  EzekiePs  Vision  of  the  dry  Bones.     Ezckicl  xxxvii.  3. 

1  T   OOK  down,  O  Lord,  with  pitying  eye; 
-^  See  Adam's  race  in  ruin  he  ; 

Sin  spreads  its  trophies  o'er  the  ground. 
And  scatters  slaughter'd  heaps  around. 

2  And  can  these  mouldering  corpses  live  ? 
And  can  these  perish'd  bones  revive  ? 
That,  mighty  God,  to  thee  is  known ; 
That  wondrous  Avork  is  all  thy  own. 

3  Thy  ministers  are  sent  in  vain 
To  prophecy  upon  the  slain  ; 

In  vain  they  call,  in  vain  they  cry, 
Till  thine  Almighty  aid  is  nigh. 

4  But  if  thy  Spirit  deign  to  breathe, 

Life  spreads  through  all  the  realms  of  death  ; 
Dry  bones  obev  thy  powerful  voice  ; 
They  move,  they  waken,  they  rejoice. 

5  So  when  thv  trumpet's  awful  sound 

Shall  shakethe  heavens,  and  rend  the  ground, 
Dead  saints  shall  from  their  tombs  arise, 
And  spring  to  life  beyond  the  skies. 

CXLMI    T/ieiraters  of  the  Sanctuary  healing  the  dead  Sea  *. 
Ezekiel  xlvii.  8,  9. 

1   f^  RK  AT  source  of  being  and  of  love, 
^^  Thou  waterest  all  the  worlds  above, 
And  all  the  joys  we  mortals  know. 
From  thine  exhaustless  fountain  flow. 

♦  The  sea  or  lake,  where  S..dom,  Gomorrah,  &c.  had  stoo<l,  whi.h 
tras  putrid  and  poisonous j  and  ancient  wntcrs  say,  that  no  lish  cuuld  hvo 
in  it. 


51^  DANIEL. 

2  A  sacred  spring,  at  thy  command, 
From  Zion's  mount,  in  Canaan's  Jand, 
Beside  thy  temple,  cleaves  the  ground. 
And  pours  its  limpid  stream  around. 

3  The  limpid  stream  with  sudden  force 
Swells  to  a  river  in  its  course; 
Through  desart  realms  its  windings  play. 
And  scatter  blessings  ail  the  way. 

4  Close  by  its  banks  in  order  fair. 
The  blooming  trees  of  life  appear  ; 
Their  blossoms  fragrant  odours  give, 
And  on  their  fruit  the  nations  live. 

5  To  the  dead  sea  the  waters  flow, 
And  carry  healing  as  they  go ; 

Its  poisonous  dregs  their  power  confess. 
And  all  its  shores  the  fountain  bless. 

6  Mow,  wondrous  stream,  with  glory  crown'd, 
tl'iow  on  to  earth's  remotest  bound; 

And  bear  us  on  thy  gentle  wave 
To  him,  who  all  thy  vu'tues  gave. 

CXl.Vril.  Tekel;  or,  The  Sinner  iveighed  in  God's  Balances,  and 
found  iLWiting.    Daniel  v,  27. 

1  "D  ATSEj  thoughtless  sinner,  raise  thine  eye ; 

Behold  God's  balance  lifted  high ; 
There  shall  his  justice  be  display'd, 
And  there  thy  hope  and  life  be  weigh'd. 

2  See  in  one  scale  his  perfect  law; 
Mark  with  what  force  its  precepts  draw: 
Wouldst  thou  the  awful  test  sustain, 

Thy  works  how  light !  thy  thoughts  how  vain ! 

3  Behold  the  hand  of  God  appears 
To  trace  these  dreadful  characters; 
*'  Tekel,  thy  soul  is  wanting  found, 

"  And  wrath  shall  smite  thee  to  the  ground." 

4  Let  sudden  fear  thy  nerves  unbrace  ; 
Let  horror  shake  thy  tottering  knees*; 
Through  all  thy  thoughts  let  anguish  rollj 
And  deep  repentance  melt  thy  soul. 

5  One  only  hope  may  yet  prevail ; 
Christ  hath  a  weight  to  turn  the  scale ; 
Still  doth  the  gospel  publish  peace, 
And  shew  a  Saviour's  righteousness, 

*  Compare  verse  6. 


HOSEA.  511 

G  Great  God,  exert  tliy  power  to  save; 
Deep  oil  tlie  heart  these  truths  eiij^rave; 
The  ponderous  load  of  guilt  remove, 
'I'hat  trembhug  lips  may  sing  thy  love. 

CXLIX.  The  Backslider  recollecting  himself  in  his  Affiidions. 
IlosL'ii  ii,  (j,  7. 

1  'T'HE  Lord,  how  kind  are  all  his  ways, 

■■-     When  most  they  seem  severe ! 
lie  frowns,  and  seourges,  and  rebukes, 
That  \ve  may  learn  his  fear. 

2  With  thorns  he  fences  up  our  path. 

And  builds  a  wall  around. 
To  guard  us  from  the  death,  that  lurks 
In  sin's  forbidden  ground. 

3  When  other  lovers,  sought  in  vain, 

Our  fond  address  despise. 
He  opens  his  indulgent  arms 
With  pity  in  his  eyes. 

4  Return,  ye  wandering  souls,  return, 

And  seek  his  tender  breast; 
Call  back  the  memory  of  the  days, 
When  tiiere  you  found  your  rest. 

5  Behold,  O  Lord,  we  fly  to  thee. 

Though  blushes  veil  our  face, 
C'onstrain'd  our  last  retreat  to  seek 
In  thy  much-injur'd  grace. 

CL.  The  Advantages  of  seeking  tite  Knowledge  of  God.     Mosoa  vi.  3. 

1  CHINE  forth,  eternal  source*  of  light. 

And  make  thy  glories  known; 
Fill  our  enlarg'd  adoring  sight 
With  lustre  all  thy  own. 

2  Vain  are  the  charms,  and  faint  the  rays 

The  brightest  creature  j  boast ; 
And  all  their  grandeur,  and  their  praise 
Is  in  thy  presence  lost. 

3  To  know  the  author  of  our  frame 

Is  our  sublimest  skill : 
True  science  is  to  read  thy  name. 
True  life  t'  obey  thy  will. 

*  Fountain  or  original. 
VOL.  III.  3T 


Sm  HOSEA. 

4  For  this  I  long,  for  this  I  pray, 
And  following  on  pursue, 
Till  visions  of  eternal  day 
Fix  and  complete  the  view. 

CLI.  Inconstancy  in  Religion.    Hosca  vi.  4. 

1  PERPETUAL  source  of  light  and  grace, 

We  hail  thy  sacred  name  : 
Through  every  year's  revolving  round 
Thy  goodness  is  the  same. 

2  On  us,  all  worthless  as  we  are. 

Its  wondrous  mercy  pours  ; 
Sure  as  the  heaven's  establish'd  course. 
And  plenteous  as  the  showers, 

8  Inconstant  service  we  repay. 

And  treacherous  vows  renew  ; 
False  as  the  morning's  scattering  cloud. 
And  transient  as  the  dew. 

4  In  flowing  tears  our  guilt  we  mourn, 

And  loud  implore  thy  grace 
To  bear  our  feeble  footsteps  on 
In  all  thy  righteous  ways. 

5  Arm'd  with  this  energy  divine. 

Our  souls  shall  stedfast  move  ; 
And  with  increasing  transport  press 
On  to  thy  courts  above. 

6  So  by  thy  power  the  morning  sun 

Pursues  his  radiant  way, 
Brightens  each  moment  in  his  race, 
And  shines  to  perfect  day. 

CLII.  Gratitude  ilie  Spnng  of  true  Religimi.     Hosea  xi.  4: 

1  IV/f  Y  God,  what  silken  cords  are  thine  ! 

How  soft,  and  yet  how  strong  ! 
While  power,  and  truth,  and  love  combine 
To  draw  our  souls  along. 

2  Thou  saw'st  us  crush'd  beneath  the  yoke 

Of  Satan  and  of  sin  : 
Thy  hand  the  iron  bondage  broke 
Our  Avorthless  hearts  to  win. 

3  The  guilt  of  twice  ten  thousand  sins 

One  moment  takes  away ; 
And  grace,  when  first  the  war  begins. 
Secures  the  crowning  day. 


AMOS. 


519 


I 


4  Comfort  tlirough  all  this  vale  of  tears 

1m  rich  profusion  Hows, 
And  calory  of  unniimbcr'd  years 
Kternity  bestows. 

5  Drawn  by  such  cords  we  onward  move. 

Till  round  thy  throne  we  meet ; 
And,  captives  in  the  chains  of  love. 
Embrace  our  conqueror's  feeti 

CLIII   The  Relentings  of  God's  Heart  over  his  backsliding  People. 
IIosfaxi.7,8,  9. 

YE  sinners  on  backsliding  bent, 
God's  gracious  call  attend  ; 
Shall  not  compassion  so  divine 
Each  stubborn  spirit  bend  ? 

2  "  How  shall  I  give  mine  Israel  up 
**  To  ruin  and  despair  ? 

<'  How  pour  down  showers  of  flaming  wrath, 
"  And  make  a  Sodom  there  ? 

3  "  My  bowels  strong  relcntings  feel ; 
"My  heart  is  pain'd  within  : 

"  1  will  not  all  my  wrath  exert, 
"  Nor  visit  all  their  sin. 

4  '•  The  mercy  of  a  God  restrains 
"  The  thunders  of  his  hand  : 

<«  Come,  seek  protection  from  that  power, 
♦'  Which  you  can  ne'er  withstand." 

5  With  trembling  haste,  O  God,  to  tliee 
Let  sinners  wing  their  flight ; 

As  doves,  when  birds  of  prey  pursue, 
Down  on  their  windows  light. 
G  Father,  we  seek  thy  gracious  arm, 
All  melted  at  thy  voice  : 
O  nuiy  thy  heart,  that  feels  our  woes, 
111  our  return  rejoice. 

CL^'.  Gods  Coiitroversij  by  fire.     Ainos  iv.  1 1. 

ON-    OCCASION    OF    A    I^RKADfUL    FiRF- 

1  T7TKRNAI.  God,  our  huuil)led  souh 
^   H.'foie  thy  presence,  bow  : 
With  all  iliy  magazines  of  wrath, 

How  terrible  art  thou  ! 

2  Fann'd  by  thy  breath,  whole  sheets  of  flame 
Do  like  a  deluge  pour  ; 

And  all  our  confulenr.e  of  wealth 
Lies  moulder'd  in  an  hour. 
3  T  2 


520  AMOS. 

3  Led  on  by  thee  in  horrid  pomp, 

Destruction  rears  its  head ; 
And  blacken'd  walls,  and  smoaking  heaps, 
Through  all  the  street  are  spread. 

4  Lord,  in'the  dust  we  lay  us  down, 

And  rnourn  thy  righteous  ire* ; 

Yet  bless  the  hand  of  guardian -love, 

That  snatch'd  us  from  the  fire. 

5  O  that  the  hateful  dregs  of  sin 

Like  dross  had  peri&h'd  there  ; 

That  in  fair  lines  our  purged  souls 

Might  thy  bright  image  bear. 

6  So  shall  we  view  with  dauntless  eyes 

The  last  tremendous  day, 
When  earth  and  seas,  and  stars  and  skies, 
In  flames  shall  melt  away. 

CLV.  Britain  unreformed  by  remarkable  Deliverances.    Amos  iv.  1 1. 

FOR    A    FAST-DAY. 

1  "VT'ES,  Britain  seem'd  to  ruindoom'd, 

Just  like  a  burning  brand  ; 
Till  snatch'd  from  fierce  surrounding  flames 
By  God's  indulgent  hand. 

2  "  Once  more,"  he  says,  "  I  will  suppress 

*'  The  wrath,  that  sin  would  wake  ; 
"  Once  more  my  patience  shall  attend, 
*'  And  call  my  Britain  back," 

3  But  who  this  clemency  reveres  ? 

Or  feels  this  melting  grace? 
Who  stirs  his  languid  spirit  up 
To  seek  thine  awful  face  ? 

4  On  days  like  these  we  pour  our  cries. 

And  at  thy  feet  we  mourn  ; 
Then  rise  to  tempt  thy  wrath  again. 
And  to  our  sins  return. 

5  Our  nation  far  from  God  remains, 

Far,  as  in  distant  years  ; 
And  the  small  remnant  that  is  found, 
A  dying  aspect  wears. 

6  Chasten'd  and  rescu'd  thus  in  vain, 

Thy  righteous  hand  severe 
Into  the  flames  might  hurl  us  back. 
And  quite  consume  us  there, 

*  Ansfcr. 


JONAH.  521 

7  So,  by  the  lij^lit  our  hurninfj  gives, 

Mi«j;lit  iit'i<;libourlng  nations  read, 
How  terrible  tliy  jucltijnients  are, 
And  leurn  our  guilt  to  dread. 

8  Yet  'miclst  the  cry  of  sins  like  ours, 

Incline  thy  gracious  ear  ; 
And  thy  omu  children's  feeble  cry 
With  soft  couipassion  hear. 

9  O  by  thv  sacred  spirit's  breath 

Kindle  a  holy  flanie  ; 
Refine  the  land  thou  niight'st  destroy, 
And  magnify  thy  name. 

CIA'L     Priparing  to  meet  Gnd.     Amos  i v.  12,  13. 

1  T-JK  comes,  thy  God,  O  Israel,  comes  ; 

Prepare  thy  (jod  to  meet : 
Meet  him  in  battle's  force  arra}'d, 
Or  humbled  at  his  feet. 

2  He  form'd  the  mountains  by  his  strength  ; 

He  makes  the  winds  to  blow  ; 
And  all  the  secret  thoughts  of  man 
i\Iust  his  Creator  know. 

3  He  shades  the  morning's  opening  rays  ; 

He  shakes  the  solid  world  ; 
And  stars  and  angels  from  their  seats 
Arc  by  his  thunder  hurl'd. 

4  Eternal  Sovereign  of  the  skies  ! 

And  shall  thine  Israel  dare 
In  mad  rebellion  to  arise. 
And  tempt  the  unequal  war  ^ 

5  Lo,  nations  tremble  at  thy  frown, 

Aiul  faint  beneath  thy  rod  ; 
Cnish'd  by  its  gentlest  movement  down. 
They  fall,  tremendous  God  I 

u  Avert  th<;  terrors  of  thy  wrath, 
And  let  thy  mercy  shine  ; 
^^'hile  humble  penitence  and  prajer 
Approve  u^  tridy  thine. 

CLVII,    Jonah's  Fiiith  recommended.    Jonah  ii.  4.. 

1    T    OllD,  we  have  broke  thy  holy  laws. 
And  slighted  all  thv  grace; 
.\nd  justly  thy  vindictive  *  wrath 
Might  cast  us  from  thy  face, 

*  Avengin?. 


4>23  MICAH. 

2  Yet  while  such  precedents  appear 

Mark'd  by  the  sacred  book, 
We  from  these  depths  of  guilt  and  feav 
Will  to  thy  temple  look. 

3  To  thee,  in  our  Redeemer's  name, 

We  raise  our  humble  cries  ; 
May  these  our  prayers,  perfum'd  by  him, 
Like  grateful  incense  rise. 

4  O  never  may  our  hopeless  eye? 

An  absent  God  deplore, 
Where  the  dear  temples  of  thy  love 
Shall  stand  reveal'd  no  more. 

5  Far  from  those  regions  of  despair 

Appoint  our  souls  a  place, 
Where  not  a  frown  through  endless  years 
Shall  veil  thy  lovely  face. 


CLVIII.    Go<rs  Controversy  ivith  Britain  stated  and  pleaded. 
Micah  vi.  1,  2,  3. 

FOR    A    FAST-DAY. 

J   T  ISTEN,  ye  hills ;  ye  mountains  hear  ; 
Jehovah  vindicates  his  laws  : 
Trembling  in  silence  at  his  bar, 
Thou  earth,  attend  thy  Maker's  cause. 

2  Israel  appear  ;  present  thy  plea  ; 
And  charge  the  Almighty  to  his  face  \ 
Say,  if  his  rules  oppressive  be  ; 

Say,  if  defective  be  his  grace. 

3  Eternal  Judge,  the  action  cease  ; 
Our  lips  are  seal'd  in  conscious  shame  ; 
'Tis  ours,  in  sackcloth  to  confess. 
And  thine,  the  sentence  to  proclaim. 

4  Ten  thousand  witnesses  arise  ; 

Thy  mercies,  and  our  crimes  appear, 
IVIore  than  the  stars  that  deck  the  skies. 
And  all  our  dreadful  guilt  declare. 

5  How  shall  we  come  before  thy  face. 
And  in  thine  awful  presence  bow  ? 
What  offers  can  secure  thy  grace. 
Or  calm  the  terrors  of  thy  brow  ? 

6  Thousands  of  rams  in  vain  might  bleed  ; 
Rivers  of  oil  might  blaze  in  vain  ; 

Or  the  first-born's  devoted  head 
With  horrid  gore  thine  altar  stkin 


MICAH.  523 

7  But  thy  own  Lamb,  all-gracious  God, 
Whom  impious  sinners  d;ir'd  to  slay, 
Hath  sovereign  virtue  in  his  blood 
To  purge  the  nation's  guilt  away. 

8  With  humble  faith  to  that  we  fly  ; 
With  that  be  Britain  sprinkled  o'er  ; 
Trembling  no  more  in  dust  we  lie, 
And  dread  thy  hand  and  bar  no  more. 

C  LI  X .     Hearing  the  Foice  of  God's  Rod.     M  icah  v  i .  9 . 

1  A  TTEND,  my  soul,  with  reverend  awe, 
-^-*'  The  dictates  of  thy  God  ; 

Silent  and  trembling  hear  the  voice 
Of  his  appointed  rod. 

2  Now  let  me  search  and  try  my  ways, 

And  prostrate  seek  his  face. 
Conscious  of  guilt  before  his  throne 
In  dust  my  soul  abase. 

3  Teach  me,  my  God,  what's  yet  unknown, 

And  all  my  crimes  forgive  ; 
Those  crimes  would  I  no  more  repeat. 
But  to  thy  honour  live. 

4  My  wither'd  joys  too  plainly  shew. 

That  all  on  earth  is  vain  ; 
In  God  my  wounded  heart  confides 
True  rest  and  bliss  to  gain. 

5  Father,  I  wait  thy  gracious  call. 

To  leave  this  mournful  land. 
And  bathe  in  rivers  of  delight, 
That  flow  at  thy  right  hand. 

CLX.     God^sincOMjxa-able  Mercy  admired.     Micah  vii.  18,  19,  20* 

1  CUPREME  in  mercy,  who  shall  dare 

With  thy  compassion  to  compare  ? 
For  thv  own  sake  wilt  thou  forgive, 
And  bid  the  trembling  sinner  live. 

2  Millions  of  our  transgressions  past, 
Cancell'd,  behind  thy  back  are  cast ; 
Thv  grace,  a  sea  without  a  shore, 
O'crflows  them,  and  they  rise  no  more. 

3  And  lest  new  legions  should  invade. 
And  make  the  pardon'd  soul  afraid, 
Our  inbred  lusts  thou  wilt  subdue. 
And  form  degenerate  hearts  anew. 


524-  ZEPHANIAH, 

4  Our  leader-God,  our  songs  proclaim  ; 
We  lift  our  banners  in  his  name  ; 
With  songs  of  triumph  forth  we  go, 
And  level  the  gigantic  foe. 

5  His  truth  to  Jacob  shall  prevail  ; 
His  oath  to  Abram  cannot  fail  ; 
The  hope  of  saints  in  ancient  days, 
Which  ages  yet  unborn  shall  praise. 

CLXI.     The  impoverished  Saint  rejoicing  in  God,     liabakkuk  iii. 

17,  18. 

1  Co  firm  the  saint's  foundations  stand, 

Nor  can  his  hopes  remove  ; 
Sustain'd  by  God's  Almighty  hand. 
And  shelter'd  in  his  love. 

2  Fig-trees  and  olive-plants  may  fail. 

And  vines  their  fruit  deny, 
Famine  through  all  his  fields  prevail. 
And  flocks  and  herds  may  die. 

3  God  is  the  treasure  of  his  soul, 

A  source  of  sacred  joy  ; 
Which  no  afflictions  can  controul. 
Nor  death  itself  destroy. 

4  Lord,  may  we  feel  thy  cheering  beams. 

And  taste  thy  saint's  repose. 
We  will  not  mourn  the  perish'd  streams, 
While  such  a  fountain  flows. 

CLXII.  God's  afflicted  Poor  trusting  in  his  Name.  Zephaniah  iii.  1-. 

1  13RAISE  to  the  Sovereign  of  the  sky, 

Who  from  his  lofty  throne 

Looks  down  on  all  that  humble  lie, 

And  calls  such  souls  his  own  ! 

2  The  haughty  sinner  he  disdains, 

■    Though  gems  his  temples  crown  ; 

And  from  the  seat  of  pomp  and  pride 

His  vengeance  hurls  him  down. 

3  On  his  afilicted  pious  poor 

He  makes  his  face  to  shine ; 
He  fills  their  cottages  of  clay 
With  lustre  all  divine. 

4  Among  the  meanest  of  thy  flock 

There  let  my  dwelling  be, 
Rather  than  under  gilded  roofs, 
If  absent,  Lord,  from  thee. 
3 


zecHariah.  525 

5  Poor  and  afllictecl  tlioii^^li  wc  arc, 
In  tliv  siron>r  nunu:  we  trust  ; 
And  bless  the  i)and  of  sovereign  love. 
Which  Hfts  us  I'roui  the  dust. 

CI.XIII.     Gad  cnmfortinc;  and  rtjoicing  over  Zinn.     Zoplianiali  iii.  IC,  17. 

1  V^KS,  'tis  the  voice  of  love  divine  ! 

^     And  ()  !   how  sweet  the  accents  sound  ! 
Afflicted  Zion,  rise  and  shine, 
Fair  mourner,  prostrate  on  the  ground. 

2  The  mighty  (Jod,  thy  glorious  king, 
Tender  to  pity,  strong  to  save, 
Hath  sworn  he  will  salvation  bring. 
Though  sorrow  press  me  to  the  grave. 

3  He  all  a  father's  pleasure  knows 
To  fold  thee  in  his  dear  embrace  ; 
His  heart  Avith  secret  joy  o'ertlows. 
And  cheerful  smiles  adorn  his  face. 

4  At  length  the  inward  ecstasy 

In  heavenly  music  breaks  its  way  *  ; 

Jehovah  leads  the  harmony. 

And  angels  teach  their  harps  the  lay  f. 

5  Fain  would  my  lips  the  chorus  join. 
And  tell  the  listening  world  my  joys, 
But  condescension  so  divine 

In  silence  swallows  up  my  voice. 

CLXI\',  Practic(d  Rdlections  on  the  Stale  of  our  Fathers.   Zcchariali  i.  J. 

1  TT(>^V'  swift  the  torrent  rolls, 
-H.  That  bears  us  to  the  sea  ! 

The  tide,  that  bears  our  thoughtless  souls 
'J'o  vast  eternity  ! 

2  Our  fathers,  Avhere  are  thcv, 
With  all  they  call'd  their  own  ' 

Their  joys  and  griefs,  and  hopes  and  cares, 
And  wealth  and  honour  gone, 

3  Rut  joy  or  grief  snccecds 
Beyond  our  mortal  thought. 

While  the  poor  remnant  of  their  dust 
Lies  in  the  grave  forgot. 

4  There,  where  the  fathers  lie, 
ISIust  all  the  children  dwell ; 

Nor  other  heritage  possess, 
But  such  a  gloomy  cell. 

*  See  the  marginal  reading.  "f  Song. 

VOL.  III.  3  U 


52S  ZECHARIAKf. 

5  God  of  our  fathers,  hear, 
Thou  everlastins^  friend  ! 

While  we,  as  on  hfe's  utmost  verge*. 
Our  souls  to  thee  commend. 

6  Of  all  the  pious  dead 

May  we  the  footsteps  trace, 
Till  with  them  in  the  land  of  light 
We  dwell  before  thy  face. 

CLXV.    Joshua  t^ie  Migh-Priesi's  Change  of  Raiment,  applied  to 
Christian  Privileges.     Zechariah  iii.  4. 

1  T7TERNAL  king,  thy  robes  are  white 

In  spotless  rays  of  heavenly  light  j 
Adoring  angels  round  are  seen, 
Yet  in  thy  presence  are  not  clean. 

2  What  then  are  we,  the  sons  of  earth, 
That  draw  pollution  from  our  birth  ? 
Our  fleshly  garments,  Lord,  how  mean  ! 
O'erspread  with  hateful  spots  of  sin. 

3  Hail  to  that  condescending  grace, 
Which  shews  a  Saviour's  righteousness! 
Eternal  honours  to  that  name, 
Which  covers  all  our  guilt  and  shame  ! 

4  His  blood,  an  overflowing  sea, 
Shall  purge  our  deepest  stains  away  ; 
Our  souls,  renewed  by  grace  divine, 
Shall  in  their  Lord's  resemblance  shine. 

5  Yet,  while  these  rags  of  flesh  we  wear, 
Pollution  will  again  appear : 

Come,  death,  and  ease  me  of  the  load  ; 
Come,  death,  and  bear  my  soul  to  God. 

6  The  king  of  heaven  will  there  bestow 
A  richer  robe,  than  monarchs  know  ; 
Dress  all  his  saints  in  glittering  white  ; 
Not  Joshua's  mitre  shone  so  bright. 

7  The  grave  its  trophies  shall  resign  ; 
Christ  will  the  mouldering  dust  refine ; 
And  death,  the  last  of  foes,  shall  be 
Swallow'd  and  lost  in  victory. 

8  My  faith,  on  towering  pinions  borne^ 
Anticipates  that  glorious  morn  ; 
And  with  celestial  raptures  strong, 
Gives  mortal  lips  the  immortal  song, 

*  Edsre  or  border. 


ZECHARIAH.  527 

CLXVI.     Joshiui  tli£  Iligh-PritsCs  Zeal  and  Fidelity  reivarded  H'it/t  a 
Station  among  the  /4ngcU.     Zecliariali  ni.  G,  7. 

FOR  THE   ORDINATION   OK   A   MINISTER. 

1  f^  RMAT  Lord  of  angels  we  adore 

^"^  The  grace,  that  builds  thy  courts  hclow  ; 
And  throuy-h  ten  thousand  sons  of  Ji<'ht 
Stoops  to  regard  what  mortals  do. 

2  Amidst  the  wastes  of  time  and  deatli, 
Successive  pastors  thou  dost  raise 

Thy  charge  to  keep,  thy  house  to  guide, 
And  form  a  people  for  ti)y  jnaise. 

3  The  heavenly  natives  with  dehght 
Hover  around  the  sacred  place  ; 

Nor  scorn  to  learn  from  mortal  tongues 
The  wonders  of  redeeming  grace. 

4  At  length,  dismiss'd  from  feeble  clay, 
Thy  servants  join  the  angelic  band  ; 
With  them  through  distant  worlds  they  Hy, 
With  tiiem  before  th}'  presence  stand, 

5  O  glorious  hope  !  O  blest  employ  ! 
Sweet  lenitive  *  of  grief  and  care  ! 
When  sliall  we  reach  those  radiant  courts. 
And  all  their  joy  and  honour  shai'e  ? 

C  Yet  while  these  labours  we  pursue, 
Thus  distant  from  thy  heavenly  throne. 
Give  us  a  xeal  and  love  like  theirs, 
And  half  their  heaven  shall  here  be  known. 

CLXVII.     Tlie  completing  of  the  Spiritual  Temple.    Zcchariali  iv,  7. 

1  CING  to  the  Lord  above, 

Who  deigns  on  earth  to  raise 
A  temple  to  his  love, 
A  monument  of  praise. 

Ye  saints  around, 

Through  all  its  frame, 

The  builder's  name 

Harmonious  sound. 

2  He  form'd  the  glorious  plan, 
And  its  foundation  laid, 

That  God  might  dwell  with  man. 
And  mercy  be  display'd  ; 

•  What  easeth  or  assuageUi. 
3  U   2 


528  ZECHARIAH. 

His  son  he  sent, 
Who,  great  and  good, 
Made  his  own  blood 
The  sweet  cement. 

3  Beneath  his  eye  and  care 
The  edifice  shall  rise 
Majestic  strong  and  fair. 
And  shine  above  the  skies. 

There  shall  he  place 

The  polish'd  stone, 

OrdainM  to  crown 

This  work  of  grace. 

CLXVIII.     The  Error  of  despising  the  Day  of  small  Things. 
Zechariah  iv.  10, 

1  "  T^TTHAT  haughty  scorner,"  saith  the  Lord, 

"  Shall  humble  things  despise, 
**  When  he  beholds  them  with  delight, 
*'  Who  reigns  beyond  the  skies  ? 

2  * '  I  from  a  chaos  dark  and  wild  * 

"  Made  heaven's  bright  host  appear  : 
^'^  I  from  the  small  unnotic'd  seeds 
*'  The  loftiest  cedars  rear. 

3  *'  From  Eden's  dust  I  Adam  form'd, 

**  The  noblest  human  frame  ; 

**  And  in  his  humble  sons  display 

"  The  honours  of  my  name. 

4  "  From  fishermen,  in  number  few, 

*'  In  human  hearts  untaught, 
"  All  the  wide  realms  my  church  can  boast, 
"  My  potent  hand  hath  brought. 

5  "The  pious  poor,  by  men  despis'd, 

*'  In  dearest  bonds  are  mine  ; 
*'  Once  hardl}-  drest  in  humble  Aveeds  f , 
"  They  now  like  angels  shine." 

6  Lord,  if  such  trophies  rais'd  from  dust 

Thy  sovereign  glory  be, 
Here  in  my  heart  thy  power  may  find 
Materials  fit  for  thee. 

CLXIX.    Prisoners  delivered  from  the  Pit  by  the  Blood  of  the  Covenant. 
Zechariah  ix.  11. 

1  "V^E  prisoners,  who  in  bondage  lie, 
"*■    In  darkness  and  the  pit, 

*  Genesis  i.  2, 3.  f  Garments. 


ZECHARIAM.  529 

Bo}iol(1  the  Gjracc  tliat  sets  us  free, 
And  to  that  grace  submit. 

2  The  tidings  of  deliverance  hear, 

Confess  the  covenant  good, 
And  bless  the  ransom  God  hath  found 
In  our  Emanuers  blood. 

3  Justice  no  more  asserts  its  claim 

Your  forfeit  hves  to  take; 
But  smiling  mercy  (juick  descends 
Your  heavy  chains  to  break. 

4  We  walk  at  large,  and  sing  the  hand. 

To  which  we  freedom  owe; 
And  drink  those  rivers  with  delight, 
Which  through  this  desart  flow. 

5  He,  that  hath  liberty  bestow'd. 

Will  give  a  kingdom  too; 
He,  that  hath  loosM  the  bonds  of  death. 
The  path  of  life  will  show. 

CLXX.  Tlie  Fountain  of  Life.    Zechariah  xiii.  1. 

1  IIT AIL,  everlasting  spring! 

"*■  Celestial  fountain,  hail! 
Thy  streams  salvation  bring, 
The  waters  never  fail : 

Still  they  endure, 

And  still  they  flow 

For  all  our  woe 

A  sovereign  cure. 

2  Blest  be  his  wounded  side, 
And  blest  his  bleeding  heart. 
Who  all  in  anguish  died 
Such  favours  to  impart. 

His  sacred  blood 
Shall  make  us  clean 
From  every  sin, 
And  fit  for  God. 

3  To  that  dear  source  of  love 
Our  souls  this  day  would  come ; 
And  thither  from  above, 
Lord,  call  the  nations  home  ; 

That  Jew  and  Greek 
With  rapturous  songs 
On  all  their  tongus 
Thy  praise  may  speak. 


530  MAI^ACHI. 


CLXXI.  God's  Name  profaned,  zvhen  his  Table  is  treated  uith  ContempU 
Malachi  i.  12. 


1 


APPLIED    TO    THE    LORDS-SUPPER. 

"V/fY  God,  and  is  thy  table  spread? 

And  does  thy  cup  with  love  o'erflow? 
Thither  be  all  thy  children  led, 
And  let  them  all  its  sweetness  know'. 

2  Hail  sacred  feast,  which  Jesus  makes ! 
Rich  banquet  of  his  flesh  and  blood  ! 
Thrice  happy  he,  who  here  partakes 
That  sacred  stream,  that  heavenly  food  \ 

3  Why  are  its  dainties  all  in  vain 
Before  unwilling  hearts  displav'd  ? 
Was  not  for  you  the  victim  slain? 
Are  you  forbid  the  children's  bread? 

4  O  let  thy  table  honour'd  be, 

And  furnish'd  well  with  joyful  guests; 
And  may  each  soul  salvation  see. 
That  here  its  sacred  pledges  tastes. 

5  Let  crouds  approach  with  hearts  prepar'd  j 
With  hearts  inflam'd  let  all  attend  ; 

Nor,  when  we  leave  our  Father's  board, 
The  pleasure,  or  the  profit  end. 

6  Revive  thy  dying  churches,  Lord, 
And  bid  our  drooping  graces  live  ; 
And  more  that  energy  afford, 

A  Saviour's  blood  alone  can  give. 

CLXXII.  God's  grqcious  Regard  to  active  Attempts  to  revive  Religiotif 
Malachi  iii.  16,  17, 

1  nPHE  Lord  on  mortal  worms  looks  down, 

From  his  celestial  throne  ; 
And,  when  the  wicked  swarm  around, 
He  well  discerns  his  own. 

2  He  sees  the  tender  hearts,,  that  mourn 

The  scandals  of  the  times  ; 
And  join  their  efforts  to  oppose 
The  wide-prevailing  crimes. 

3  Low  to  the  social  band  he  bows 

His  still-attentive  ear; 
And,  while  his  angels  sing  around. 
Delights  their  voice  to  hear. 

4  The  chronicles  of  heaven  shall  keep 

Their  words  in  transcript  fair  j 
3 


MALACtll.  'S^Sl 

In  the  Redeemer's  book  of  life 
Their  names  recorded  are. 

5  "  Yes",  saith  the  Lord,  •'  the  world  shall  know 
"  These  humble  souls  are  mine: 
"  These,  when  my  jewels  I  produce, 
"  J?hall  in  full  lustre  shine. 

C  '*  When  deluges  of  fiery  wrath 
"  I\Iy  foes  away  shall  bear, 
"  That  hand,  which  strikes  the  wicked  through, 
*'  Shall  all  my  children  spare." 

CLXXIII.  Christ,  the  Sun  of  Righteousness.     Malachi  iv.  C. 

1  TTO  thee,  O  God,  we  homage  pay, 

-*■    Source  of  the  light  that  rules  the  day  ; 
Who,  while  he  gilds  all  nature's  frame, 
Reflects  thy  rays,  and  speaks  thy  name. 

2  In  louder  strains  we  sing  that  grace, 
Which  gives  tlie  sun  of  righteousness; 
Whose  nobler  light  salvation  brings, 
And  scatters  healing  from  his  wings. 

3  Still  on  our  hearts  may  Jesus  shine 
With  beams  of  ligiit  and  love  divine  ; 
Quicken'd  by  him  our  souls  shall  live, 
And  cheer'd  by  him  shall  grow  and  thrive. 

4  O  may  his  glories  stand  confess'd 
From  north  to  south,  from  east  to  west : 
Successful  may  his  gospel  run 

Wide  as  the  circuit  of  the  sun. 

5  When  shall  that  radiant  scene  arise, 
When,  fix'd  on  high  in  purer  skies, 
Christ  all  his  lustre  shall  display 

On  all  his  sanits  through  endless  day  ? 


532  MATTHEW. 


HYMNS 

FOUNDED  ON  VARIOUS  TEXTS  IN  THE 

NEW  TESTAMENT. 


HYMN  CLXXIV. 

7'he  Axe  laid  to  the  Root  of  unfruitful  Trees.   Matthew  iii,  10, 

1  T~'HE  Lord  into  his  vineyard  comes 

Our  various  fruit  to  see; 
His  e}'e,  more  piercing  than  the  light, 
Examines  every  tree. 

2  Tremble,  ye  sinners,  at  his  frown. 

If  barren  still  ye  stand  ; 
And  fear  that  keenly-wounding  axe. 
Which  arms  his  awful  hand* 

3  Close  to  the  root  behold  it  laid. 

To  make  destruction  sure  : 
Who  can  resist  the  mighty  stroke  ? 
Or  who  the  fire  endure  ? 

4  Lord,  we  adore  thy  sparing  love, 

Thy  long-expecting  grace  : 
Else  had  we  low  in  ruin  fall'n, 
And  known  no  more  our  place. 

5  Succeeding  years  thy  patience  waits  ; 

Nor  let  it  Avait  in  vain  ; 
But  form  in  us  abundant  fruit, 
And  still  this  fruit  maintain. 

CLXXV.  The  Light  of  good  Exotnples,  the  most  effectual  IVay  to  glorify 
God.     Matthew  v.  16. 

1   r^  RE  AT  Teacher  of  thy  church,  we  own 
^~^  Thy  precepts  all  divinely  wise: 
O  may  thy  mighty  power  be  shown 
To  fix  them  still  before  our  eyes. 

2  Deep  on  our  hearts  thy  law  engrave, 
And  fill  our  breasts  with  heavenly  zeal. 
That,  while  we  trust  thy  power  to  save, 
We  may  that  sacred  law  fulfil. 


MATIllKV/.  HZ' 

3  Adorii'd  witlj  every  iieaveulv  qrace, 
Alav  our  evaiiiples  brightly  sfiiiic, 
And  the  sweet  lustre  of  thy  i'aec 
Itertected,  beam  from  eaeh  ot"  thine. 

4  These  hneaments*^,  divinely  fair, 
Our  heavenly  Fafher  shall  proelaini; 
And  men,  that  view  his  image  there, 
IShall  join  to  glorify  Jiis  name. 

CLXX\'I.  Providential  Bounties  saneijed and  imprmcd.  Maltliew  v.  45. 

1  prATIIL'.R  of  lights,  we  sing  thy  name, 

Who  kindledst  n[)  the  lamp  of  day  fj 
AVide  as  he  spreads  his  golden  flame, 
His  beams  thy  power  and  love  display. 

2  Fountain  of  good,  from  thee  proceed 
The  copious  drops  of  genial  f  rain  ; 

Which  through  the  hills,  and  through  the  meads 
Kevive  the  grass  and  swell  the  grain. 

3  Through  the  wide  world  thy  bounties  spread ; 
Yet  millions  of  our  guilty  race. 

Though  by  thy  daily  bounty  fed, 
Afl'rontthy  law,  and  spurn  th}'  grace. 

4  Not  so  may  our  forgetful  hearts, 
O'erlook  the  tokens  of  thv  care ; 
But,  what  thv  liberal  hand  imparts, 
^)till  own  in  praise,  still  ask  in  prayer. 

,5  So  shall  our  suns  more  grateful  sliine, 
And  showers  in  stx-eeter  drops  shall  fall, 
AVhen  all  onr  hearts  and  lives  are  thine, 
And  thou,  our  God,enjoy'd  in  all. 

6  .Jesus,  our  brighter  sun,  arise;  « 

In  plenteous  showers  thy  Spirit  send ; 
Karth  then  shall  grow  a  paradise, 
And  in  the  heaveidy  Kden  end. 

CLXXVir.  Secret  Prayer.     Matthew  vi.  6. 

J    ITATHER  divine,  thy  piercing  eye 

Shouts  through  the  darkest  night; 
In  deep  retirement  thou  art  nigh, 
NVith  heart-discerning  sight. 

2  There  shall  that  piercing  eve  survey 
My  duteous  homage  |)aid, 
AV'ith  every  morning's  dawning  ray, 
And  every  evening's  shade. 

*  Features.  f  Tlip  sun.  +  Making  fruitful. 

VOL.  III.  J    X 


634.  MATTHEW. 

3  O  may  thy  own  celestial  fire 

The  incense  still  inflame  ; 
While  my  warm  vows  to  thee  aspire, 
Through  my  Redeemer's  name. 

4  So  shall  the  visits  of  thy  love  . 

My  soul  in  secret  bless  ; 
Soshalt  thou  de  gn  in  worlds  above 
Thy  suppliant  to  confess. 

CLXXVIII.  Seekvig  first  the  Kh7gdo7n  of  God,  Sfc.    Matthew  vi.  33, 

1  ^TOW  let  a  true  ambition  rise, 

And  ardour  fire  our  breast. 
To  reign  in  worlds  above  the  skies, 
In  heavenly  glories  drest. 

2  Behold  Jehovah's  royal  hand 

A  radiant  crown  display,  j 

Whose  gems  with  vivid  lustre  shine,  m 

While  stars  and  suns  decay. 

3  Away,  each  groveling  anxious  care. 

Beneath  a  christian's  thought ; 
I  spring  to  seize  immortal  joys, 
Which  my  Redeemer  bought. 

4  Ye  hearts  with  youthful  vigour  warm, 

The  glorious  prize  pursue ;  x 

Nor  shall  ye  want  the  goods  of  earth,  | 

While  heaven  is  kept  in  view. 

CLXXIX.  Pardon  spoken  by  Christ.    Matthew  ix.  2. 

1  IV/TY  Saviour,  let  me  hear  thy  voice. 

Pronounce  these  words  of  peace ; 
And  all  my  warmest  powers  shall  join 
To  celebrate  the  grace. 

2  With  gentle  smiles  call  me  thy  child. 

And  speak  my  sins  forgiven ; 
The  accents  mild  shall  charm  mine  ear, 
All  like  the  harps  of  heaven, 

3  Cheerful,  where'er  thy  hand  shall  lead. 

The  darkest  path  I'll  tread  ; 
Cheerful  Til  quit  these  mortal  shores. 
And  mingle  with  the  dead. 

