THE BENEFITS OP AFFLICTION. A SERMON ON OCCASION OF THE DEATH OF GENERAL PHILIP ST. GEORGE COCKE, Preached at his late Residence, in Powhatan County, Va., on the 28th December, 1861, BY Rev. CORNELIUS TYREE. Published by the Family of the Deceased. RICHMOND: FERGUS 1862. THE BENEFITS OF AFFLICTION A SERMON ON OCCASION OF THE DEATH OP GENERAL PHILIP ST. GEORGE COCKE, Preached at his late Residence, in Powhatan County, Va., on the 28th December, 1861, BY Rev. CORNELIUS TYKEE P iblished. by the Family of the Deceased. RICHMOND: MACFARLANE & FERGUSSON, printers. 1862. inc. rLUJvuAG wlului ft.UX' FUNERAL SERMON. "Joseph is not. and Simeon is not, and ye will take Benjamin away: all these things are against me." — Gen. xlii: 36. A series of trying events had befallen the patriarch Jacob. It had not been long since the blood-stained coat of Joseph had been brought to him, when, supposing his son had been rent in pieces by wild beasts, he had exclaimed, "I will go down into the grave, unto my son mourning." Now his sons' return from Egypt, with the dreadful tidings that the lord of the country, under the accusation that they were spies, had cast Simeon into prison, and had sworn by the life of Pharaoh, that they should not see his face any more, unless they brought Benjamin down. This brought from the afflicted patriarch the deep complaint of the text. The complaint, however, was groundless. The very things that he, in his ignorance, deplores as against him, soon turned out to be greatly for him. Could he have looked beyond the cloud, he would have seen Joseph yet alive and lord of Egypt, Simeon under a brother's care, Benjamin going to a brother's arms, and all waiting to receive and bless him in his old age. From this incident, I wish to show that the very things in life that we most desire, are generally most detrimental to us; and that the dispensations that we most deprecate, are promotive of our real interests. In our ignorance and unbelief, we are greatly deceived as to what is best for us. We congratulate ourselves and friends when we are prospered' in life, but could we see the end of these successes, we would bewail them as curses. On the other hand, we mourn when we and our friends meet with losses and trials, when, if we could look forward and see how they will turn out to our good, we would rejoice and be thankful, rather than repine. The lapse of a few years may show us — and if not, the explanations of the final judgment will — that the very things we eagerly craved and fondly doted on, were but gilded snares, and that the things that caused our 4 A SERMON. hearts to bleed, were blessings in disguise. God often gives temporal good in wrath, and takes it away in mercy. Both Scripture and experience show that many are spiritually put forward and upward, by being temporarily put backward and downward. All seek health, wealth and fame. We are pleased when our plans are successful. We are encouraged when our possessions are great, safe and increasing. We esteem ourselves children of fortune when our families are healthy, our relations agreeable, our friends numerous, and our schemes successful. These are the things that we suppose are for us. It were bet- ter for us, according to our judgment, that we should live lives free from pain, losses and crosses. Give me health, possessions and friends, without the bitters of life. Let me have both the religion of Christ and worldly prosperity. Let me have all sun- shine and no storms, be always triumphant without defeats. Thus would all choose for themselves. But God, who knows in- finitely better than we do what is best for us, has determined otherwise. Prosperity is not necessarily detrimental to piety. If the good things of life were sought from the Lord, held at his disposal, and used for his glory, they would be incentives to repentance and gratitude, and the means of greater usefulness; but being sought without any reference to God, they become not only hindrances to our higher interests, but positively promotive of irreligion. We speak of the common effect of prosperity and adversity. There are exceptions. In some rare cases, affluence is greatly for men, and afflictions greatly against them. It was said of Vespasian, he was a better man for being an emperor. In all ages there have been a few, whose prosperity, instead of destroy- ing them, has increased their moral and religious excellency. Such become rich in faith and in good works, because they are rich in temporal things. There is another class, whose wicked- ness is increased by afflictions. Of Ahaz the Scripture says: "In his afflictions he sinned against God yet more and more." And, as if God regarded him as a hideous monster, for thus frustrating this mighty appliance of good, it is added, "Now, this is that Ahaz." With such, fortune and faith decrease to- gether. While afflictions make thousands of good men better, A SERMON. & they make some bad men worse. These, however, are the ex- ceptions, as evidential, on the one hand, of the invincible grace of God, as they are, on the other, of the deep depravity of the human heart. "With the mass of men, the great reason why they fear not God, is "because they have no changes." The experience of thousands is, that it is good for them that they have been afflicted. For one that is wrecked amid the storms of adversity, thousands are wrecked, for both worlds, in the calm of prosperity. The main elements of prosperity are honors, riches and plea- sures. These arc the things men covet, supposing that they are for them; but, according to the teaching of Jesus Christ, they are great hindrances to the salvation of the soul. These are against most men, because thev induce unmindfulness of God and rebellion against him. They foster pride, self-delusion, earthly-mindedibeas, and make men unwilling to embrace the Gospel of Christ. But the afflictions that beset us, such as the disappointment of fond hopes, the loss of