4  When  dreadful  guilt  is  done  away. 

No  other  fears  we  know ; 
That  hand,  Avhich  scatters  pardons  down, 
Shall  crowns  of  life  bestow. 


MATTHEW. 


CLXXX.  Tfie  relapsing  Demoniac.     Malllicw  xii.  13— 15, 

1  SOVEREIGN  of  heaven,  thine  empire  spreads 

O'er  all  the  worlds  on  lii<rli: 
And  at  thy  frown  the  wifcrnal  powers 
In  wild  confusion  fly. 

2  Like  lif^htning  from  his  glittering  tiirone 

The  groat  arch-traitor  fell, 
Driven  with  enormous  ruin  down 
To  infamy  and  hell. 

3  Permitted  now  to  range  at  largo. 

And  traverse  *  earth  and  air  ; 
O'er  captive  human  souls  he  reigns, 
And  boasts  his  kingdom  there. 

4  Vet  thence  tliy  grace  can  drive  him  out 

With  one  Almighty  word  ; 

O  send  thy  potent  sceptre  forth, 

And  reign  victorious,  Lord. 

5  Let  wretched  prisoners  be  releas'd 

The  smiling  light  to  view  ; 
Nor  let  the  vancjuish'd  foe  return 
Their  bondage  to  renew. 

6  May  grace  complete  that  wondrous  work, 

Which  thy  own  power  begun, 
And  fill,  from  Satan's  gloomy  realms, 
The  kingdom  of  thy  Son. 

CLXXXI.  The  Failh  of  the  Sijrophanician  Ifoman  recommended. 
Matthew  XV.  26,  27. 

1  A  LL  conquering  faith,  how  high  it  rose, 
"^  When  heaven  itself  might  seem  t'  oppose! 
All-gracious  Lord,  who  didst  appear 

Most  merciful,  when  most  severe  ! 

2  Thus  at  thy  feet  our  sonls  would  fall, 
And  loudly  thus  for  mercy  call ; 

*'  Thou  Son  of  David,  pitv  show, 
'*  And  save  us  from  the  infernal  foe." 

3  Though  viler  than  the  brutes  we  be, 
(^ur  longing  eyes  would  wait  on  thee, 
Who  dost  to  (logs  this  grace  aftbrd. 
To  taste  the  crumbs  beneath  thy  board. 

♦  Wander  tlirough. 
3X2 


536  MATTHEW. 

4  But  thou  the  humble  soul  wilt  raise, 
And  all  its  sorrows  turn  to  praise: 
Each  self-abasing  broken  heart 
Shall  with  thy  children  share  a  part. 

CLXXXII,  The  Church  built  on  a  Rock,  and  secured  against  the  Gates 
of  Hell.     MaUhewxvi.  18. 

1  1V[OW  let  the  gates  of  Zion  sing^, 
•^       And  challenge  all  her  spiteful  foes  : 
She  triumphs  in  hei"  Saviour-king', 
In  hini_,  Avho  from  the  dead  arose. 

2  He  is  the  rock,  on  whom  we  rest,  ^ 
And  firm  on  that,  foundation  stand  ;  ' 
Divine  compassion  fills  his  breast, 

His  word  is  sure,  and  strong  his  hand. 

3  Hell  and  its  hosts  may  rage  in  vain  ;  ^ 
Vain  arc  their  counsels,  and  their  power;  | 
Grim  death  mav  marshal  all  bis  train,  i 
And  boast  the  conquest  of  an  hour.  j 

4  Breathless  and  pale  his  servants  lie,  '  V 
And  know  their  former  place  no  more  | 
Their  children  raise  his  praises  high,  ' 
And  o'er  their  fathers'  dust  adore. 

5  Their  fathers'  dust  the  Lord  shall  raise, 

And  burst  the  barriers  of  the  grave;  '■ 

Parents  and  children  join  his  praise, 
Who  through  eternity  can  save. 

CLXXXIII.  Christ's  Transfiguration.    Matthew  xvii.  4.  1 

i   VX/'HEN  at  this  distance,  Lord,  we  trace 
The  various  glories  of  thy  face, 
Wliat  transport  pours  o'er  all  our  breast, 
And  charms  our  cares  and  woes  to  rest! 

2  With  thee  in  the  obscurest  cell 

On  some  bleak  mountain  would  I  dwell, 
Rather  than  pompous  courts  behold. 
And  share  their  sjrandeur  and  their  gold. 

3  Away,  ye  dreams  of  mortal  joy ! 
Rajjtures  divine  my  thoughts  employ! 
I  see  the  king  of  glory  shine ; 

And  feel  his  love,  and  call  him  mine, 

4  On  Tabor  *  thus  his  servants  view'd 
His  lustre,  when  transform'd  he  stood ; 

^  The  mountain  on  which  Christ  was  transfigured. 


MATTHEW.  .'537 

Atk!,  bidding  earlhly  sci'tics  farewell, 
Cried,  "  Lord,  'lis  "pleasiiiit  lierc  to  dwell." 

5  Yet  still  our  elevated  eyes 

To  nobler  visions  lung  to  rise  ; 
'riiat  grand  assembly  would  we  join, 
Where  all  thy  saints  around  thee  shine. 

6  That  mount  how  bright !  those  forms  how  fair  ! 
'Tis  good  to  dwell  for  ever  there  : 

Come,  death,  dear  envoy  *  of  my  God, 
And  bear  me  to  that  blest  abode. 

CLXXXIV.     Tht  Grace  of  Christ  in  rmmstcring  to  Men,  and  di/ing 
for  them.     Mattliew  xx.  28. 

1  Q AVIOUR  of  men,  and  Lord  of  love, 
^   How  sweet  thv  gracious  name  ! 
With  joy  that  errand  we  review, 

On  which  thy  mercy  came. 

2  While  all  thy  own  angelic  bands 

Stood  waiting  on  the  wing, 
Charm'd  with  the  honour  to  obey 
The  word  of  such  a  king  ; 

3  For  us  mean  wretched  sinful  men 

Thou  laid'st  that  glory  by. 
First  in  our  mortal  Hesh  to  serve, 
Then  in  that  tlcsh  to  die. 

4  Bought  with  thy  service  and  thy  blood, 

We  doubly,  Lord,  are  thine  ; 
To  thee  our  lives  we  would  devote, 
To  thee  our  death  resign. 

5  Blest  man,  who  in  thy  cause  consumes 

His  vigorous  days  w  ith  '/jjal ! 
Then  with  the  last  slow  ebb  of  blood 
Is  caird  thy  truth  to  seal  ! 

CLXXXV.     Christ\'i  compassionate  Beadintss  to  gather  Souls. 
MaUliew  xxiii.  37,  33. 

1  QEE  how  the  Lord  of  mercy  spreads 
^  His  gentle  hands  abroad  ; 

And  warns  us  of  tlie  cirehng  foes, 
That  thirst  to  drink  our  blood  ! 

2  *'  Fly  to  the  shelter  of  mine  arms, 

"  And  dwell  secure  from  fear  ; 
*'  Nor  earth  nor  hell  shall  pluck  you  thence, 
*'  Or  reach,  and  wound  you  there." 

*  Mcsscuscr  or  aiabasfcador. 


533  MATTHEW, 

3  With  anxious  heart  the  parent-bird 

Thus  calls  her  offspring  round, 
When  horrid  vultures  beat  the  air. 
And  slaughter  stains  the  ground. 

4  The  trembling  brood,  by  nature  taught. 

Fly  to  the  known  retreat ; 
Beneath  her  downy  wings  are  safe. 
And  find  the  shelter  sweet. 

5  But  men,  alas  !  more  thoughtless  men. 

Refuse  to  lend  an  ear  ; 
Their  only  refuge  madly  fly 
And  rather  die,  than  hear. 

6  Tiiey  spurn  the  Saviour's  offer'd  grace, 

Till  they  his  wrath  inflame  ; 
Then  desolation  lays  them  low 
In  agony  and  shame. 

CLXXXVI.    Tlx  Abowvding  of  Iniquitij,  and  Coldness  of  Christian 
Love.    Matthew  xxiv.  12. 

FOR   A    FAST-DAY. 

1  A  LAS  for  Britain,  and  her  sons  \ 
"^  What  hath  she  not  to  fear  ? 
The  sins,  that  ruin'd  Salem  once, 

O  how  triumphant  here  ! 

2  Alas  the  stronor  o'erflowing  tide  ! 

How  fiercely  doth  it  rage  ! 
And  each  foreboding  symptom  joins 
In  terrible  presage. 

3  Yet  who  hath  eyes  that  can  discern, 

Or  who  an  ear  to  hear  ? 
Whose  heart  is  trembling  for  the  ark. 
Or  for  his  country  dear  ? 

4  Cold  is  the  love  of  christian  breasts, 

If  christian  breasts  remain  ; 
And  dying  the  last  sparks  of  zeal. 
Or  its  last  efforts  vain. 

5  Of  Britain,  oft  chastised  and  sav'd, 

What  shall  the  end  be  found  ? 
Shall  not  the  sword,  that  waves  so  long, 
Inflict  the  deeper  wound  ? 

6  O  stay  thine  arm,  all- gracious  God  ; 

Thy  Spirit  largely  pour  ! 
He  can  the  streams  of  guijt  restrain, 
And  dying  love  restore. 


MATTHEW.  539 

CLKXXVII.    Thefinul  Sentence,  and  Happiness  nf  the  Ritrjiteous. 
Matthew  xxv.  34. 

1  A  TTEND  mine  ear  ;  my  heart  rejoice  ; 
"^^  While  .lesus  from  his  throne, 
Begirt  with  all  the  angelic  hosts, 

Makes  his  last  sentence  known  ! 

2  When  sinners,  cursed  from  his  face. 

To  raging  flames  are  driven, 
His  voice,  with  melody  divine. 
Thus  calls  his  saints  to  heaven. 

3  "  Blest  of  my  Father,  a,ll  draw  near, 

*'  Receive  the  large  reward  ; 
**  And  rise  with  raptures  to  ])ossess 
*'  The  kingdom  love  prcpar'd, 

4  "  Ere  eartli's  foundations  first  werelaid^ 

*'  This  sovereign  purpose  wrought, 
**  And  reared  those  palaces  divine, 
*'  To  which  you  now  are  brought. 

5  *'  There  shall  you  reign  unnumber'd  years, 

*'  Protected  by  my  power, 
*'  While  sin  and  hell,  and  pains  and  cares 
*'  Shall  vex  your  souls  no  more." 

6  Come,  dear  majestic  Saviour,  come. 

This  jubilee  proclaim. 
And  teach  us  accents  fit  to  praise 
JSo  great,  so  dear  a  name. 

CLXXXVIII.  Relieiing  Christ  in  his  poor  Saints.  Matthew  xxv.  40. 

1  TESUS,  my  Lord,  how  rich  thy  grace  ! 

Thy  bounties  how  complete ! 
How  shall  I  count  the  matchless  sum  } 
How  pa}'  the  mighty  d^bt  ? 

2  High  on  a  throne  of  radiant  light 

Dost  thou  exalted  shine  ; 
Wliat  can  my  poverty  bestow. 
When  all  the  worlds  are  thine  ? 

3  But  thou  hast  brethren  here  below. 

The  partners  of  thy  grace. 
And  wilt  confess  their  humble  names 
Before  thy  Father's  face. 

4  In  them  thou  may'st  be  cloath'd,  and  fed, 

And  visited,  and  cheer'd  ; 
And  in  their  accents  of  distress 
My  Saviour's  voice  is  heard. 

2 


510  MATTHEW. 

5  Tliy  face  with  reverence  and  >vith  love 
I  in  thy  poor  would  see  ; 
O  rather  let  me  befj  my  bread, 
Than  hold  it  back  from  thee  ! 

CLXXXIX.     The  final  Sentence  uiid  Misery  of  the  Wicked, 
Matthew  xxv.  41. 

1  A  ND  will  the  Judge  descend  ? 
"^  And  must  the  dead  arise  ? 

And  not  a  single  soul  escape 
His  all-discerning  eyes  ? 

2  And  from  his  righteous  lips 
Shall  such  a  sentence  sound  ? 

And  through  the  millions  of  the  damn'd 
Spread  black  despair  around  ? 

3  *'  Depart  from  me,  accurs'd, 
"  To  everlasting  flame, 

*'  For  rebel-angels  first  prepar'd, 
"  Where  mercy  never  came.'* 

4  How  will  my  heart  endure 
The  terrors  of  that  day, 

When  eartli  and  heaven  before  his  face 
Astonish'd  shrink  away  ? 

5  But  ere  that  trumpet  shakes 
The  mansions  of  the  dead, 

Hark  from  the  gospel's  gentle  voice 
What  joyful  tidings  spread  ! 

6  Ye  sinners,  seek  his  grace, 
Whose  wrath  ye  cannot  bear  ; 

Fly  to  the  shelter  of  his  cross, 
And  find  salvation  there. 

7  So  shall  that  curse  remove 
By  which  the  Saviour  bled. 

And  the  last  aAvful  day  shall  pour 
His  blessings  on  your  head. 

CXC.     Christ^s  Subjnission  to  his  Father's  JVill.     Matthew  xxvi.  42. 

1  "  pATHER  divine,"  the  Saviour  cried, 

W^hile  horrors  press'd  on  every  side, 
And  prostrate  on  the  ground  he  lay, 
*'  Remove  this  bitter  cup  aAvay. 

2  **  But  if  these  pangs  must  still  be  borne, 
*'  Or  helpless  man  be  left  forlorn, 

"  I  bow  my  soul  before  thy  throne, 

**  And  say,  Thy  Avill,  not  mine  be  done.** 


MATTHEW.  S4l 

3  Tims  our  submissive  souls  would  bow. 
And,  taught  by  Jesus,  lie  as  low  ; 
Our  hearts,  and  not  our  lips  alome, 
Would  say,  Thy  will,  not  ours  be  done. 

4  Then,  though  like  him  in  dust  we  lie, 
We'll  view  the  blissful  moment  nigh. 
Which,  from  our  portion  in  his  pains. 
Calls  to  the  joy  in  which  he  reigns. 

CXCI.    Reflections  on  tlie  Disciples  forsaking  Christ,  when  he  was 
betrayed.     Matthew  xxvi.  56. 

1  "DEHOLD  the  Son  of  God's  delight ; 

■*~^  His  smiles  how  sweet !  his  rays  how  bright ! 
A  friend  of  tenderness  unknown  : 
To  the  last  breath  he  lov'd  his  own. 

2  But  lo,  his  friends,  his  brethren  dear 
Fled,  when  they  saw  his  danger  near  ; 
And  not  one  generous  heart  remains 
To  shield  his  life,  or  share  his  pains. 

3  So  frail  is  man  ;  so  frail  are  we, 
When  unsupported,  Lord,  by  thee  ; 

Thus  shrinks  our  faith  ;  thus  droops  our  love, 
And  thus  our  vows  abortive  prove. 

4  Blest  Jesus,  thy  own  power  impart. 
And  bind  in  cords  of  love  my  heart : 
The  fugitive  no  more  shall  flee, 

But  keep  through  death  its  hold  on  thee. 

CXCI  I.     Chriit's  Complaint  of  his  Father's  forsaking  him  on  the 
Cross.     Matthew  xxvii.  46. 

J   "XTITHAT  doleful  accents  do  I  hear  ? 

What  piercing  cry  invades  mine  ear  ? 
Loaded  with  shame,  and  bath'd  in  blood, 
Who  calls  to  a  forsakinor  God  ? 

2  Amazing  and  heart-rending  sight  ! 
'Tis  his  own  darling  and  delignt, 
Who  once  in  his  embraces  lay, 
Dearer  than  all  the  sons  of  day  ! 

3  Yet  when  this  Jesus  died  for  me, 
Distended  on  the  cursed  tree, 
God  stood  afar,  nor  would  afford 
One  pitying  look,  one  cheering  word. 

4  What  then,  my  soul,  must  thou  have  felt, 
If  press'd  with  all  thy  load  of  guilt. 
Beneath  whose  weight  the  Saviour  cries. 
Who  form'd  the  earth,  and  built  tlie  skies  ? 

VOL.  III.  3  Y 


J42  MATTHEW. 

5  But  in  that  dark  tremendous  hour 
Unconquer'd  faith  exerts  its  power  ; 
My  God,  my  Father,  cried  aloud, 

And  heaven  the  endearing  name  avow'd. 

6  From  death,  from  earth,  he  rais'd  his  Son, 
And  gave  him  for  his  cross  a  throne  ; 
Triumphant  there  the  sufferer  reigns, 
And  reaps  the  harvest  of  his  pains. 

7  Eternal  raptures  there  are  known  ; 
Nor  flows  the  joy  on  him  alone, 

But  for  his  sake  the  Lord  hath  swore. 
To  leave  the  meanest  saint  no  more. 

CXCIir.    The  savie.    Matthew  xxvii,  46. 

1  IV/TY  Saviour,  didst  thou  die  for  me  ? 

For  me  send  forth  that  bitter  cry  ? 
With  bleeding  heart  thy  wounds  I  see, 
Prepar'd  at  thy  command  to  die. 

2  By  all  thine  anguish  on  the  cross, 
When  God  thy  Father  stood  afar. 
Rich  in  thy  temporary  loss, 

Thy  church  is  brought  for  ever  near. 

3  From  far  the  beamings  of  thy  throne 
Reviv'd  m}-  sympathizmg  heart ; 
Thy  love  made  sinner's  griefs  thy  own. 
Mine  in  thy  joys  must  take  its  part. 

4  'Midst  all  the  splendors  of  thy  reign. 
Think  on  the  sorrows  thou  hast  felt ; 
Nor  let  a  mourner  weep  in  vain, 

For  whom  thy  precious  blood  was  spilt. 

5  While  through  earth's  darkest  gloom  I  tread, 
Dart  to  my  soul  a  cheering  ray  j 

And  on  the  confines  of  the  dead. 
Thy  power,  as  Lord  of  life,  display. 

CXCIV.     The  JtigeFs  Beply  to  the  fFo?rien,  that  sought  Christ. 
Matthew  xxviii.  5,  6. 

1  \^F  humble  souls,  that  seek  the  Lord, 

Chase  all  your  fears  away  : 
And  bow  with  pleasure  down  to  see 
The  place  where  Jesus  lay. 

2  Thus  low  the  Lord  of  life  was  brought ; 

Such  wonders  love  can  do  ; 
Thus  cold  in  death  that  bosom  lay, 
Which  throbb'd,  and  bled  for  you. 


MATTHEW.  54S 

3  A  moment  give  a  loose  to  grief; 

Let  grateful  sorrows  rise, 
And  wash  the  bloody  stains  away 
With  torrents  from  your  eyes. 

4  Then  raise  your  eyes,  and  tunc  your  songs, 

The  Saviour  lives  again  ; 
Not  all  the  bolts  and  bars  of  death 
The  conqueror  could  detain. 

5  High  o'er  the  angelic  bands  he  rears 

His  once  dishonour'd  head  ; 
And  through  unnumber'd  years  he  reigns, 
Who  dwelt  among  the  dead. 

6  With  joy  like  hi^  shall  ever}' saint 

His  empty  tomb  survey  ; 
Then  rise  with  his  ascending  Lord 
Through  all  his  shining  way. 

CXCV.      Christ  ever  present  zvilh  his  Minister's  and  Churches. 
Matlliew  xxviii.  20. 

1  "VX/^H^E  o'er  all  worlds  the  Saviour  reigns  ; 

Unmov'd  his  power  and  love  remains; 

And  on  his  arm  his  church  shall  rest. 
Fair  Zion,  joyful  in  her  King, 
Through  every  changing  age  shall  sing, 

With  his  perpetual  presence  blest. 

2  Tyrannic  death,  in  vain  thy  rage, 
Thy  triumphs  new  in  every  age, 

O'er  the  first  heroes  of  his  host  ; 
Conscious  of  more  than  mortal  aid, 
Our  bleeding  hearts  are  not  dismay'd, 

But  an  immortal  leader  boast. 

3  Though  buried  deep  in  dust  they  he, 
Whose  tuneful  voices  rais'd  on  high 

Led  the  sweet  anthems  to  his  name  ; 
The  children  learn  the  fathers  song. 
And  unform'd  tongues  shall  still  prolong 

The  ever-present  Saviour's  fame. 

4  The  present  Saviour,  he  shall  give 
Millions  of  future  saints  to  live, 

And  croud  the  temj)les  of  his  grace  : 
The  present  Saviour,  lo,  he  comes 
To  call  whole  legions  from  their  tombs. 

And  teach  their  dust  sublimer  praise. 
3  Y  2 


S44  MARK. 

CXCVI.    Departed  Saints  asleep.    Mark  v.  39. 

1  '*  Tl^HY  flow  these  torrents  of  distress  ?" 

The  gentle  Saviour  cries, 
*'  Why  are  my  sleeping  saints  survey'd 
"  With  unbelieving  eyes  ? 

2  **  Death's  feeble  arm  shall  never  boast, 

"  A  friend  of  Christ  is  slain  ; 
*'  Nor  o'er  their  meaner  part  in  dust 
*'  A  lasting  power  retain. 

3  *'  I  come,  on  wings  of  love  I  come, 

*'  The  slumbers  to  awake  ; 
**  My  voice  shall  reach  the  deepest  tomb, 
**  And  all  its  bonds  shall  break. 

4  **  Touch' d  by  my  hand  in  smiles  they  rise  ; 

**  They  rise  to  sleep  no  more  ; 
**  But  rob'd  with  light,  and  crown'd  with  joy 
**  To  endless  day  they  soar. 

5  Jesus,  our  faith  receives  thy  word ; 

And,  though  fond  nature  weep, 
Grace  learns  to  hail  the  pious  dead, 
And  emulate  their  sleep. 

6  Our  willing  souls  thy  summons  wait 

With  them  to  rest  and  praise  ; 
So  let  thy  much-loved  presence  t;heer 
These  separating  days. 

CXCVII.    The  Struggle  between  Faith  and  Unbelief.    Mark  ix.  24, 

1  TESUS,  our  soul's  delightful  choice, 
"   In  thee  believing  we  rejoice  ; 
Yet  still  our  joy  is  mix'd  with  grief. 
While  faith  contends  with  unbelief, 

2  Thy  promises  our  hearts  revive. 
And  keep  our  fainting  hopes  alive  ; 
But  guilt,  and  fears,  and  sorrows  rise. 
And  hide  the  promise  from  our  eyes. 

3  O  let  not  sin  and  satan  boast. 
While  saints  lie  mourning  in  the  dust ; 
Nor  see  that  faith  to  ruin  brought, 

Which  thy  own  gracious  hand  hath  wrought. 

4  Do  thou  the  d3Mng  spark  inflame  ; 
Reveal  the  glories  of  thy  name  ; 
And  put  all  anxious  doubts  to  flight. 
As  shades  dispers'd  by  opening  light. 


MARK.  545 

CXCVIII.      Christ's  condescending  Regard  to  HUU  Cldldrcn. 
Mark  x.  14. 

1  CEE  Israel's  gentle  Shepherd  stand 

With  all  engaging  charms  ; 
Hark  how  he  calls  the  tender  lambs, 
And  (bids  them  in  his  arms  ! 

2  *'  Permit  them  to  approach,"  he  cries, 

"  Nor  scorn  their  humble  name  ; 
"  For  'twas  to  bless  such  souls  as  these, 
*'  The  Lord  of  angels  came." 

3  We  bring  them,  Lord,  in  thankful  hands, 

And  yield  them  up  to  thee  ; 
Joyful,  that  we  ourselves  are  thine. 
Thine  let  our  offspring  be. 

4  Ye  little  flock,  with  pleasure  hear  : 

Ye  children,  seek  his  face  ; 

And  fly  with  transport  to  receive 

The  blessings  of  his  grace. 

5  If  orphans  they  are  left  behind. 

Thy  guardian-care  we  trust : 
That  care  shall  heal  our  bleeding  hearts. 
If  weeping  o'er  their  dust. 

CXCIX.    Christian  IVatchfubiess.    Mark  xiii.  37. 

1  /\  WAKE,  my  drowsy  soul,  awake. 

And  view  the  threatening  scene  : 
Legions  of  foes  encamp  around, 
And  treachery  lurks  within. 

2  'Tis  not  this  mortal  life  alone 

These  enemies  assail ; 
All  thine  eternal  hopes  are  lost, 
If  their  attempts  prevail. 

3  Now  to  the  work  of  God  awake  ; 

Behold  thy  master  near  ; 
The  various  arduous  task  pursue 
With  vigour  and  with  fear. 

4  The  awful  register  goes  on. 

The  account  will  surely  come. 
And  opening  dav,  or  closing  night 
May  bear  me  to  my  doom. 

5  Tremendous  thought !  How  deep  it  strikes ! 

Yet  like  a  dream  it  flies. 
Till  God's  own  voice  the  slumbers  chase 
From  these  deluded  eyes. 


546  LUKE. 


CC.  The  Nativity  of  Christ.    Luke  ii.  10—12. 

]   "LJAIL,  progeny*  divine  ! 

Hail,  virgin's  wondrous  Son  ! 
Who,  for  that  humble  shrine. 
Didst  quit  the  Almighty's  throne : 
The  Infant-Lord 
Our  voices  sing, 
And  be  the  king 
Of  grace  ador'd. 

r  2  Ye  princes,  disappear, 

And  boast  your  crowns  no  more  ; 
Lay  down  your  sceptres  here, 
And  in  the  dust  adore  : 

Where  Jesus  dwells,  \ 

The  manger  bare 

In  lustre  far 

Your  pomp  excels. 

3  With  Bethlehem's  shepherds  mild 
The  angels  bow  their  head  ; 
And  round  the  sacred  child 
Their  guardian -wings  they  spread  j 

They  knew,  that  where 
Their  sovereign  lies 
In  low  disguise, 
Heaven's  court  is  there. 

4  Thither,  my  soul,  repair. 
And  early  homage  pay 
To  thy  Redeemer  fair. 
As  on  his  natal  f  day : 

I  kiss  thy  feet ; 
And,  Lord,  would  be 
A  child  like  thee. 
Whom  thus  I  greet. 

CCI.  The  Angel's  Song  at  Christ's  Birth.    Luke  ii.  13, 14. 

1  jlJIGH  let  us  swell  our  tuneful  notes, 

"^  And  join  the  angelic  throng ; 
For  angels  no  such  love  have  known 
To  awake  a  cheerful  song. 

2  Good-will  to  sinful  men  is  shewn, 

And  peace  on  earth  is  given  ; 
For  lo,  the  incarnate  Saviour  comes 
With  messages  from  heaven. 

♦  Offspring.  f  Birth-day. 


LUKE.  54T 

3  Justice  and  grace  with  sweet  accord 

His  rising  beams  adorn  ; 
Let  heaven  and  earth  in  concert  join, 
Now  such  a  child  is  born. 

4  Glory  to  God  in  highest  strains 

In  iiighest  worlds  be  paid  ; 
His  glory  by  our  lips  proclaini'd, 
And  by  our  lives  dispiay'd. 

5  When  shall  we  reach  those  blissful  realms, 

Where  Christ  exalted  reigns, 

And  learn  ot  the  celestial  choir, 

Their  own  imniortal  strains  ? 

ecu.  Simeon^s  Song  and  Declaration  to  the  Virgin  Mary. 
Luke  ii.  30—35. 

1  O^^  ^y^^  salvation  see, 
^'^  Prepar'd  by  grace  tlivine  : 

How  wide  its  splendors  are  dilfus'd  ! 
How  bright  its  glories  shine  ! 

2  Through  distant  Heathen  lands 
It  darts  a  vivid  *  ray, 

And  to  the  realms,  where  Satan  rcign'd. 
Imparts  celestial  day. 

.3       The  Israel  of  the  Lord 

In  Christ  their  glory  boast, 

And  on  tiie  honours  of  his  name 

Their  whole  salvation  trust. 

4  By  him  shall  millions  rise 
To  an  imniortal  crown, 

And  millions,  that  his  grace  despise, 
Shall  sink  in  ruin  down. 

5  Onr  reckoning  is  begun, 
And  on  the  account  will  go, 

Till  clos'd  in  everlasting  ioy, 
Or  never-ending  woe. 

CCIII.  Christ's  Message.    Luke  iv.  18, 19. 

1  1LJA]U(  the  glad  sound!  the  Saviour  comes! 

The  Saviour  promis'd  long! 
Let  every  heart  prepare  a  throne, 
And  every  voice  a  song. 

2  On  him  the  spirit  largely  pour'd 

Exerts  its  sacred  fire  ; 

*  Lively. 


548  LUKE. 

Wisdom  and  might,  and  zeal  and  love  . 
His  holy  breast  inspire. 

3  He  comes  the  prisoners  to  release. 

In  Satan's  bondage  held  ; 
The  gates  of  brass  before  him  burst. 
The  iron  fetters  yield. 

4  He  comes  from  thickest  films  of  vice 

To  clear  the  mental  ray, 
And  on  the  eye-balls  of  the  blind 
To  pour  celestial  day. 

5  He  comes  the  broken  heart  to  bind, 

The  bleeding  soul  to  cure. 
And  with  the  treasures  of  his  grace 
To  enrich  the  humble  poor. 

6  His  silver  trumpets  publish  loud 

The  jubilee  of  the  Lord  *; 
Our  debts  are  all  remitted  now. 
Our  heritage  restor'd. 

7  Our  glad  hosannas,  Prince  of  Peace, 

Thy  welcome  shall  proclaim ; 
And  heaven's  eternal  arches  ring 
With  thy  beloved  name. 

CCIV.  Tlie  recovered  Damoniac,  an  Emblem  of  a  converted  Sinner. 
Luke  viii.35. 

1  JESUS,  we  own  thy  saving  power, 
"    And  thy  victorious  hand  ; 
Hell's  legions  tremble  at  thy  feet, 

And  fly  at  thy  command. 

2  O'er  souls,  by  passions  uproar  fiU'd 

With  anarchy  f  unknown. 
The  nobler  powers,  restor'd  by  thee. 
Ascend  their  peaceful  throne. 

3  No  more  they  rend  their  cloathing  off  j 

No  more  their  wounds  repeat ; 
But  gentle  and  compos'd  they  wait 
Attentive  at  thy  feet. 

4  O'er  thousands  more,  where  Satan  rules. 

May  we  such  triumphs  see; 
And  be  their  rescu'd  souls  and  ours 
Devoted,  Lord,  to  thee. 

*  The  acceptable  year  of  the  Lord,  i.  e.  the  year  of  jubilee,    Levit.  xxv, 
■f  Confusion  and  disorder. 


LUKE.  549 

CCV.  The  good  Samaritan.     Luke  x.  30— 37. 

1  T;\\THER  of  mercies,  send  tliy  grace 
-''     All-powerful  from  ;vbove, 

To  form  in  our  obedient  souls 
The  image  of  th)-  love. 

2  O  may  our  sympathising  breasts 

That  generous  pleasure  know 
Kindlv  to  share  in  others  joy, 
And  weep  for  others  woe  ! 

3  When  the  most  helpless  sons  of  grief 

In  low  distress  are  laid, 
Soft  be  our  hearts  their  pains  to  feel. 
And  swift  our  hands  to  aid. 

4  So  Jesus  look'd  on  dying  men, 

When  thron'd  above  the  skies, 
And,  'midst  the  embraces  of  his  God, 
He  felt  compassion  rise. 

5  On  wings  of  love  the  Saviour  flew 

To  raise  us  from  the  ground, 
And  made  the  richest  of  his  blood 
A  balm  for  every  wound. 

CCVI.  The  Care  of  the  Soul,  the  one  Thing  needful.    Luke  x.  4?. 

1  \T7HY  will  ye  lavish  out  your  years 

^^     Amidst  a  thousand  trifling  cares? 
While  in  tliis  various  range  of  thought 
The  one  thing  needful  is  forgot  ^ 

2  Why  will  ye  chase  the  fleeting  wind. 
And  famish  an  immortal  mind  ; 
While  angels  with  regret  look  down 
To  see  you  spurn  a  heavenly  crown  ? 

3  The  eternal  God  calls  from  above. 
And  Jesus  pleads  his  bleeding  love  ; 
AwakenM  conscience  gives  you  pain  ; 
And  shall  they  join  their  pleas  in  vain  ? 

4  Not  so  your  dying  eyes  shall  view 
Those  objects,  which  ye  now  pursue ; 
Not  so  shall  heaven  aiid  hell  appear, 
When  tlic  decisive  hour  is  near. 

5  Almighty  God,  thy  power  impart 
To  fix  convictions  on  the  heart ; 
Thy  power  unveils  the  blindest  cycf, 
And  makes  the  haughtiest  scorner  wise. 

VOL.  HI.  3  Z 


550  LUKE. 


CCVII.  Mary's  Choice  of  the  better  Part.    Luke  x.  42. 

1  "QESET  with  snares  on  every  hand, 
■*"^  In  life's  uncertain  path  I  stand : 
Saviour  divine*  diffuse  thy  light 

To  guide  my  doubtful  footsteps  right. 

2  Engage  this  roving  treacherous  heart 
To  fix  on  Mary's  better  part ; 

To  scorn  the  trifles  of  a  day 

For  joys,  that  none  can  take  away. 

3  Then  let  the  wildest  storms  arise : 
Let  tempests  mingle  earth  and  skies ; 
No  fatal  shipwreck  shall  I  fear, 
But  all  my  treasures  with  me  bear. 

4  If  thou,  my  Jesus,  still  be  nigh, 
Cheerful  I  live,  and  joyful  die: 
Secure,  when  mortal  comforts  flee. 
To  find  ten  thousand  worlds  in  thee. 

CCVIII.  Christ*$  little  Flock  comforted  uith  the  Fiev:s  of  a  Kingdom. 
Luke  xii.  32. 

1  \^E  little  flock,  whom  Jesus  feeds. 

Dismiss  your  anxious  cares  ; 
Look  to  the  Shepherd  of  your  souls, 
And  smile  away  your  fears. 

2  Though  wolves  and  lions  prowl  around, 

His  staff  is  your  defence : 
'Midst  sands  and  rocks  your  shepherd*s  voice 
Calls  streams  and  pastures  thence. 

3  Your  Father  will  a  kingdom  give. 

And  give  it  with  delight ; 
His  feeblest  child  his  love  shall  call 
To  triumph  in  his  sight. 

4  Ten  thousand  praises.  Lord,  we  bring 

For  sure  supports  like  these  : 
And  o'er  the  pious  dead  we  sing 
Thy  living  promises. 

5  For  all  we  hope,  and  they  enjoy, 

We  bless  a  Saviour's  name  ; 
Nor  shall  that  stroke  disturb  the  song, 
Which  breaks  this  mortal  frame. 

CCIX.  Providing  Bags  that  ivax  not  old,  SjC.    Luke  .\ii.  33. 

1  nPHESE  mortal  joys,  how  soon  they  fade  I 
-^    How  swift  they  pass  away  ! 


LUKE.  5.51 


The  dying  flower  reclines  its  head, 
The  beauty  of  a  day  ! 

2  The  bags  are  rent,  the  treasures  lost, 

We  fondly  call'd  our  own  : 
Scarce  could  we  the  possession  boast, 
And  strait  we  found  it  gone. 

3  But  there  are  joys  that  cannot  die. 

Which  God  laid  up  in  store  ; 
Treasure  beyond  the  changing  sky, 
Brighter  than  golden  ore. 

4  To  that  my  rising  heart  aspires, 

Secure  to  find  its  rest, 
And  glories  in  such  wide  desires 
Of  all  their  wish  possess'd. 

5  The  seeds,  which  piety  and  love 

Have  scatter'd  here  below, 
In  the  fair  fertile  fields  above 
To  ample  harvests  grow. 

6  The  mite  my  willing  hands  can  give 

At  Jesus'  feet  I  lay  ; 
Grace  shall  the  humble  gift  receive, 
And  heaven  at  large  repay. 

CCX.  The  active  Christian.    Luke  xii.  35—38. 

1  \^E  servants  of  the  Lord, 

Each  in  his  office  wait. 
Observant  of  his  heavenly  word. 
And  watchful  at  his  gate. 

2  Let  all  your  lamps  be  bright. 
And  trim  the  golden  flame  ; 

Gird  up  your  loins,  as  in  his  sight, 
For  awful  is  his  name. 

3  Watcli,  'tis  your  Lord's  command  ; 
And  while  we  speak,  he's  near: 

Mark  the  first  signal  of  his  hand, 
And  ready  all  appear. 

4  O  happy  servant  he 

In  such  a  posture  found  ! 
He  shall  his  Lord  with  rapture  see, 
And  be  with  honour  crown'd. 

5  Christ  shall  the  banquet  spread 
With  his  own  royal  hand. 

And  raise  that  favourite  servant's  head 
Amidst  the  angelic  band. 
3  Z2 


552  LUKE. 

CCXI.  Room  at  the  Gospel-Feast.    Luke  xiv.  22. 

1  'T'HE  King  of  heaven  his  table  spreads, 

And  dainties  crown  the  board  ; 
Not  paradise  with  all  its  joys 
Could  such  delight  afford. 

2  Pardon  and  peace  to  dying  men, 

And  endless  life  are  given, 
And  the  rich  blood,  that  Jesus  shed 
To  raise  the  soul  to  heaven. 

3  Ye  hungry  poor,  that  long  have  stray'd 

In  sin's  dark  mazes,  come: 
Come  from  the  hedges  and  highways, 
And  grace  shall  find  you  room. 

4  Millions  of  souls  in  glory  now 

Were  fed  and  feasted  here  ; 
And  millions  more,  still  on  the  way. 
Around  the  board  appear. 

5  Yet  is  his  house  and  heart  so  large, 

That  millions  more  may  come  ; 
Nor  could  the  wide  assembling  world 
O'er-fill  the  spacious  room. 

6  AH  things  are  ready  ;  come  away, 

Nor  weak  excuses  frame  ; 
Croud  to  your  places  at  the  feast, 
And  bless  the  founder's  name. 

CCXII.  The  present  and  future  State  of  the  Saint  andSinner  compared. 
Lukexvi.  25. 

I   TN  what  confusion  earth  appears  ! 
■*■  God's  dearest  children  bath'd  in  tears ! 
While  they,  who  heaven  itself  deride. 
Riot  in  luxury  and  pride. 

-2  But  patient  let  my  soul  attend, 
And,  ere  I  censure,  view  the  end  : 
That  end,  how  different !   who  can  tell 
The  wide  extremes  of  heaven  and  hell  ? 

'S  See  the  red  flames  around  him  twine, 
Who  did  in  gold  and  purple  shine  ! 
Nor  can  his  tongue  one  drop  obtain 
To  allay  the  scorching  of  his  pain. 

4  While  round  the  saint,  so  poor  below, 
Fidl  rivers  of  salvation  flow  ; 
On  Abraham's  breast  he  leans  his  head. 
And  banquets  on  celestial  bread. 


LUKE.  -553 

5  Jesus,  my  Saviour,  let  me  slmro 
The  nit'unest  oi  thy  >icrvaiits'  tare  ; 
May  I  at  last  approach  to  taste 
The  blessings  of  thy  marriage-feast. 

CCXIII.    Rebels  against  Chist  executed.     Luke  xix.  CT. 

1  UR  comes  ;  tlie  royal  conqueror  comes  ; 
^^  Ills  lei^rions  fill  the  sky  ; 

Anirchc  trumpets  rend  the  tombs, 
And  loud  proclaim  him  ni<^h. 

2  Ye  rebel  hosts,  how  vain  your  rage 

Against  this  sovereign  Lord  ! 
What  madness  bears  you  on  to  engngc 
The  terrors  of  his  sword  ? 

3  **  Bring  fori  h,"  he  cries,  "  those  sons  of  pride, 

«'  That  scorn'd  my  gentle  sway, 
*'  To  prove  the  arm  they  once  defy'd 
*'  Omnipotent  to  slay." 

4  Tremendous  scene  of  wrath  tlivine  ! 

How  wide  the  vengeance  spreads  : 
His  pointed  darts  of  lightning  shine 
Round  their  defenceless  heads. 

5  Now  let  the  rebels  seek  tliat  face, 

From  wiiich  they  cannot  flee  ! 
And  thou,  my  soul,  adore  the  grace, 
Tiiat  sweetly  coiupier'd  thee. 

CCXIV.  The  Bedeaiier'sTcarszveptm-er  lost  Souls.  Luke  xix.  11,  12. 

1  \X7"H  AT  venerable  sight  appears  ? 

The  son  of  God  dissolv'd  in  tears  ! 
Trace,  ()  my  soul,  with  sad  surprise. 
The  sorrows  of  a  Saviour's  eyes. 

2  For  whom,  blest  Jesus,  we  would  know. 
Doth  such  a  sacred  torrent  flow  r 
What  brother,  or  what  friend  of  thine, 

Is  grac'd  and  mouru'd  with  drops  divine  : 

i  Nor  brother  there,  nor  friend  I  see. 
Hut  sous  of  pride  and  cruelty  ; 
Who  like  rapacious  tigers  stood 
Insatiate  panting  for  thy  blood. 

4  Dear  Lord,  and  did  thy  gushing  eyes 
Thus  stream  o'er  ilying  enemies  ? 
And  can  thv  tenderness  lorget 
Tbesiiuier  liumbk'd  at  thv  iVel  ' 


551'  LUKE. 

5  With  deep  remorse  our  bowels  move, 
That  we  have  Avrong'd  such  matchless  love  ; 
Thy  gentle  pity,  Lord,  display, 

And  smile  these  trembling  fears  away. 

6  Give  us  to  shine  before  thy  face, 
Eternal  trophits  of  thy  grace  ; 

Where  songs  of  praise  thy  saints  employ, 
And  mingle  Avith  a  Saviour's  joy. 

CCXV.    Departed  Saints  living  to  God.    Luke  xx.  38. 

1  T^HRICE  happy  state,  where  saints  shall  live 

•*■    Around  their  Father's  throne. 
In  every  joy,  that  heaven  can  give, 
And  live  to  God  alone  ! 

2  Unnumber'd  bands  of  kindred  minds. 

That  dwelt  in  feeble  clay. 
Us  and  our  woes  have  left  behind 
To  reign  in  endless  day. 

3  Immortal  vigour  now  they  breathe, 

And  all  the  air  is  peace  ; 
They  chide  our  tears,  that  mourn  the  death, 
Which  brought  their  souls  release. 

4  Thus  shall  the  grace  of  Christ  prevail, 

Till  all  his  chosen  meet ; 
And  not  the  meanest  servant  fail 
His  household  to  complete. 

5  To  that  blest  goal  *  with  ardent  haste 

Our  active  souls  would  tend  ; 
Nor  feel  their  sorrows,  as  they  passM 
To  such  a  blissful  end. 

COXVI.    Christ's  Admonition  to,  and  Care  of  Peter  under  approach- 
ing Trials.     Luke  xxii.  31,  32. 

1  X-JOW  keen  the  tempter's  malice  is! 

How  artful,  and  how  great  ! 
Though  not  one  grain  shall  be  destroy 'd. 
Yet  will  he  sift  the  wheat. 

2  But  God  can  all  his  power  controul. 

And  gather  in  his  chain  ; 
And,  where  he  seems  to  triumph  most, 
The  captive  soul  regain. 

3  There  is  a  Shepherd  kind  and  strong, 

Still  watchful  for  his  sheep  ; 

*  The  end  of  a  race,  where  the  prize  was  hung.  / 


LUKE.  555 

Nor  shall  the  infernal  lion  rend, 
A\'honi  he  vouchsafes  to  keep. 

4  Blest  Jesus,  intercede  for  us. 

That  we  may  fall  no  more  ; 
O  raise  us,  when  we  prostrate  lie, 
And  comfort  lost  restore. 

5  Thy  secret  energy  impart, 

That  faith  may  never  fail  ; 
But,  'midbt  whole  showers  of  fiery  darts, 
'I'hat  temper'd  shield  prevail. 

6  Secur'd  ourselves  hy  grace  divine, 

We'll  guard  our  brethren  too; 
And,  taught  their  frailty  by  our  own. 
Our  care  of  them  renew. 

CCXVII.      Cfirist's  Prayer  for  his  Enemies.    Luke  xxiii.  34; 

1  /\  LOUD  I  sing  the  %vondrous  grace, 

Christ  to  his  murderers  bare  ; 
Which  made  the  tottering  cross  its  throne, 
And  hung  its  trophies  there. 

2  Fatlier,  forgive,  his  mercy  cried 

Wiih  his  expiring  breath, 
And  drew  eternal  blessings  down 
On  those,  who  wrought  his  death, 

3  Then  may  I  hope  for  pardon  too. 

Though  I  have  pierc'd  the  Lord  ; 
Blest  Jesus,  in  my  favour  speak 
That  all-prevailing  Avord. 

4  I  knew  not  what  my  madness  did, 

While  I  remain'd  thy  foe  : 
Soon  as  I  saw  the  wounds  were  thine, 
My  tears  began  to  flow. 

5  Melted  by  goodness  so  divine, 

I  woufd  its  footsteps  trace  ; 
And,  while  beneath  thy  cross  I  stand. 
My  fiercest  foes  embrace. 

CCXVlir.     The  Resunection  of  Christ.    Lukexxiv.34. 
1    \^i^!^,  the  Redeemer  rose  ; 

The  Saviour  left  the  dead  ; 
And  o'er  our  hellish  foes 
High  rais'd  his  conquering  head  : 
In  wild  dismay 
The  guards  around 
Fell  to  the  ground, 
And  sunk  away. 


^•56  LUKL. 

2  Lo,  the  angelic  bands 
In  full  assembly  meet. 

To  wait  his  high  commands. 
And  worship  at  his  feet  : 

Joyful  they  come, 

And  wing  their  way 

From  realms  of  day 

To  such  a  tomb. 

3  Then  back  to  heaven  they  fly, 
And  the  glad  tidings  bear  : 
Hark  !   as  they  soar  on  high, 
What  music  fills  the  air  I 

Their  anthems  say, 
"  Jesus  who  bled 
"  Hath  left  the  dead  ; 
He  rose  to-day." 

4  Ye  mortals,  catch  the  sound, 
RedeemM  by  him  from  hell ; 
And  send  the  echo  round 

The  globe  on  which  you  dwell  ; 
TransjDorted  cry, 
"  Jesus  who  bled 
"  Hath  left  the  dead 
**  No  more  to  die." 

5  All-hail,  triumphant  Lord, 
Who  sav'st  us  with  thy  blood  ! 
Wide  be  thy  name  ador'd, 
Thou  rising,  reigning  God  ! 

With  thee  Ave  rise, 
With  thee  we  reign. 
And  empires  gain 
Beyond  the  skies. 

CCXIX.    The  Gospel  first  preached  at  Jerusalem.    Luke  xxiv.  47. 

1  '*  /^O,  saith  the  Lord,  proclaim  my  grace 

^^  "  To  all  the  sons  of  Adam's  race, 
*'  Pardon  for  every  crimson  sin, 
**  And  at  Jerusalem  begin. 

2  **  There,  where  my  blood,  not  fully  dry, 
*'  Stands  warm  upon  mount  Calvary  ; 

**  That  blood  shall  purge  away  their  guilt, 
*'  By  whom  so  lately  it  was  spilt. 

3  "  Now  let  the  daring  rebels  turn, 

**  And  o'er  their  bleeding  Sovereign  mourn  ; 
*'  Their  bleeding  Sovereign  shall  forgive, 
"  And  bid  the  rebels  look  and  live." 
3 


JOHN.  557 

4  Is  this  thy  voice,  all-gracious  Lord  ? 
And  did  tiie  rebels  hear  thy  word? 
And  did  they  fall  beneath  thy  feet, 
And  on  their  knees  forgiveness  meet  ? 

5  Then  may  I  hope  for  mercy  too  ; 
Such  love  can  my  hard  heart  subdue, 
And  give  this  gudty  soui  a  place 
Aniong  the  captives  of  thy  grace. 

C  Here  be  it  daily  mine  employ 

To  bathe  tliy  wounds  with  tears  of  joy, 

'I'ill  'midst  the  new  Jerusalem 

In  one  full  choir  we  sing  thy  name. 

CCXX.     God's  Loie  to  the  IVorld  in  sending  Christ  for  its  Redemp' 
tion.     John  iii.  16. 

1  CING  to  the  Lord  a  new  melodious  song  : 

Assist  the  choir,  ye  tribes  of  every  tongue  : 
Wide  as  the  world  his  sovereign  mercy  reigns  ; 
Wide  as  the  world  resound  the  rapturous  strains. 
Ye  angels,  join  thejoyful  acclamation, 
And  sing  the  love,  that  brings  to  men  salvation. 

2  His  gracious  eye  beheld  in  full  survey 
Where  Adam's  race  in  mingled  ruin  lay  : 
No  human  aid  the  danger  could  avert : 

No  angel's  hand  could  soothe  the  raging  smart: 
In  his  own  breast  divine  compassion  rises, 
And  the  grand  scheme  the  court  of  heaven  surprises. 

3  God's  only  son  with  peerless  *  ^lories  bright, 
His  Father's  fairest  image  and  delight. 
Justice  and  grace  the  victim  have  decreed, 
To  wear  our  flesh,  and  in  that  flesh  to  bleed. 

Prostrate  in  dust,  ye  sinners,  all  adore  him. 

And  tremble,  while  your  hearts  rejoice  before  him. 

4  The  wonderous  work  is  done  ;  the  covenant  stood, 
And  Jesus  expiates  human  guilt  with  blood  ; 
Nail'd  to  the  tree  he  bows  his  sacred  head  ; 

A  mangled  corpse  he  sojourns  with  the  dead  ; 
Ilising,  the  gospel  sends  through  every  nation  ; 
Sinners  believe,  and  gain  complete  salvation. 

5  Father  of  Grace,  accept  our  humble  praise  ; 
O  let  it  run  through  everlasting  days  ! 

And  thou,  blest  Saviour,  spotless  Lamb  of  God, 
Accept  the  souls  dear-ransom'd  with  thy  blood  ; 

And  to  those  songs,  form  all  our  feeble  voices; 

In  which  the  choir  round  thy  bright  throne  rejoices. 

♦  Unequalled. 
VOL.  III.  4  A 


•553  JOHN. 

CK^XXI.  Tlie  Spirifs  Infiuences  compared  to  living  JVater.  John  iv.  10. 

1  TJLEST  Jesus,  source  of  grace  divine, 

What  soul-refreshing  streams  are  thine  ! 
O  bring  these  heaUng  waters  nigh, 
Or  we  must  droop,  and  fall,  and  die. 

2  No  traveller  through  desart  lands, 
'Midst  scorching  suns,  and  burning  sands. 
More  eager  longs  for  cooling  rain, 

Or  pants  the  current  to  obtain. 

3  Our  longing  souls  aloud  would  sing, 
Spring  up,  celestial  fountain,  spring  ; 
To  a  redundant  river  flow, 

And  cheer  this  thirsty  land  below. 

4  May  this  blest  torrent  near  my  side 
Through  all  the  desart  gently  glide  ; 
Then  in  Emanuel's  land  above 
Spread  to  a  sea  of  joy  and  love. 

CCXXII.    The  Christian's  secret  Feast.    John  i  v.  32. 

1  \^^  praise  the  Lord  for  heavenly  bread, 

With  which  immortal  souls  are  fed  : 
We  praise  thee  for  that  heavenly  feast. 
Which  Jesus  with  delight  could  taste. 

2  He,  while  he  sojourn'd  here  below. 

Had  meat,  which  strangers  could  not  know  : 
That  meat  he  to  his  people  gives, 
And  he  that  tastes  the  banquet  lives. 

5  So  let  me  live,  sustain'd  by  grace, 
Regal'd  with  fruits  of  righteousness : 
Enter  my  heart,  all-gracious  Lord, 
And  sup  with  me,  and  deck  thy  board. 

4  Devotion,  faith,  and  zealous  love, 
And  hope,  that  bears  the  soul  above, 
Be  these  my  dainties,  till  I  rise, 
And  taste  the  joys  of  paradise. 

CCXXIII.    The  Paralytic  at  Bethesda.    John  v.  6. 

1  TOEHOLD  the  great  physician  stands, 

Whose  skill  is  ever  sure ; 
And  loud  he  calls  to  dying  men, 
And  free  he  offers  cure. 

2  And  will  ye  hear  his  gracious  voice. 

While  sore  diseas'd  ye  lie  ? 
Or  will  ye  all  his  grace  despise, 
And  trifle  till  ye  die  ? 


JOHN.  559 

3  Blest  Jesus,  speak  the  healing  word, 

And  inward  vigour  give  ; 

Then,  rais'd  by  energy  divine, 

Shall  helpless  mortals  live, 

4  With  cheerful  pace  our  trembling  feet 

In  thv  blest  patlis  shall  run, 
Till  /ion'b  healthful  hill  they  gain, 
Where  no  complaint  is  known. 

CCXXIV.     God^s  Purposes  effectual,  and  Christ's  Invitations  sincere. 
John  vi.  37. 

1  TS  there  a  sight  in  earth  or  heaven 

Can  such  delight  impart. 

As  Jesus'  wide-extended  arms 

And  softly-  melting  heart  ? 

2  "  All  that  my  heavenly  Father  gives 

*'  Shall  come,"  the  Saviour  cries, 
"  And  every  weakest  soul,  that  comes, 
"  Find  favour  in  mine  eyes. 

3  "  I'll  not  reject  him  with  disdain, 

'*  Nor  hurl  him  down  to  hell  ; 
**  But,  folded  in  my  kind  embrace, 
"  He  safe  and  blest  shall  dwell." 

4  Hearken,  ye  dying  sinners  all  j 

All  hasten,  while  ye  hear  ; 
For  crouds  of  wretched  souls  at  oncp 
May  find  their  refuge  there. 

5  I  hear  thy  voice,  and  I  obey  ; 

Low  at  thy  feet  I  fall ; 
Nor  shall  the  tempter's  voice  prevail 
Against  the  Saviour's  call. 

CCXXV.     Christ's  Invitation  to  thirsty  Souls.    John  vii.  37. 

1  n^'HF  Lord  of  life  exalted  stands. 

Aloud  he  cries,  and  spreads  his  hands : 
He  calls  ten  thousand  sinners  round, 
And  sends  a  voice  from  every  wound. 

2  "  Attend,  ye  thirst}' souls  draw  near, 
*'  And  satiate  all  your  wishes  here  : 

''  Behold  the  living  fountain  flows 
"  In  streams  as  various  as  your  wocs. 

3  '*  An  ample  pardon  here  I  give, 

*'  And  bid  the  sentenc'd  rebel  live, 
♦'  Shew  him  my  Father's  smiling  face, 
*'  And  lodge  him  in  his  dear  embrace. 
4  A  2 


560  JOHN. 

4  "  I  purge  from  sin's  detested  stain, 

*'  And  make  the  crimson  white  again, 

"  Lead  to  celestial  joys  refin'd, 

**  And  lasting  as  the  deathless  mind. 

5  "  Must  I  anew  my  pity  prove  ? 

*'  Witness  the  words  of  melting  love, 

**  The  gushing  tear,  the  labouring  breath, 

'*  And  all  these  scars  of  bleeding  death.'* 

6  Blest  Saviour,  I  can  doubt  no  more  ; 
I  hear,  and  wonder,  and  adore  : 
Panting  I  seek  that  fountain-head. 
Whence  waters  so  divine  proceed. 

7  Clear  spring  of  life,  flow  on,  and  roll 
With  growing  swell  from  pole  to  pole. 
Till  flowers  and  fruits  of  paradise 
Round  all  the  winding  current  rise. 

8  Still  near  my  stream  may  I  be  found. 
Long  as  I  tread  this  earthly  ground  ; 
Cheer  with  thy  wave  death's  gloomy  shade, 
Then  through  the  fields  of  Canaan  spread. 

CCXXVf.    True  Liberty  givm  by  Christ.    John  viii.  36. 

1  "LJ  ARK  !  for  'tis  God's  own  son  that  calls 
■*"      To  life  and  liberty  ; 
Transported  fall  before  his  feet. 

Who  makes  the  prisoners  free. 

2  The  cursed  bonds  of  sin  he  breaks. 

And  breaks  old  Satan's  chain  : 
Smiling  he  deals  those  pardons  round, 
Which  free  from  endless  pain. 

3  Into  the  captive  heart  he  pours 

His  Spirit  from  on  high  ; 
We  lose  the  terrors  of  the  slave, 
And  Abba,  Father,  cry. 

4  Shake  off  yonr  bonds,  and  sing  his  grace  ; 

The  sinner's  friend  proclaim; 
And  call  on  all  around  to  seek 
True  freedom  by  his  name. 

5  Walk  on  at  large,  till  you  attain 

Your  Father's  house  above  ; 
There  shall  you  wear  immortal  crowns. 
And  sing  redeeming  love. 


JOHN.  561 


CCXXVn.  Tlte  same.     John  viii.  36. 

1  AND  shall  we  still  be  slaves, 
"^^  And  in  our  fetters  lie, 

Wheiismnmon'd  by  a  voice  divine 
To  assert  our  liberty  ? 

2  Did  the  great  Saviour  bleed 
Our  freedom  to  obtain, 

That  we  should  trample  on  his  blood, 
And  glory  in  our  chain? 

3  Alas,  the  sordid  mind ! 

How  all  its  powers  are  broke  ! 
Proud  of  a  tyrant's  haughty  sway, 
And  practis'd  to  the  yoke  ! 

4  Divine  Redeemer,  hear, 
Thy  sovereign  power  impart. 

And  let  thy  generous  spirit  wake 
True  ardour  in  our  heart. 

5  Then  shall  the  sons  of  death. 
That  in  the  dungeon  lie. 

Spring  to  the  throne  of  pardonmg  grace, 
And  Abba,  father,  cry 

CCXXVIII.  CItrisi  the  Door.    John  x.  9. 

1  A  WAKE,  our  souls,  and  bless  his  name, 
'^*-  Whose  mercies  never  fail ; 

Who  opens  wide  a  door  of  hope 
In  Achor's  gloomy  vale  *. 

2  Behold  the  portal  wide  display'd. 

The  buildings  strong  and  fair ; 
Within  are  pastures  fresh  and  green. 
And  living  streams  are  there. 

3  Enter,  my  soul,  with  cheerful  haste, 

For  Jesus  is  the  door  ; 
Nor  fear  the  serpent's  wily  arts. 
Nor  fear  the  lion's  roar. 

4  O  may  thy  grace  the  nations  lead. 

And  Jews  and  Gentiles  come, 
All  travelling  through  one  beauteous  gate 
To  one  eternal  home. 

*  Hosea  ii.  15. 


562  JOHN. 


CCXXIX.  Abundant  Life  by  Christ  our  Shepherd.    John  x.  iO. 

1  T3RAISE  to  our  Shepherd's  gracious  name. 

Who  on  so  kind  an  errand  came ; 
Came,  that  by  him  his  flock  might  live, 
And  more  abundant  life  receive. 

2  Hail,  great  Emanuel  from  above. 
High  seated  on  thy  throne  of  love! 
O  pour  the  vital  torrent  down, 

Thy  people's  joy,  their  Lord's  renown. 

3  Scarce  half  alive  we  sigh  and  cry  ; 
Scarce  raise  to  thee  our  languid  eye ; 
Kind  Saviour,  let  our  dying  state 
Compassion  in  thy  heart  create. 

4  The  Shepherd's  blood  the  sheep  must  heal ; 
O  may  we  all  its  influence  feel ; 

Till  inward  deep  experience  show, 
Christ  can  begin  a  heaven  below. 

CCXXX.  Christ's  Sheep  described.    John  x.  27. 

1  T^HY  flock,  with  what  a  tender  care, 

Blest  Jesus,  dost  thou  keep  ? 
Fain  would  my  weak,  my  wandering  soul 
Be  number'd  with  thy  sheep. 

2  Gentle  and  tractable  and  plain 

My  heart  would  ever  be, 
Averse  to  harm,  propense  to  help. 
And  faithful  still  to  thee. 

3  The  gentle  accents  of  thy  voice 

My  listening  soul  would  hear  ; 
And,  by  the  signals  of  thy  will, 
I  all  my  course  would  steer. 

4  I  follow  where  my  Shepherd  leads, 

And  mark  the  path  he  drew  ; 
My  Shepherd's  feet  mount  Zion  tread, 
And  I  shall  reach  it  too. 

CCXXXI.  The  Happiness  and  Security  of  Cbisi's  Sheep. 
John  X.  28. 

1  "IVT ^  soul,  with  joy  attend, 

While  Jesus  silence  breaks ; 
No  angel's  harp  such  music  yields, 
As  what  my  Shepherd  speaks. 

2  "I  know  my  sheep,"  he  cries, 
"  My  soul  approves  them  well: 


ions.  sGi 

*'  Vain  is  the  treacherous  world's  disguise, 
•*  And  vain  the  rage  of  hclJ. 

3  *'  I  freclv  feed  them  now 
*'  With  tokens  of  niv  love, 

**  But  richer  pastures  I  prepare, 
"  And  sweeter  streams  above. 

4  '*  Unnumber'd  years  of  bliss 
"  I  to  my  sheep  will  give; 

<*  And,  while  my  throne  unshaken  stands^ 
*'  Shall  all  my  chosen  live. 

5  "  This  tried  Almighty  hand 
*'  Is  rais'd  for  their  defence  : 

*♦  Where  is  the  power  shall  reach  them  there? 
*'  Or  what  shall  force  them  thence  ?" 

6  Enougjh,  my  gracious  Lord, 
Let  faith  triumphant  cry  ; 

My  heart  can  on  this  promise  live, 
Can  on  this  promise  die^ 

CCXXXII.  Christ's  Sheep  given  by  the  leather,  and  guarded  by  Omni 
potence.     John  x.  29,  30. 

1  TN  one  harmonious  cheerful  song. 

Ye  happy  saints,  combine  ; 
Loud  let  It  sound  from  every  tongue, 
The  Saviour  is  divine. 

2  The  least,  the  feeblest  of  the  sheep 

To  him  tlie  father  gave  ; 
Kind  is  his  heart  the  charge  to  keep, 
And  strong  his  arm  to  save. 

3  In  Christ  the  almighty  Father  dwells, 

And  Christ  and  he'are  one; 
The  rebel  power,  which  Christ  assails. 
Attacks  the  eternal  throne. 

4  That  hand,  which  heaven  and  eartli  sustains, 

And  bars  the  gates  of  hell, 
And  rivets  Satan  down  in  ciiains, 
Shall  guard  his  chosen  well. 

5  Now  let  the  infernal  lion  roar. 

How  vain  his  threats  appear! 
When  he  can  match  Jehovah's  power, 
I  will  begin  to  fear. 

CC  XX  XI II.  The  at  ir  act  ire  Influence  of  a  crwijied  Saviour, 
John  xii.  32. 

I       "DEHOLD  the  amazing  sight, 
""^  The  Saviour  lifted  high! 


564  JOHN* 

Behold  the  Son  of  God's  delight 
Expire  in  agony  ! 

2  For  whom,  for  whom,  my  heart, 
Were  all  these  sorrows  borne  ? 

Why  did  he  feel  that  piercing  smart, 
And  meet  that  various  scorn  ? 

3  For  love  of  us  he  bled, 
And  all  in  torture  died: 

'Twas  love,  that  bow'd  his  fainting  head, 
And  op'd  his  gushing  side. 

4  I  see,  and  I  adore 

In  sympathy  of  love : 
I  feel  the  strong  attractive  power 
To  lift  my  souf  above. 

5  Drawn  by  such  cords  as  these, 
Let  all  the  earth  combine 

With  cheerful  ardour  to  confess  / 

The  energy  divine. 

6  In  thee  our  hearts  unite, 
Nor  share  thy  griefs  alone,  ' 

But  from  thy  cross  pursue  their  flight 
To  thy  triumphant  throne. 

CCXXXIV.  Christ's  mysterious  Conduct  to  be  unfolded  hereafter. 
John  xiii.  7. 

1  TESUS,  we  own  thy  sovereign  hand, 
"    Thy  faithful  care  we  own  ; 
Wisdom  and  love  are  all  thy  ways. 

When  most  to  us  unknown. 

2  By  thee  the  springs  of  life  were  form'd. 

And  by  thy  breath  are  broke, 
And  good  is  every  awful  word. 
Our  gracious  Lord  hath  spoke. 

3  To  thee  we  yield  our  comforts  up. 

To  thee  our  lives  resign; 
In  straits  and  dangers  rich  and  safe, 
If  we  and  ours  are  thine. 

4  Thy  saints  in  earlier  liferemov'd, 

In  sweeter  accents  sing  ; 
And  bless  the  swiftness  of  their  flight. 
That  bore  them  to  their  King. 

5  The  burdens  of  a  lengthen'd  day 

With  patience  we  would  bear ; 
Till  e.ening's  welcome  hour  shall  shew 
VV^e  were  our  Master's  care. 


JOHN.  566 

CCXXXV.  Chnst^s  Pity  and  Consolation  ftr  fus  troubled  Disciples- 
John  xiv.  1 — 3. 

1  T3EACK,  all  ye  sorrows  of  the  heart. 

And  all  my  tears  be  dry ;  • 
That  christian  ne'er  can  be  forlorn, 
That  views  his  Jeius  iiigli. 

2  **  Let  not  your  bosoms  throb,"  he  says, 

"  Nor  be  your  souls  afraid  : 
"  Trust  in  your  God's  Ahnighty  name, 
*'  And  trust  your  Saviour's  aid. 

3  "  Fair  mansions  in  my  Father's  house 

*'  For  ail  his  children  wait  ; 
**  And  J,  your  elder  brother,  t^o 
*'  To  open  wide  the  gate. 

4  "  And  if  I  thither  go  before, 

'*  A  dwelling  to  prepare, 
**  I  surely  shall  return  again, 
*'  That  I  may  fix  you  there. 

5  '*  United  in  eternal  love, 

•*  My  chosen  shall  remain, 
''  And  with  rejoicing  hearts  shall  share 
*'  The  honours  of  my  reign." 

6  Yes,  Lord  ;  thv  gracious  words  we  hear. 

And  cordial  jovs  they  bring  : 
Frail  nature  may  extort  a  groan, 
But  faith  shall  learn  to  sing. 

CCXXXVI.  The  Christian's  Life  connected  zvith  that  of  Christ. 
Jolin  xiv.  19. 

'HE  covenant  of  a  Saviour's  love 
Shall  stand  for  ever  good. 
And  thus  his  life  shall  guard  the  souls 
He  purchas'd  with  his  blood. 

2  ''  I  hve  for  ever,"  saith  the  Lord, 

'*  And  you  shall  therefore  live; 
**  Receive  with  pleasure  every  pledge 
**  I\Iy  power  and  love  can  give." 

3  We  own  the  promise,  prince  of  grar^*^ 

Though  earthly  helpers  tlie; 
And  animate  our  fainting  hearts. 
While  Christ  our  friend  is  nigh. 
VOL.  III.  4  B 


T' 


566  JOHN. 

4  The  king  of  fears  can  do  no  more 
Than  stop  our  mortal  breath  j 
But  Jesus  gives  a  nobler  hfe, 
That  cannot  yield  to  death. 

CCXXX^^II.  Abiding  in  Christ  necessary  to  our  Fruilfulness,. 
Jol)n  XV.  4. 

1  T   ORD  of  the  vineyard,  Ave  adore 

That  power  and  grace  divine, 
Which  plants  our  wild,  our  barren  souls 
In  Christ  the  living:  vine. 

2  For  ever  may  they  there  abide, 

And,  from  that  vital  root, 
Be  influence  spread  through  every  branch* 
To  form  and  feed  the  fruit. 

3  Shine  forth,  my  God,  the  clusters  warm 

With  rays  of  sacred  love  ; 
Till  lulen's  soil,  and  Zion's  streams 
I'he  generous  plant  improve. 

CCXXXVIIl,  Oitr  Prayers  effectual,  tolien  ice  abide  in  Christ,  and 
his  IVord abidcihin  us.     John  xv.  7. 

1  "LJAIL,  gracious  Saviour,  all-divine! 

IMysterious,  ever-living  vine ! 
To  thee  united  may  we  live, 
And  nourish'd  by  thine  influence  thrive. 

2  Still  may  our  souls  in  thee  abide, 
Torn  by  no  tempests  from  thy  side  ; 
Nor  from  its  place  within  our  heart 
Thy  promise,  or  thy  law  depart. 

3  Then  shall  our  prayers  accepted  r'ise,  . 
Through  thee  a  grateful  sacrifice; 
And  all  our  sighs  before  thy  throne 
Descend  in  ample  blessings  down, 

4  In  silent  hope  our  souls  shall  wait 
Their  pension  from  thy  mercy's  gate; 
Nor  can  our  lips  or  hearts  express 

A  wish  proportion'd  to  thy  grace. 

CCXXXIX.  Continuing  in  Christ^s  Love.    John  xv.  9. 

1  'T^O  all  his  flock,  what  wondrous  love 

Doth  our  kind  Shepherd  bear  ! 
As  he  to  his  great  Father's  heart, 
So  we  to  his  are  dear. 

2  So  sure,  so  constant,  and  so  strong 

Do  his  endearments  prove: 


JOHN.  5C7 

O  may  their  encrgv  prcviiil 
To  fix  us  in  his  love. 

3  No  more  let  my  divided  heart 

From  this  blest  ectitre  turn  ; 

But,  (ir'd  hv  such  all-potent  rays, 

With  Hames  immortal  bum. 

4  Descend,  and  all  thv  power  display, 

And  all  thv  love  reveal; 
That  the  warm  streams  of  Jesus'  blood 
This  frozen  heart  may  feel. 

CCXL.  The  ^pasties  raid  Christians  chosen  bj  Christ  to  bring  forth 
permanent  Fruit.     John  xv.  lu. 

1  T  OWN,  my  God,  thy  sovereign  grace, 
■*■   And  bring  the  praise  to  thee; 

If  thou  my  chosen  portion  art. 
Thou  first  hast  chosen  me. 

2  My  gracious  counsellor  and  guide 

Will  hear  me  w^hen  I  pray  ; 
Nor,  while  I  urge  a  Saviour's  name, 
Will  frown  m^^coul  away. 

3  Blest  Jesus,  animate  my  heart 

With  beamsof  heavenly  love, 

And  teach  that  cold  unthankful  soil 

The  heavenly  seed  to  improve. 

4  In  copious  showers  thy  spirit  send 

To  water  all  the  ground  ; 
So  to  the  honour  of  thy  name 
Shall  lasting  fruit  be  found. 

CCXLI.  Peace  in  Christ  amidst  Tribulations.    John  xvi.  33. 

1  UENCEFORTHlet  each  believing  heart 

From  anxious  sorrows  cease  : 
Though  storms  of  trouble  rage  around. 
In  Jesus  we  have  peace, 

2  His  blood  from  wrath  to  come  redeems, 

And  his  Almighty  grar,(», 
By  bitterest  draughts  of  deep  distress, 
Its  healing  power  displays. 

3  Jesus,  our  captain,  marcird  before 

To  lead  us  to  the  fight ; 
And  now  he  reaclieth  out  the  crown 
With  heavenly  glories  bright. 
4  B  2 


568  JOHN. 

4  Lord,  'tis  enough,  thy  voice  we  hear  ; 
That  crown'd  bv  faith  we  see  : 
No  sorrows  shall  o'erwhelm  our  souls, 
Since  none  divide  from  thee. 

CCXLII.     Christ  sanctifying  himself,  thai  his  People  iiuiy  he  sanctified. 
John  xvii.  19, 

1  "R  EHOLD  the  bleeding  Lamb  of  God, 

Our  spotless  sacrifice  ! 
By  hands  of  barbarous  sinners  seiz'd, 
Nail'd  to  the  cross  he  dies. 

2  Blest  Jesus,  whence  this  streaming  blood  ? 

And  whence  this  foul  disgrace  ? 
Whence  all  these  pointed  thorns,  that  rend 
Thy  venerable  face  ? 

3  *'  I  sanctify  myself,"  he  cries, 

"  That  thou  may'st  holy  be  ; 
"  Come  trace  my  life  ;  come,  view  my  death, 
*'  And  learn  to  copy  me." 

4  Dear  Lord,  we  pant  for  holiness. 

And  inbred  sin  we  mourn  : 
To  the  bright  path  of  thy  commands 
Our  wandering  footsteps  turn. 

5  Not  more  sincerely  Avould  we  wish 

To  climb  the  heavenly  hill, 
Than  here  with  all  our  utmost  power 
Thy  model  to  fulfil. 

CCXLIII.    Meditations  on  the  Sepulchre  in  the  Garden,    John  xi.\.  4 1 , 

1  T^HE  sepulchres,  how  thick  they  stand 

Through  all  the  road  on  either  hand  ! 
And  burst  upon  the  starting  sight 
In  every  garden  of  delight ! 

2  Thither  the  winding  alleys  tend  ; 
There  all  the  flowery  borders  end  ; 

And  forms,  that  charm'd  the  eyes  before. 
Fragrance  and  music  are  no  more, 

3  Deep  in  the  damp  and  silent  cell 
My  fathers,  and  my  brethren  dwell ; 
Beneath  its  broad  and  gloomy  shade 
My  kindred,  and  my  friends  are  laid. 

4  But,  Mhile  I  tread  the  solemn  way. 
My  faith  that  Saviour  would  survey, 
Who  deign'd  to  sojourn  in  the  tomb. 
And  left  behind  a  rich  perfume. 


JOHN.  569 

5  IMv  thoughts  -with  ecstasy  unknown, 

While  from  his  grave  they  view  his  throne, 
Throus^h  my  own  sepulchre  i:iin  see 
A  paradise  reserv'd  tor  me. 

CCXLIV.    Christ  ascending  to  his  Father  and  God,  and  ours. 
John  XX.  17. 

1  TN  raptures  let  our  hearts  ascend 

Our  heavenly  seats  to  view, 
And  grateful  trace  that  shining  path 
Our  rising  Saviour  drew. 

2  "  Up  to  my  Father,  and  my  God, 

"  1  goj'*  the  conqueror  cries, 
*'  Up  to  your  Father,  and  your  God, 
"  My  brethren,  lift  your  eyes." 

3  And  doth  the  Lord  of  glory  call 

Hiich  worms  his  bretiiren  dear  ? 
And  doth  he  point  to  heaven's  high  throne, 
And  shew  our  Father  there  ? 

4  And  doth  he  teach  my  sinful  lips 

That  tuneful  sound,  my  God  ? 
And  breathe  his  Spirit  on  my  heart 
To  sJied  his  grace  abroad  ? 

5  O  world,  produce  a  good  like  this, 

And  thou  shalt  have  my  love  ; 

Till  then,  my  Father  claims  it  all, 

And  Christ,  who  dwells  above. 

6  Dear  Jesus,  call  this  willing  soul. 

That  struggles  with  its  clay  ; 
And  fain  would  leave  this  weary  load 
To  >ving  its  airy  way. 

CCXLV.    The  Disciples'  Jot/  at  Christ's  Appearance  to  them  after  his 
Resurrection.    John  xx.  19,  20. 

1  r^OME,  our  indulgent  Saviour,  come, 
^  Illustrious  conqueror  o'er  the  tomb  : 
Here  thine  assembled  servants  bless. 
And  fill  our  hearts  with  sacred  peace. 

2  O  come  thyself,  most  gracious  Lord, 
With  all  the  joy  thv  smiles  afford  ; 
Reveal  the  lustre  of  thy  face, 

And  make  us  feel  thy  vital  grace. 

3  With  rapture  kneeling  round  we  greet 
Thy  pierced  hands,  thy  wounded  feet ; 
And  from  the  scar,  that  marks  thy  side. 
We  see  our  life's  warm  torrent  glide. 


570  JOHN. 

4  Enter  our  hearts,  Redeemer  blest ; 
Enter,  thou  ever-honour'd  guest. 
Not  for  one  transient  hour  alone. 
But  tliere  to  fix  thy  lasting  throne. 

5  Own  this, mean  dwelling  as  thy  home  ; 
And,  when  our  life's  last  hour  is  come, 
Let  us  but  die,  as  in  thy  sight, 

And  death  shall  vanish  in  delight. 

CCXLVI.    Jppeal  to  Christ  for  the  Sinceriti^  of  Love  to  hinii 
John  xxi.  15. 

1  T^^  "'^t  I  Jo^'e  thee,  O  my  Lord  ? 

Behold  my  heart  and  see; 
And  turn  each  cursed  idol  out. 
That  dares  to  rival  thee. 

2  Do  not  I  love  thee  from  my  soul  ? 

Then  let  me  nothing  love  ! 

Dead  be  my  heart  toeverv  joy^ 

When  Jesus  cannot  move. 

3  Is  not  thy  name  melodious  still 

To  mine  attentive  ear  ? 
Doth  not  each  pulse  with  pleasure  bound 
My  Saviour's  voice  to  hear  ? 

4  Hast  thou  a  lamb  in  all  thy  flock, 

I  would  disdain  to  feed  ? 
Hast  thou  a  foe,  before  whose  face 
I  fear  thy  cause  to  plead  ? 

5  Would  not  mine  ardent  spirit  vie  * 

With  angels  round  the  throne. 
To  execute  thy  sacred  will, 
And  make  thy  glory  known. 

6  Would  not  my  heart  pour  forth  its  blood 

In  honour  of  thy  name, 
-    And  challenge  the  cold  hand  of  death 
To  damp  the  immortal  flame  ? 

7  Thou  know'st  I  love  thee,  dearest  Lord  : 

But  O  !  I  long  to  soar 
Far  from  the  sphere  of  mortal  joys. 
And  learn  to  love  .thee  more, 

CCXLVII.     Zeal  for  the  Cause  of  Christ ;  or  Peter  and  Johnfollozving 
their  Master.     John  xxi.  18 — 20  f. 

1   "DLEST  men,  who  stretch  their  willing  hands. 
Submissive  to  their  Lord's  commands, 

*  Endeavour  to  equal.  f  See  Family  Expositor  in  Loc, 


ACTS.  571 

And  yield  tlicir  liberty  and  breath 
To  liim,  that  lov'd  their. souls  in  death  ' 

2  Lead  me  to  suffer,  and  to  die, 

If  thou,  my  {ji^raeious  Lord,  art  nitrji  : 
One  smile  from  thee  my  heart  shall  lire. 
And  teach  me  smiling  to  expire. 

3  If  nature  at  the  trial  shake, 

And  from  the  cross  or  flames  draw  back, 
Grace  can  its  feeble  coiira<^e  raise, 
And  turn  its  tremblings  into  praise. 

4  AVhile  scarce  I  dare,  with  Peter,  sav, 
"  I'll  boldly  tread  the  bleeding  way  ;" 
Yist  in  thy  steps,  like  John,  I'd  move 
M'ith  humble  hope,  and  silent  Jove. 

CCXLVIir.     Christ  exalted  to  be  a  Prince  and  a  Saviour.    Acts  v.  31, 

1  PXALTKD  Prince  of  life,  we  own 

The  royal  honom-s  of  thy  throne  : 
'Tis  fix'd  by  God's  yMmig'ity  hand, 
And  sera{)hs  bow  at  thy  command. 

2  Exalted  Saviour,  we  confess 

The  sovereign  triumphs  of  the  grace; 
Where  beams  of  gentle  radiance  shine. 
And  temper  majesty  divine. 

3  Wide  thy  resistless  sceptre  sway, 
Till  all  thine  enemies  obey  : 

AV'ide  may  thy  cross  its  virtue  prove, 
And  conquer  millions  by  its  love. 

4  Mighty  to  vanquish,  and  forgive  ! 
Thine  Israel  shall  repent  and  live  ; 
And  loud  proclaim  tliy  healing  breath. 
Which  works  their  life,  who  wrought  thy  death. 

CCXLIX.     The  Believer  cnmmitting  his  departing  Spirit  to  Jesus, 
Acts  vii.  5'J. 

1  /^  Thou,  that  liast  redemption  wrought, 
^-^  Patron  of  souls,  thy  blood  hath  bought. 
To  thee  our  spirits  we  commit. 

Mighty  to  rescue  from  the  pit. 

2  Millions  of  blissful  souls  above, 
In  realms  of  purit\-  and  love, 

AV'ith  praise  of  endless  songs  proclaim 
The  honours  of  thy  faithful  name. 

3  When  all  the  powers  of  nature  fail'd. 
Thy  ever-constant  care  prcvail'd  ; 

2 


572  ACTS. 

Courag-e  and  joy  thy  friendship  spoke. 
When  every  mortal  bond  was  broke. 

4  We  on  that  friendship,  Lord,  repose. 
The  healing  balm  of  all  our  woes  ; 
And  we,  when  sinking  in  the  grave^ 
Trust  thine  omnipotence  to  save. 

5  O  !  may  our  spirits  by  tby  hand 
Be  gather'd  to  that  happy  band, 
Who,  'midst  the  blessings  of  thy  reign, 
Lt)se  all  remembrance  of  their  pain  ! 

6  In  raptures  there  divinely  sweet 
Give  us  our  kindred  souls  to  meet. 
And  wait  with  them  that  brighter  day. 
Which  all  thy  triumph  shall  display. 

CCL.     Peter's  Admonition  to  Simon  Magus.    Acts  viii.  21 — f4. 

1  CE  ARCHER  of  hearts,  before  thy  face 

I  all  my  soul  display  ; 
And,  conscious  of  its  innate  *  arts, 
Intreat  thy  strict  survey. 

2  If  lurking  in  its  inmost  folds 

I  any  sin  conceal, 
O  let  a  ray  of  light  divine 
The  secret  guile  reveal. 

3  If  tinctur'd  with  that  odious  gall 

Unknowing  I  remain, 
Let  grace,  like  a  pure  silver  stream. 
Wash  out  th'  accursed  stain. 

4  If  in  these  fatal  fetters  bound 

A  wretched  slave  I  lie, 
Smite  off  my  chains,  and  wake  my  soul 
To  light  and  liberty. 

5  To  humble  penitence  and  prayer 

Be  gentle  j^xity  given  ; 
Speak  ample  pardon  to  my  heart. 
And  seal  its  claim  to  heaven. 

C'CLI.  The  Descent  of  the  Spirit ;  or  his  Influences  desired.  Acts  x.  44. 

1  riREAT  Father  of  each  perfect  gift. 

Behold  thy  servants  wait ; 
With  longing  eyes  and  lifted  hands, 
We  flock  around  thy  gate. 

2  O  shed  abroad  that  mortal  gift. 

Thy  Spirit  from  abovfe, 

*  Natural. 


ACTS. 

To  bless  our  eyes  with  sacred  light, 
And  fire  our  hearts  with  love. 

3  With  speedy  tli^ht  may  He  descend, 

And  soUd  comfort  brincj, 
And  o'er  our  lant^uid  souls  extend 
His  all-reviving  \\\ug. 

4  Blest  earnest  of  eternal  joy. 

Declare  our  sins  forgiven  ; 
And  bear  with  energy  divine 

Our  raptur'd  thoughts  to  heaven. 

5  Diffuse,  O  God,  these  copious  showers, 

That  earth  its  fruit  may  yield, 
And  change  this  barren  wildt^rness 
To  Carmel's  flowery  field  *. 

CCLl  I.    The  Word  of  Solvation  sent  to  m.    Acts  xiii.  2G. 

1  A  ND  why  do  our  admiring  eyes 
'^^  These  gospel-glories  see  ? 

And  whence,  doth  every  heart  reply, 
Salvation  sent  to  me  ? 

2  In  fatal  shades  of  midnight  gloom 

Ten  thousand  wretches  stray  ; 
And  Satan  blinds  ten  thousand  more 
Amidst  the  blaze  of  day. 

3  Millions  of  raging  souls  beneath, 

In  endless  anguish  hear 
Harmonious  sounds  of  grace  transform'd 
To  echoes  of  despair. 

4  And  dost  thou,  Lord,  subdue  my  heart. 

And  shew  my  sins  forgiven. 
And  bear  thy  witness  to  my  part 
Amongst  the  heirs  of  heaven  ? 

5  As  the  redeemed  of  the  Lord, 

We  sing  the  Saviour's  name  ; 

And  while  the  long  salvation  lasts. 

Its  sovereign  grace  proclaim. 

CCLIIL     The  unknown  God.     Acts  xvii.  23. 

1  'T'HOU,  mighty  Lord,  art  God  alone, 

A  King  of  Majesty  unknown  ; 
And  all  thv  dazzling  glories  rise 
Beyond  the  reach  of  angels'  eyes. 

2  Yet  through  this  earth  thy  works  proclaim 
Some  notice  of  thy  reverend  name ; 

*  Isaiah  xxxv.  1,2. 
VOL.  HI.  4  C 


511 


574-  ACTS. 

And,  where  thy  gracious  gospel  shhies. 
We  read  it  in  the  fairest  hnes. 

3  But  O  !  how  few  of  Adam's  race 
Have  learnM  thy  nature  and  thy  ways! 
While  thousands,  e'en  in  lands  of  light, 
Are  buried  in  Egyptian  night. 

4  They  tread  thy  courts,  thy  word  they  hear, 
And  to  thy  solemn  rites  draw  near; 

Yet,  though  salvation  seems  so  nigh. 
Because  they  know  not  God,  they  die. 

5  Send  thy  victorious  gospel  forth 
Wide  from  these  regions  of  the  north ; 
And  through  thy  churches  grace  impart 
To  Avrite  thy  name  on  every  heart. 

CCLIV.  God's  Command  to  all  Men  to  repent.    Acts  xvii.  30, 

1  "D  EPENT,  the  voice  celestial  cries, 

^  Nor  longer  dare  delay  ; 
The  wretch  that  scorns  the  mandate*  dies, 
And  meets  a  fiery  day. 

2  No  more  the  sovereign  eye  of  God 

O'erlooks  the  crimes  of  men ; 
His  heralds  are  dispatch'd  abroad 
To  warn  the  world  of  sin. 

3  The  summons  reach  through  all  the  earth  j 

Let  earth  attend  and  fear: 
Listen,  ye  men  of  roA^al  birth. 
And  let  their  vassals  f  hear. 

4  Together  in  his  presence  bow. 

And  all  your  guilt  confess ; 
Accept  the  offer'd  Saviour  now, 
Nor  trifle  Avith  the  grace. 

£  Bow,  ere  the  awful  trumpet  sound, 
And  call  you  to  his  bar: 
For  mercy  knows  the  appointed  bound. 
And  turns  to  vengeance  there. 

6  Amazing  love,  that  yet  will  call. 

And  yet  prolong  our  days! 
Our  hearts  subdu'd  by  goodness  fall. 
And  weep,  and  love,  and  praise. 

*  Command.  f  Subjects  and  slaves. 


ACTS.  575 

CCLV,  Paul's  Solidtude  to fmish  Itis  Course  ziith  Jot/.    Acts  xx.  24. 

1  A  !SSIST  us,  Lord,  thy  name  to  pniisc 
-^  For  tills  rich  gospel  of  thy  grace; 
And,  that  our  hearts  may  love  it  more, 
'I'each  them  to  feel  its  vital  power. 

2  Witli  joy  may  wc  our  course  pursue, 
And  keep  the  crown  of  life  in  view  ; 
That  crown,  which  in  one  hour  repays 
The  labour  of  ten  thousand  days. 

3  Should  bonds  or  death  obstruct  our  way, 
Unmov'd  their  terrors  we'll  survey  ; 
And  the  last  hour  improve  for  thee, 
The  last  of  life,  or  hberty. 

4  Welcome  those  bonds,  which  may  unite 
Our  souls  to  their  supreme  delight ! 
Welcome  that  death,  whose  painful  strife 
Bears  us  to  Christ  our  better  life  ! 

CC  LV  I.  Paul  preaching  and  Felix  trembling.    Acts  xxiv.  25. 

1  r^  RE  AT  Sovereign  of  the  human  heart, 
^^  Thy  mighty  energy  impart, 

Which  darts"  at  once  through  breasts  of  steel. 
And  makes  the  nether  millstone*  feel. 

2  Let  sinners  tremble  at  thy  word. 
Struck  by  the  terrors  of  the  Lord  ; 
And,  while  they  tremble,  let  them  flee, 
And  seek  their  help,  their  life  from  thcc. 

3  O  !  let  them  seize  the  present  day. 
Nor  risk  salvation  by  delay : 
To-morrow,  Lord,  to  thee  belongs; 
This  night  may  vindicate  thy  wrongs. 

4  This  night  may  stop  their  fleeting  breath. 
And  seal  them  to  eternal  death. 

May  veil  redemption  from  their  sight. 
And  give  them  tlames  instead  of  light. 

5  Or  should  succeeding  years  remain. 
Years,  Avith  their  sabbaths,  all  in  vain 
Before  their  darkened  eyes  may  roll, 
And  more  obdurate  leave  the  soul. 

6  Great  Saviour,  let  thy  pity  rise, 
^\jk1  make  the  wretched  triflers  wise : 
Lest  pangs  and  trembling  felt  in  vain 
lliisten  and  feed  iunnortal  pain. 

*  The  hardest  hearts.     Job  xli.  CV. 
4  C  2 


576  ROMANS. 

CCLVII.  Help  obtained  of  God.    Acts  xxvi.  22. 

FOR    new-year's    day. 

1  /^REAT  God,  we  sing  that  mighty  hand, 
^■^   By  which  supported  still  we  stand: 
The  opening  year  thy  mercy  shews; 
That  mercy  crowns  it,  till  it  close. 

2  By  day,  by  night,  at  home,  abroad. 
Still  are  we  guarded  by  our  God, 
By  his  incessant  bounty  fed, 

By  his  unerring  counsel  led. 

3  With  grateful  hearts  the  past  we  own ; 
The  future,  all  to  us  unknown, 

We  to  thy  guardian-care  commit, 
And  peaceful  leave  before  thy  feet. 

4  In  scenes  exalted  or  depress'd 
Thon  art  our  joy,  and  thou  our  rest: 
Thy  goodness  all  our  hopes  shall  raise, 
Ador'd  through  all  our  changing  days. 

5  W^hen  death  shall  interrupt  these  songs. 
And  seal  in  silence  mortal  tongues. 
Our  Helper-God,  in  whom  we  trust. 

In  better  worlds  our  souls  shall  boast. 

CCLVIII.  Treasuring  up  JVrath  by  despising  Mercy.    Romans  ii.  4,  S, 

1  T  JNGRATEFUL  sinners,  Avhence  this  scorn 

Of  long-exi^ended  orace  ? 
And  whence  this  madness,  that  insults 
The  Almighty  to  his  face? 

2  Is  it  because  his  patience  waits. 

And  pitying  bowels  move, 

YoM  multiply  audacious  crimes, 

And  spurn  his  richest  love  ? 

3  Is  all  the  treasur'd  wrath  so  small, 

You  labour  still  for  more, 
Though  not  eternal  rolling  yeaiTs 
Can  e'er  exhaust  the  store  ? 

4  Swift  doth  the  day  of  vengeance  come, 

That  nuist  your  sentence  seal ; 
And  righteous  judgment  now  unknown 
In  all  its  pomp  reveal. 

5  Alarm'd  and  melted  at  thy  voice, 

Our  conquer'd  hearts  would  bow  ; 
And,  to  escape  the  thunderer  then, 
Embrace  the  Saviour  now. 


ROMANS.  577 


CCLIX.  The  Love  of  God  sfied  abroad  in  the  I/cart  by  the  Spirit. 
Roniuns  v.  5. 

1  'TJF.SCF.ND,  immortal  dove; 

■^  Spread  tliv  kind  wings  abroad, 
And,  wrapt  in  flamt's  of  holy  love, 
Bear  all  my  soul  to  God, 

2  Jesus  my  Lord  reveal 

In  charms  of  grace  divine, 
And  bo  thyself  the  sacred  seal, 
That  pearl  of  price  is  mine. 

3  Behold  my  heart  expands 
To  catch  the  heavenly  tire  ; 

It  longs  to  feel  the  gentle  bands, 
And  groans  wiili  stron"^  desire. 

4  Thy  love,  mv  God,  appears. 
And  brings  salvation  down, 

My  cordial  through  this  vale  of  tears, 
In  paradise  my  crown. 

CCLX.  Chrislians  quickened  and  raised  by  the  Spirit.  Romans  viii.  1 1, 

1  "VX/'H Y  should  our  mourning  thoughts  delight 

To  grovel  in  the  dust  ^ 
Or  why  should  streams  of  tears  unite 
Around  the  expiring  just  ? 

2  Did  not  the  Lord  our  Saviour  die, 

And  triumph  o'er  the  grave  ? 

Did  not  our  Lord  ascend  on  high, 

And  prove  his  power  to  save  ? 

3  Doth  not  the  sacred  Spirit  come. 

And  dwell  in  all  the  saints  ? 
And  should  the  temples  of  his  grace 
Resound  with  long  complaints? 

4  Awake,  my  soul,  and  like  the  sun 

Burst  through  each  sable  cloud  ; 
And  thou,  my  voice,  though  broke  with  sighs, 
Tune  forth  thy  songs  aloud. 

5  The  spirit  rais'd  my  Saviour  up. 

When  he  had  bled  for  me ; 
And  spite  of  death  and  hell  shall  raise 
Thy  pious  friends  and  thee. 

6  Awake,  ye  saints,  that  dwell  in  dust, 

Your  liymns  of  victory  sing; 
And  let  his  dying  servants  trust 
Their  ever-living  King. 


51$  ROMANS. 

CCLXI.  God's  Readiness  to  give  all  Things,  argued fro?n  the  Gijlqfhis 
Son.      Romans  viii.  32. 

1  IVTOW  let  my  soul  with  transport  rise, 

And  range  through  earth ,  and  mount  the  skies. 
And  view  each  various  form  of  good. 
Where  angels  hold  their  high  abode. 

2  I  give  my  thoughts  unbounded  scope  ; 
On  equal  pinions  soars  my  hope  ; 
My  faith  at  noblest  objects  aims, 

And  what  she  sees,  she  humbly  claims. 

3  Hath  not  the  bounteous  King  of  heaven. 
From  his  embrace  already  given 

That  Son  of  his  eternal  love, 

Who  fiU'd  the  brightest  throne  above  ? 

4  Behold  his  hand  on  Jesus  laid  ! 
Behold  that  Lamb  a  victim  made ! 
And  what  shall  mercy  hold  too  good 
For  sinners,  ransom'd  with  his  blood  ? 

5  My  soul,  with  heavenly  faith  embrace 
The  sacred  covenant  of  his  grace ; 
Then  in  deHghtful  silence  wait 

The  issues  of  a  love  so  great. 

CCLXII.  Believing  xvith  the  Heart,  and  confessing  with  the  Mouthj 
necessary  to  Salvation.    Romans  x.  6 — 10. 

1  A  ND  is  salvation  brought  so  near, 
"^^  Where  sinful  men  expiring  lie  ? 
Triumph,  my  soul,  the  sound  to  hear, 
And  shout  it  joyous  to  the  sky. 

2  I  ask  not,  who  to  heaven  shall  scale, 

That  Christ  the  Saviour  thence  mav  come ; 
(^r  who  earth's  inmost  depths  assail, 
To  bring  him  from  the  dreary  tomb. 

3  From  heaven  on  wings  of  love  he  flew, 
And  conqueror  from  the  tomb  he  sprung  : 
My  heart  believes  the  witness  true. 

And  dictates  to  my  faithful  tongue. 

4  I  sing  salvation  brought  so  near. 
No  more  on  earth  expiring  lie; 

I  teach  the  world  my  joys  to  hear. 
And  shout  them  to  the  echoing  sky. 


ROMANS.  579 

CCLXIII.  The  living  Sacrifice.     Romans  xii.  1. 

1  A  ND  will  the  eternal  King 
"^  So  mean  a  gift  reward? 

That  ofVering,  Lord,  withjoy  wc  bring, 
Which  thy  own  liand  prepar'd. 

2  We  own  thy  various  claim. 
And  to  thine  altar  move, 

The  willing  victims  of  thy  grace, 
And  bound  with  cords  of  love, 

3  Descend,  celestial  fire, 
The  sacrifice  inflame; 

So  shall  a  grateful  odour  rise 
Through  our  Redeemer's  name. 

CCLXIV.  The  near  Approach  of  Salvation,  an  Engagement  to  Dilt 
gence  and  Love.     Romans  xiii.  1 1. 

1  A  WAKE,  ye  saints,  and  raise  your  eyes, 
-^^^  And  raise  your  voices  high; 
Aw^ake,  and  praise  that  sovereign  love, 

That  shews  salvation  nigh. 

2  On  all  the  wings  of  time  it  flies: 

Each  moment  brings  it  near  ; 
Then  welcome  each  declining  day! 
Welcome  each  closing  year ! 

3  Not  many  years  their  round  shall  run. 

Nor  many  mornings  rise, 
Ere  all  its  glories  stand  reveal'd 
To  our  admiring  eyes. 

4  Ye  wheels  of  nature,  speed  your  course; 

Ye  mortal  powers,  deca}-^ ; 
Fast  as  ye  bring  the  night  of  death. 
Ye  bring  eternal  day. 

CCLXV.  The  God  of  Peace  bruising  Satan.    Romans  xvi.  20. 

1  Y^  armies  of  the  living  God, 

In  his  all-conquering  name, 

Lift  up  your  banners,  and  aloud 

Your  leader's  grace  proclaim. 

2  What  though  the  prince  of  hell  invade 

With  showers  of  fiery  darts. 
And  join,  to  the  fierce  lion's  roar. 
The  serpent's  wily  arts? 

3  Jesus,  wlio  leads  his  hosts  to  war, 

Shall  tread  the  monster  down, 
2 


530  I.    CORINTHIANS. 

And  every  faithful  soldier  share 
The  triumph  and  the  crown. 

4  So  Israel  on  the  haughty  necks 
Of  Canaan's  tyrants  trod, 
And  sung  their  Joshua's  conquering  sword. 
And  sung  their  faithful  God*. 

CCLXVl.  Christ  our  Wisdom,  Righteousness,  Saiwtijication,  and  Re* 
demption,     1  Corinthians  i.  30,  31. 

1  "]V/TY  God,  assist  me,  while  I  raise 

An  anthem  of  harmonious  praise  ; 
My  heart  thy  wonders  shall  proclaim, 
And  spread  its  banners  in  thy  name. 

2  In  Christ  I  view  a  store  divine  : 
My  Father,  all  that  store  is  thine  ; 
By  thee  prepar'd,  by  thee  bestow'd  ; 
Hail  to  the  Saviour,  and  the  God ! 

3  When  gloomy  shades  my  soul  o'erspread, 
"  Let  there  be  light,"  the  Ahnighty  said; 
And  Christ,  my  sun,  his  beams  displays. 
And  scatters  round  celestial  rays. 

4  Condemn'd  thy  criminal  I  stood. 
And  awful  justice  ask'd  my  blood; 
That  welcome  Saviour  from  thy  throne 
Brought  righteousness  and  pardon  down, 

5  My  soul  was  all  o'erspread  Avith  sin. 
And  lo,  his  grace  hath  made  me  clean  ; 
He  rescues  from  the  infernal  foe, 

And  full  redemption  will  bestow. 

6  Ye  saints,  assist  my  grateful  tongue : 
Ye  angels,  warble  back  my  song : 
For  love  like  this  demands  the  praise 
Of  heavenly  harps,  and  endless  days, 

CCLXVII.   Jieing  joined  to  Christ,  and  one  Spirit  with  him, 
1  Corinthians  vi.  17, 

1  IVT^  Saviour,  I  am  thine. 

By  everlasting  bands; 
My  name,  my  heart,  I  would  resign. 
My  soul  is  in  thy  hands. 

2  To  thee  I  still  would  cleave 
With  ever-growing  zeal ; 

Let  millions  tempt  me  Christ  to  leave, 
li^hty  never  shall  prevail. 

*  Joshua  x.  24, 


I.    CORINTHIANS.  581 

3  His  Spirit  sliiill  unite 

My  soul  to  him,  my  liead  ; 
Shall  form  me  to  his  ima<rc  bright, 
And  teach  his  path  to  tread. 

4  Death  may  my  soul  divide 
From  this  abode  of  clay  ; 

But  love  shall  keep  me  near  his  side 
Through  all  the  gloomy  way. 

5  Since  Clirist  and  we  arc  one, 
What  sliould  remain  to  fear? 

If  he  in  heaven  hath  tix'd  his  throne, 
He'll  fix  his  members  there. 

CCLXVIII.    The  transitonj  Nature  of  the  World,  an  Argument  for 
Christian  Moderation.     1  Corinthians  vii. '^y — 31. 

1  CPIUNG  up,  my  soul,  with  ardent  flight, 

Nor  let  this  earth  delude  thy  sight 
With  glittering  trifles  gay  and  vain: 

Wisdom  divine  directs  thy  view 

To  objects  ever  grand  and  new. 

And  faith  displays  the  shining  train. 

2  Be  dead,  my  hopes,  to  all  below  ; 
Nor  let  unbounded  torrents  flow. 

When  mourning  o'er  my  withered  joys: 
So  this  deceitful  world  is  known ; 
Possess'd  I  call  it  not  mv  own  ; 

Nor  glory  in  its  painted  toys. 

3  The  empty  pageant  rolls  along; 
The  giddy  unexperienc'd  throng 

Pursue  it  with  enchanted  eyes  ; 
It  passeth  in  swift  march  away, 
Still  more  and  more  its  charms  decay, 

Till  the  last  gaudy  colour  dies  *. 

4  My  God,  to  thee  my  soul  shall  turn  ; 
For  thee  my  noblest  |)assions  burn, 

And  drink  in  bliss  from  thee  alone  ; 
I  fix  on  that  unchanging  home. 
Where  never-fading  pleasures  bloom, 

Fresh  springing  round  thy  radiant  throne. 

♦  Pacreants,  images,  or  emblemalicnl  figures  in  a  cavalcade  or  pro- 
cession, continually  moving,  and  quickly  gone  out  of  sight.  See  Family 
Expositor  iu  Loc, 


VOL.  iir.  4  D 


582  I.    CORINTHIANS. 


CCLXIX.  God's  Fiddity  inmodtrating  Temptations.     1  Corinthians 

X.  13. 

1  IV'OW  let  the  feeble  all  be  strong, 

And  make  Jehovah's  arm  their  song  : 
His  shield  is  spread  o'er  every  saint, 
And  thus  supported,  who  shall  faint  ? 

2  What  though  the  hosts  of  hell  engage 
With  mingled  cruelty  and  rage  ! 

A  faithful  God  restrains  their  hands, 
And  chains  them  down  in  iron  bands. 

3  Bound  by  his  word  he  will  displa}'^, 
A  strength  proportion'd  to  our  day  ; 
And,  when  united  trials  meet, 
Will  shew  a  path  of  safe  retreat. 

4  Thus  far  we  prove  that  promise  good, 
Which  Jesus  ratified  with  blood  : 
Still  is  he  gracious,  wise,  and  just, 
And  still  in  him  let  Israel  trust. 

CCLXX.  Bearing  the  Image  of  the  Earthy  and  the  Heavenly  Adam, 
1  Corinthians  xv.  49. 

1  "X^^ITH  flowing  eyes  and  bleeding  hearts 

A  blasted  world  survey ! 
See  the  Avide  ruin  sin  hath  wrought 
In  one  unhappy  day  ! 

2  Adam,  in  God's  own  image  form'd 

From  God  and  bUssestrang'd, 
And  all  the  joys  of  paradise 
For  guilt  and  horror  chang'd  ! 

3  Ages  of  labour  and  of  grief 

He  mourn'd  his  glory  lost ; 
At  length  the  goodliest  work  of  heaven 
Sunk  down  to  common  dust. 

4  O  fatal  heritage  bequeath'd 

To  all  his  helpless  race  ! 
Through  the  thick  maze  of  sin  and  woe 
Thus  to  the  grave  we  pass. 

5  But,  O  m}'^  soul !  with  rapture  hear 

The  second  Adam's  name  ; 

And  the  celestial  gifts  he  brings 

To  all  his  seed,  proclaim. 

6  In  holiness  and  joy  complete 

He  reigns  to  endless  years, 

And  each  adopted  chosen  child 

His  splendid  image  wears. 


II.    CORINTHIANS.  583 

7  What  tl)oii<;Ii  in  mortal  life  tbcv  mourn! 

What  though  by  death  they  fall ! 
Jesus  in  one  triumjihant  day 

Transforms  and  crowns  thoni  all. 

8  Praise  to  his  rich  mysterious  grace  ! 

K'en  by  oiu*  fall  we  rise  ; 
And  gain,  for  earthly  Eden  lost, 
A  heavenly  paradise. 

CCLXXI.    Ministers  comforted,  that  they  may  comfort  others. 
2  Coriiitliians  i.  4. 

1  ILTOUNTAIN  of  comfort  and  of  love, 
^    Thy  streams,  how  free  they  How  ! 
First  water  all  the  world  above, 

Tiien  visit  us  below  ! 

2  From  Christ,  the  liead,  what  grace  descends 

To  cherish  every  part ! 
He  shares  his  joys  with  all  his  friends. 
For  all  have  shar'd  his  heart. 

3  What  though  the  sorrows  here  they  feel 

Are  manifold  and  great ! 
He  brings  new  consolations  still, 
As  various  and  as  sweet. 

4  He  shews  our  numerous  sins  forgiven. 

And  shews  our  Covenant-God  ; 
He  witnesseth  our  right  to  heaven, 
The  purchase  of  his  blood. 

5  Though  earth  and  hell  against  us  join, 

In  him  we  are  secure  ; 
Our  diadems  shall  brighter  shine, 
tor  all  we  now  endure. 

6  On  every  faithful  shepherd's  breast. 

Lord,  send  these  comforts  down  ; 
That  they  may  lead  thy  flock  to  rest, 
Which  their  own  souls  have  known. 

CCLXXIl.  God's  delivcriiii;  Goodness  acknowledged,  and  trusted. 
2  Corinthians  i.  10. 

A    SONG    FOR    THE    FIFTH    OF    NOVEMBER. 

1    pilAISE  to  the  Lord,  whose  mighty  hand 
-*■     So  oft  reveal'd  hath  sav'd  our  land; 
And,  when  united  nations  rose, 
Hath  sham'd  and  scourg'd  our  haughtiest  foes. 

'J,  When  mighty  navies  from  afar 
To  Britain  wafted  floating  war, 
4  J)  2 


584  n.   CORINTHIANS. 

His  breath  dispers'd  them  all  with  ease, 
And  sunk  their  terrors  in  the  seas*. 

3  While  for  our  princes  they  prepare 
In  caverns  deep  a  burning  snare; 
He  shot  from  heaven  a  piercing  ray. 
And  the  dark  treachery  brought  to  day  f . 

4  Princes  and  priests  again  combine 

New  chains  to  forge,  new  snares  to  twine  ; 

Again  our  gracious  God  appears, 

And  breaks  their  chains,  and  cuts  their  snares. 

5  Obedient  winds  at  his  command 
Convey  his  hero  to  our  land ; 

The  sons  of  Rome  with  terror  view. 

And  speed  their  flight,  when  none  pursue  t- 

6  Such  great  deliverance  God  hath  Ma-ought, 
And  down  to  us  salvation  brought ; 

And  still  the  care  of  guardian-heaven 
Secures  the  bliss  itself  hath  given. 

7  In  thee  we  trust,  Almighty  Lord, 
Continued  rescue  to  afford : 

Still  be  thy  powerful  arm  made  bare. 
For  all  thy  servants  hopes  are  there. 

CCLXXIII.  Ministers  a  siveet  Savour,  whether  of  Life  or  Death. 

2  Corinthians  ii.  15, 16. 

1  pRAISE  to  the  Lord  on  high, 

Who  spreads  his  triumphs  wide ! 
While  Jesus'  fragrant  name 
Is  breath'd  on  every  side  : 

Balmy  and  rich 

The  odours  rise. 

And  fill  the  earth 

And  reach  the  skies. 

2  Ten  thousand  dying  souls 
Its  influence  feel  and  live; 
Sweeter  than  vital  air 
The  incense  they  receive  : 

They  breathe  anew. 
And  rise  and  sing 
Jesus  the  Lord, 
Their  conquering  king. 

*  Referring  to  the  defeat  of  the  Spanish  armada,  1588. 

f  Gunpowder  plot. 

X  Revolution  by  king  William,  1688. 


II.    CORINTHIANS.  585 

3  But  sinners  scorn  the  grace, 
That  brings  salvation  nigli ; 
They  turn  their  face  away. 
And  faint,  and  fall,  and  die. 

So  sad  a  doom,  , 

Yc  saints,  deplore, 
For  ()  !  they  fall 
To  rise  no  more, 

4  Yet,  Avise  and  mighty  God, 
Shall  all  thy  servants  be, 
In  those,  who  Jive  or  tiie, 

A  savonr  sweet  to  thee : 
Supremely  bright 
Thy  grace  shall  shine. 
Guarded  with  flames 
Of  wratii  divine. 

CCLXXIV.  God  shining  into  the  Heart.    2  Corinthians  iv.  6. 

1  T3RAISE  to  the  Lord  of  boundless  might, 
-^     With  uncreated  orlories  brijjht ! 

His  presence  gilds  the  worlds  above ; 
The  unchanging  source  of  light  and  love. 

2  Our  rising  earth  his  eye  beheld, 
When  in  substantial  darkness  veiTd  ; 
The  shapeless  chaos,  nature's  womb, 
Lay  buried  in  eternal  gloom*, 

.3  Let  there  be  light,  Jehovah  said, 
And  light  o'er  all  its  face  was  spread ; 
Nature  array'd  in  charms  unknown. 
Gay  with  its  new-born  lustre  shone. 

4  He  sees  the  mind,  when  lost  it  lies 
In  shades  of  ignorance  and  vice  ; 
And  darts  from  heaven  a  vivid  *  ray. 
And  clianges  midnight  into  day. 

5  Shine,  mighty  God,  with  vigour  shine 
On  this  benighted  heart  of  mine  ; 
And  let  thy  glories  stand  revcal'd. 

As  in  the  Saviour's  face  beheld. 

6  My  soul,  reviv'd  by  heaven-born  day, 
Thy  radiant  image  shall  display, 
While  all  mv  faculties  imite 

To  praise  the  Lord,  who  gives  mc  light. 

*  Genesis  i.  2,  3.  f  Lively,  sprightly. 


586  II.    CORINTHIANS. 

CCLXXV.  The  Gospel  Ti'easure in  emihenressels.  2  Corinthians  iv. 

1  TITOW  rich  thy  bounty,  King  of  kings  ! 

-^  Thy  favours  how  divine  ! 
The  blessings,  which  thy  gospel  brings, 
How  splendidly  they  shine ! 

2  Gold  is  but  dross,  and  gems  but  toys. 

Should  gold  and  gems  compare  ; 
How  mean,  when  set  against  those  joys, 
Thy  poorest  servant's  share  ! 

3  Yet  all  these  treasures  of  thy  grace 

Are  lodg'd  in  urns  *  of  clay  ; 
And  the  weak  sons  of  mortal  race 
The  immortal  gifts  convey. 

4  Feebly  they  lisp  thy  glories  forth  ; 

Yet  grace  the  victory  gives : 
Quickly  they  moulder  back  to  earth  j 
Yet  still  thy  gospel  lives. 

5  Such  wonders  power  divine  effects ; 

Such  trophies  f  God  can  raise ; 
His  hand  from  crumbling  dust  erects 
Long  monuments  of  praise. 


M 


CCLXXVI.  Living  to  him,  who  Died  for  tis.  2  Corinthians  v.  14, 15. 
Y  Lord,  didst  thou  endure  such  smart 
My  life,  when  forfeited,  to  save  ? 
And  didst  thou  bear  upon  thy  heart 
My  name,  when  rising  from  the  grave  ? 

2  Am  I  in  thy  remembrance  still, 
'Midst  all  the  glories  of  thy  throne  ? 
To  form  thy  servant  to  thy  will. 
And  fix  my  dwelling  near  thy  own? 

3  What  can  a  feeble  worm  repay 
For  love  so  infinite  as  thine  ? 
The  torrent  bears  my  soul  away. 

The  impetuous  stream  of  grace  divine  |. 

1-  To  thee,  my  Lord,  it  bears  me  on  ; 
Self  shall  be  deify'd  §  no  more  ; 
By  self  betray'd,  by  self  undone, 
I  live  by  thy  recovering  power. 

5  Accept  a  soul  so  dearly  bought, 
.    Bought  by  thy  life  upon  the  tree ; 

A  soul,  which,  by  thy  Spirit  taught, 

Knows  no  delight,  but  serving  thee. 

*  Vessels  or  jars.  f  Monument!?  or  tokens  of  victory. 

X  Referring  to  the  en)i)hasisof  the  original  word,  viz.  bears  us  away 
like-  a  strong?  torrent,  S  Made  a  God  of. 


II.  CORINTHIAXS.  587 

CCLXXVII.     God  the  Author  of  ConsoUuion.    2  Corinthians  vii.  6. 

1  T^ITE  Lord,  huw  riclt  his  comforts  arc  ! 

-"■     I  low  wide  they  spn-ud  !  How  high  they  rise  ! 
He  pours  in  biihn  to  bleeding  licarts, 
And  wipes  tiic  tears  trom  flowing  eyes. 

2  "  I  have  no  hope,"  my  spirit  cry'd, 
Just  trembhng  on  the  brink  of  hell  ; 
*'  I  am  thy  hope,"  the  Lord  rcply'd, 

"  My  love  secures  its  favourites  well." 

3  My  grateful  soul  shall  speak  its  praise, 
Who  turns  its  tremblings  into  songs  ; 
And  those  that  mourn  shall  learn'lroni  me, 
J?alvation  to  our  God  belongs, 

CCLXXVIII.    Satan's  Strong-Holds  cast  down  by  t/te  GospeL 
2  Corinthians  x.  4,  5. 


1  CHOUT,  for  the  battlements  arc  fall'n, 
*^  Which  heaven  itself  defy'd  ! 

The  aspiring  towers,  dismantled*  all. 
Now  spread  their  ruins  wide  ! 

2  Thy  wondrous  trumpets,  prince  of  peace, 

Sent  forth  their  mighty  sound  ; 
The  strength  of  Jericho  was  struck, 
And  totter'd  to  the  ground  f. 

3  No  more  proud  reasonings  shall  dispute 

What  truth  divine  declares  ; 
No  more  self-righteousness  to  plead 
Its  own  perfections  dares. 

4  No  strength  our  ruin'd  powers  can  boast 

Thy  precepts  to  fulfd  ; 
No  liberty  we  ask  or  wish 
For  our  rebellious  will, 

5  The  gates  we  open  to  admit 

The  Saviour's  gentle  sway  : 
Blest  Jesus,  'tis  thy  right  to  reio-n. 
Our  pleasure  to  obey. 

6  Each  thought  in  sweet  subjection  held, 

Thy  sovereign  power  shall  own  ; 
And  every  traitor  shall  be  slain. 
That  dares  dispute  the  throne. 

*  Demolished,  broke  down.  f  Joshua  vi.  20. 


588  GALATIANS, 

CCLXXIX.     The  Christian  Faravel.     2  Corinthians  xiii.  11. 

1  'T'HY  presence,  everlasting  God, 

Wide  o'er  all  nature  spreads  abroad  ; 
Thy  watchful  eyes,  which  cannot  sleep, 
In  every  place  thy  children  keep. 

2  While  near  each  other  we  remain, 
Thou  dost  our  lives  and  souls  sustain  ; 
When  absent,  happy  if  we  share 

Thy  smiles,  th}^  counsels,  and  thy  care. 

3  To  thee  we  all  our  ways  commit. 
And  seek  our  comforts  near  thy  feet ; 
Still  on  our  souls  vouchsafe  to  shine, 
And  guard  and  guide  us  still  as  thine. 

4  Give  us  in  thy  beloved  house 
Again  to  ])ay  our  grateful  vows ; 
Or,  if  that  joy  no  more  be  known, 
Give  us  to  meet  around  thy  throne; 

CC'LXXX.     Living  zvhile  in  the  Flesh  by  Faith  in  Christ,  ivho  loved 
us,  4"c,     Galatians  ii.  20. 

1  A/TY  Jesus,  while  in  mortal  flesh 

I  hold  my  frail  abode. 
Still  would  my  spirit  rest  on  thee, 
Its  Saviour,  and  its  God. 

2  By  hourly  faith  in  thee  I  live 

'Midst  all  my  griefs  and  snares  ; 
And  death,  encounter'd  in  thy  sight, 
No  form  of  horror  wears. 

3  Yes,  thou  hast  lov'd  this  sinful  worm, 

Hast  given  thyself  for  me  ; 
Hast  bought  me  from  eternal  death, 
Nail'd  to  the  bloody  tree. 

4  On  thy  dear  cross  I  fix  mine  eyes. 

Then  raise  them  to  thy  seat ; 
Till  love  dissolves  my  inmost  soul. 
At  its  Redeemer's  feet. 

5  Be  dead,  my  heart,  to  worldly  charm?  ; 

Be  dead  to  every  sin  ; 
And  tell  the  boldest  foes  without. 
That  Jesus  reigns  within. 

6  My  life  with  his  connected  stands, 

Nor  asks  a  surer  ground  ; 
He  keeps  me  in  his  gracious  arms, 
Where  heaven  itself  is  found. 
3 


GALATIANS  539 

CCLXXXI.     AJillal  Temper,  the  If^ork  of  the  Spirit,  and  u  Proof  of 
Adoption.     Galatians  iv.  6". 

1  COVKREIGN  of  all  the  norldson  high, 

Allow  my  huml)lc  claim  ; 
Nor,  while  u  worm  would  raise  its  head. 
Disdain  a  Father's  name. 

2  My  Father-God  !   How  sweet  the  sound  ! 

How  tender,  and  how  dear  ! 
Not  alJ  the  melody  of  heaven 
Could  so  delight  the  ear. 

3  Come  sacred  Spirit,  seal  the  nanjc 

On  mine  expanding  heart ; 
And  shew,  that  in  Jehovah's  grace 
I  share  a  lilial  part. 

4  Cheer'd  by  a  signal  so  divine, 

Unwavering  I  believe  ; 
Tliou  knowest  I,  Abba,  Father,  cry. 
Nor  can  the  sign  deceive. 

5  On  wings  of  everlasting  love 

The  comforter  is  come  ; 
All  terrors  at  his  voice  disperse. 
And  endless  pleasures  bloom. 

CCLXXXir.    Christian  Sympathy.    Galatians  vi.  2. 

1  T-JAIL,  everlasting  Prince  of  peace  ! 

Hail,  Governor  divine ! 
How  gracious  is  thy  sceptre's  sway  ! 
What  gentle  laws  arc  thine  ! 

2  IJis  tender  heart  with  love  o'erflow'd. 

Love  spoke  in  every  breath  ; 
Vigorous  it  reign'd  through  all  his  life, 
And  triumpird  in  his  death. 

3  All  these  united  charms  he  shews 

Our  frozen  souls  to  move; 
This  proof  of  love  to  him  demands. 
That  we  each  other  love. 

4  O  be  tlie  sacred  law  fulfiU'd 

In  every  act  and  thought  ; 
Each  angry  passion  far  remov'd. 
Each  selfish  view  forjjot. 

5  Be  thou,  my  heart,  dilated  wide 

By  thy  Redeemer's  grace  ; 
And,  in  one  grasp  of  fervent  love, 
All  earth  and  heaven  embrace. 
VOL.  liJ.  4  E 


590  ■    EPHESIANS. 

CCLXXXIII.    Blessing  God  for  spiritual  Blessings  in  Christ. 
Ephesians  i.  3. 

1  T  OUD  be  thy  name  adorVl, 
■^  Thy  titles  spread  abroad. 

Of  Christ,  our  glorious  Lord,  i 

The  Father  and  the  God  ! 

Through  such  a  Son, 

Thy  church's  head, 

Thine  honours  spread 

O'er  worlds  unknown. 

2  Ten  thousand  gifts  of  love 
From  thee  through  him  descend  ; 
And  bear  our  souls  above 

To  joys  that  never  end  : 
To  heaven  they  soar, 
Sustain'd  by  God, 
And  through  the  road 
His  arm  adore. 

3  Ten  thousand  songs  of  praise 
Shall  by  the  Saviour  rise. 
And  through  eterual  days 
Shall  echo  round  the  skies. 

New  shouts  we'll  give. 
And  loud  proclaim 
The  honour'd  name. 
By  which  we  live. 

CCLXXXIV.    The  grand  Scheme  of  the  Gospel.    Ephesians  i.  9, 
10,  11. 

1  T^iTE  sing  the  dee}*  mysterious  plan, 

Which  God  devis'd,  ere  time  began  ; 

At  length  disclos'd  in  all  its  light. 
We  bless  the  wondrous  birth  of  love. 
Which  beams  around  us  from  above, 

With  grace  so  free,  and  hope  so  bright. 

2  Here  has  the  wise  eternal  mind 

In  Christ,  their  common  head,  conjoin'd 

Gentiles  and  Jews,  and  earth  and  heaven  : 
Through  him,  from  the  great  Father's  throne, 
Hivers  of  bliss  come  rolling  down. 
And  endless  peace  and  life  are  given. 

3  No  more  the  awful  cherubs  guard 
The  tree  of  life  with  flaming  sword. 

To  drive  afar  man's  trembling  race; 
At  Salem's  pearly  gates  they  stand. 
And  smiling  Avait,  a  friendly  band  ! 

To  weltome  strangers  to  the  place. 


EPHESIANS. 


591 


4  Wliilc  we  expect  tlie  glorious  sij;Iit, 
Love  shall  our  hearts  with  theirs  unite, 

And  ardent  hope  our  bosoms  raise  : 
From  earth's  dark  vale,  and  tongues  of  clay, 
'lo  these  resplendent  realms  of  day, 

\S'e'll  try  to  send  the  sounding  praise. 

CCLXXW.     T/it  lu'inrnli/  Inheritance  made  known  by  the  Spirit, 
KpliL'siaiis  i.  18. 

1  (^OMK,  thou  celestial  Spirit,  come, 
^  And  call  my  roving  passions  home  ; 
To  mine  enligiitened  eyes  display 
The  heritage  of  heavenly  day. 

2  IMv  God,  that  heritage  is  thine: 
How  rich,  how  glorious,  how  divine  ! 
How  far  above  all  mortal  things, 
The  little  pride  of  courts  and  kings ! 

3  Of  endless  joy  the  unbounded  store. 
Why  is  its  lustre  known  no  more  ? 
Away,  ye  mists  of  envious  night, 
That  veil  salvation  from  my  sight ! 

4  Shine  forth.  Almighty  Saviour,  shine; 
Shew  the  bright  Avorld,  and  shew  it  mine  ; 
Then  paradise  on  earth  shall  s|)ring. 
And  mortal  worms  like  angels  sing. 

CCLXXXVI.    Sakaiion  by  Grace.    Eplicsians  ii.  5. 

1  (^  RACE  !  'tis  a  charming  sound, 
^^  Harmonious  to  my  ear  ; 

Heaven  with  the  echo  shall  resound, 
And  all  the  earth  shall  hear. 

2  Grace  first  contriv'd  a  w^y 

To  save  rebellious  man, 
And  all  the  stops  that  grace  display; 
Which  drew  the  wondrous  plan. 

3  Grace  taught  my  wandering  feet 
To  tread  the  heavenly  road, 

And  new  supplies  each  hour  1  meet. 
While  pressing  on  to  God. 

4  Grace  all  the  work  shall  crown 
Through  everlasting  days; 

It  lays  in  heaven  the  topmost  stone, 
And  well  deserves  the  praise. 
3  !•:  2 


592  EPHESIANS. 

vCCLXXXVII.    Christians  risen  and  exalted  with  Christ  to  heavenly 
Places.    Ephesians  ii.  5,  6. 

1  CTUPENDOUS  grace  !  and  can  it  be 

Design'd  for  rebels  such  as  we  ? 
O  let  our  ardent  praises  rise. 
High  as  our  hopes  beyond  the  skies  ! 

2  This  flesh,  by  righteous  vengeance  slain, 
Might  ever  in  the  dust  remain  ; 

These  guilty  spirits  sent  to  dwell 
'Midst  all  the  flames  and  fiends  *  of  hell. 

3  But  lo,  incarnate  love  descends  ; 
Down  to  the  sepulchre  it  bends ; 
Rising,  it  tears  the  bars  away, 
And  springs  to  its  own  native  day. 

4  Then  was  our  sepulchre  unbarr'd  ; 
Then  was  our  path  to  glory  clear'd  ; 
Then,  if  that  Saviour  be  our  own, 
Did  we  ascend  a  heavenly  throne. 

5  A  moment  shall  our  joy  complete, 
•             And  fix  us  in  that  shining  seat, 

Bought  by  the  pangs  our  Lord  endur'd, 
And  by  unchanging  truth  secur'd. 

6  O  may  that  love,  in  strains  sublime. 
Be  sung  to  the  last  hour  of  time  ! 
And  let  eternity  confess, 

Through  all  its  rounds,  the  matchless  grace. 

CCLXXXVIII.    Nearness  to  God  through  Christ.    Ephesians  ii.  13, 

1  A  ND  are  we  now  brought  near  to  God, 

Who  once  at  distance  stood  ? 
And,  to  effect  this  glorious  change, 
Did  Jesus  shed  his  blood  ? 

2  O  for  a  song  of  ardent  praise 

To  bear  our  souls  above ! 
What  should  allay  our  lively  hope. 
Or  damp  our  flaming  love  ? 

3  Draw  us,  O  Lord,  with  quickening  grace, 

And  bring  us  yet  more  near  ; 
Here  may  we  see  thy  glories  shine, 
And  taste  thy  mercies  here. 

4  O  may  that  love,  which  spread  thy  board, 

Dispose  us  for  the  feast ; 
May  faith  behold  a  smiling  God 
Through  Jesus'  bleeding  breast. 

*  E^•il  spirits. 


EPHESIANS.  59i 

5  Fir'cl  with  the  view,  our  souls  shaJI  rise 
In  such  a  scone  as  this. 
And  view  the  happy  moment  near, 
That  shall  complete  our  bliss. 

CCLXXXIX.    T/te   ImtitiUion  of  a  Gospel-Ministry  from   Christ. 
Epiicsiaiis  iv.  1 1,  I'J. 

fOR    THE    ORDINATION    OR    SETTLEMENT    OF    A    MINISTER. 

1  T^ATHERof  mercies,  in  tliy  house 

-^     Smile  on  our  homat^e,  antl  our  vows ; 
While  with  a  grateful  iieart  we  share 
These  pledges  of  our  Saviour's  care. 

2  The  Saviour,  when  to  heaven  he  rose 
In  splendid  triumph  o'er  his  foes, 
Scatter'd  his  gifts  on  men  below, 
And  wide  his  royal  bounties  flow. 

3  Hence  sprung  the  apostles  honoured  name, 
Sacred  bcvond  heroic  fame  ; 

Hence  dictates  the  prophetic  sage  ; 
And  hence  the  evangelic  page. 

4  In  lowlier  forms,  to  bless  our  eyes, 
Pastors  from  hence,  and  teachers  rise ; 
Who,  though  with  feebler  rays  they  shine. 
Still  gild  a  long- extended  line. 

5  From  Christ  their  varied  gifts  derive, 
And  fed  by  Christ  their  graces  live: 
While,  guarded  by  his  potent  hand, 
'Midst  ail  the  rage  of  hell  they  stand. 

6  So  shall  the  bright  succession  run 
Through  ihe  last  courses  of  the  sun  ; 
Whileunborn  churches  by  their  rare 
Shall  rise  and  flourish  large  and  fair. 

7  Jesus  our  Lord  their  hearts  shall  know, 
The  spring,  whence  all  these  blessings  flow : 
Pastors  and  people  shout  his  praise 
Through  the  long  round  of  endless  days. 

CCXC.  Christ  the  Head  of  the  Church.     Ephesians  iv.  15,  16. 

1  TESUS,  I  sing  thy  matchless  grace, 
"    That  calls  a  worm  thy  own  ; 
Gives  me  among  thy  saints  a  place 

To  make  thy  glories  known. 

2  Allied  to  thee  our  vital  head, 

We  act,  and  grow,  and  thrive  : 
From  thee  divided,  each  is  dead, 
When  most  he  seems  alive. 


504  EPHESIANS. 

3  Thy  saints  on  earth,  and  tliose  above 

Here  join  in  sweet  accord  ; 
One  body  all  in  mutual  love, 
And  thou,  our  common  Lord. 

4  O  may  my  faith  each  hour  derive 

Thy  spirit  with  delight ; 
While  death  and  hell  in  vain  shall  strive 
This  bond  to  disunite. 

5  Thou  the  whole  body  wilt  present 

Before  thy  Father's  face  ; 
Nor  shall  a  Mrinlvle  or  a  spot 
Its  beauteous  form  disgrace. 

CCXCI.  Love  to  others  urged  Jrom  Christ's  Love,  in  giving  himself  a 
Sucrijice.     Ephesiaiis  v.  2. 

1  "VfOW  be  tiiat  sacrifice  survey'd, 

That  ransom  which  the  Saviour  paid ; 
That  sight  familiar  to  my  view. 
Yet  always  wondrous,  always  new. 

2  The  Lamb  of  God,  that  groan'd  and  bled. 
And  gently  bow'd  his  dying  head; 
While  love  to  sinners  fifM  his  heart, 
And  conquered  all  the  killing  smart. 

3  Blest  Jesus,  Avhile  thy  grace  I  sing, 
What  grateful  tribute  shall  1  bring, 

That  earth  and  heaven  and  thou  may'st  see 
My  love  to  him,  who  died  for  me  ? 

4  That  offering.  Lord,  thy  word  hath  taught, 
Nor  be  thy  new  command  forgot. 

That,  if  their  Master's  death  can  move, 
Thy  servants  should  each  other  love, 

5  When  to  thy  sacred  cross  we  flv. 
There  let  each  savage  passion  die  ; 
While  the  warm  streams  of  blood  divine 
Melt  our  cold  hearts  to  love  like  thine. 

CCXCII.  The  IVisdorn  of  redeeming  Time.    Ephesians  v.  15,  16. 

1  f^^D  of  eternity,  from  thee 

Did  infant-time  his  being  draw  ; 
Moments  and  days,  and  months  and  years. 
Revolve  by  thine  unvaried  law. 

2  Silent  and  slow  they  glide  away; 
Steady  and  strong  the  current  flows. 
Lost  in  eternity's  wild  sea, 

I'he  boundless  gulf,  from  whence  it  rose. 


PHILIPPIANS.  595 

3  With  it  tl)c  thoughtless  sons  of  men 
Before  the  liipid  streams  are  borne 
Oil  to  tliat  everlastiiii;  home, 
Where  not  one  soul  can  e'er  return. 

4  Yet  while  the  shore  on  either  side 
l^rescnts  a  g'lUidy  tiattering  shew. 
We  {Jjazc,  in  fond  amusement  lost, 
Nor  think  to  what  a  world  we  ^o. 

5  Great  source  of  wisdom,  teach  my  heart 
To  know  the  price  of  every  hour; 
That  time  may  bear  me  on  to  joy-s 
Beyond  its  measure,  and  its  power. 

CCXCIII.  ChrisCs  Love  to  the  Church  in  giving  himself  for  it,  ^c. 
Kpliesians  v,  25 — 27. 

1  "QRIDEGROOM  of  souls,  how  rich  thy  love! 

How  generous,  how  divine! 
Our  inmost  hearts  it  well  may  move, 
While  thus  our  voices  join. 

2  Deform'd  and  wretched  once  we  la}'-, 

Worthy  thy  hate  and  scorn  ; 
Yet  love  like  thine  could  find  a  way 
To  rescue  and  adorn. 

S  Thou  art  our  ransom  ;  from  thy  veins 
A  Avondrous  fountain  flows, 
To  wash  thy  bride  from  all  her  stains, 
And  heal  our  deepest  woes. 

4  Transform'd  by  thee,  e'en  here  below 

Thy  church  is  bright  and  fair  : 
But  O  !  how  glorious  shall  she  shew, 
When  Jesus  shall  appear  ! 

5  Thine  eye  shall  all  her  form  survey 

With  inhnite  delight, 
Confess'd,  in  that  illustrious  day, 
Unblemish'd  in  thy  sight. 

CCXCIV.  ClirisCs  Service,  the  Fruit  nf  our  Labours  on  Earth, 
Philippiaiis  i,  22. 

1  A/T  Y  gracious  Lord,  I  own  thy  right 

To  every  service  I  can  pay; 
And  call  it  my  supreme  delight 
To  hear  thy  dictates  and  obey. 

2  What  is  my  being,  but  for  thee. 
Its  sure  support,  its  noblest  end  ? 
Thy  ever-smiling  face  to  see, 

And  serve  the  cause  of  such  a  friend  ? 
2 


596  PHILIPPIANS. 

3  I  would  not  breathe  for  worldly  joy, 
Or  to  increase  my  worldly  good  ; 
Nor  future  daj's,  or  powers  employ 
To  spread  a  sounding  name  abroad. 

4  'Tis  to  my  Saviour  I  would  live ; 
To  him,  who  for  my  ransom  died, 
Nor  could  untainted  Eden  give 
Such  bliss,  as  blossoms  at  his  side. 

5  His  work  my  hoary  age  shall  bless, 
When  youthful  vigour  is  no  more  : 
And  my  last  hour  of  life  confess 
His  love  hath  animating  power. 

CCXCV.  The  Happiness  of  departing,  and  being  toitli  Christ. 

Philippians  i.  23. 

1  TTTHILE  on  the  verge  of  life  I  stand. 

And  view  the  scene  on  either  hand. 
My  spirit  struggles  with  its  clay, 
And  longs  to  wing  its  flight  away. 

2  Where  Jesus  dwells  my  soul  would  be  ; 
It  faints  my  much-lov'd  Lord  to  see ; 
Earth,  twine  no  more  about  my  heart. 
For  'tis  far  better  to  depart. 

3  Come,  ye  angelic  envoys*,  come. 
And  lead  the  willing  pilgrim  home : 
Ye  know  the  way  to  Jesus'  throne, 
Source  of  my  joys,  and  of  your  own. 

4  That  blessed  interview,  how  sweet ! 
To  fall  transported  at  nis  feet ! 
Rais'd  in  his  arms  to  view  his  face. 
Through  the  full  beamings  of  his  grace  ! 

5  To  see  heaven's  shining  courtiers  round, 
Each  with  immortal  glories  crown'd  I 
And,  while  his  form  in  each  I  trace, 
Belov'd,  and  loving,  all  to  embrace  ! 

6  As  with  a  Seraph's  voice  to  sing  ! 
To  fly  as  on  a  cherub's  wing  ! 
Performing  with  unwearied  hands 

A  present  Saviour's  high  commands  ! 

"l  Yet,  with  these  prospects  full  in  sight,, 
I'll  wait  thy  signal  for  my  flight ; 
For,  while  thy  service  I  pursue, 
1  find  my  heaven  begun  below. 

*  Messengers,  ambassadors. 


PHILIPPIANS.  5'Jl 

CCXCVI.  Pressing  on  in  the  Christian  Race.  Philippiaiisiii.  12—14. 

1  A  WAKK,  my  soul,  stretch  every  nerve, 
■^^  And  press  with  vigour  on  : 

A  heavenly  race  demands  thy  zeal, 
And  an  inunorlai  cr  jwn. 

2  A  cloud  of  witnesses  aroimd, 

Hold  thee  in  tull  survey  : 
Forpjet  the  steps  already  trod, 
And  onward  urge  thy  way. 

3  'Tis  God's  all-animating  voice, 

That  calls  thee  from  on  high  ; 
'Tis  his  own  hand  presents  the  prize 
To  thine  aspiring  eye. 

4  That  prize  with  peerless  glories  bright, 

Which  sliall  new  lustre  boast, 
When  victors'  wreaths*,  and  monarchs'  gems 
Shall  blend  in  common  dust. 

5  Blest  Saviour,  introduc'd  by  thee, 

Have  I  my  race  begun  ; 
And  crown'd  with  victory  at  thy  feet 
I'll  lay  my  lionours  down. 

CCXCVII.  God  siq)plying  the  Necessities  of  his  People.     Philippians 
iv.  19,  20. 

1  A/fY  God,  how  cheerful  is  the  sound  ! 

How  pleasant  to  repeat ! 
Well  may  that  heart  with  pleasure  bound. 
Where  God  hath  fix'd  his  seat. 

2  W})at  want  shall  not  our  God  supply 

From  his  redundant  stores  ? 
What  streams  of  mercy  from  on  high 
An  arm  Almighty  pours  ! 

3  From  Christ,  the  ever-living  spring, 

These  ample  blessings  flow  : 
Prepare,  my  lips,  his  name  to  sing. 
Whose  heart  hath  lov'd  us  so. 

4  Now  to  our  Father  and  our  God 

Be  endless glorv  given, 
Through  all  the  realms  of  man's  abode. 
And  throuiih  the  highest  lieaven. 

*  Crowns  or  garlands  given  to  conquerors. 


VOL.  in.  4  F 


SVS  COLOSSIANS. 


CCXCVIII.  Tliankfidncss  for  being  made  meet  for  the  heavenly  In- 
heritance.    Colossians  i.  12. 

1  A  LL-Glorious  God,  what  hymns  of  praise 
^-^  Shall  our  transported  voices  raise? 
What  framing  love  and  zeal  is  due, 
While  heaven  stands  open  to  our  view  ! 

2  Once  we  werefali'n,  and  O !  how  low  ! 
Just  on  the  brink  of  endless  woe  ; 
Doom'd  to  a  heritaj^e  in  hell, 

W^here  sinners  all  in  darkness  dwell. 

3  But  lo,  a  ray  of  cheerful  light 
Scatters  the  horrid  shades  of  night ! 
Lo,  what  triumphant  grace  is  shewn 
To  souls  impoverish'd  and  undone ! 

4  Far,  far  beyond  these  mortal  shores 
A  bright  inheritance  is  ours  ; 

Where  saints  in  light  our  coming  wait, 
To  share  their  holy  blissful  state. 

5  If  ready  drest  for  heaven  Ave  shine, 
Thine  are  the  robes,  the  crown  is  thine  : 
May  endless  years  their  course  prolong, 
While  "  Thine  the  praise,"  is  all  our  song. 

CCXCIX.  Angels  ctnd  Christians  united  in  Christ,  as  their  common 
Head.    Colossians  ii.  10. 

1  ILJAIL  to  Emanuel's  ever-honour'd  name ! 

Spread  it,  ye  angels,  through  heaven's  sacred 
flame. 
Ye  scepter'd  cherubim,  before  his  throne, 
And  flaming  Seraphim,  bow  humbly  down. 
He  is  your  head ;  with  prostrate  awe  adore  him. 
And  lay  with  joy  your  radiant  crowns  before  him. 

2  Array'd  in  his  refulgent  beams  ye  shine, 
And  draw  existence  from  his  source  divine  ; 
Grateful  ye  wait  the  signal  of  his  hand, 
Honour'd  too  highly  by  his  least  command: 

In  him  the  indwelHng  Deity  admiring. 
And  to  his  brighter  image  still  aspiring. 

3  Mortals  with  you  in  cheerful  homage  join. 
And  bring  their  anthems  to  Emanuel's  shrine  ; 
Mean  as  we  are,  with  sins  and  griefs  beset. 
We  glory,  that  in  him  we  are  complete. 

He  is  our  head,  and  we  with  you  adore  him. 

And  pour  our  wants,  our  joys,  our  hearts  before  him. 


I.    THESSALONIANS.  599 

4       We  sinp;  tlic  blood,  that  ransoin'ii  lis  from  hell; 
We  sing  tlio  graces,  tliat  in  Jesus  dweli  ; 
Led  by  Ijis  Spirit,  guarded  by  liis  hami, 
Our  hopes  atiticipale  your  goodly  land  ; 

JStill  his  incarnate  Deity  admiring, 

And  with  heaven's  hierarchy*  in  praise  conspiring. 

CCC.  Christians,  as  risen  zvit/i  C/iriit,  exhorted  to  seek  Thiti^s  above. 
Culossians  iii.  1. 

1  TLTEARKEN,  ye  children  of  your  God  ; 

Ye  heirs  of  glory,  hear  ; 
For  accents  so  divine  as  these 
Might  charm  the  dullest  ear. 

2  BaptizM  into  your  Saviour's  deatli. 

Your  souls  to  sin  must  die; 
With  Christ  our  Lord  ye  live  anew, 
With  Christ  ascend  on  high. 

3  There  at  his  Father's  hand  he  sits 

Enthron'd  divinely  fair; 
Yet  owns  himself  your  brother  still, 
And  your  forerunner  there. 

4  Rise  from  these  earthly  trifles,  rise, 

On  wings  of  faith  and  love  ; 

Jesus  your  choicest  treasure  lies, 

And  be  your  hearts,  above. 

5  But  earth  and  sin  will  drag  us  down. 

When  we  attempt  to  Hy  ; 
Lord,  send  thy  strong  attractive  force 
To  raise  and  fix  us  high. 

CCCI.  The  Prosperity  of  the  Church,  the  Life  of  afaithfid  Ministey\ 
1  Tliessalonians  iii.  8. 

1  IDLEST  Jesus,  bow  thine  ear, 

While  we  intreat  thy  love; 
O  come,  and  all  our  hearts  possess. 
And  our  best  passions  move. 

2  May  we  stand  fast  in  thee, 
Though  storms  and  tempests  l)oat ; 

And  in  thy  guardian-arms  obtain 
A  calm  and  safe  retreat. 

3  Still  be  thv  truth  maintain'd, 
And  still  thy  word  obey'd, 

And  to  the  merits  of  thy  blood 
A  cofistant  homage  paid. 

*  The  several  orders  uf  an5i^l<. 
4  F2 


600  11,    THESSAtONIANS. 

4       So  shall  thy  shepherds  live. 
And  raise  their  cheerful  head, 
And,  in  such  blessings  on  their  flock. 
Confess  their  toils  repaid. 

CCCII.  Conifort  on  the  Death  of  pious  Friends.    I  Thessalonians 
iv.  17,  18. 

1  'yRANSPORTING  tidings  which  we  hear! 

■*-     What  music  to  the  pious  ear  ! 
Christ  loves  each  humble  saint  so  well, 
He  with  his  Lord  shall  ever  dwell. 

2  Blest  Jesus,  source  of  every  grace. 
From  far  to  view  thy  smiling  face. 
While  absent  thus  by  faito  we  live. 
Exceeds  all  joys,  that  earth  can  give. 

3  But  O!   what  ecstasy  unknown 

Fills  the  wide  circle  round  thy  throne, 
Where  every  rapturous  hour  appears 
Nobler  than  millions  of  our  years! 

4  Millions  by  millions  multiplied 

Shall  ne'er  thy  saints  from  thee  divide ; 
But  the  bright  legions  live  and  praise 
Through  all  thy  own  immortal  days. 

5  O  happy  dead,  in  thee  that  sleep. 

While  o'er  their  mouldering  dust  we  weep  ! 
O  faithful  Saviour,  who  shalt  come 
That  dust  to  ransom  from  the  tomb  ! 

6  While  thine  unerring  word  imparts 
So  rich  a  cordial  to  our  hearts, 

Through  tears  our  triumphs  shall  be  shown. 
Though  round  their  graves,  and  near  our  own. 

CCCII  I.  Christ  glorified  and  adtnired  in  his  Saints  at  the  great  Day. 
2  Thessalonians  i.  10. 

1  "V'E  heavens,  with  sounds  of  triumph  ring; 

^    Ye  angels,  burst  into  a  song; 
J^Sus  descends,  victorious  King, 
And  leads  his  shining  train  along. 

2  Ye  saints  that  sleep  in  dust,  arise  ; 
Let  joy  reanimate  your  clay ; 

Spring  to  your  Saviour  through  the  skies, 
And  round  his  throne  your  homage  pay. 

3  Then  let  the  sons  of  heaven  draw  nigh, 
While  to  the  astonish'd  hosts  you  tell, 
How  feeble  mortals  rose  so  high 

From  graves  and  worms,  from  sin  and  hell. 


I.  TIMOTHY.  €01 

4  Tell  them,  in  accents  like  their  own, 
What  an  incarnate  God  couicl  do; 
Then  ])oint  to  Jcsns  on  the  throne, 
And  boast,  that  Jesus  died  for  you. 

5  Transported,  thev  no  more  can  hear  ; 
Their  voices  catch  the  sacred  name  ; 
Harmonious  to  his  Father's  ear, 
Jesus  the  God,  their  harps  proclaim  ! 

6  Sin  hath  its  dire*  incursions  made. 

That  thou  might'st  prove  thy  power  to  save  j 
And  death  its  ensigns  wide  display'd, 
That  thou  might'st  triumph  o'er  the  grave. 

CCCIV.    Clirist  seen  nf  Angels.     1  Timothy  iii.  16. 

1  /^  Ye  immortal  throng 

^-^  Of  angels  round  the  throne, 
Join  with  our  feeble  song 
To  make  the  Saviour  known  : 

On  earth  ye  knew 

His  wondrous  grace, 

His  beauteous  face 

In  heaven  ye  view. 

2  Ye  saw  the  heaven-born  child 
In  human  flesh  array'd, 
Benevolent  and  mild. 
While  in  the  manger  laid  : 

And  praise  to  God, 
And  peace  on  earth. 
For  such  a  birth, 
Proclaim'd  aloud. 

3  Ye  in  the  wilderness 
Beheld  the  tenjpter  spoil'd. 
Well  known  in  every  dress, 
In  every  combat  foil'd  ; 

And  joy'd  to  crown 
The  victor's  head, 
When  Satan  fled 
Before  his  frown. 

4  Around  the  bloody  tree 

Ye  press'd  with  strong  desire. 
That  wondrous  sight  to  see. 
The  Lord  of  life  expire  ; 

And,  could  your  eyes 

Have  known  a  tear, 

»  Dreadful, 


602  ri.  TIMOTHY, 

Had  drop'd  it  there 
In  sad  surprise. 

5  Around  his  sacred  tomb 
A  willing  watch  ye  keep  ; 
Till  the  blest  moment  come 
To  rouze  him  from  his  sleep 

Then  roU'd  the  stone, 
And  all  ador'd 
Your  rising  Lord 
With  joy  unknown. 

6  When  all  arrayed  in  light 
The  shining  conqueror  rode. 
Ye  liail'd  his  rapturous  flight 
Up  to  the  throne  of  God  ; 

And  wav'd  around 
Your  golden  wings, 
And  struck  your  strings 
Of  s^yeetest  sound. 

7  The  warbling  notes  pursue, 
And  louder  anthems  raise  ; 
While  mortals  sing  with  you 
Their  own  Redeemer's  praise  ; 

And  thou,  my  heart, 
With  equal  flame. 
And  joy  the  same. 
Perform  thy  part, 

CCCV.    The  Stability  of  tJte  divine  Foundation,  and  its  double  In- 
scription.    2  Timothy  ii.  ly. 

1  'T'O  thee,  Great  Architect  on  high. 

Immortal  thanks  be  paid, 
Who,  to  support  thy  sinking  saints, 
This  firm  foundation  laid  ! 

2  Fix'd  on  a  rock  thy  gospel  stands, 

And  braves  the  rage  of  hell  ; 
And,  while  the  Saviour's  hand  protects, 
His  blood  cements  it  well. 

3  Here  will  I  build  my  final  hope  ; 

Here  rest  my  weary  soul  ; 
Majestic  shall  the  fabric  rise, 
Till  glory  crown  the  whole. 

4  Deep  on  my  heart,  all-gracious  Lord, 

Engrave  its  double  seal ; 
Which,  while  it  speaks  thy  honour'd  name. 
Its  sacred  use  may  tell. 


HEBREWS.  CO.J 

5  Dear  by  a  thousand  tender  bonds, 
Tliy  saints  to  tliec  are  known  ; 
And,  "conscious  what  a  name  they  bear, 
Jniquity  they  shun. 

CCCVI.     Persecution  to  be  exjiected  hy  every  true  Christian. 
2  Timothy  iii.  l'-'. 

1  /^REAT  Leader  of  thine  Israel's  host, 
^^  We  shout  thy  conquering;  name  ; 
Lcfrions  of  foes  beset  thee  round, 

And  legions  fled  with  shame. 

2  A  victory  glorious  and  complete 

Thou  "by  thy  death  didst  gain  ; 
So  in  thy  cause  may  we  contend, 
And  death  itself  sustain  ! 

3  Bv  our  illustrious  general  fir'd, 

'^We  no  extremes  would  fear  ; 
Prepar'd  to  struggle  and  to  bleed. 
If  thou,  our  Lord,  be  near. 

4  We'll  trace  the  footsteps  thou  hast  drawn 

To  triumph  and  renown  ; 
Nor  shun  tliy  combat  and  thy  cross, 
May  we  but  share  thy  crown. 

CCCVII.     The  Christum  Scheme  of  Salvation  mrthy  of  God. 
Hebrews  ii.  10. 

1  TMMORTAL  God,  on  thee  we  call, 
•*■  The  great  original  of  all ; 
Through  thee  we  are,  to  thee  we  tend. 
Our  sure  support,  our  glorious  end. 

2  We  praise  that  wise  mysterious  grace, 
That  pitied  our  revolted  race. 

And  Jesus,  our  victorious  head, 
The  captain  of  salvation  made. 

3  He,  thine  eternal  love  decreed, 
Should  many  sons  to  glory  lead  ; 
And  sinful  w'orms  to  him  are  given, 
A  colony  to  people  heaven. 

4  Jesus  for  us,  O  gracious  name  ! 
Encounter'd  agony  and  shame  : 
Jesus,  the  glorious  and  the  great, 
^V^as  by  dife  sufferings  made  complete. 

2 


604  HEBREWS, 

5  A  scene  of  wonders  here  we  see, 
Worthy  thy  Son,  and  worthy  Thee : 
And,  while  this  theme  employs  our  tongues, 
All  heaven  unites  its  sweetest  songs. 

CCCVIII.    Satan  and  Death  conquered  by  the  Death  of  Christ. 
Hebrews  ii.  14,  15. 

1  CAT  AN,  the  dire  invader  came 

Our  new-made  world  to  annoy  : 
And  death  march'd  dreadful  in  his  rear. 
His  captives  to  destroy. 

2  Caught  with  his  snares  our  father  sunk; 

With  him  his  children  fell ; 
And  death  his  fatal  shaft  *  prepar'd 
To  smite  them  down  to  hell. 

3  Jesus  with  pitying  eye  beheld, 

And  left  his  starry  crown  ; 
Turn'd  his  own  weapons  on  the  foe, 
And  mowM  his  legions  down. 

4  By  death  the  Saviour  death  disarm'd. 

That  we  in  light  may  shine  ; 
And  fix'd  this  great  mysterious  law, 
That  dust  should  dust  refine. 

5  No  more  the  pointed  shaft  we  fear, 

Nor  dread  the  monster's  boast ; 
No  more  the  pious  dead  we  mourn. 
As  friends  for  ever  lost. 

6  Their  tongues,  great  Prince  of  life,  shall  join 

With  ourrecover'd  breath. 
And  all  the  immortal  hosts,  to  ascribe 
Our  victory  to  thy  death. 

CCCIX.      An  iiumtdiate  Attention  to  God's  Voice  required. 
Hebrews  iii.  15. 

1  nPHE  Lord  Jehovah  calls, 

■*■     Be  every  ear  inclin'd  ; 
May  such  a  voice  awake  each  heart, 
And  captivate  the  mind. 

2  If  He  in  thunder  speaks. 
Earth  trembles  at  his  nod; 

But  gentle  accents  here  proclaim 
The  condescending  God. 

3  O  harden  not  your  hearts. 
But  hear  his  voice  to-day  ; 

*  Arrow. 


HEBREWS. 

Lest,  ere  to-morrow's  earliest  dawn, 
He  cull  your  souls  away. 

4       Aliiiiglitv  God,  pronounce 

The  word  of  conquering  grace  ; 
So  shall  the  flint  dissolve  to  tears, 
And  scorners  seek  thy  face. 

CCCX.    The  eternal  Subbath.    Hebrews  iv.  9. 

1  T   ORD  of  the  sabbath,  bear  our  vows. 

On  this  thy  day,  in  this  thy  house  ; 
And  own,  as  grateful  sacrifice. 
The  songs,  Avliich  from  the  desart  rise. 

2  Thine  earthly  sabbaths,  Lord,  we  love  , 
But  there's  a  nobler  rest  above  ; 

To  that  our  labouring  souls  aspire 
With  ardent  pangs  of  strong  desire. 

3  No  more  fatigue,  no  more  distress  ; 
Nor  sin  nor  hell  shall  reach  the  place  ; 
No  groans  to  mingle  with  the  songs. 
Which  warble  from  immortal  tongues. 

4  No  rude  alarms  of  raging  foes  ; 
No  cares  to  break  the  long  repose  ; 
No  midnight  shade,  no  clouded  sun, 
But  sacred,  high,  eternal  noon. 

5  O  long-expected  day  begin  ! 

Dawn  on  these  realms  of  woe  and  sin  ; 
Fain  would  we  leave  this  weary  road. 
And  sleep  in  death  to  rest  with  God, 

CCCXI.    Clirist  our  Forerunner,  and  the  Foundation  qf  our  Hope. 
Hebrews  vi.  19,  20. 

1  TESUS,  the  Lord  our  souls  adore, 
"    A  painful  suflferernow  no  more; 
High  on  his  Father's  throne  he  reigns 
O'er  earth,  and  heaven's  extensive  plains, 

2  His  race  for  ever  is  complete  ; 
For  ever  undisturb'd  his  seat ; 
Myriads  of  angels  round  him  fly, 
And  sing  his  well-gain'd  victory. 

3  Yet,  'midst  the  honours  of  his  throne. 
He  joys  not  for  himself  alone  ; 

His  meanest  servants  share  their  part, 
Share  in  that  royal  tender  heart. 

VOL.  III.  4  G 


60: 


^06  HEBREWS. 

4  Raise,  raise,  my  soul,  thy  raptur'd  sight 
With  sacred  wonder  and  dehght ; 
Jesus  thy  own  forerunner  see 
Entered  beyond  the  veil  for  thee. 

5  I.oud  let  the  howling  tempest  yell, 
And  foaming  waves  to  mountains  swell. 
No  shipwreck  can  my  vessel  fear, 
Since  hope  hath  fix'd  its  anchor  here. 

CCCXII.    The  etil  Comcience  purified  by  the  Blood  of  Jesus. 
Hebrews  ix.  13,  14. 

1  13  LEST  be  the  Lamb,  whose  blood  was  spilt 

To  sprinkle  conscience  from  its  guilt ; 
To  ease  its  pains,  to  calm  its  fears. 
And  purchase  grace  for  future  years. 

2  Cleans'd  by  this  all-atoning  blood. 
We  joy  in  free  access  to  God, 
The  living  God,  before  whose  face 
Sinners  in  vain  shall  seek  a  place. 

3  Rouse  thee,  my  soul,  to  serve  him  still 
With  cordial  love,  with  active  zeal : 
Serve  him,  like  his  own  Son  divine. 
Who  made  his  life  the  price  of  thine. 

4  Blest  Jesus,  introduc'd  by  thee, 
The  Father's  smiling  face  I  see  ; 
And,  strengthened  by  thy  grace  alone, 
These  grateful  services  are  done. 

5  Then  must  my  debt  from  day  to  day 
Grow  with  each  service  that  I  pay  ; 
So  grows  my  joy,  dear  Lord,  to  be 
Thus  more  and  more  in  debt  to  thee. 

CCCXIIL    Death  and  Judgment  appointed  to  all.    Hebrews  ix.  27 

1  TJTEAVEN  has  confirm'd  the  great  decree, 

That  Adam's  race  must  die  : 
One  general  ruin 'sweeps  them  down, 
And  low  in  dust  they  lie. 

2  Ye  living  men,  the  tomb  survey, 

Where  you  must  quickly  dwell  ; 
Hark  how  the  awful  summons  sounds 
In  every  funeral  knell ! 

3  Once  you  must  die,  and  once  for  all 

The  solemn  purport  weigh  ; 
For  know,  that  heaven  and  hell  are  hung 
On  that  important  day. 


HEBREWS. 

4  Those  eyes,  so  lont^  in  darkness  vcil'd, 

Must  "wake  the  judge  to  see, 
And  every  word  and  every  thought 
Must  pass  his  scrutiny. 

5  O  may  I  i"  tlie  Judge  behold 

iMv  Saviour  and  my  friend, 
Andtar  beyond  the  reach  of  di.'atb 
Witli  alibis  saints  ascend  ! 

CCCXIV.     Christ's  sccorid  Appearance,  S^-c.     IK-brcws  ix.  C8. 

1  ]31-:iIOLD  the  Son  of  God  appears, 
^  And  in  his  llesh  our  sins  he  bears  ; 
The  victim  at  God's  altar  stood 

To  expiate  guilt  by  groans  and  blood. 

2  But  lo,  a  second  time  he  comes 

To  shake  the  earth  and  rend  the  tombs  ; 
These  heavens  before  him  melt  away, 
And  sun  and  stars  in  smoke  decay. 

3  Yet  'midst  this  general  wreck  and  dread, 
Ye  saints,  with  triumph  lift  the  head  ; 
With  glad  surprise  your  Saviour  meet, 
Who  comes  to  make  your  bliss  complete. 

4  Mv  soul,  an  happiness  so  great 
With  pleasing  expectation  wait  ; 
And,  while  I  dwell  upon  the  thought, 
Be  earth  and  all  its  toys  forgot ! 

5  Mv  Saviour-God,  what  grace  is  thine, 
Which  gives  a  prospect  so  divine  ! 
Come  blessed  dav,  and  teach  our  tongues 
How  angels  warble  out  their  songs. 

CCCXV.    Liberty  to  enter  through  the  Feil  by  the  Blood  of  Christ. 
Hebrews  X.  19—22. 


607 


1  A  PPRO  ACH,  ye  children  of  your  God  ; 
'^^  Favourites  of  heaven  draw  near  ; 
Enter  the  holiest  with  delight. 

Though  his  own  ark  be  there. 

2  Pass  through  the  veil,  the  Saviour's  flesh, 

That  new  and  living  way  ; 

And  .Majesty  enshrin'd  *  in  love 

Shall  gentle  beams  display. 

3  Jesus  with  sin-atoning  blood 

Tiie  throne  hath  sprinkled  o'er  ; 

*  Surrounded  with. 
1-G  2 


608  HEBREWS. 

His  fragrant  incense  spreads  its  cloud. 
And  justice  flames  no  more. 

4  Approach  with  boldness  and  with  joy, 

But  spotless  all  draw  near ; 
Pure  be  your  lives  from  every  s^tain. 
And  every  conscience  clear. 

5  So  shall  the  blessings  of  his  grace 

On  all  your  souls  distil, 
Till  each  a  royal  priest  appears 
On  his  celestial  hill. 

CCCXVI.    God's  Fidelitij  to  his  Promises.    Hebrews  x.  23. 

1  nPHE  promises  1  sing. 

Which  sovereign  love  hath  spoke ; 
Nor  will  the  eternal  King 
His  words  of  grace  revoke  ; 

They  stand  secure, 

And  stedfast  still ; 

Not  Zion's  hill 

Abides  so  sure. 

2  The  mountains  melt  away 
When  once  the  Judge  appears. 
And  sun  and  moon  decay, 
That  measure  mortals'  years; 

But  still  the  same 
In  radiant  lines 
The  promise  shines 
Through  all  the  flame. 

3  Their  harmony  shall  sound 
Through  mine  attentive  ears, 
When  thunders  cleave  the  ground, 
And  dissipate  the  spheres  ; 

'Midst  all  the  shock 
Of  that  dread  scene, 
I  stand  serene, 
Thy  word  my  rock. 

CCCXVII.    The  Day  approaching,  a  Motive  to  Love  and  Worship. 
Hebrews  x.  24,  25. 

1  TTHE  day  approacheth,  O  my  soul, 

The  great  decisive  day, 
Which  from  the  verge  of  mortal  life 
Shall  bear  thee  far  away. 

2  Another  day  more  awful  dawns  ; 

And  lo,  the  Judge  appears  j 


HEBREWS.  609 

Ye  heavens,   etirc  before  his  face. 
And  sink,  ye  darken'cl  stars. 

3  Yet  does  one  short  preparing  hour, 

One  precious  hour  remain  ; 
Rouzc  thee,  my  soul,  with  all  thy  power. 
Nor  let  it  pass  in  vain. 

4  With  me  my  brctlircn  soon  must  die. 

Ami  at  that  bur  appear  ; 
Now  be  our  intercourse  improv'd 
To  mutual  comfort  here. 

5  For  this,  tliy  temple,  Lord,  we  throng; 

For  this,  thy  board  surround  ; 

Here  may  our  service  be  approv'd, 

And  in  thy  presence  crown'd. 

CCCXVIII.   Ahrahavi's  Faith  in  leaving  his  Coxinlry  at  the  divine 
Command.     lii-brews  xi.  8. 

1  IV'OW  let  our  songs  proclaim  abroad 

The  unchanging  name  of  Abram's  God ; 

In  him  let  Abram's  children  boast, 
Their  Father's  ever-living  Lord, 
His  Shield,  his  Friend,  his  great  Reward, 

Who  never  can  deceive  their  trust. 

2  Call'd  by  thy  voice,  with  joyful  speed 

He  went,  M'here  thou  wast  pleas'd  to  lead, 

Unknowing  in  the  path  he  trod  ; 
His  land,  his  kindred,  strove  in  vain 
The  pious  pilgrim  to  detain, 

Propt  on  the  promise  of  his  God. 

3  So  at  thy  word  the  saint  foregoes  * 
Each  tender  tie,  which  nature  knows. 

And  hears  no  other  voice  but  thine  ; 
Marches,  where  thou  shalt  point  tiie  way, 
Where  thou  shalt  pitch  his  tent,  will  sta}-, 

And  learns  his  Isaac  to  resign. 

4  At  length,  still  faithful  to  thy  own. 
Thou  call'st  him  to  a  world  unknown. 

Through  paths  untrod  by  mortal  feet ; 
Smiling  he  owns  thy  voice  in  death. 
Gives  to  the  air  his  fleeting  breath. 

And  finds  the  road  to  Abram's  seat* 

*  Breaks  through. 


610  fiEBREWS* 

CCCXIX.  Tlie  God  of  the  Patriarchs  preparing  them  a  Cii^ 
Hebrews  xi.  16. 

1  T  AM  thy  God,  Jehovah  said, 

To  Abram,  and  his  chosen  seed  j 
And  still  the  same  relation  owns 
To  each  of  Abram's  faithful  sons. 

2  Sovereign  of  heaven,  what  works  of  love 
So  grand  a  title  shall  approve  ? 

What  splendid  gifts  will  God  bestow. 
That  all  its  high  import  may  know  ? 

3  Not  the  rich  flocks  and  herds  that  feed 
Round  Abram's  tents  in  Mamre's  mead  ; 
Not  Joseph's  chariot,  nor  the  throne. 
Ivory  and  gold  of  Solomon. 

4  Not  Canaan's  plains  a  lot  can  prove 
Proportion'd  to  Jehovah's  love; 
Not  Zion's  sacred  mountain,  where 
His  temple  glitter'd  like  a  star. 

5  O'er  Zion's  mount,  o'er  Canaan's  plains. 
Oppression  now,  and  horror  reigns  ; 
And,  where  the  throne  of  David  stood. 
His  ruin'd  sepulchre  is  view'd. 

6  'Tis  in  the  heaven  of  heavens  alone 

Thou  mak'st  thy  wondrous  friendship  known  ; 
A  city  there  thy  hand  prepares, 
Fix'd  as  thy  own  eternal  years, 

7  Long  as  they  reign  before  thy  face, 
The  blissful  nations  shall  confess, 
Thy  sovereign  love  has  there  bestow'd 
Salvation  worthy  of  a  God. 

CCCXX.  Moseses  wise  Choice.    Hebrews  xi.  26, 

1  \/TY  soul,  with  all  thy  waken'd  powers 

Survey  the  heavenly  prize  ; 
Nor  let  these  glittering  to}^s  of  earth 
Allure  thy  wandering  eyes. 

2  The  splendid  crown,  which  Moses  sought, 

Still  beams  around  his  brow  ; 
Though  soon  great  Pharaoh's  sceptred  pride, 
Was  taught  by  death  to  bow. 

3  The  joys  and  treasures  of  a  day 

I  cheerfully  resign  ; 
Rich  in  that  large  immortal  store, 
Stcur'd  by  grace  divine. 
2 


HEBREWS. 


€11 


4  Let  fools  my  wiser  clioicc  deride, 

Angels  and  God  approve ; 
Nor  scorn  of  men,  nor  rat^e  of  hell 
My  stcdfast  soul  shall  move. 

5  With  ardent  eye  that  bright  reward 

I  daily  will  survey  ; 
And  m  the  blooming  prospect  lose 
The  sorrows  of  the  way. 

CCCXXI.  Acting,  as  seeing  him,  who  is  invisible.    Hebrews  xi.  27. 

1  "CTERNAL  and  immortal  King, 

^  Thv  peerless*  splendors  none  can  bear, 
But  darkness  veils  seraphic  eyes. 
When  God  with  all  his  lustre's  there. 

2  Yet  faith  can  pierce  the  awful  gloom, 
The  great  Invisible  can  see  ; 

And  with  its  tremblings  mingle  joy 
In  fix'd  regards,  great  God,  to  thee. 

3  Then  every  tempting  form  of  sin, 
Sham'd  in  thy  presence,  disappears ; 
And  all  the  glowing  raptur'd  soul 
The  likeness  it  contemplates,  wears. 

4  O  ever-conscious  to  my  heart. 
Witness  to  its  supreme  desire, 
Behold  it  presseth  on  to  thee. 

For  it  hath  caught  the  heavenly  fire. 

5  This  one  petition  would  it  urge. 
To  bear  thee  ever  in  its  sight ; 

In  life,  in  death,  in  worlds  unknown, 
Its  only  portion  and  delight. 

CCCXXII.  Subjection  to  God,  the  Father  of  our  Spirit.    Hebrews 

xii.  y. 

1  INTERNAL  source  of  life  and  thought, 
■*-^  Re  all  beneath  thyself  forgot ! 
Whilst  thee,  great  parent-mind,  we  own 
In  prostrate  homage  round  thy  throne. 

2  Whilst  in  themselves  our  souls  survey 
Of  thee  some  faint  reflected  ray, 
They  wondring  to  their  Father  rise  ; 

His  power  how  vast!  His  thoughts  how  wise  ? 

3  Behold  us  as  thine  offspring.  Lord, 
And  do  not  cast  us  ofl'  abhorr'd  ; 

*  Unrquallod. 


612  HEBREWS, 

Nor  let  thy  ImncI,  so  long  our  jo}''. 
Be  ruis'd  in  vengeance  to  destroy. 

4  O  may  we  live  before  thy  face, 
The  willing  subjects  of  thy  grace  ; 
And  through  each  path  of  duty  move 
With  filial  awe,  and  filial  love  ! 

CCCXXIII.   The  Immuiability  of  Christ.    Hebrews  xiii.  8. 

1  TT7ITH  transport,  Lord,  our  souls  proclaim 

The  immortal  honours  of  thy  name : 
Assembled  round  our  Saviour's  throne. 
We  make  his  ceaseless  glories  known. 

2  High  on  his  Father's  royal  seat 
Our  Jesus  shone  divinely  great. 

Ere  Adam's  clay  with  life  was  warm'd, 
Or  Gabriel's  nobler  spirit  form'd. 

3  Through  all  succeeding  ages  he 

The  same  hath  been,  the  same  shall  be  : 
Immortal  radiance  gilds  his  head. 
While  stars  and  suns  wax  old  and  fade. 

4  The  same  his  power  his  flock  to  guard ;. 
The  same  his  bounty  to  reward  ; 

The  same  his  faithfulness  and  love 
To  saints  on  earth,  and  saints  above. 

5  Let  nature  change  and  sink  and  die  ; 
Jesus  shall  raise  his  chosen  high, 
And  fix  them  near  his  stable  throne, 
In  glory  changeless  as  his  own. 

CCCXXIV.  Watching  for  Souh  in  the  View  of  tlie  great  Account, 
Hebrews  xiii.  17. 

FOR    THE    ORDINATION    OF    A    MINISTER. 

1  T  ET  Zion's  watchmen  all  awake. 

And  take  the  alarm  they  give ; 
Now  let  them  from  the  mouth  of  God 
Their  solemn  charge  receive. 

2  'Tis  not  a  cause  of  small  import 

The  pastor's  care  demands; 
But  what  might  fill  an  angel's  heart. 
And  fill'd  a  Saviour's  hands. 

3  They  watch  for  souls,  for  which  the  Lord 

Did  heavenly  bliss  forego  * ; 
For  souls,  w^hich  must  for  ever  live 
In  raptures,  or  in  woe. 

*  Forsake,  lay  asid«. 


JAMES.  613 

4  All  to  the  great  tribunal  haste, 

The  account  to  render  there ; 
And  shouldst  thou  strictly  mark  our  faults, 
Lord,  how  should  we  appear? 

5  Mav  they  that  Jesus,  whom  they  preach, 

Tlieir  own  Redeemer  see  ; 
And  watch  thou  daily  o'er  their  souls, 
That  they  may  watch  for  thee. 

CCCXXV.  T/ie  Christian  perfected  by  divine  Grace  through  Christ. 
Hebrews  xiii.  20,  21. 

1  "pATHER  of  peace,  and  God  of  love, 

We  own  thy  power  to  save ; 
That  power,  by  which  our  Shepherd  rose 
Victorious  o'er  the  grave. 

2  We  triumph  in  that  Shepiierd's  name. 

Still  watchful  for  our  good  ; 
Who  brought  the  eternal  covenant  down, 
And  seal'd  it  with  his  blood. 

3  So  may  thy  Spirit  seal  my  soul. 

And  mould  it  to  thy  will ; 
That  my  fond  heart  no  more  may  stray, 
But  keep  thy  covenant  still. 

4  Still  may  we  gain  superior  strength, 

And  press  with  vigour  on. 
Till  full  perfection  crown  our  hopes, 
And  fix  us  near  thy  throne. 

CCCXXVI.  Chnstims  begotten  to  God  as  the  First-Fruits  of  his 
Creatures.    James  i.  18. 

1  "M^OW  to  that  sovereign  grace, 

•^       Whence  all  our  comforts  spring, 
Let  the  whole  new  begotten  race 
Their  cheerful  praises  bring. 

2  His  Avill  first  made  the  choice; 

His  word  the  change  hath  wrought ; 
In  him,  our  Father,  we  rejoice, 
Nor  be  the  name  forgot. 

3  Lord,  may  this  matchless  love,  Xlj," 
Which  thy  own  children  see, 

Make  us  from  all  thy  creatures  prove 
As  the  first-fruits  to  thee. 

4  Sacred  to  thee  alone 

Be  all  these  powers  of  mine. 
Then  in  the  noblest  sense  my  own. 
When  most  entirely  thine. 
VOL.  III.  4  H 


614'  JAME3. 


CCCXXVII.  Looking  into  the  perfect  Latv  of  Liberty,  and  continidng 
in  it.    James  i.  25. 

1  "Q  EIIOLD  the  glass  the  gospel  lends, 

That  men  themselves  may  view! 
How  free  from  stain  its  surface  is ! 
How  polisliM,  and  how  true! 

2  Behold  that  wise,  that  perfect  law. 

Which  noblest  freedom  gives! 
O  may  it  all  our  souls  refine, 
And  sanctify  onr  lives  ! 

3  Not  with  a  transient  glance  survey'd. 

And  in  an  hour  fdrgot. 
But  deep  inscrib'd  on  every  heart. 
To  reign  o'er  every  thought. 

4  Great  Author  of  each  perfect  gift. 

Thy  sovereign  grace  display, 
That  these  rebellious  roving  powers 
May  hearken  and  obey. 

5  Inspir'd  by  thee,  our  feeble  souls 

Shall  pass  victorious  on  ; 
As  the  faint  dawning  light  improves 
To  all  the  blaze  of  noon. 

CCCXXVIII.  James's  Advice  to  Sinners.    James  iv.  7,  8. 

1  ^^E  sinners,  bend  your  stubborn  necks 

Beneath  the  yoke  divine  ; 
In  low  submission  bow  ye  down 
Before  his  sacred  shrine. 

2  In  pious  strains  your  follies  mourn, 

And  seek  his  injur'd  grace  ; 
And  wait  with  broken  bleedmg  hearts 
The  openings  of  his  face. 

3  Resist  the  tempter's  fierce  attacks. 

And  he  shall  speed  his  flight : 
Draw  near  to  God,  and  his  embrace 
Shall  fold  you  with  delight. 

4  Ye  sinners,  cleanse  your  spotted  hands. 

And  purge  your  hearts  from  sin ; 
Here  fix  your  long-divided  views. 
And  peace  sliall  reign  within. 

5  Blest  Saviour,  draw  us  by  thy  love, 

And  fix  us  by  thy  power ; 
When  we  have  felt  these  sweet  constraints. 
Our  souls  shall  rove  no  more. 


I.   PETER. 


€15 


CCCXXIX.     The  VanUij  ofivorldbj  Schemes  inferred  from  the  Uncer- 
tdiiU//  of  Ltfe.     James  IV.  13,  14,  Ij. 

1  T^O-MOKKOW,  Lord,  is  tliino, 

•^    Lod^'d  ill  tliy  sovereign  huiul ; 
And,  if  its  sun  iuisc  and  shine, 
It  shines  by  thy  coinnumd. 

2  The  present  moment  Hies, 
And  l)ears  our  hfe  away  ; 

O  make  thy  servants  truly  wise, 
That  they  may  hve  to-day. 

3  Since  on  this  winged  hour 
Eternity  is  lumg, 

Waken  by  thine  Almiglity  power 
The  aged  and  the  young. 

4-       One  thing  demands  our  care  ; 
()  be  it  still  pursu'd  ! 
Lest,  shghted  once,  the  season  fair 
Should  never  be  rencw'd. 

5       To  .lesus  may  we  fly 

Swift  as  the  morning  liglit, 
Lest  life's  young  golden  beams  should  die 
In  sudden  endless  night ! 

CCCXXX.    Rejoicing  in  an  umeen  Saviour.     1  Peter  i.  8. 

1  A/flNE  inward  joys,  suppress'd  too  long, 
^        Ecstatic  burst  into  a  song  : 

From  Christ,  though  now  unseen,  they  rise 
And  reach  his  throne  beyond  the  skies. 

2  His  glories  strike  the  wondering  sight 
Of  all  the  first-born  sons  of  light  ; 
Beyond  the  Seraphim  they  shine, 
Unrivall'd  all,  and  all  divine. 

3  Yet  mortal  worms  his  friendship  boast, 
And  make  his  saving  name  their  trust : 
Jesus,  mv  Lord,  I  know  him  well ; 
He  rescu'd  me  from  death  and  hell. 

4  This  sinful  heart  from  God  estraiig'd 
His  new-creating  power  hath  chang'd  ; 
And,  mingling  with  each  secret  thought, 
INIaintains  the  work,  which  first  it  wrought. 

5  He  gives  to  see  his  Father's  face  ; 
He  gives  my  soul  to  thrive  in  grace  ; 
And  brings  the  views  of  glory  down, 
The  beamings  of  mv  heavenly  crown. 

4n  2 


616  I.  PETER. 

6  Thus  entertain'd,  while  here  below 
Unspeakable  my  transports  grow  ; 
New  joys  in  swift  succession  roll, 
And  glory  fills  my  silent  soul. 

CCCXXXI.    The  Heart  purified  to  Love  unfeigned  by  the  Spirit. 
1  Peter  i.  22. 

1  /^REAT  Spirit  of  immortal  love, 

^^  Vouchsafe  our  frozen  hearts  to  move  ; 
With  ardour  strong  these  breasts  inflame 
To  all  that  own  a  Saviour's  name. 

2  Still  let  the  heavenly  fire  endure 
Fervent  and  vigorous,  true  and  pure : 
Let  every  heart  and  every  hand 

Join  in  the  dear  fraternal  band  *, 

3  Celestial  dove,  descend  and  bring 
The  smiling  blessings  on  thy  wing  ; 
And  make  us  taste  those  sweets  below, 
Which  in  the  blissful  mansions  grow. 

CCCXXXII.    Tasting  timt  the  Lord  is  Gracious.    1  Peter  ii.  3, 

1  'VT'ES,  it  is  sweet  to  taste  his  grace, 

"■■    Who  bought  us  with  his  blood  ; 
My  soul  prefers  the  relish  still 
To  all  created  good. 

2  O  !  how  I  love  that  vital  word. 

Which  taught  me  first  to  live  ; 
Thirst  for  that  uncorrupted  milk. 
That  I  may  grow  and  thrive  ! 

3  All-gracious  Lord,  instruct  us  more 

7^hy  saving  gifts  to  know  : 
And  let  our  inmost  hearts  rejoice, 
That  thou  hast  lov'd  us  so, 

4  Open  thy  stores  with  liberal  hand. 

That  we  may  daily  feast ; 

And  let  each  dying  soul  around 

The  sweet  salvation  taste. 

CCCXXXIII.     Coming  to  Christ  as  a  living  Stone.    1  Peter  ii.  4, 5. 

1  TT7ITH  ecstasy  of  joy 

Extol  his  glorious  name, 
Who  rais'd  the  spacious  earth, 
And  rais'd  our  ruin'd  frame  : 
He  built  the  church 
Who  built  the  sky, 

*  Brotherly  union. 


I.  PETER.  €17 


Shout  and  exalt 
His  honours  high. 

2  See  the  foundation  laid 

By  power  and  love  divine  ; 
Jesus,  liis  tirst-i)orn  Son, 
How  bright  liis  glories  shine ! 
Low  he  descends, 
In  dust  He  lies, 
That  from  iiis  tomb 
A  church  might  rise. 

3  But  he  for  ever  lives. 
Not  for  himself  alone  ; 
Each  saint  new  life  derives 
From  this  mysterious  stone  ; 

His  intluence  darts 
Through  every  soul. 
And  in  one  house 
Unites  the  whole. 

4  To  him  with  joy  we  move  ; 
In  him  cemented  stand  ; 
The  living  temple  grows, 
And  owns  the  founder's  hand 

That  structure,  Lord, 
Still  higher  raise. 
Louder  to  sound 
Its  builder's  praise. 

5  Descend,  and  shed  abroad 
The  tokens  of  thy  grace, 
And  with  more  radiant  boam*? 
Let  glory  fill  the  place  ; 

Our  joyful  souls 
Shall  prostrate  fail. 
And  own,  our  God 
Is  all  in  all. 


CCCXXXIV.  Christ  the  Corner  Stone.  1  Peter  ii.  6.  compared  wila 
Isaiah  xxviii.  16,  17. 

1  T  ORD,  dost  thou  shew  a  corner-stone 

For  us  to  build  our  hopes  upon, 
That  the  fair  edifice  may  rise 
Sublime  in  light  beyond  the  skies  ? 

2  We  own  the  work  of  sovereign  love  : 
Nor  death  nor  hell  those  hopes  shall  move, 
Which  fix'd  on  this  foundation  stand, 
Laid  by  thy  own  Almighty  hand. 


618  I.   PETER. 

5  Thy  people  long  this  stone  have  tried. 
And  all  the  powers  of"  hell  defied  ; 
Floods  of  temptation  beat  in  vain  ; 
Well  doth  this  rock  the  house  sustain. 

4  When  storms  of  wrath  around  prevail, 
Whirlwind  and  thunder,  fire  and  hail ; 
'Tis  here  our  trembling  souls  shall  hide. 
And  here  securely  they  abide. 

5  While  they  that  scorn  this  precious  stone, 
Fond  of  some  quicksand  of  their  own, 
Borne  down  by  weighty  vengeance  die. 
And  buried  deep  in  ruin  lie. 

CCCXXXV.     Christ  precious  to  the  Believer.     1  Peter  ii.  7. 

1  TF^SUS,  I  love  thy  charming  name; 

'Tis  music  to  mine  ear  ; 
Fain  would  I  sound  it  out  so  loud, 
That  earth  and  heaven  should  hear. 

2  Yes,  thou  art  precious  to  my  soul. 

My  transport,  and  my  trust  : 
Jewels  to  thee  are  gaudy  toys. 


And  gold  is  sordid  dust. 


3  All  my  capacious  powers  can  wish 

In  thee  doth  richlv  meet : 
Nor  to  mine  eyes  is  light  so  dear. 
Nor  friendship  half  so  sweet. 

4  Thy  grace  still  dwells  upon  my  heart. 

And  sheds  its  fragrance  there ; 
The  noblest  balm  of  all  its  wounds. 
The  cordial  of  its  care. 

5  I'll  speak  the  honours  of  thy  name 

With  my  last  labouring  breath  ; 
Then  speechless  clasp  thee  in  mine  arms, 
The  antidote  of  death. 

CCCXXXVI.    Noah  preserved  in  the  Ark,  and  tlte  Believer  in  Chnst. 
1  Peter  iii.  20,  21. 

1  T^HE  deluge,  at  the  Almighty's  call. 

In  what  impetuous  streams  it  fell ! 
Swallow'd  the  mountains  in  its  rage, 
And  swept  a  guilty  world  to  hell. 

2  In  vain  the  tallest  sons  of  pride 
Fled  from  the  close-pursuing  wave  ; 
Nor  could  their  mightiest  towers  defend. 
Nor  swiftness  'scape,  nor  courage  save. 

3 


I.  PETER.  'jiy 

3  TTow  dire  tlic  ^vreck  !   How  loud  the  roar  ! 
How  sinilltlic  uuiversiil  cry 

Of  millions  ill  the  last  desp:iir, 
Ile-echo'd  from  the  lowring  sky  ! 

4  Yet  Noah,  huml)le  happy  saint. 
Surrounded  with  the  clioscn  few. 
Sat  in  his  ark,  secure  from  fear. 

And  sang  the  grace  that  steer'd  him  througlj. 

5  So  I  may  sing,  in  Jesus  safe, 

While  storms  of  vengeance  round  me  fall. 
Conscious  how  high  my  hopes  are  hx'd, 
Beyond  what  shakes  this  earthly  ball. 

6  Enter  thine  ark,  while  patience  waits, 
Nor  ever  quit  that  sure  retreat ; 

Tlien  the  wide  flood,  which  buries  earth, 
Shall  waft  thee  to  a  fairer  seat. 

7  Nor  wreck  nor  ruin  there  is  seen  : 
There  not  a  wave  of  trouble  rolls  ; 

But  the  bright  rainbow  round  the  throne* 
Seals  endless  life  to  all  their  souls. 

CCCXXXVII.    The  Uiigodlij  ivarned  of  tlieir  final  Appearance. 
1  Peter  iv.  18. 

1  "DEHOLD  God's  great  incarnate  Son 

In  majesty  comes  flying  down  : 
Hark  !  for  his  trumpet's  awful  sound 
Awakes  the  dead,  and  cleaves  the  ground. 

2  So  solemn  shall  the  judgment  be. 
And  so  severe  the  scrutiny  f , 
That,  by  his  merit  tried  alone, 
The  saint  himself  would  be  undone. 

3  Where  then,  ye  sons  of  Belial  t,  where 
Will  your  astonish'd  souls  appear  } 
How  will  ye  shun  his  piercing  sight  ? 
Or  how  resist  his  matchless  might } 

4  Up  to  the  pointed  mountains  fly. 
And  gain  the  confines  §  of  the  sky  ; 
There  shall  ye  meet  celestial  fire, 
While  mountains  melt  before  his  ire  I|. 

5  Call  on  the  rending  earth  to  save, 
And  at  its  centre  search  a  grave  ; 

The  .ludge  shall  well  discern  thee  there. 
And  drag  thee  trembling  to  his  bar. 

•  Rev.  iv.  3.  f  Examination.  J  Rebellious  men. 

§  Borders.  jj  Anger. 


620  I.  PETER. 

6  Deck  thee  around  with  fraud  and  lies, 
And  put  on  every  fair  disguise  ; 
Soon  shall  thy  painted  form  be  known 
Amidst  ten  thousand  of  his  own. 

7  Gird  thee  in  arms  his  wrath  to  oppose. 
And  league  with  millions  of  his  foes ; 
Soon  would  the  rebel-band  expire, 
Like  crackling  thorns  amidst  the  fire. 

8  One  only  way  may  yet  be  found  ; 
Submissive  bow  ye  to  the  ground  ; 

His  cross  a  refuge  will  afford  , 

From  all  the  terrors  of  his  sword. 

CCCXXXVJII.    Humbling  ourselves  under  God's  mighty  Hand, 
1  Peter  v.  6. 

1  "DENEATH  thy  mighty  hand,  O  God, 

Our  souls  w^e  prostrate  low  ; 
Shine  forth  with  gentle  radiant  beams, 
That  we  thy  name  may  know. 

2  Thy  hand  this  various  frame  produced. 

And  still  supports  it  well ; 
That  hand,  with  justice  and  with  ease, 
Might  smite  our  soul^  to  hell. 

3  Conscious  of  meanness  and  of  guilt, 

We  in  the  dust  Avould  lie  ; 
Stretch  forth  thy  condescending  arm, 
And  lift  the  humble  high. 

4  So  in  the  temples  of  thy  grace 

We'll  sovereign  mercy  own. 
And,  when  we  shine  above  the  stars, 
Extol  thy  grace  alone. 

5  The  more  thou  raise  such  sinful  dust. 

The  lower  would  it  fall  ; 
For  less  than  nothing,  Lord,  are  we, 
And  thou  art  all  in  all. 


CCCXXXIX.    The  same. 

FOR    A    FAST-DAY. 

/^UR  souls  with  reverence,  Lord,  bow  down 

Struck  by  the  splendors  of  thy  throne  ; 
Humbled,  while  in  thy  house  we  stand, 
Beneath  thy  great  tremendous  hand. 

That  hand,  which  bears  the  steady  pole, 
While  nature's  wheels  unwearied  roll ; 
That  hand,  which  gives  each  creature  food, 
And  fills  the  world  with  various  good. 


I.  PETER.  621 

3  That  hand,  which  pierc'd  thy  darling  son 
To  expiate  crimes,  that  \vc  had  done  : 
Thathiind,  which  scatters  trace  abroad 
To  turn  thy  foes  to  sons  ot  God. 

4  But  O  !  with  what  distracted  rage 

I  lave  wo  presum'd  that  hand  to  engage  ! 
And,  while  long  patience  hath  been  shewn, 
Struggled  to  force  thy  vengeance  down  ! 

5  Here  might  thy  wrath  begin  to  flame. 
And  vindicate  thine  injur'd  name  ; 
Till  the  red  thunders  of  thy  hand 
Had  dealt  destruction  round  our  land. 

6  With  humble  hearts  our  God  we  meet : 
O  raise  the  suppliants  at  thy  feet  ! 
And  let  that  glorious  arm  this  day 
Embrace  the  rebels  it  might  slay  ! 

CCCXL.     God's  Care  a  Remedy  for  ours.     1  Peter  v.  7. 

1  T_^O^V  gentle  God's  commands  ! 

How  kind  his  precepts  are  ! 
"  Come,  cast  your  burdens  on  the  Lord, 
"  And  trust  his  constant  care," 

2  While  providence  supports, 
Let  saints  securely  dwell  ; 

That  hand,  which  bears  all  nature  np, 
Shall  guide  his  children  well. 

3  Why  should  this  anxious  load 
Press  down  your  weary  mind  ? 

Haste  to  your  heavenly  Father's  throne, 
And  sweet  refreshment  find. 

4  His  goodness  stands  approv'd 
Down  to  the  present  dav  ; 

I'll  drop  my  burden  at  his  feet, 
And  bear  a  song  away. 

CCCXLI.    Establishment  in  Itelis:ionfrom  the  Gud  if  all  Grace. 
1  Peter  v.lo,  II. 

1  TJOW  rich  thy  favours,  God  of  grace  ! 

How  various  and  divine  ! 
Full  as  the  ocean  they  are  pour'd, 
And  bright  as  heaven  they  shine. 

2  He  to  eternal  glory  calls, 

And  leads  the  wondrous  way 
To  his  own  palace,  where  he  reigns 
In  uncreated  day. 

VOL.  III.  4  I 


622  II.  PETER. 

3  Jesus,  the  herald  of  his  love, 

Displays  tlie  radiant  prize. 
And  shews  the  purchase  of  his  blood 
To  our  admiring  eyes. 

4  He  perfects  what  his  hand  begins, 

And  stone  on  stone  he  lays  ; 
Till  firm  and  fair  the  building  rise, 
A  temple  to  his  praise. 

5  The  songs  of  everlasting  years 

That  mercy  shall  attend, 
Which  leads,  through  sufferings  of  an  hour. 
To  joys,  that  never  end. 

CCCXLII.      Tlie  Circuynstmices  of  ChrisCs  second  Jppearing. 
2  Peter  iii.  11,  12. 

1  A/TY  wakened  soul,  extend  thy  wings 

Beyond  the  verge  of  mortal  things  ; 
See  this  vain  world  in  smoke  decay, 
And  rocks  and  mountains  melt  away. 

2  Behold  the  fiery  deluge  roll 

Through  heaven's  wide  arch  from  pole  to  pole  : 
Pale  sun,  no  more  thy  lustre  boast ; 
Tremble  and  fall,  ye  starry  host. 

3  This  wreck  of  nature  all  around. 

The  angel's  shout,  the  trumpet's  sound, 
Loud  the  descending  Judge  proclaim, 
And  echo  his  tremendous  name. 

4  Children  of  Adam,  all  appear 
With  reverence  round  his  awful  bar; 
For,  as  his  lips  pronounce,  ye  go 
To  endless  bliss,  or  endless  woe. 

5  Lord,  to  mine  eyes  this  scene  display 
Frequent  through  each  revolving  day, 
And  let  thy  grace  my  soul  prepare 
To  meet  its  full  redemption  there. 

CCCXLin.    The  Importance  of  being  prepared  for  Christ^s  second 
Appearing.     2  Peter  iii,  14. 


1 


T3EHOLD  I  come  !"  the  Saviour  cries, 
"  With  winged  speed  I  come  ; 
**  My  voice  shall  call  your  souls  away 
*'  To  their  eternal  home. 

"  Awake  ye  sons  of  sloth,  awake  ; 

*'  Your  vain  amusements  cease, 
**  And  strive  with  your  united  powers, 

"  That  ye  be  found  in  peace. 


II.  PETER. 


623 


3  "  Seize  the  blest  hour  with  ardent  haste, 

*'  Nor  shght  this  ])caceful  word, 
**  Lest  your  alVrij^hted  souls  in  vain 
*'  FIv  froui  my  flaming  sword. 

4  "  Happy  the  man,  whose  ready  heart 

"  Obeys  the  sacred  call ; 
"  And  shelters  in  my  covenant  grace 
'*  His  everlasting  all." 

5  Blest  Jesus,  whose  all-searching  eye 

My  inmost  powers  can  see, 
Dost  thou  not  know  my  willing  soul 
Hatli  lodg'd  that  all  with  thee  ? 

6  These  eager  eyes  thv  signal  wait ; 

My  dear  Redeemer,  come  : 
I  rove  a  weary  pilgrim  here, 
And  long  to  be  at  home. 

CCCXLIV.     Growing  in  Grace,  Si'C.    2  Peter  iii.  IS. 

1  pR  AISE  to  thy  name,  eternal  God, 

"'■     For  all  the  grace  thou  shed'st  abroad  ; 
For  all  thine  influence  from  above 
To  warm  onr  souls  with  sacred  love. 

2  Blest  be  thy  hand,  which  from  the  skies 
Brought  down  this  plant  of  paradise, 
And  gave  its  heavenly  glories  birth, 

To  deck  this  wilderness  of  earth. 

3  But  why  does  that  celestial  (lower 
Open  and  thrive,  and  shine  no  more? 
Where  are  its  balmy  odours  tied  ? 
And  why  reclines  its  beauteous  head  ? 

4  Too  plain  alas  !  the  languor  shews 
The  unkindly  soil  in  which  it  grows  ; 
AVhere  the  black  frosts  and  beating  storm 
Wither  and  rend  its  tender  form. 

5  Unchanging  sun  !    thy  beams  display 
To  drive  the  Irosts  and  storms  away  ; 
Make  all  thy  potent  virtues  known 
To  cheer  a  plant  so  much  thy  own. 

6  And  thou,  blest  Spirit  !  deign  to  blow 
Fresh  gales  of  heaven  on  shrubs  below  ; 
So  shall  fhey  grow,  and  breathe  abroail 
A  fracrrance  grateful  to  our  God. 

4  I  2 


624  I.  JOHN. 

CCCXLV.    Experimaital Knoxvledge communicaied.     iJohn  i.  1 — 3. 

1  TESUS,  mine  advocate  above, 

Let  me  not  hear  of  thee  alone, 
But  make  the  wonders  of  thy  love 
By  deep  experience  sweetly  known. 

2  On  thee  my  soul  would  fix  its  eye  ; 

My  lips  would  taste  thy  heavenly  grace  ; 
Then  would  I  raise  thine  honours  high, 
And  teach  a  thousand  tongues  thy  praise. 

3  The  sacred  flame  from  heart  to  heart 
Should  with  a  rapid  progress  run  ; 
Till  each  in  God  could  boast  his  part, 
Through  sweet  communion  with  his  Son. 

4  Thus  may  the  servants  of  the  Lord 
Feel  the  salvation  they  proclaim  ; 
And  thus  may  crouds  receive  the  word, 
And  echo  back  the  Saviour's  name  ! 

CCCXLVI.    Communion  with  God  and  Christ.     1  John  i.  3. 

1  O^^  heavenly  Father  calls, 
^"^  And  Christ  invites  us  near  ; 

With  both  our  friendship  shall  be  sweet, 
And  our  communion  dear, 

2  God  pities  all  my  griefs  ; 
He  pardons  every  day  ; 

Almighty  to  protect  my  soul. 
And  wise  to  guide  my  way, 

3  How  large  his  bounties  are ! 
What  various  stores  of  good. 

Diffused  from  my  Redeemer's  hand, 
And  purchas'd  with  his  blood ! 

4  Jesus,  my  living  head, 

I  bless  thy  faithful  care  ; 
Mine  advocate  before  the  throne, 
And  my  forerunner  there. 

5  Here  fix,  my  roving  heart ; 
Here  wait,  my  warmest  love, 

Till  the  communion  be  complete 
In  nobler  scenes  above. 

CCCXLVII.    The  Privileges  of  Saints  by  the  Blood  of  Jesus.     1  John  i.  7. 

1       IVT^  various  powers,  awake 

To  sound  redeeming  grace  ; 
To  him,  that  wash'd  us  in  his  blood, 
Ascribe  eternal  praise. 


I.   JOHN.  *2S 

2  Wliiit  thouc;ii  our  ^uilt  appears 
DyMin  a  crimson  graiu? 

The  stream,  that  flows  from  Jesus'  side, 
Shall  purire  away  the  stain. 

3  'Midst  all  our  various  forms 
Wc  in  this  centre  meet ; 

Our  hearts,  cemented  by  his  blood, 
Shall  taste  communion  sweet. 

4  Then  let  us  walk  in  light, 

Like  Christ,  whose  name  we  wear; 
And,  as  the  pledge  of  endless  bliss, 
Our  Father's  image  bear. 

CCCXLVIII.  The  Blood  of  Christ  ckunsing/rom  ull  Sin. 
I  Jolini.  7. 

1  TV/fY  sins,  alas!  how  foul  the  stains! 
^^^  How  deep,  and  O  !  how  wide', 
O'er  my  polluted  soul  they  spread, 

In  double  crimson  (%''d. 

2  How  shall  I  stand  before  that  God, 

In  Avhose  all-piercing  sight, 
Some  shades  of  darkness  seem  to  veil 
The  purest  sons  of  light? 

3  Where  shall  I  wash  these  spots  away, 

And  make  my  nature  clean, 

Since  drops  of  penitential  grief 

Are  tinctur'd  still  with  sin  ? 

4  Behold  a  torrent  all  divine 

Flows  from  the  Saviour's  side. 
And  strangely  bears  a  crystal  stream 
Amidst  the  purple  tide*. 

5  Here  will  I  bathe  my  spotted  soul. 

And  make  it  i)ure  and  fair ; 
Till  not  the  eye  of  God  discern 
One  foul  pollution  there. 

6  Then,  drest  in  robes  of  snowy  white, 

I'll  join  the  shining  band. 
And  learn  new  anthems  to  the  Lamb, 
While  round  his  throne  we  stand. 

♦  Referring  to  the  blood   and  water,    that  came  out  of  Christ's 
wound(4bidc.     John  xix.  3+. 


626  REVELATION. 


CCCXLIX.  Having  the  Son,  and  having  Life  in  him.     1  John  v.  12. 

1  r\  HAPPY  christian,  who  can  boast, 
^^  "  The  Son  of  God  is  mine  !" 
Happy,  though  humbled  in  the  dust ; 

Rich  in  this  gift  divine  ! 

2  He  hves  the  life  of  heaven  below. 

And  shall  for  ever  live  ; 
Eternal  streams  from  Christ  shall  flow, 
And  endless  vigour  give, 

3  That  life  we  ask  with  bended  knee, 

Nor  will  the  Lord  deny  ; 
Nor  will  celestial  mercy  see 
Its  humble  suppliants  die, 

4  That  life  obtain'd,  for  praise  alone 

We  wish  continu'd  breath  ; 
And  taught  by  blest  experience  own. 
That  praise  can  liye  in  death. 

C'CCL.  Christ  the  First  and  the  Last,  humbled  to  Death,  and  exalted  to 
an  eternal  Triumph  over  it.     Revelation  i.  17,  18, 

1  TXT^HAT  mysteries,  Lord,  in  thee  combine  ! 

Jesus,  once  mortal,  yet  divine; 
The  first,  the  last;  the  end,  the  head; 
The  source  of  life  among  the  dead. 

2  O  love,  beyond  the  stretch  of  thought ! 
What  matchless  wonders  hath  it  wrought  f 
My  faith,  while  she  the  grace  declares. 
Trembles  beneath  the  load  she  bears. 

3  Hail,  royal  conqueror  o'er  the  grave, 
Tender  to  pity,  strong  to  save  ! 

For  ever  live,  for  ever  reign. 

And  prosperous  may  thy  throne  remain ! 

4  Thy  saints,  obedient  to  thy  word. 
With  humble  joy  surround  thy  board; 
And,  long  as  time  pursues  its  race. 
Proclaim  thy  death,  and  shout  thy  grace. 

5  In  the  full  choir,  where  angels  join 
Their  harps  of  melody  divine, 
Thy  death  inspires  a  song  of  praise. 
New  through  thy  life's  eternal  days. 

CC'CLI,  The  Keys  of  Death  and  the  unseen  World  in  Christ'' s  Hand. 
Revelation  i,  18. 

1   TIT  AIL  to  the  prince  of  life  and  peace, 
"*■  "*•  Who  holds  the  keys  of  death  and  hell ! 


RKVELATION.  627 

The  spacious  world  uDscon  is  his, 

And  sovereinn  power  becomes  him  well. 

2  In  shame  and  torment  once  he  died  ; 
But  now  he  lives  for  evermore: 

Bow  down,  ye  saints,  around  his  seat, 
And,  all  ye  angel-bands,  adore. 

3  So  live  for  ever,  f^Iorious  Lord, 

To  crush  thy  foes,  aiui  ijuard  thy  friends; 
While  all  thy  chosen  tribes  rejoice, 
That  thy  dominion  never  ends. 

4  Worthy  thy  hand  to  hold  the  keys. 
Guided  by  wisdom,  and  by  love; 
Worthy  to  rule  o'er  mortal  life. 
O'er  worlds  below,  and  worlds  above. 

5  When  death  thy  servants  shall  invade, 
When  powers  of  hell  thv  church  annoy, 
Contronl'd  bv  thee,  their  rage  shall  help 
The  cause,  they  labonr'd  to  destroy. 

6  For  ever  reign,  victorious  King: 

Wide  through  the  earth  thy  name  be  known  ; 
And  call  my  longing  soul  to  sing 
Sublimer  anthems  near  thy  throne  I 

CCCLII.  Christ's  Care  of  Ministas  and  Churches.    Revelation  ii.  1. 

1  \^/E  bless  the  eternal  source  of  light, 

'  '     Who  makes  the  stars  to  shine  ; 
And,  through  this  dark  beclouded  world, 
DifTuseth  rays  divine. 

2  We  bless  the  churches.  Sovereign  King ! 

Whose  golden  lamps  we  are; 
Fix'd  in  the  temples  of  his  love 
To  shine  with  radiance  fair. 

3  Still  be  our  purity  preserv'd  ; 

Still  fed  with  oil  and  flame; 
And  in  deep  characters  inscrib'd 
Our  heavenly  Master's  name. 

4  Then,  while  between  our  ranks  he  walks, 

And  all  our  state  surveys. 
His  smiles  shall  with  new  lustre  deck 
The  people  of  his  praise. 

CCCLIII.  TIte  Claristian  Warrior  wiimated  and  crowned. 
Revelation  ii.  10. 


H 


ARK!  'tis  our  heavenly  leader's  voice 
From  his  triumphant  seat: 


628  REVELATION. 

*Midst  all  the  Avar's  tumultuous  noise, 
Ho\Y  powerful  and  how  sweet ! 

2  "  Fight  on,  my  faithful  band,"  he  cries, 
^  "  Nor  fear  the  mortal  blow; 

**  Who  first  in  such  a  warfare  dies 
*'  Shall  speediest  victory  know. 

3  "  I  have  my  days  of  combat  known, 

"  And  in  the  dust  was  laid  ; 
*'  But  thence  I  mounted  to  my  throne, 
"  And  glory  crowns  my  head. 

4  "  That  throne,  that  glory,  vou  shall  share  ; 

*'  My  hands  the  crown  shall  give  ; 
"  And  you  the  sparkling  honours  wear, 
♦'  While  God  himself  shall  live." 

5  Lord,  'tis  enough  ;  our  bosoms  glow 

With  courage,  and  with  love ; 
Thy  hand  shall  bear  thy  soldiers  through. 
And  raise  their  heads  above. 

6  My  soul,  while  deaths  beset  me  round, 

Erects  her  ardent  eyes, 
And  longs,  through  some  illustrious  wound, 
To  rush  and  seize  the  prize. 

CCCLIV.  The  Pillar  in  God's  heavenly  Temple,  zvith  its  Inscription, 
Revelation  iii,  12. 

1  A  LL-H  AIL,  victorious  Saviour,  hail ! 
"^^  I  bow  to  thy  command ; 

And  own,  that  David's  royal  key 
Well  fits  thy  sovereign  hand. 

2  Open  the  treasures  of  thy  love, 

And  shed  thy  gifts  abroad ; 
Unveil  to  my  rejoicing  eyes 
The  temple  of  my  God. 

3  There  as  a  pillar  let  me  stand 

On  an  eternal  base  *  ; 
Up-rear'd  by  thine  Almighty  hand, 
And  polish'd  by  thy  grace. 

4  There  deep  engraven  let  me  bear 

The  title  of  my  God  ; 
And  mark  the  new  Jerusalem, 
As  my  secure  abode. 

5  In  lasting  characters  inscribe 

Thy  own  beloved  name ; 

*  Foundation. 
3 


REVELATION.  629 

That  endless  ages  there  may  read 
The  great  Eiuanuers  claim. 

C  Lead  on,  my  general ;  I  defy 
What  earth  or  hell  can  do  ; 
Tiiy  conduct,  and  this  glorious  hope, 
Shall  bear  thy  soldier  through. 

CCCLV.  GocCs  Covenant  uncluvigaibk;  or,  The  Rainboiv  round 
tihout  the  Throne.  Revelation  iv.  3.  cuinpared  with  Gcnciis  ix. 
13—17. 

1  CUPREMK  of  Beings,  with  delight 

Our  eyes  survey  tins  heavenly  sight  ^ 
And  trace  with  admiration  sweet 
The  beaming  splendors  of  thy  feet. 

2  Jasper  and  sapphire  strive  in  vain 
To  paint  the  glories  of  thy  train  ; 
'J'hy  robes  ;dl  stream  eternal  light, 
Too  powerful  for  a  cherub's  sight. 

.S  Yet  round  thy  throne  the  rainbow  shines. 
Fair  emblem  of  thy  kind  designs  ; 
Bright  pledge,  that  speaks  thy  covenant  sure 
Long  as  thy  kingdom  shall  endure. 

4  No  more  shall  deluges  of  woe 
Thy  new-created  world  o'erHow  ; 
Jesus,  our  Sun,  his  beams  displays. 

And  gilds  the  clouds  with  beauteous  rays. 

5  No  gems  so  bright,  no  forms  so  fair  ; 
IMcrcy  and  trutii  siiil  triumph  there  : 
Thy  saints  shall  bless  the  peaceful  sign, 
When  stars  and  suns  forget  to  shine. 

6  E'en  here,  while  storms  and  gloomy  shade, 
And  horrors  all  the  scene  o'erspread. 
Faith  views  the  throne  with  piercing  eye. 
And  boasts,  the  rainbow  still  is  nigh. 

CCCLVI.     Victoiij  over  Satmi  hi/  the  lilood  of  the  Lamb,  and  the 
U'ord  of  the  Testimony  of  his  Servants.     Revelation  xii.  11. 

1  C  EE  the  old  dragon  from  his  throne 
^  Sink  with  enormous  ru-n  down  ! 

\  Banish'il  from  heaven,  and  doom'd  to  dwell 

Deep  in  the  fiery  gloom  of  hell ! 

2  Ye  heavens  with  all  your  hosts,  rejoice  ; 
Ye  saints,  in  consort  lend  your  voice  ; 
Approach  your  Lord's  victorious  seat. 
And  tread  the  foe  bcMiealh  your  feet. 

VOL.  in.  4  l'^ 


630  REVELATION. 

3  But  whence  a  conquest  so  divine 
Gain'd  by  such  feeble  hands  as  mine  ? 
Or  whence  can  sinful  mortals  boast 
O'er  Satan  and  his  i-ebel-host  ? 

4  'Twas  from  tliv  blood,  thou  slaughter'd  t-amb, 
That  all  our  palms  and  triumphs  came  ; 

Thy  cross,  th}^  spear,  inflicts  the  stroke, 
By  which  the  monster's  head  is  broke. 

5  Thy  faithful  word  our  hope  maintains 
Through  all  our  combat  and  our  pains; 
The  accents  of  thy  heavenly  breath 

Thy  soldiers  bear  through  Avounds  and  death, 

6  Triumphant  Lamb,  in  worlds  unknown, 
With  transport  round  thy  radiant  throne, 
Thv  happy  legions,  all  complete, 

Shall  lay  their  laurels  at  thy  feet. 

CCCLVII.    The  Song  of  Moses  and  the  Lamb.   Revelation  x v.  .:J. 

1  ISRAEL,  the  tribute  bring 

To  God's  victorious  name  ; 
The  song  of  Moses  sing. 
Of  Moses  and  the  Lamb  : 

Jmpi'ove  his  la3's*  ; 

The  theme  exceeds. 

And  nobler  deeds 

Demand  our  praise. 

2  The  prince  of  hell  arose 
With  impious  rage  and  pride, 
And  'midst  our  numerous  foes 
Our  feeble  power  defy'd  ; 

"  I  will  o'ertake, 

*'  And  I  destroy, 

*'  My  hand  with  joy  • 

*'  Shall  force  thee  back." 

3  Thy  hand,  Almighty  Lord, 
Thy  trembling  Israel  saves  ; 
Thine  unresisted  word 
Divides  the  threatening  waves : 

Thy  hosts  pass  o'er  ; 
The  foe  o'erthrown 
Sinks  like  a  stone  - 
To  rise  no  more. 

4  Our  triunriphs  we  prepare. 
And  eheerful  anthems  raise  : 

*  Songs  of  praise. 


REVELATION.  tiSl 

Jehovah's  arm  made  bare 
Demands  immortal  praise 

And  while  we  siiii^, 

Ye  shores,  proclaim  ' 

His  wondrous  name, 

Ye  desarts,  ring  ! 

5  Through  all  the  w  ilderness 
Thv  presence,  Lord,  shall  lead  ; 
And  bring  us  to  the  place, 
•   Thy  sovcreiirn  love  decreed  ; 
Those  blissful  plains, 
Wiiere  all  around, 
Hosannas  sound, 
And  transport  reign?. 

CCCLVIII.   TheCotiQuest  nfDealh  and  Grief  hij  FUxvs  of  tin'  heavenly 
State.     Revelation  xxi.  4. 

1  T   IFT  up,  ye  saints,  your  weeping  eyes, 

Suspend  your  sorrows  and  your  sighs  ; 
Turn  all  your  groans  to  joyful  songs. 
Which  Jesus  dictates  to  your  tongues. 

2  Thus  saith  the  Saviour  from  his  throne  ; 
"  Behold  all  former  things  are  gone, 

"  Past  like  an  anxious  dream  away, 
*'  Chas'd  by  the  golden  beams  of  day  ! 

3  *'  See,  in  celestial  pomparray'd, 
*'  A  new-created  world  displayed  ; 

*'  Mark  with  what  light  its  prospects  shine  ! 
"  How  grand,  how  various,  how  divine  ! 

4  "  There  my  own  gentle  hand  shall  dry 
"  Each  tear  from  each  o'erflowing  eye, 
*'  And  open  wide  mv  friendly  breast 

"  To  lull  the  weary  soul  to  rest. 

5  *•  No  more  shall  grief  assail  your  heart, 
**  No  boding  fear,  no  piercing  smart  ; 
*'  For  ever  there  my  people  dwell 

**  Beyond  the  range  of  death  and  hell." 

G  Vain  king  of  terrors,  boast  no  more 
Thine  ancient  wide-extended  ])Ower  ; 
Each  saint  in  life  with  Christ  his  head 
Shall  reign,  when  thou  thyself  art  dead. 

CCC  LIX.    Christ,  the  Root  and  Of  spring  of  David,  and  the  Morning 
Star.     Revelation  xxii.  16. 


A  LE  HAIL,  mvsterious  king  ! 
"^  Hail,  David's  ancient  root  I 


4K  2 


632  REVELATION. 

Thou  Righteous  Branch,  which  thence  did  spring 
To  give  the  nations  fruit. 

2  Our  weary  souls  shall  rest 
Beneath  thy  grateful  shade  ; 

Our  thirsting  lips  salvation  taste; 
Our  fainting  hearts  are  glad. 

3  Fair  Morning-star,  arise, 
With  livino-  glories  bright, 

And  pour  on  these  awakening  eyes 
A  flood  of  sacred  light. 

4  The  horrid  gloom  is  fled, 
Pierc'd  by  thy  beauteous  ray  ; 

Shine,  and  our  wandering  footsteps  lead 
To  everlasting  day. 

CCCLX.    Christ^s  Invitations  echoed  back,  Sfc.   Revelation  xxH.  17. 

1  TIJOW  free  the  fountain  flows 

Of  endless  life  and  joy  ! 
That  spring,  which  no  confinement  knows, 
Whose  waters  never  cloy  ! 

2  How  sweet  the  accents  sound 
From  the  Redeemer's  tongue  ! 

**  Assemble,  all  ye  nations  round, 
*'  In  one  obedient  throng. 

3  "  The  Spirit  bears  the  call 
**  To  all  the  distant  lands  ; 

"  The  church,  the  bride,  reflects  it  back, 
"  While  Jesus  waiting  stands. 

4  "  Ho,  every  thirsty  soul, 

"  Approach  the  sacred  spring  ; 
**  Drink,  and  your  fainting  spirits  cheer ; 
"  Renew  the  draught,  and  sing. 

5  "  Let  all,  that  will,  approach ; 
*'  The  Avater  freely  take; 

*'  Free  from  my  opening  heart  it  flows 
"  Your  raging  thirst  to  slake." 

6  With  thankful  hearts  we  come' 
To  taste  the  oflTered  grace ; 

And  call  on  all  that  hear  to  join 
The  trial,  and  the  praise. 


REVELATION.  633 

CCCLXI.     Tlie  Christian  rejoicing  in  the  Viexis  of  Death  andJudg- 
meat.     Revelation  xxii.  'JO. 

1  *'  "QF.IIOLD  I  come,"  tlic  Saviour  cries, 

-"^  "Oil  wiiifTs  of  love  I  fly  :" 
*'  So  come,  dear  Lord,"  my  soul  replies, 
"  And  bring  salvation  niglj." 

2  Come,  loose  these  bonds  of  flesh  and  sin  : 

Come,  end  my  pains  and  cares; 
Bear  me  to  thy  serene  abode 
Beyond  the  clouds  and  stars. 

3  I  greet  the  messengers  of  death, 

By  which  thou  call'st  mc  home; 
But  doubly  greet  that  joyful  hour, 
When  thou  thj'self  shalt  come. 

4  Come,  plead  thy  Father's  injur'd  cause, 

And  make  thy  glory  shine  ; 
Come,  rouse  thy  servants  mouldering  dust , 
And  their  whole  frame  refine. 

5  O  come  amidst  the  angelic  hosts 

Their  humble  name  to  own  ; 
And  bear  the  full  assembly  back 
To  dwell  around  thy  throne. 

6  With  winged  speed.  Redeemer  dear. 

Bring  on  the  illustrious  day  : 
Come,  lest  our  spirits  droop  and  faint 
Beneath  thy  long  delay. 


634  HYMNS    ON 


HYMNS 


PARTICULAR  OCCASIONS 


IN  UNCOMMON  MEASURES. 


CCCLXII.    A  Morning  Hymn,  to  he  used  at  awaking  and  risitig. 

^    A  WAKE,  my  soul,  to  meet  the  day  ; 
^  Unfold  thy  drowsy  eyes, 
And  burst  the  ponderous  chain  that  loads 
Thine  active  faculties. 

2  God's  guardian-shield  was  round  me  spread 

In  my  defenceless  sleep  : 
Let  him  have  all  my  waking  hours, 
Who  doth  my  slumbers  keep. 

3  (The  work  of  each  immortal  soul 

Attentive  care  demands  ; 
Think  then  what  painful  labours  wait 
The  faithful  pastor's  hands.) 

4  My  moments  fly  with  winged  pace. 

And  swift  my  hours  are  hurl'd  ; 
And  death  with  rapid  march  comes  on 
To  unveil  the  eternal  world. 

5  I  for  this  hour  must  give  account 

Before  God's  awful  throne  : 
Let  not  this  hour  neglected  pass. 
As  thousands  more  have  done. 

6  Pardon,  O  God,  my  former  slotli. 

And  arm  my  soul  with  grace  ; 
As,  rising  now,  I  seal  my  vows 
To  prosecute  thy  ways. 

7  Bright  Sun  of  Righteousness,  arise, 

Thy  radiant  beams  dispjav, 
And  guide  my  dark  bewiider'd  soul 
To  everlasting  dav. 


PARTICULAR    OCCASIONS,  635 

CCCLXIII.    yln  Evening  //r/mn,  tn  be  used  ivhcn  composing  one's 
self  to  aitep. 

1  TNTKRVAL  of  grateful  shade, 

Welcome  to  my  weary  head  ! 
Welcome  slumbers  to  mine  eyes, 
Tir'd  with  i;larin^  vanities  ! 
My  threat  Master  still  allows 
Isi'eejful  licriods  of  repose . 
liy  n>v  heavenly  Father  blest, 
TIjus  I  j^ive  my  powers  to  rest ; 
Heavenly  Fatlicr  !   gracious  name  ! 
Night  and  day  his  love  the  same  : 
P"ar  be  each  suspicious  thought, 
Kvery  anxious  care  forgot : 
Tiiou,  my  ever-bounteous  God, 
Crown'stmy  davs  with  various  good  : 
Thy  kind  eye,  that  cannot  sleep, 
These  defenceless  hours  shall  keep  : 
Blest  vicissitude  to  me  ! 
Day  and  night  I'm  still  with  thcc. 

2  What  tlioiigh  downy  slumbers  flee, 
Strangers  to  my  couch  and  me  ! 
.Sleepless  well  I  know  to  rest, 
Lodg'd  within  my  Father's  breast. 
While  the  empress  of  the  night 
Scatters  mild  her  silver  light ; 
While  the  vivid  planets  stray 
Various  through  their  mystic  way  ; 
Wiiile  the  stars  unnumber'd  roll 
Round  the  ever-constant  pole  ; 
Far  above  the  spangled  skies 

All  my  soul  to  God  shall  rise  ; 
'Midst  the  silence  of  the  night 
Mingling  with  those  angels  bright, 
Whose  harmonious  voices  raise 
Ceaseless  love  and  ceaseless  praise  ; 
Through  the  throng  his  gentle  ear 
Shall  mv  tuneless  accents  hear  : 
From  on  high  dot!)  He  inipart 
Secret  comfort  to  my  heart. 
He  in  these  screnest  hours 
Guides  my  intellectual  powers, 
And  his  Spirit  doth  diffuse, 
Sweeter  far  than  midnight  dews  ; 
1-ifting  all  my  thoughts  above 
On  the  wings  of  faith  and  love. 


O.JtJ  HYMNS    ON 

Blest  alternative  to  me, 

Thus  to  sleep,  or  wake,  with  thee  ! 

3  What  if  death  my  sleep  invade  ! 
Should  I  be  of  death  afraid  ? 
Whilst  encircled  by  thine  arm, 
Death  may  strike,  but  cannot  harm. 
What  if  beams  of  opening  day 
Shine  around  my  breathless  clay! 
Brighter  visions  from  on  high 
Shall  regale  my  mental  eye. 
Tender  friends  awhile  may  mourn 
Me  from  their  embraces  torn  ; 
Dearer  better  friends  I  have 
In  the  realms  beyond  the  grave. 
See  the  guardian-angels  nigh 
Wait  to  waft  my  soul  on  high  ! 
Seethe  golden  gates  display'd  ! 
See  the  crown  to  grace  my  head  ! 
See  a  flood  of  sacred  light, 
Which  no  more  shall  yield  to  night ! 
Transitory  world,  farewel  ! 
Jesus  calls  with  him  to  dwell. 
With  thy  heavenly  presence  blest. 
Death  is  life,  and  labour  rest. 
Welcome  sleep,  or  death  to  me. 
Still  secure,  for  still  with  thee. 

CCCXLIV.     On  Recovery  fro7}i  Sickness,  duriiig  luhicli,  much  of  the 
divine  Favour  liad  been  experienced. 

1  A/TY  God,  thy  service  well  demands 
-^'■^  The  remnant  of  my  days  ; 
Why  was  this  fleeting  breath  renew'd. 

But  to  renew  thy  praise  ? 

2  Thine  arms  of  everlasting  love 

Did  this  weak  frame  sustain. 
When  life  was  hovering  o'er  the  grave, 
And  nature  sunk  with  pain. 

:3  Thou,  when  the  pains  of  death  were  felt. 
Didst  chase  the  fears  of  hell ; 
And  teach  my  pale  and  quivering  lips 
Thy  matchless  grace  to  tell. 

4  Calmly  I  bow'd  my  fainting  head 
On  thy  dear  faithful  breast ; 
Pleas'd  to  obey  my  Father's  call 
To  his  eternal  rest, 
2 


PARTICULAR   OCCASIONS.  037 

5  Into  thv  hands,  my  Saviour-God, 

Did  I  my  soul  resign, 
In  firni  dopcndencc  on  that  truth, 
Which  made  salvation  mine. 

6  Back  from  the-  borders  of  the  grave 

At  thy  command  I  come; 
Nor  would  I  urge  a  speedier  flight 
To  my  celestial  home. 

7  Where  thou  determin'st  mine  abode, 

There  would  I  chuse  to  be ; 
For  in  thy  presence  death  is  life, 
And  earth  is  heaven  with  thee. 

CCCLXV.  The  last  Words  of  David.    2  Samuel  xxili.  1—8  *. 

1  TPHUS  hath  the  son  of  .Tesse  said, 

"*■    \V'hen  Israel's  God  had  rais'd  his  head 

To  high  imperial  sway  : 
Struck  with  his  last  poetic  fire, 
Zion's  sweet  Psalmist  tun'd  his  lyre 
To  this  harmonious  lay. 

2  Thus  dictates  Israel's  sacred  rock  : 
Thus  hath  the  God  of  Jacob  spoke 

By  my  responsive  tongue  : 
Behold  the  Just  One  over  men 
Commencing  his  religious  reign, 

Great  subject  of  my  song  ! 

3  So  gently  shines  with  genial  ray 
The  unclouded  lamp  of  rising  day, 

And  cheers  the  tender  flowers, 
When  midnight's  soft  diffusive  rain 
Hath  bless'd  the  gardens  and  the  plain 

With  kind  refreshing  showers. 

4  Shall  not  my  house  this  honour  boast  ? 
My  soul  the  eternal  covenant  trust, 

Wcll-order'd  still  and  sure  ? 
There  all  my  hopes  and  wishes  meet: 
In  death  I  call  its  blessings  sweet. 

And  feel  its  bond  secure. 

5  The  sons  of  Belial  shall  not  spring, 
Who  spurn  at  heaven's  anointed  King, 

And  scorn  his  hiirh  command; 


*  Aprecable  to  the  ingenious  metrical  version  of  tlie  learned  Dr, 
Richard  Grey. 

VOL.  III.  4  L 


638  HYMNS   ON 

Though  wide  the  briars  infest  the  ground, 
And  the  sharp-pointed  thorns  around 
Defy  a  tender  hand ; 

6  A  dreadful  warrior  shall  appear 
With  iron  arms,  and  massy  spear, 

And  tear  them  from  their  place  : 
Touch'd  with  the  lightning  of  his  ire, 
At  once  they  kindle  into  fire, 

And  vanish  in  the  blaze. 

CCCLXVI.  A  Military  Ode.    Psalm  cxlix. 

Probably  composed  by  David,  to  be  sung  token  his  Army  tuas  marching 
out  to  iVar  against  the  Remnant  of  the  devoted  Nations  of  Canaan, 
and  first  went  up  in  solemn  Procession  to  the  House  of  God  at 
Jerusalem,  there,  as  it  were,  to  consecrate  the  Arms,  which  he  put 
into  their  Hands,  The  Beds  referred  to,  Fer.  5,  where  probably 
the  Couches,  on  which  they  lay  at  the  Banquet  attending  their  Sa- 
crifices; which  gives  a  noble  Sense  to  a  Passage,  on  any  other  In- 
terpretation hardly  intelligible. 

1  r\  PRAISE  ye  the  Lord,  prepare  a  new  song, 

And  let  all  his  saints  in  full  consort  join: 
Ye  tribes  all  assemble  the  feast  to  prolong. 
In  solemn  procession  with  music  divine. 

2  O  Israel,  in  him  that  made  thee  rejoice ; 
Let  all  Zion's  sons  exult  in  their  King  ; 
While  to  martial  dances  you  join  a  glad  voice. 
Your  lutes,  harps  and  timbrels  in  harmony  bring. 

5  The  Lord  in  his  saints  still  finds  his  delight ; 
Salvation  from  him  the  meek  shall  adorn  ; 
They  well  may  be  joyful,  sustain'd  by  his  might, 
And  crown'd  by  his  favour  may  lift  up  their  horn. 

4  Let  carpets  be  spread,  and  banquets  prepar'd 
Those  altars  around,  whence  incense  ascends; 
Whilst  anthems  of  glory  through  Salem  are  heard, 
And  God,  Avhom  wew^orship,  indulgent  attends. 

5  Then  as  your  hearts  bound  with  music  and  wine, 
Inspir'd  by  the  God,  who  reigns  in  the  place  : 
Unsheath  all  your  w  capons,  and  bright  let  them  shine, 
And  brandish  your  faulchions,  while  chaunting  his 

praise. 

6  Then  march  to  the  field  ;  the  heathen  defy  ; 
And  scatter  his  WTath  on  nations  around  : 

Like  angels  of  vengeance  your  swords  lift  on  high. 
And  boast  that  Jehovah  commissions  the  wound. 

7  Their  generals  subdued  your  triumphs  shall  grace, 
And  loaded  with  chains  their  kings  shall  be  brought ; 


PARTICULAR   OCCASIONS.  639 

On  tlie  necks  shall  ye  trample  of  Canaan's  proud  race, 
And  all  their  last  remnant  tor  slaughter  be  sought. 

8  No  rage  of  your  own  such  rigour  demands; 
A  sentence  divine  your  arms  must  fulhl: 

Of  old  He  this  vengeance  consign'd  to  your  hands, 
And  in  sacred  volumes  recorded  his  M'ill. 

9  This  honour,  ye  saints,  appointed  for  you,  * 
All-gratcful  receive,  and  faithful  obey; 

And,  while  this  dread  pleasure  resistless  ye  do, 
iStill  make  his  high  praises  the  song  of  the  day. 

CCCLXVri.  FortlieTluinksgiving-Dmjfor  the  Peace,  April2b,  1749. 

1  ^[OW  let  our  songs  address  the  God  of  peace, 

WHio  bids  the  tumult  of  the  battle  cease: 
The  pointed  spears  to  pruning-hooks  he  bends, 
And  the  broad  faulchion  in  the  plow-share  ends. 

His  powerful  word  unites  contending  nations 

In  kind  embrace,  and  friendly  salutations. 

2  Britain,  .idore  the  guardian  of  thy  state ; 
Who,  high  on  his  celestial  throne  elate. 
Still  watchful  o'er  thy  safety  and  repose, 
Frown'd  on  the  counsels  of  thv  haughtiest  foes  ; 

Thy  coast  secur'd  from  every  dire  invasion 
Of  fire  and  sword  and  spreading  desolation. 

3  When  rebel -bands  with  desperate  madness  join'd. 
He  wafted  o'er  deliverance  with  his  wind  ; 
J)rove  back  the  tide,  that  delug'd  half  our  land, 
And  curb'd  their  fury  with  his  mightier  hand: 

Till  dreadfjil  slaughter,  and  the  last  confusion 
Taught  those  audacious  sinners  their  delusion. 

4  He  gave  our  fleets  to  triumph  o'er  the  main. 
And  scatter  terrors  'cross  wide  ocean's  plain  : 
Opposing  leaders  trembled  at  the  sight. 

Nor  found  their  safety  in  the  attempted  flight ; 
Taught  by  their  bonds,  how  vainly  they  pretended 
Tliose  to  distress,  whom  Israel's  God  defended. 

5  Fierce  storms  were  summon'd  up  in  Britain's  aid, 
And  meagre  famine  hostile  lands  o'erspread  ; 

Bv  suH'ciings  bow'd  their  conciucsts  thev  release, 

Nor  scorn  the  overtures  of  equal  peace: 
Contending  powers  congratulate  the  blessing, 
Joint  hymns  of  gratitude  to  heaven  addressing. 

6  While  wc  beneath  our  vines  and  fig-trees  sit, 
Or  thus  within  thy  sacred  temple  meet, 

4  L  2 


640  HYMNS   ON 

Accept,  great  God,  the  tribute  of  our  song, 
And  all  the  mercies  of  this  day  prolong. 
Then  spread  thy  peaceful  word  through  every  nation. 
That  all  the  earth  may  hail  thy  great  salvation. 

CCCLXVIII.  The  Blessing  pronounced  upon  Israel  fyj  the  Priests. 
Numbers  vi.  24 — 27. 

FOR    NEW    YEAR's-DAY. 

1  /^UARDIAN  of  Israel,  source  of  peace, 
^~^  Who  hast  ordain'd  thy  priests  to  bless, 
Shine  forth  as  our  propitious  Lord, 

And  verify  thy  servants'  word. 

2  Let  thy  own  power  defend  us  still 
Through  all  the  year  from  every  ill ; 
And  let  the  splendor  of  thy  face 
Cheer  all  its  bright  or  gloomy  days. 

3  Thy  countenance  our  souls  would  see. 
For  all  our  joys  unite  in  thee; 

And  peace  still  waits  at  thy  command 
To  calm  our  hearts,  and  bless  our  land. 

4  Hear,  while  thy  priests  address  their  vows. 
And  scatter  blessings  through  thy  house ; 
And,  while  they  fall,  may  Israel  raise 

Its  pious  songs  of  ardent  praise. 

CCCLXIX.  A  Hymnfor  a  F(tst-Day  in  Time  of  War.  Deuteronomy 

xxiii.  9. 

1  /^REAT  God  of  heaven  and  nature,  rise, 
^^  And  hear  our  loud  united  cries : 

See  Britain  bow  before  thy  face 

Through  all  her  coasts,  and  seek  thy  grace. 

2  No  arm  of  flesh  we  make  our  trust; 

Nor  sword,  nor  horse,  nor  ships  we  boast: 
Thine  is  the  land,  and  thine  the  main, 
And  human  force  and  skill  is  vain. 

3  Our  guilt  might  draw  thy  vengeance  down 
On  every  shore,  on  every  town ; 

But  view  us.  Lord,  with  pitying  eye, 
And  lay  thy  lifted  thunder  by. 

4  Forgive  the  follies  of  our  times, 

And  purge  our  land  from  all  its  crimes ; 
Reform'd  and  deck'd  with  grace  divine, 
Let  princes,  priests  and  people  shine, 

5  O  may  no  God-provoking  sin 
Through  all  our  camps  and  navies  reign ; 

3 


PARTICULAR    OCCASIONS.  641 

No  foul  reproach,  to  drive  from  thence 
Our  surest  glory  and  defence. 

6  So  shall  our  God  delight  to  bless, 
And  crown  our  arms  witii  wide  success : 
Our  foes  shall  dread  Jehovah's  sword, 
And  conquering  Britain  shout  the  Lord. 

CCCLXX.  Juhez's  Prayer  recommended  to  Youth.    J  Cliroiiiclcs 
iv.  9,  10. 

1  TTHOU  God  of  Jabez,  hear, 

"*•    While  we  intreat  thy  grace, 
And  borrow  that  expressive  prayer. 
With  which  he  sought  thy  face. 

2  "  O  that  the  Lord  indeed 
"Would  me  his  servant  bless, 

*'  From  every  evil  shield  my  head, 
*'  And  crown  my  paths  with  peace! 

3  *'  By  his  Almighty  hand 

*'  My  helper  and  my  guide, 
*'  Till,  with  his  saints  in  Canaan's  land, 
*'  My  portion  he  divide." 

4  Thus  pious  Jabez  pray'd. 
While  God  inclin'd  his  ear ; 

And  all,  by  whom  this  suit  is  made. 
Shall  find  the  blessing  near. 

5  Ye  youths,  your  vows  combine. 
With  loud  united  voice  ; 

So  shall  your  heads  with  honour  shine. 
And  all  your  hearts  rejoice  ! 

CCCLXXI.  ManasselCs  Affliction,  Penitence  and  Restoration. 
2  Chronicles  xxxiii.  10 — 12. 

1  /^OD  of  Manasseh,  wilt  thou  scorn 
^^  To  own  that  humble  name. 
While  sinners,  so  remote  as  we, 

Thy  grace  to  him  proclaim  ? 

2  High  rais'd  on  Judah's  throne  he  seem'd. 

That  hell  in  him  might  reign  ; 
And  taught  thy  sacred  name  to  know 
Its  honours  to  profane. 

3  Yet  thou  the  royal  wretch  didst  view 

With  pity  in  thine  eyes: 
How  strange  a  cure  thy  mercy  wrought  I 
How  wondrous,  yet  how  wise  ! 


643  HYMNS   ON 

4  Caught  in  the  thorns  by  hostile  hands, 

The  captive  learn'd  to  reign  ; 
And  Babel's  fetters  set  him  free 
From  Satan's  heavier  chain. 

5  From  the  deep  dungeon  where  he  lay. 

Thou  heard'st  his  doleful  cry  ; 
Didst  raise  the  suppliant  from  the  dust, 
And  bring  salvation  nigh. 

6  Our  souls,  deprav'd  and  hard  like  his, 

May  grace  exert  its  poAver ! 
And  they  shall  bless  the  Avholesome  smart. 
That  works  the  sovereign  cure. 

CCCLXXII.  A  Church  seeking  Direction  from  God  in  the  Choice  of  a 
Pastor.    Ezra  viii.  2 1 , 

1   CHEPHERD  of  Israel,  bend  thine  ear. 
Thy  servants'  groans  indulgent  hear  ! 
Perplex'd,  distress'd,  to  thee  we  cry, 
And  seek  the  guidance  of  thine  eye. 

3  Thy  comprehensive  view  surveys 

Our  wandering  paths,  our  trackless  ways ; 
Send  forth,  O  Lord,  thy  truth  and  light, 
To  guide  our  doubtful  footsteps  right. 

3  With  longing  eyes,  behold,  we  wait 
In  suppliant  crowds  at  mercy's  gate : 
Our  drooping  hearts,  O  God,  sustani ! 
Shall  Israel  seek  thy  face  in  vain  ? 

4  O  Lord,  in  ways  of  peace  return. 
Nor  let  thy  flock  neglected  mourn ; 
May  our  blest  eyes  a  shepherd  see. 
Dear  to  our  souls,  and  dear  to  thee ! 

5  Fed  by  his  care,  our  tongues  shall  raise 
A  cheerful  tribute  to  thy  praise  ; 

Our  children  learn  the  grateful  song. 
And  theirs  the  cheerful  notes  prolong. 

CCCLXXIII.  Divine  Condemnation  deprecated,  and  Instruction  de- 
sired, by  the  Afflicted.    Job  x.  2. 

1  T^REMENDOUS  Judge,  before  thy  bar, 

What  human  creature  can  be  clear  ? 
An  arm  so  strong,  an  eye  so  pure. 
Who  can  escape,  or  who  endure  ? 

2  *'  Do  not  condemn  us,  Lord,"  we  cry, 
As  trembling  in  the  dust  we  lie  ; 

But,  while  with  grief  our  guilt  we  oAvn, 
Let  smiling  mercy  take  the  throne. 


PARTICULAR    OCCASIONS.  643 

3  If  thou  wilt  smite,  oflciitU'd  God, 
Sheath  up  thy  sword,  and  take  thy  rod, 
And,  'midst  the  anguish  and  the  smart. 
Open  to  disciphne  our  heart. 

4  By  chastcninfT,  if  our  souls  be  taught, 
And  cleans'd  from  every  secret  fault ; 
The  wise  severity  we'll  bless, 

And  mix  our  groans  with  songs  of  praise; 

CCCLXXIV.  Thanksgiving  for  National  Deliverance,  and  Improve- 

j)icntoj'it.     I.iikc  i.  74,  75. 

1  C  ALVATION  doth  to  God  belong; 

His  power  and  grace  shall  be  our  song ; 
His  hand  hath  dealt  a  secret  blow, 
And  terror  strikes  the  haughty  foe. 

2  Praise  to  the  Lord,  who  bows  his  ear 
Propitious  to  his  people's  prayer; 
And,  though  deliverance  long  delay, 
Answers  in  his  well-chosen  day. 

3  "  O  !  may  thy  grace  our  land  engage, 
"  Kcscu'd  from  fierce  tyrannic  rage, 

*'  The  tribute  of  its  love  to  bring 

"  To  thee,  our  Saviour,  and  our  King  !" 

4  Our  temples  guarded  from  the  flame, 
Shall  echo  thy  triumphant  name  ; 
And  every  peaceful  private  home 
To  thee  a  temple  shall  becomCv 

5  Still  be  it  our  supreme  delight 
To  walk  as  in  thy  honour'd  sight : 
Still  in  thy  precepts  and  thy  fear, 
To  life's  last  hour  to  persevere. 


A  TABLE 

TO  FIND  OUT  ANY  HYMN  BY  THE  FIRST  LINK  OF  IT. 


A  HYMN 

A  CCF.PT,  great  God,  thy  Britain's 

song  46 

Alas  for  Britain,  and  her  sons  186 

Alas  !  how  fast  our  monjents  Uy  3 '27 
All-conquering  faith,  how  high  it  rose  181 
A'l-glorious    God,    what    hymns  of 

praise  298 

All-hail,  mysterious  King  339 

AU-hail,  victorious  Savioxu',  hail  3.54 

Aloud  1  sing  the  wondrous  grace  '217 

Amazing  beauteous  change  100 

Aniazmg  grace  of  God  on  high  99 

Amazing  plan  of  sovereign  love  124 
And  are  we  now  brought  near  to  God  288 

And  art  thou  with  us,  gracious  Lord  98 

And  doth  the  son  of  God  complain  104 

And  is  salvation  brought  so  near  262 

And  shall  we  still  be  slaves  2'27 

And  why  do  our  admiring  eyes  252 

And  will  the  great  eternal  God  49 

And  will  the  Judge  descend  189 

Ami  will  the  Majesty  of  heaven  14V 

And  will  the  eternal  king  26.'5 

Approach  ye  children  of  your  God  315 

A  present  God  is  all  our  strength  18 

Arise,  my  tenderest  thoughts,  arise  64 

Assist  us,  Lord,  thy  name  to  praise  255 

Attend,  mine  car,  my  heart,  rejoice  137 

Attend,  my  soul,  the  voice  divine  12 

Attend,  my  soul,  with  reverend  awe  159 

Awak(!,  my  drowsy  soul,  awake  199 
Awake,  my  soul,  stretch  every  nerve  296 

Awake,  my  soul,  to  meet  the  day  361 

Awake,  our  souls,  and  bless  his  name  2J8 
Awake,  ye  saints,  and  raise  your  eyes  i264 

B 

backsliding  Israel,  hear  the  voice  122 

Rihold  (Jod's  great  incarnate  Son  337 

I'chold  I  come,  the  Saviour  cries  343 

Behold  I  come,  the  Saviour  cries  361 

Behold,  O  Israel's  God  141 

Behold  our  God,  he  owns  his  name  86 

Behold  the  amazing  sight  233 

lU'Iiold  the  bleeding  Lamb  of  (iod  242 

Bciitjld  the  glass,  the  gospel  lends  327 

VOL.  111.  4 


HYM?* 

Behold  the  gloomy  vale  32 

Behold  the  great  eternal  God  15 

Behold  the  great  physician  stands  223 
Behold  the  path  tiiat  mortals  tread  27 
Behold  the  Son  of  God  aj)pears  314 

Behold  the  Son  of  God's  delight  191 

Behold  with  pleasing  ecstasy  121 

Beneath  thy  mighty  hand,  6  God  338 
Beset  w  ith  snares  on  every  hand  207 

Blest  be  the  Lamb,  whose  blood  was 

spilt  312 

Blest  Jesus,  bow  thine  ear  301 

Blest  Jesus,  source  of  grace  divine  221 
Blest  men,  who  stretch  their  willing 

hands  247 

Blest  Saviour,  to  my  heart  more  dear  139 
Brideu;roomof  souls,  how  rich  thy  love  293 
Bright  source  of  intellectual  rays  1 10 


Captives  of  Israel,  li(\'ir  105 

Come,  our  indulgi'ut  Saviour,  come  245 

Come,  thou  celestial  Spirit,  come  235 

D 

Descend,  immortal  dove  259 

Do  not  I  love  thee,  O  my  Lord  246 

E 

Enquire,  ye  pilgrims,  for  the  way  137 

Eternal  and  immortal  Knig          .  321 

Eternal  God,  our  humbled  souls  154 

Eternal  God,  our  wondring  souls  1 

Eternal  King,  thy  robes  are  white  1*^5 

Eternal  source  of  every  joy  43 

Eternal  source  of  life  and  thought  322 

Exalted  prince  of  life,  we  own  248 


Father  divine,  the  Saviour  cried  190 

FatlK^r  divine,  thy  piercing  eye  177 

Father  of  lights,  we  sing  thy  name  176 

Father  of  men,  thy  care  we  bless  2 

Father  of  mercies,  in  thy  house  289 

I   Father  of  mercies,  semi  thy  grace  205 

Father  of  peace,  and  fJod  of  love  325 


646 


A    TABLE. 


HYMN 

Father  of  spirits,  from  thy  hand  13 

Flowon  my  tears  in  risins;  streams       129 
Fountain  of  comfort  and  of  love  27 1 


God  of  eternity,  from  thee  292 

God  of  Manasseh,  wilt  thou  scorn  371 

God  of  inj'  life,  through  all  its  days  71 

God  of  my  life,  thy  constant  care  134 

God  of  salvation,  we  adore  40 

God  of  the  ocean,  at  wliose  voice  1 !  7 
Go,saith  the  Lord,  proclaim  my  giace  219 

Grace!  'tis  a  charmiiicf  sound  286 

Great  Father  of  each  perfect  gift  2.5 1 

Great  Father  of  mankind  1 13 

Great  former  of  this  various  frame  54 

Great  God,  did  pious  Abraliam  pray  3 

Great  God  of  heaven  and  nature,  rise  369 
Great  God  of  hosts,  attend  our  jirayer  84 
Great  God,  vve  sing  that  mighty  hand  237 

Great  leader  of  thine  Israel's  host  306 

Great  Lord  of  angels,  ue  adore  1G6 

Great  object  of  thine  Israel's  hope  131 

Great  ruler  of  all  nature's  frame  92 

Great  Sovereign  of  the  human  heart  2.56 

Great  source  of  being  and  of  love  147 

Great  source  of  life,  our  souls  confess  59 

Great  Spirit  of  immortal  love  331 

Great  teaelier  of  thy  church,  we  own  1 73 

Guardian  of  Israel,  source  of  peace  368 

H 
■Hail,  everlasting  prince  of  peace  28? 

Hail,  everlnsting  spring  1 70 

JIail,  gracious  Saviour,  all  divine  238 

Hail,  progeny  divine  200 

Hail  to  Emanuel's  ever-iionom-'d  name  299 
Hail  to  the  prince  of  life  and  peace       33 1 
Hark  !   for  the  great  Creator  speaks 
Hark!  for 'tis  God's  own  son  that  calls 
Hark  !  for  'tis  wisdom's  \"oice 
Hark  I   the  glad  sound,  the  Saviour 

comes 

Hark !  'tis  our  heavenly  leader's  voice  353 
Hear  gracious   sovereign  from    thy 

throne  1 43 

Hearken,  yc  children  of  your  God  300 
Heaven    has    confirmed    the    great 

decree  313 

He  comes,  the  royal  conquerorcomes  213 
He  comes,  thy  God,  O  Israel,  comes  136 
Henceforth  let  each  believing  heart  241 
High  let  lis  swell  our  tuneful  notes 
House  of  our  God,  with  cheerful  an- 
thems ling 
How  free  the  fountain  flows 
How  gentle  God's  commands 
How  glorious,  Lord,  art  thou 
How  gracious  and  how  wise 
How  keen  the  tempter's  malice  is 
How  long  shall  dreams  of  Creature- 
bliss 


114 

226 


203 


201 

67 
360 
340 

77 
143 
216 


125 
Ho^v  rich  thy  bounty,  King  of  kings    275 


HYMN- 

How  rich  thy  favours,  God  of  grace  341 

How  swift  the  torrent  flous  164 

I 

I  am  thy  God,  Jehovah  said  319 

Jehovah  !  'tis  a  glorious  name  20 

Jesus,  I  love  thy  charming  name  325 

Jesus,  I  sing  thy  matchless  grace  290 

Jesus,  mine  advocate  above  345 

Jesus,  niy  Lord,  how  rich  thy  grace  13S 

Jesus,  our  soul's  delightful  choice  1 97 

Jesus,  the  I,ord,  our  souls  adore  3 1 1 

Jesus,  we  own  thy  saving  power  2(14 

Jesus,  we  own  thy  sovereign  hand  234 

Immense  eternal  God  10 

Immf)rtal  God,  on  thee  we  call  307 

Indulgent  God,  with  pitying  eye  61 

Indulgent  Sovereign  of  the  skies  120 

In  glad  amazement.  Lord,  I  stand  70 

In  one  harmonious  cheerful  song  232 

In  raptures  let  our  hearts  ascend  244 

Interval  of  grateful  shade  3')3 

In  thy  rebukes,  all-gracious  God  109 

In  wliat  confusion  earth  appears  212 

I  own,  my  God,  thy  sovereign  grace  240 

Israel,  thy  tribute  bring  357 

Is  there  a  sight  in  earth  or  heaven  224 

It  is  my  father's  voice  90 

It  is  the  Lord  of  gloiy  calls  126 


Legions  of  foes  beset  me  round  31 

Let  heaven  burst  forth  into  a  song  103 

Let  Jacob  to  his  maker  sing  102 

Let  Zion's  watchmen  all  auake  324 
Lift  up,  ye  saints,  your  weeping  eyes  558 

Listen  ye  hills,  ye  mountains,  hear  158 
Look  back,  my  soul,  with  grateful 

love                "  58 

Look  down,  O  Lord,  with  pitying  eye  146 

Lord,  dost  thou  shew  a  corner-stone  334 

Lord  of  the  Sabbath  hear  our  vows  3 1 0 

Lord  of  the  vineyard,  we  adore  237 

Lord,  we  adore  thy  wondrous  name  55 

Lord,  we  have  broke  thy  holy  laws  157 

I,ord,  we  have  wandered  from  thy  way  65 

Lord,  w  hen  iniquities  abound  7 

Lord,  when  thine  Israel  we  survey  83 

I,ord,  when  thy  hand  is  lifted  up  88 

Loud  be  thy  name  ador'd  283 

Loud  let  the  tuneful  trumpet  sound  50 

Loud  to  the  Prince  of  heaven  31 

Mark  the  soft- falling  snow  111 

Mine  inward  joys  snppress'd  too  long  330 

My  God,  and  is  thy  table  spread  171 

My  God,  assist  me,  while  I  raise  266 

My  God,  how  cheerful  is  the  sound  297 

My  God,  the  covenant  of  thy  love  21 

My  God,  thy  seiTicc  weW  demands  364 

My  God,  what  silken  cords  are  thine  152 

My  God,  whose  all  pei-yading  eye  45 


A    TABLE. 


547 


HYMN 

IVl y  tnacious  Lord,  I  cwn  tliyridit  294 

My  IkIixt  (Jiid,  1  blfss  liis  name  12 

My  .Itsiis,  while  in  inortiil  Hcsli  280 
My   I  Ami,  tlidht  tliou  endure  such 

smart  276 

M  y  Sav  iour,  didst  thou  die  for  ine  1 03 

My  Saviour,  I  am  thine  267 

IVly  Saviour,  let  inc  hcnrtliy  vnire  179 

My  sins,  alas!  how  foul  tlie  stains  348 

My  siiul,  rt'vicw  thf  Iri-niMinj;  days  68 

My  soul,  the  uw  fill  lionr  will  rome  39 

My  soul  triiiin]iliant  in  tlic  Lord  33 
Aly  soul,  uitli  all  thy  wakened  powers  3'20 

My  soul,  with  joy  attend  231 

My  various  jjowers,  awake  347 

M}'  wakened  soul,  extend  thy  wings  342 

N 

Now  bo  that  sacrifice  siirvovcd  291 

Now  let  a  true  ambition  rise  178 

Nov\  let  my  soul  with  transport  rise  261 

Now  let  our  cheerfid  eyes  survey  8 

Now  let  our  mourning  hearts  revive  17 
Now  let  our  songs  address  the  God 

of  peace  367 

Now  let  our  songs  proclaim  abroad  318 

No«  lot  riiM'  voices  join  69 

Now  let  the  feeble  all  be  strong  269 

Now  let  the  gates  of  Zion  sing  182 

Now  let  the  listening  world  around  74 

Now  let  the  sons  of  Beliul  liear  80 

Now  to  that  sovereign  grace  326 

O 

O  Cod  of  Jacob,  by  whose  hand  4 

O  happy  christian,  who  can  boast  349 

O  haiii)y  <hiy,  that  fixt  my  choice  23 

O  injured  Majesty  of  Heaven  142 

<")  Israel,  blest  beyond  compare  16 

O  Isrnol,  thou  art  blest  78 
O  praise  ye  the  Lord,  prepare  anew 

song  366 
O  righteous  God,  thou  judge  supreme  14 
O  Thou  that  hast  redemption  wrought  24 

Our  banner  is  the  eternal  God  6 

fhtv  eyes  salvation  see  202 

Our  (l<n\  ascends  his  lofty  throne  82 

Our  heavenly  father  calls  346 

Our  souls  witii  pleasing  wonder  view  34 
Our  Souls  with  reverence.  Lord,  bow 

down  339 

O  where  is  sovereign  mercy  gone  1 1 6 

O  ye  immortal  throng  304 

O  Zion,  tunc  thy  voice  1 18 


Parent  of  universal  good  47 

Peace,  all  ye  sorrows  of  tho  heart  235 

Peace,  'tis  the  Lord  Jehovah's  hand  42 

Perfection  !  'tis  an  empty  name  (i3 

Perpetual  source  of  light  and  grace  151 

Praise toourshepherd's  gracious  name  229 


M  Y  M  V 

Praise  to  the  Lord  of  boundless  might  274 

Praise  to  the  I/ird  on  high  273 

Praise  to  tlio  Lord  whose  mighty  hand  272 

PiTiise  to  the  radiant  source  of  bliss  101 

Praise  to  the  sovereign  of  the  sky  Iti2 

Praise  to  thy  name,  eternal  God  344 

R 
Rai<e,  thoughtless  sinner,  raise  tiiine 

eye  148 

Kemark,  my  soul,  the  narrow  bounds  52 

Repent,  the  voice  celestial  cries  234 

Return,  my  roving  heart,  return  '2') 

Return,  my  soul,  and  seek  thy  rest  67 

S 

Salvation  doth  tor  God  belong  374 

Salvation!  O  melodious  sound  36 

Satan,  the  diie  in\ader  came  308 

Saviour  divine,  we  know  thy  name  132 

Saviour  of  nu'ti  and  Lord  of  love  1 84 

Searcher  of  Hearts,  before  thy  face  230 

See  how  the  Lord  of  mercy  si)reads  185 

See  Israel's  gentle  shepherd  stand  198 

See  the  destruction  is  begim  04 

See  the  fair  structure  wisdom  rears  76 

See  the  old  dragon  from  his  throne  336 

Sheplierd  of  Israel,  bend  thine  ear  372 

Shepherd  of  Israel,  thou  dost  keep  123 

Slune  forth,  eternal  source  of  light  130 

Shine  on  our  souls,  eternal  God  53 

Shout !  for  tho  battlements  are  fallen  273 

Sing  to  the  Lord  above  1 G7 

Sing  to  tlie  Lord  a  naw  melodious  song  220 

Sing  to  the  Lord,  who  loud  proclaims  30 

Sing,  ye  redeemed  of  the  Lord  96 

So  lirm  the  saint's  foundation  stand  1 61 

Sovereign  of  all  the  worlds  on  high  281 
Sovereign  of  Heaven,  thine  empire 

spreads  180 

Sovereign  of  life,  before  thine  eye  23 

Sovereign  of  life,  I  own  thy  hand  60 

Sovereign  of  nature,  all  is  thine  1 4 

Spring  up,  my  soul,  with  ardent  flight  2CS 

Stupendous  grace  !  and  can  it  be  287 

Supremo  in  Mercy,  who  shall  dare  160 

Supreme  of  beings,  with  delight  335 


Tho  covenant  of  a  Saviour's  love  236 

The  creatures.  Lord,  confess  thy  hand  5 

Ti.e  darkened  sky,  how  thick  it  lours  66 

The  day  approachclh,  O  mv  soul  317 

The  deiugc  at  the  Almighty's  call  336 

The  ever-livin.:  God  89 

The  glorious  Lord  is  Israel's  hope  95 

The  great  Jch<n  ah !  who  shall  dare  26 

Tho  King  of  heaven  liis  table  sjireads  21 1 

The  Lord  from  his  exalted  throne  28 

Tlie  Lord,  how  kind  are  all  his  ways  149 

The  Lord,  how  lich  his  comforts  are  2"7 

The  Lord  Jeho\  ah  calls  309 


548 


A    TABLE. 


HYMN 

The  Lord  into  his  vineyard  conies  174 
The  Lord  of  gloiy  reigns  supremely 

great  44 

The  Lord  of  life  exalted  stands  223 

The  Lord  on  mortal  worms  looks  down  172 
The   Lord,  our  Lord,   how  rich  his 

grace  106 

The  Lord  with  pleasure  views  his  saints  57 
The  promises  I  sing  316 

The  righteous  Lord  supremely  great  128 
These  mortal  joys,  how  soon  they  fade  209 
The  sepulchres,  how  thick  they  stand  243 
The  swift-declining  daj"^  136 

The  eternal  God,  his  name  how  great  24 
The  vineyard  of  the  I,ord,  how  fair  81 
Thou  God  of  Jabez,  hear  370 

Thou,  Lord,  through  every  changing 

scene  51 

Thou,  mighty  Lord,  art  God  alone  253 
Thrice  happy  souls,  who  born  from 

heaven  79 

Thrice    happy   state,    where    saints 

shall  live  215 

Thus  hath  the  son  of  Jesse  said  365 

Thus  saith  Jehovah  from  his  seat  9 1 

Thy  flock,  with  what  a  tender  care  230 
Thy  judgments  cry  aloud  1 1 5 

Thy  piercing  eye,  O  God,  surveys  13S 
Thy  presence,  everlasting  God  279 

'Tis  mine,  the  covenant  of  his  grace  22 
To  all  his  flock,  what  wondrous  love  239 
To-morrow,  Lord,  is  thine  329 

To  thee,  great  architect  on  high  305 

To  thee,  my  God,  my  days  are  known  38 
To  thee,  O  God,  we  homage  pay  173 
Transporting  tidings,  which  we  hear  302 
Tremendous  judge,  before  thy  bar  373 
Triumphant  Lord,  thy  goodness  reigns  35 
Triumphant  Zioii,  lift  thy  head  107 

V 

Viler  than  dust,  O  Lord,  are  we  155 

Ungrateful  sinners,  whence  this  scorn  258 
Unite,  my  roving  thoughts,  unite  48 

W 

Wait  on  the  Lord,  ye  heirs  of  hope  93 
Weary,  and  weak,  and  faint  87 


HYMN 

We  bless  the  eternal  source  of  light  352 
We  praise  the  Lord  for  heavenly  bread  222 
We  sing  the  deep  mysterious  plan  284 
^^'^hat  bosom  mov'd  with  pious  zeal  9 

What  doleful  accents  do  I  hear  192 

What  haughty  scorner,  saith  the  Lord  168 
What  mysteries,  Lord,  in  thee  com- 
bine 350 
What  venerable  sight  appears  214 
When  at  this  distance,  I,ord,  we  trace  183 
While  on  the  verge  of  life  1  stand  295 
Whose  words againstthe  Lord  ai  e  stout  136 
Why  flow  these  torrents  of  distress  196 
W^hy  should  our  mourning  souls  delight  260 
Wliy  will  ye  lavish  out  your  years  206 
Wide  o'er  all  worlds  the  Saviour  reigns  195 
With  ecstasy  of  Joy  333 
With    flowing    eyes,    and    bleeding 

hearts  270 

With  humble  pleasure,  Lord,  we  trace  1 1 
With  pity.  Lord,  thy  servant  view  62 

With  reverend  awe,  tremendous  Lord  133 
With  transport.  Lord,  our  souls  pro- 
claim 323 
With  what  delight  I  raise  mine  eyes      85 


Ye  armies  of  the  living  God  265 

Ye  golden  lamps  of  heaven,  farewel  119 

Ye  hearts  with  youthful  vigour  warm  75 
Ye  heavens,  with  sounds  of  triumph 

ring  303 

Ye  humble  souls,  rejoice  72 

Ye  humble  souls,  that  seek  the  Lord  194 

Ye  little  flocks,  whom  Jesus  feeds  208 
Ye  mourning  saints,  whose  streaming 

tears  1 1 2 

Ye  prisoners,  who  in  bondage  lie  169 

Yes,  Britain  seem'd  to  ruin  doom'd  155 

Ye  sen'ants  of  the  Lord  210 
Ye  sinners,  bend  your  stubborn  necks  328 

Ye  sinners,  on  backsliding  bent  153 

Yes,  it  is  sweet  to  taste  his  grace  332 

Ye  sons  of  men,  with  joy  record  56 

Yes,  the  Redeemer  rose  218 

Yes,  'tis  the  voice  of  love  divine  163 

Ye  subjects  of  the  Lord,  proclaim  108 

Ye  weak  inhabitants  of  clay  97 


AN  INDEX  OR  TABLE 


A  HYMN  BY  THE  TITLE  OR  CONTEXTS  OF  IT. 


Ni/mn  suitable  to  Particular  Subjects  and  Occasions. 


N.  B.  The  Figures  refer  to  the  Hymns. 


AARON'S  Breast-plate,  8. 
Abiding  in  Christ,  237,  238, 

ifi;n/(am'iCareof  his  Family,  2.  his  Faith 
in  leaving  his  Country,  3 IS.  (JdcI,  his 
Goii,  319.  his  Iiitereessioii  for  Sodom,  3. 

i46*tv/ft' of  God,  dreadful,  18,  157. 

j4f^iv/v  in  Relisrion,  11*9,  210.  rewarded, 
-     172." 

Adam,  the  First  aad  Second,  270. 

Adopting  Love,  124,  281. 

AJfUrt inns  tinproxed,  159.  Instruction  un- 
der them  desired,  373.  moderated,  92. 
salutary,  143.  suhmitted  to,  42.  suc- 
ceeded bv  Joy,  6(1.  by  Rest  and  Happi- 
ness in  Heaven,  212,"  310,  358, 

A'i;^c/s,  Christ  seen  of  them,  304.  their 
Head,  299.  their  Reply  to  those  who 
soucht  Christ,  194.  their  Song  at  Christ's 
Birth,  200,  201. 

Appeal  to  Christ  for  the  Sincerity  of  Love 
to  him,  246. 

Ark,  the  godly  IMan's,  90.  Koah  sa^cd 
in  it,  an  F.mblcm  of  the  Believer's 
Safety  in  Christ,  336. 

B 

Bachslidrrs,  their  Ingratitude,  191,  invited 
to  return,  122.  God's  Pity  for  them, 
153.  recoUectins:  themselves,  149. 

Blr'isinti  of  God,  necessary  and  desired, 
53,363. 

Blessings  spiritual,  acknowledged,  233, 
tempor.al, God's  Readiness  to  give  them, 
argued,  261. 

B/)orf  of  Christ,  admitting  to  the  Holiest, 
315.  cleansing  from  Sin,  348.  conquer- 
ing Satan,  356.  conveying  Blessings, 
347,  purify  in?-',  312. 

Britain,  God  intrentcd  for  it,  120.  his 
Controversy  with  it,  158.  um^cformed 
by  Deliverances,  140,  155. 


VOL.  III. 


4N 


Captivn  (it  S\n  lamented,  129. 

Can-,  anxious,  reproved,  20,  47,   340.  of 

the  Soul,  most  needful,  206,  207. 
Ciiltl'-,  the  Hand  of  God  upon  th<"in,  5. 
Charity  to  the  Poor,    188,  205.  rewarded, 

209. 
Childless  Christians  comforted,  112. 
C/uWrew,  Christ's  Regard  to  them,    198. 
commended   to   God,    51.   destroyed, 
141.  instructed,  2,  of  God,  281,  326. 
Christ,  his  Appearance  after  his  Resurrec- 
tion, 245.  his  second  Appearance,  314, 
342.  his  Ascension,  244.  his  Blond,   see 
Blnod.  his  Compoisinn,   185,  205,  214, 
235.  his  Complaint  on  the  Cross,   192, 
193.  Christians  fow^/Ze/ciji  him,  299.  his 
Conquests,  41,  356,  357.  the  Door,  228. 
our l'ore-runner,3]  {.forsaken  byhisDis- 
ples  191,  by  his  Father,  192,    193.  his 
Finck  comforted,  203,  Immhled  and  ex- 
alted,  139,  3!0,  his  Intercession,  8.  his 
Invitations,     74,    224,   225,   360.    our 
Leader,  307,  353,  350.  living  to  him, 
276.  the  Lord  OUT  Righteousness,  132, 
Invin^  him,  239,  246.  his  Message,  203, 
his  Nativity,  200,  201.   his  Prayer  for 
his  Enemies,  217.  precious  to  Believers, 
335.   his  Presence  with  his  Churches, 
195,  352.  a  Princr  and  Saviour,  243,  re- 
jniced  in  though   unseen,  330.  his  Re- 
s'lrrecttnn,    194,  218.    Christians   risen 
and  exalted  with  him,  287.  the  Root  of 
David,  559.  Sanctif.caiion  by  him,  242, 
266.  S'curitti  in   him,    336.  his   Sheeb, 
230,  231,  232.  the  Mon.ing-.S/ar,  359, 
the  Sleriard  of  God's  Family,   85.  the 
living  and  Corner-.S/on<',   333,  334.  his 
Siibmisfion,  190.  his  Sufferim^s,  see  S:(f' 
feriu^s.  the  Sun  of  Righteousness,  173. 
his  Transjiguration,    183.   his  Triumph, 
41.  umhangeable,  323,   Union  with  him. 


650 


INDEX. 


267.  ouf  Wisdom,   Righteousness,  &,c. 

266. 
Chrislii.--)s,  see  Saints. 
Church,  Ihe  Birth-Place  of  tbe  Saints,  49. 

its  Glory  in  the  latter  Day,  118.  Christ's 

Presence  with  it,  195.  Care  of  it,  332. 

its  Prosperity, a  IVIinister's  Happiness, 

301.  purified  and  guarded,  107.  its  Secu- 
rity, 182.  praying  for  a  Pastor,  13,  372. 

Comfort,  in  God,  "20.  to  the  Childless, 
1  i2.  under  Death  of  Friends,  236,  260, 

302.  See  Su/i/inrl. 

Communion  wirli  God  through  Christ, 
346,  347. 

Comfiassion,  of  God,  55,  109.  of  Christ, 
185,  205,  214,  219,  235,  christian, 
205,  282. 

Conduct  of  Christ,  mysterious,  234. 

Consolation  from  God,  277.  from  Christ, 
235. 

Covenant,  the  Blood  of  it  delivering  Priso- 
ners, 1 69.the  Engagements  of  it  desired, 
137,  rejoiced  in,  23.  supporting  under 
Troubles,  21.  in  Death,  22.  unchange- 
able, 355. 

Counar,^  in  Religion  9.  in  the  Cause  of 
Christ,  247. 

Course,  the  Christian's  finished  with  Joy, 
255. 

Creatures,  insufficient,  125.  mean,  97. 
vain,  268. 

CroM  of  Christ,  its  Influence,  233. 276, 230. 

Cupoi  Blessings,  106. 

Cjjrtis^s  Spirit  stirred  up,  24. 

D 

Drt'»io?nV7f,  recovered,  204.  relapsing,  180. 
David,  encouraging  himself  in  God,  20. 

his  vain  Pursuit  of  Perfection  on  Earth, 

63.  his  last  words,  3G5. 
Day,  of  small  Things  not  despised,  1 68.  of 

Grace,    127,    256.   of    Judgment,    see 

Judgment. 
Dead  quickened,  89.  the  pious,  living  to 

God,  215. 
Death,  appointed  to  all,  313.   conquered 

by  Christ,  508.  under  his  Controul,  351. 

of  Friends   improved,    164.    Ha))piness 

beyond  it,   295.  a  great  Journey,  '27. 

none  in  Heaven,  358.  prepared  for,  130, 

313,  317.  rejoiced  in,  361.  a  Sleep,  196. 

Support  in  it,    22,    32,  45.   uncertain 

Time  of  it,  130,134,329. 
Delaying  Sinners  admonished,  .127,  130, 

256,  292, 309,  329. 
Deliverance  celebrated,  58,  59,  60,   364. 

public,  272,  374.  spiritual,  105,  204. 
Desires  known  to  God,  39.     See  Prayer. 
Devil,  see  Satan. 

Devotion,  daily,  79.  secret,  177.  an  Evi- 
dence of  Adoption,  281.     See  Prayer. 
Diligence,  christian,  199,  210,296. 


Education,  good,  2.  bad,  141. 


Enemies,  of  God,  destroyed,  44.  of  ChrTst^ 
destroyed,  213.  his  Prayer  for  them, 
217.  of  the  Church,  restrained.  46.  De- 
fence against  them,  95.  Love  to  them, 
217.  spiritual,  see  Satan. 

Enoch'' s  Piety  and  Translation,  1 . 

Estahlishm.ent  in  Religion,  341. 

Elernitij,  of  God,  54.  of  Christ,  323.  of  hea- 
venly Happiness.,  187,  302.  employed 
in  God's  Praise,  71. 

Evening-Hymn,  363. 

Examples,  good,  their  usefulness,  175. 


Faith,  and  Confession,   262.  Jonah's  re- 
commended, 157,  living  by  it,  280.  in 

God's  Name,  30.  in  his  Promises,  316. 

struggling  with  unbelief,  197.  the  Sijro- 
pluvnic/an  Woman's.  181. 
Faithfulness,  of  God,  269,  316,  355. 
Falloi^dam,  EflTccts  of  it,  270. 
Family  Religion,  2.  God's,  under  Clnist's 

Care,  85. 
Farexvel,  the  Christian,  275. 
Fast-Days,  Hymns  for,  3,  6,  83,  84,  116, 

120, 140,  155, 158,  186,  339,  369. 
Fasts,  unsuccessful,  accounted  for,  116. 
Fathers,  State  of  them  reflected  on,  165. 
Fear,  unreasonable,  restrained,    15,  30, 

47,  98. 
F('o.r<  of  Wisdom,  76.  of  the  Gospel,  211. 

the  Christian's  secret  Feast,  222. 
Fire,  God's  Controversy  by  it,    154.  his 

Word  compared  to  it,  133,  everlasting, 

the  Portion  of  the  Wicked,  189. 
Forgiveness  of  Enemies,  217.   divine,  gee 

Pardon. 
Forsaking  God,  its  Evil,   131.  the  Misery 

of  being  forsaken  by  him,  18. 
Foundation,  the  divine,  firm,  505.  of  the 

Church,  is  Christ,  333,  334. 
Frailty  of  Man,  and  God's  Pity,  55. 
Fruitfuliipss  of  Christians,  237,  2-10. 
Fun-'ral  Hymns,  17,  25,  27,  32,  42,    196, 

'•08,21.5,  260,  295,  302.     See  Death, 

Grave,  Resurrectio'i. 


General  ions, \yASSin2;  away,  164.  succeed- 
ing, supported  by  God,  51. 

Gentiles,  Christ  the  Light  of  them,  202. 
united  to  the  Church,  113,  284. 

G/or//,  divine.  Muses' s  \ lew  \.>f  it,  11,  fu- 
ture, see  Heaven. 

Gloryins  in  God  alone,  12R. 

God,  his  Blessing  desirable,  5"^,  368.  his 
Cimpussion,bb,  109,153.  his  Complacency 
in  his  People,  38.  in  their  Prosperity, 
57.  in  his  Thoughts  of  Peace,  135.  in 
the  Salvation  of  his  Church,  163.  the 
D:i<eliin!!-Place  of  his  People,  51.  his 
Eternity,  54.  his  Faithfulness,  269,  316, 
355.  the  God  of  the  Patriarchs,  319.  his 
Goodness  to  Saints,  34.  to  all  Creatures, 


INDEX. 


C5l 


56.  crowning  the  Yoar,  43.  over-endur- 
ing;, 67.  relished,  35.  Iiis  (irfalness,  97. 
the  Hiipjiincsi  odns  People,  43.  hh  Jus- 
tice and  Mercy,  1'2.  his  Knowledge  of 
our  Days,  38.  of  our  Distress,  39.  of 
our  Frame,  55.  his  Lnvr  in  Christ,  2v'0. 
his  pardoning  Merct/,  28,  50,  103,  160. 
his  ATrtwc  pi-oclaimed,  1'2.  Trust  in  it, 
30.  his  People  his  Portion,  14.  our  Por- 
tion here  and  herealter,  45,  his  Presence 
desirable,  10,  with  his  Saints,  38.  our 
Preserver,  \02.  OUT  P'otectnr,  31,  340. 
Jiis  Providence,  47.  its  Bounties,  176, 
297.  the  Salvation  of  his  People,  36, 
125.  our  Shrjiherd,  144.  shining  into  the 
Heart,  274.  sfieakins,  Peace,  48,  109, 
1 14.  Support  in  him,  15,  45.  unchange- 
able, 54.  unknown,  253.  zvaiting  to  be 
graoious,  93. 

Goodness  of  God  for  Time  and  Eternity, 
34.  crowning  the  Year,  43.  everlasting, 
'J7.  tasted,  35.  universal,  56. 

Ctj/if/.its  happy  Efects,  86,  100,  111.  its 
Feast,  211.  a  Lazv  of  Liberty,  327.  its 
Progress  desired,  120,  121.  its  grand 
Scheme,  284.  its  joytul  Sound,  50.  its 
Treasure  in  earthen  Vessels,  275. 

Government  of  God,  Zion's  Joy,  108.  of 
Christ,  85,  351.  over  Death  and  the  un- 
seen World,  35 1 . 

Grace,  growing  in  it,  344.  pardoning,  103. 
160.  perfecting,  325.  quickening,  62. 
saved  by  it,  2S6. 

Gratitude,  the  Spring  of  Religion,  152. 
See  Praise. 

Grcnie,  its  Solitude,  25,  27.  Christ's  Tri- 
umph over  it,  194,350,351.  See  Re- 
surrection. 

Grief,  at  beholding  Transgressors,  64. 
moderated,  196,26^,302. 

H 

JTaJifiiness,  of  God's  Israel,  16.  his  Compla- 
cency in  it,  37,  38,  163. only  in  God,  45. 

Hardening  ourselves  against  God,  fatal, 
26, 256, 509. 

Headnf  the  Church,  Christ,  290.  of  Angels 
and  Men,  299. 

Health  restored,  58,  59,  60.  spiritual,  204, 
223, 

Heaven,  its  Happiness,  295.  an  Inheri- 
tance, 285. everlasting  Liglitthere,  1 19. 
made  meet  for  it,  293.  its  Rest,  310. 
seeing  Christ  there,  295.  to  be  souglit 
first,  178.  View  of  it  overcoming  Grief 
and  Death,  35S. 

f/f/ir^n/y-niindediiess,  300. 

//f//r  from  God,  19,93,  257,  sought  and 
obtained,  63. 

House,  of  God  above,  33,  35  4.  of  Prayer, 
113.  of  Wisdom,  76. 

Humiliation,  and  F.xaltation  of  Israel,  99. 
of  Christ,  139,3.")1.  D^y,  see  Fast. 

//j/m;///^' of  a  Penitent,  142,  371.  under 
God's  Hand,  338,  339. 


Hymn  for  Morning,  362.  for  Evening,  363. 

for  a  Day  of  Prayer,  120,  see  Praise, 
Hypocrisy,  dreaded,  250. 


Jal>ez.'s  Prayer,  370. 

Jacob's  Vow,  4. 

Jerusalem,  Christ's  Tears  over  it,  314.  his 
Gospel  first  preached  there,  219.  the 
new,  354. 

Uc.rnation  of  Christ,  200,  220. 

hiconstau.y  in  Religion,  151. 

Inheritance  of  the  Upright,  38.  of  Heaven, 
285. 

/n/ytt/Vy  abounding,  186.  to  be  avoided,  7. 

Intercession  of  Christ,  8. 

hivisiblt  God,  regarded,  321. 

Jc), religious,  o9  in  God,  161,  in  Chri.5t, 
330,  335.  in  the  Covenant,  22,  23. 

Israel  and  Amalek,  6.  backsliding,  invited 
to  return,  1-22.  blessed  by  the  Priests, 
368.  its  Happiness,  16.  humbled  and 
exalted,  99.  its  Obstinacy,  88.  its  Stu- 
pidity, 83. 

Jubilee,  the  Gospel,  50. 

Judgment  appointed  to  all,  313.  approach- 
ing, 317.  the  Circumstances  of  it,  342. 
no  escaping  It,  337.  prepared  for,  343. 
desired  and  rejoired  in,  314.  361.  hap- 
py for  the  Saints,  303. 

Judgments  of  God,  deprecated,  373.  com- 
pared with  his  Mercies,  109. 

Justice  and  Mercy  of  God,  12. 

K 

Key  of  David  in  Christ's  Hand,  85,  350, 
351. 

Kingdom  oi  God,  108.  to  be  first  sought, 
1 7  8.  of  Christ,  4 1 ,  35 1 ,  of  Heaven,  1 87, 
208. 

KnoivUdge  of  God  sought,  150,  experi- 
mental, .045. 


Laiu  of  Liberty,  327.  of  Love,  205, 232. 

Liberality,  see  Charity. 

Liberty  ^wcn  by  Chri.st,  226,227.  the  Law 
of,  327.  to  enter  the  Holiest,  315. 

Life,  abundant  by  Christ,  229,  349,  the 
Christian's  connected  witii  Christ's, 
236.  the  Fountain  of  it,  170.  vain,  52. 
uncertain,  130,13  4,329. 

Light,  shining  into  the  Heart,  274.  of  the 
Gentiles,  Christ,  202.  everlasting  from 
God,  119.  of  good  Examples,  175, 

Living  to  Christ,  276,  294.  by  Faith  in 
him,  280.  to  God  hereafter,  215. 

Love,  of  Get/ in  sending  his  Son.  220.  in 
giving  all  Things  with  him,  261.  shed 
abroad,  239.  of  Chmt,  in  ministering 
to  Men,  184.  in  giving  liimseU  for  them, 
134,  291,293.  io  Christ  expressed,  335. 
continued  in  239.  Appeal  to  him  for  its 
Sincerity,  246.  to  Men,  29 1 .  unfeigned, 
331.  toi'Jr-n.M,  217. 
N  2 


652 


INDEX, 


M 

^1  qjfsi)/  p{  Goi,  97. 

Aian,  frail  and  mortal,  270.  frail,  but  God 
eternal,  54. 

Manassek's  Repentance,  371. 

Marriage,  spiritual^  293, 

Meditation  and  Retirement,  29. 

Meeki  their  Happiness,  72. 

Jlferry,  pardoning,  103,  160,  371.  despis- 
ed, 233.  public,  improved,  374.  See 
Covipassion. 

Military  Ode,  366. 

J\f/«!f/erf,imder Christ's  Care,  352.  Christ 
ever  with  them,  195.  comforted,  that 
they  may  comfort  others,  271,  Com- 
fort on  then-  Death,  17,  182,  195,  275. 
faithful,  promoted  to  join  the  Angels, 
166.  frail  and  weak,  275.  given  by  God, 
123.  the  Church's  Prosperity jtlieir  Hap- 
piness, 301.  a  sweet  SavourtoGod,  273. 
sought  from  God,  13,  372.  watching  for 
Souls,  324.  willing  to  be  employed,  82. 
die,  but  the  Gospel  lives,  275. 

Ministrii,  instituted,  289.  Christ's  unsuc- 
cessful, 104. 

Miracles  for  Israel  in  the  Wilderness,  47. 

Moderation,  christian,  268. 

Mornimr  Hymn,  362. 

MoTtalitti,  sec:  Man,  Death, 

Moses,  his  wise  Choice,  320.  his  Regard  to 
the  invisible  God,  321.  his  Song,  357. 
his  View  of  the  divine  Glory,  11. 

Mourners  comforted,  66,  196,  302.  See 
Coviforty  Support. 

M:'ltitudc  not  to  be  followed  to  Evil,  7. 

N 

National  Sins  lamented,  140.  Deliver- 
ances celebrated,  272,  374, 

Nature,  frail,  but  God  compassionate,  55. 
and  Scripture,  63. 

Nearness  to  God  through  Christ,  113,  288. 

Nerv-Year's  Day,  Hymns  for,  19,  43,  52, 
67,  134,  257,  368. 

Noah  preserved  in  the  Ark,  326. 

November  the  5th,  Hym»s  for,  108,  272, 
374. 

O 

Obedience  to  the  heavenly  Vision,  82.  to 
God's  Word,  136.  the  Design  of  na- 
tional Deliverances,  374. 

Ordmatioji,  Hymns  for,  82,  123, 166,  275, 
289,  324, 


Tardon  of  Sin  celebrated,  103,  153,  160. 
for  the  chief  of  Sinners,  219.  and 
Strength,  160. 

Part,  the  better  chosen,  207,  320. 

Patience,  under  Afflictions,  42.  under  my- 
sterious Providences,  212.  in  waiting, 
93, 295. 

Patriarchs,  a  City  prepared  for  them,  319. 

Peace^  with  God  sought,  91.  obtained,  87, 


114.  rejoiced  in,  135,  improved,  48.  in 
Christ  amidst  Tribulations,  241,  public 
celebrated,  367, 

Perfection,  not  to  be  found  in  Nature,  63, 
in  Rehgion,  341. 

Persecution  to  be  fexpected  by  Christians, 
306. 

Perseverance  of  the  Saints,  232,  341. 

Pity,  see  Compassioji. 

Poor,  trusting  in  God,  162.  Charity  to 
them,  188,  205,  209. 

Portion, of  God,  his  People,  14.  God,  ours, 
45. 

Power  of  God,  26,  156,  the  Security  of  the 
Saints,  31,  216,  232, 

Prow  to  God,  everlasting,  11.  (ov  Christ, 
201,  220,  for  his  Goodness,  34,  35,  43, 
56.  for  his  everlasting  Goodness,  67, 70. 
for  the  Hope  of  Glory,  298.  for  Liberty 
of  Worship,  49.  for  Ministers,  123,  289. 
for  Pardon,  160.  for  public  Pence,  367, 
374.  for  Preservation,  257.  for  Protec- 
tion, 31.  for  Recovery  from  Sickness,  58, 
59,  60,  364.  as  our  Shepherd,  144.  for 
spiritual  Blessings,  283,  for  tempond 
Blessings  given  with  Christ,  261. 

Prayer  heard,  68,  370,  371.  secret,  177. 
Family,  2.  for  the  Spirit,  251.  for  Mi» 
nisters,  13,  372.  for  the  Revival  of  Re- 
hgion, 120, 121.  House  of  Prayer,  113. 

Preparation  to  meat  God,  156.  for  Christ's 
second  Coming,  317,  343. 

Presence  of  God  desirable,  10,  568.  of 
Christ  with  his  Churches,  17,  195. 

Preservation,  from  God,  31,  9b,  102,  257. 

P;7<fc  punished,  26. 

Prisoners,  spiritual  delivered,  105,  169, 
203. 

Privileges,  misimproved,  127.  of  Chris- 
tians by  the  Blood  of  Christ,  287,  2SS, 
347,  348,  356. 

Promises,  God's  Fidelity  to  them, 31 6, 355. 

Prosperity,  from  God,  53.  not  to  be  exr 
pected  by  Rebels  against  him,  26. 
dreadful,  if  abused,  212. 

Providence,  108.  followed,  318.  its  Boun- 
ties, 176,  297. its  Mysteries  to  be  clear* 
ed  up  hereafter,  212,  234. 

Q 

Quickening-  Grace  desired,  62. 
Quietness  under  Trouble,  42, 

R 

Race,  the  Christian,  296.  Christ  our  Fore- 
runner in  it,  311. 

Raiment,  spiritual,  132,  165, 

Rainboxo  rovmd  the  Throne,  355. 

Rebels  against  God  warned,  44.  punish- 
ed, 26,  156.  against  Christ  executed, 
213. 

Rebellion,  impudent,  136.  Hymn  for  De- 
liverance from  it,  46. 

Recovery  from  Sickness,  58,59,  60,  364, 

Redemption  by  Christ,  170,  226,  227,  266, 


INDEX. 


esi 


Ttrjoicmf^,  in  God  amiJst  Poverty,  161.  in 
Christ,  though  unset-n,  L>'30.  in  our  Co- 
venant Kngageiufiits,  'i3.  in  the  Views 
of  Death  aiid  Judgment,  314,  361.  sec 
Joy. 

Religion  revived,  146.  Activity  in  it,  1'72. 
Inconstancy  in  it,  151.  Gratitude,  the 
Spring  of  it,  Ib'l. 

Jlepentance  coinnianded  to  all,  254.  the 
Means  of  Pardon,  28,  371.  protiucing 
Humility  and  Submission,  142. 

Resignation,  see  I'uticncc,  Siibmisiion. 

liest,  the  holy  Soul's  in  God,  57.  remain- 
ing for  Go<i's  People,  310. 

Jirsurrcction  of  Christ,  194,  218.  of  Chris- 
tians, 89,  260,  270, 287.  by  the  Spirit, 
260. 

Retirement,  and  Self-Examination,  29. 

Relurnn,<i  to  God,  122,  126,  149. 

/J«;/iv//of  Kcligion  attempted,  172.  pray- 
ed for,  120,  121. 

Riehrs,  their  Vanity,  63,  212,  Desire  of 
them  moderated,  268.  everlasting,  ob- 
tained by  Charity,  209. 

Ritlhteous  Men,  see  Saints. 

Rifihtenuiim.ns  ivam  Christ,  132,  165,266, 
274. 

Rod  of  God  heard,  159.  its  good  Eflects, 
143,373. 


Sabbath,  tlie  eternal,  310. 

Sacnjictot'  Christ,  220,  291.  see  Blood,  the 
living,  263. 

Sa/ct;/  in  (Jod,  31,  90,  95,  98,  102.  in  the 
Ways  of  Religion,  96. 

Sainti,  their  Excellency,  77,  78.  their 
Happiness,  16,  38.  God's  Portion,  14. 
their  Prospects  for  'lime  and  Eternity, 
33,  45.  their  Sentence  and  final  Happi- 
ness, 187.  Christ  glorified  in  tiiein,3U3. 
iind  Sinners'  (hHcrent  Vieu  s  in  Time  of 
Daiiger,  94.  their  different  End,  212. 

Sukatinn,  approaching,  264.  beautifying 
the  Meek,  72.  everlasting,  310,  314. 
.see  Ilruiin.  from  God,  56.  God  magni- 
lied  for  it,  40.  speaking  it  t/i  his  People, 
36.  by  Grace,  286.  the  Scheme  of  it 
worthy  of  God,  3U7.  the  word  cif  it  sent 
to  us,  252. 

Samaritan,  the  good,  205. 

Sanctijication  of  Christ  and  liis  Church,  242. 
by  Christ,  266,  293. 

Satan,  his  Captives  lamented,  129.  con- 
quered by  Ciirist,  a03.  by  Christians, 
265,  356.  his  Power  restrained,  216.  his 
Strong-holds  cast  down,  278. 

Scripture,  its  Excelli.ricy,  63.  see  irord. 

Seaicns  of  the  Year,  43. 

Secret  Prayer,  177. 

Sfik:ng  Ciirixt,  7^.  the  Knowledge  of  God, 
150.  tlie  Kingdom  of  God  lii»f,   178. 
Things  above,  300. 
Self-Dedication,  '23,  263. 
Stif- Examination,  29,  138. 


SejiuLhre  in  the  Garden,  243.  sec  Cratr, 
Serving  Christ,  276,  294.  with  Zeal,  >  10, 

247. 
Settlement  of  a  Minister,  a  Hymn  for,  I  23. 

see  Ordination,  Minuter. 
Sheep,  Christ's,  their  Character,  230.  Hap- 
jjiness,  231.  Security,  232.   comforted, 
208.  God's  Can?  of  theni,  144.  rcc>)»er- 
ed  from  Wandering,  05. 
.SV/(y/^^r<^of  Saints,  is  God,  144. 
Sickncii,  healed,  58,59,  60,  364.  spiiitual, 

healed,  204,  223. 
Silence    under    AlHiction,  42.    see    Sub- 
minion. 
Sirnecn'i  Song  and  Prophecy,  202. 
Sm,  its  Captiv(!s  hmientcd,    129.  causing 
(iiiif  to   good    .Men,    64.  cleansed  i)y 
Christ'd  uiood,  312,348.  pardoned,  169, 
170.  remonstrated  against,  115.  none  in 
Heaven,  510. 
Singing  in   God's   Way,   09.    see  Joy,  Re- 
joicing. 
Sinner.'.,  alaimtd,  80.  destroyed,  26.  their 
Doom,  148.  exhorted,  328.  recovered, 
204.  r(!lapsin^',  180.  their  final  Sentence 
and  Misery,  189.  warned  of  their  Ap- 
pearance at  Judguient,  337.  tlieir  vain 
Kefu-e,  337. 
S'Jdier,X\\c  ('liristiaii  animated  and  crown- 
ed, 353,  354. 
Song  ui  Moics  and  tlie  Lamb,  357.  see 

Hymn,  Praise, 
Sorroiv,  see  ^IJfliction,  Grief. 
Soul,  C;od  Its  .Saviour,  30.  its  Strength,  6S. 

the  Care  of  it  needful,  206,  207. 
S/iii it  of  God,  conijiared  to  Water,  221, 
225,  360.  his  liitluences  desired,    145, 
251,  360.  lifting  up  his  Standard,  117. 
the  Proof  of  our  Adoption,  281.  quicken- 
ing dead  Saints,  200.  revealing  Hea\en, 
285. 
Spirits   of    Men    under    God's    Influence, 
24.    departing,   committed  to    Chri>t, 
249. 
Spiritual  Enemies,  see  Satan. 
State  of  the  Dead  reliected  on,  164. 
Stone,  t\ie  livini,',  3o3.  tiie  corner,  334. 
Stiength  from  Heaven,  15,  68,  98,  26i». 
Subjection  to  God,  322. 
Submission  io  God,  42,  190.  sec  Patience. 
.Sttf  en  J  of  the  Gospel,  100,  111,  147,  173, 

sought,  120,  121. 
Sufcnngs  of  Christ,  191,  307.  and  his  Suc- 
cesses, 41,  139.  of  Christians,  306,  see 

(jrief,  Com/'.rt,  Sup/lO't. 

S[/«of  Highteousiiess,  173. 

Si^/iper,  Lord's,  Hymns  for  it,  171,  288. 
3jO. 

Support  from  God,  15.  in  Death,  32,  45, 
in  the  Covenant,  under  Troubles,  20, 
21.  in  Death,  22.  on  the  Death  of  faith- 
ful Ministers,  17,  182,  195.  pious 
Friends,  17,  196,  208,  215,  260,302. 
young  Christians,  23 1. 

Symput'ty,  Christian,  205,  28'2. 


65^ 


a 


INDEX. 


Table  of  the  Lord  polluted,  171.  spread, 
and  Invitations  sent,  21 1 .  attended,  350. 

Tasting  divine  Goodness,  35.  that  the  Lord 
is  gracious,  33'2. 

Teachings,  divine,  '210.  Christ's,  excellent, 
175. 

Temple,  the  spiritual,  167,  333.  the  hea- 
venly, and  Christian's  Pillars  in  it,  33, 
354. 

Temptationi  moderated,  216.  overcome, 
356.  Strength  proportioned  to  them,  269. 

Thankfulness,  see  Praise. 

Thanksgiving,  Hymns  of,  67,70,  71.  for 
public  Mercies,  49,  95,  272,  374, 

Things,  small,  the  Day  of,  not  despised, 
16S. 

Time,  redeemed,  130,  292,  317,  329. 
wasted,  5'2,  127. 

Triumfilim  God's  Protection,  31 .  of  Christ, 
41.  of  the  Gospel,  see  Success. 

Trouble,  Patience  under  it,  42.  Consola- 
tion in  it,  235.  in  domestic  Troubles, 
21.  see  Sup/iort. 

Trust  in  God,  30,  87,  1 62. 


Vacant  Congregations   seeking  God,   13, 

372. 
Vanity  of  Creatures,  and  God's  Sufficiency, 

125.  of  earthly  Things,  268.  of  Man,  63. 

of  Man,  and  Majesty  of  God,  97.  of 

"Riches,  212.  of  worldly  Schemes,  329. 

of  our  Years,  52. 
Victory  celebrated,  46,  272,  374.  spiritual, 

see  Satan. 
Vint,  Christ  the  true,  237.  abiding  in  him, 

237,  238. 
Vineyard  of  God,  81.  its  Unfruitfulness 

punished,  174. 
Unbelief  anA  Faith  struggling,  197. 
Vnchangeablenessoi  God,  54,  316.  of  Christ, 

323.  of  tlie  Covenant,  355. 
Unknown  God,  253. 
Voice  of  Christ  calling  Men,  74.  of  God  to 

be  immediately  heard,  309.  of  the  Rod 

heard,  159,373. 
Vows,  religious  encouraired,  137.  rejoiced 

in,  23. 


W 

IVaiiinje  for  God,  93. 

IValktn'g  with  God,  1,79. 

Warfare,  spiritual,  192,  306,  353,  354. 
see  Satan. 

Watchfulness,  christian,  129,  210. 

Waters,  living,  an  Emblem  of  the  Spirit, 
221,225,  360.  of  the  Sanctuary,  147. 

Ways  of  God,  singing  in  them,  69.  Safety 
in  them,  96.  the  Blind  and  Weak  led  in 
them,  101.  of  the  Upright  known  to 
God,  38.  searching  and  trying  our 
Ways,  138. 

Wicked,  see  Sinner. 

Wilderness,  transformed,  100.  Miracles  in 
it,  47. 

Wisdom,  her  House  and  Feast,  76.  her  In- 
vitations, 76.  her  Reproofs  and  En- 
couragements, 73.  true,  150.  Christ 
our  Wisdom,  266. 

Word  of  God,  its  Benefit  to  Youth,  61.  its 
Efficacy,  133,  356.  its  Excellency, 
63. 

World,  transitory,  268.  vain,  329.  destroy- 
ed, 342. 

Worship,  daily,  79.  Family,  2.  secret,  177. 
opening  a  new  Place  of  Worship,  49. 

Wrath,  future,  189.  treasured  up,  258.  of 
Enemies  restrained,  95.  and  over-ruled, 
46. 


Year,  crowned  with  divine  Goodness,  43. 

wasted,  52.  see  New  Year''s-Day. 
Youth  pressed   to  pray,  370.   regard  to 

Scripture,  61.  to  seek  Christ,  75.   to 

seek  Heaven  fust,  178.  Comfort  on  their 

Death,  234. 


Zeal  for  God,  9.  for  Christ's  Cause,  246, 
247.  approved  and  rewarded,  172. 

Z/o»,God  comforting  it,  163.  intreating  for 
it,  220.  its  Joy  in  God's  Government, 
108.  purified  and  guarded,  107.  the 
High-way  to  it,  96.  Way  to  it  sought, 
137.  see  C)4«rc/;. 


END   OF   THE    THIRD    VOLUME. 


E.  BAIVFS,  rftlNTER 
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