property, health and friends, that we so much deprecate and so hastily pronounce to be against us, are the rough, yet salutary safeguards against final ruin. True, they are thorns, but they are the only effec- tual hedges that a benevolent God can interpose in our way to eternal death. True, these trials take from you some dear worldly objects ; but then, under God, they induce you to seek your spiritual and eternal interests, in comparison with which all earthly objects are trifles. But, says one, "My afflictions are so peculiar, dark, trying and subversive of all my hopes, how can they be for my good?" But, under the government of God, it is but reasonable to suppose that many things must Occur, for which we cannot account, and which we cannot recon- cile with divine goodness and our benefit. Just here is the pro- vince of that faith that saves the soul. Though clouds and darkness are round about him, faith realizes that justice and judgment are the habitation of his throne. In the darkest trials the believer hears the voice of God saying, "Be still, ^Yhat thou knowest not now thou shalt know hereafter." But let us indicate some particulars, in which the inscrutable, trying providences of God, which we are wont to pronounce 6 A SERMON. against us, are but links in the chain leading to our greatest benefit and highest happiness. 1. Afflictions are not against, hut for us, because they often lead us to seek God, ivhen nothing else will. So engrossed is man in the things of time, that, in many cases, nothing but the gathering tempest will induce him to flee to God, his great refuge. "Who is the Lord, that I should obey his voice," was the impious language of Pharaoh while in affluence, but "en- treat the Lord for me," was the suppliant language of the same haughty monarch, when the judgments of Heaven were thunder- ing around him. While Manasseh was wealthy, and healthy, and moved in kingly splendor, he grew to be a chieftain in wicked- ness; but when he was dis-crowned, reduced and imprisoned, he humbled himself, sought the Lord, and the Lord heard him. He now blesses God for the dungeon and not for the throne. In mercy he was ruined temporarily. So long as the Prodigal was in a land of plenty, he was contented to remain from his home, but when he began to be in want, he arose and returned to his father. Famine drove him home. The Disciples allowed the Saviour to sleep, while they were sailing upon a smooth sea, but when the storm threatened them they went to him in ear- nest, and prayed, "Master, carest thou not that we perish?" So with most men now: so long as the sea of life is stormless, they are contented in unbelief, but when moral storms darken their skies and wreck their hopes, they make for the haven of pardon and peace. There are millions on the Lord's side who, but for afflictions, would be following lying vanities and forsak- ing the God that made them. There are untold numbers in the churches of Christ, adorning their profession, who would be the devotees of mammon, but for having their hearts smitten with sorrow. Twice ten millions are singing around the throne in Heaven, who would be wailing in penal fires, but for having met with losses and crosses on earth. The experience of David is the experience of such : " It is good for me that I have been afflicted, that I might learn thy statutes." They will tell you, with Dr. Young — "Amid my list of blessings infinite, Stands this foremost, tLat my heart has bled ; For all I bless Thee, most for the severe." A SERMON. 7 And if so, are not the tribulations of life for you ? 2. Afflictions are not against, but for us, because they give us a realizing belief in the existence, government and presence of God. In times of prosperity we become practical atheists. We believe that Jehovah is the God of the Bible, of the Church, and of Christianity ; but have no practical persuasion of his agency in the common events and affairs of life. How shame- fully do we ignore God, as a nation, as farmers, and as families ! In common life, we put Him far off, in the empyreal heavens, and act as if we were self-created and self-sustained. In this re- spect, we are "without God in the world." Now, the most effectual cure for this crying sin is adversity. "When God speaks to us in some trying providence; when he visits in national ca- lamities; when he takes from us health, possessions and friends; then we realize that he is above, around and within us. Said Dr. Payson, when on a bed of languishing, "I know that God is in this room; I see him, I feel him, I enjoy him." 0, how near and realizingly does God come to us in the death of loved ones ! In trying and adverse events, whatever may be the rod used, we feel that he is the chastiser. If, then, adverse provi- dences induce in us the conviction that by God we are made, sustained, and are soon to be judged, then, surely, they are among the "all things that work together" for our good. 3. Afflictions are the best means of acquiring an experimental knowledge of sacred things. The great defect in our religion is, that it is too speculative. It slumbers inertly in the mind, exerting but little influence over our emotional nature. We preach, hear, pray, and believe, speculatively. The great want of the world is an earnest, heart-felt, experimental religion. How can it be acquired ? God has many schools in which to train his children. He teaches them by his Word, his ministry and ordinances; but these do not impress and move the heart like trials. "Tribulation worketh patience, and patience expe- rience, and experience hope, and hope maketh not ashamed." It may be well questioned, whether one can be an experienced, enlarged Christian, without being schooled in fiery trials. The profoundest sense of God's goodness, which it has been my pri- vilege to witness, I have seen in the countenance and heard from 8 A SERMON. the lips of the suffering. We find that none lean on God with such a filial trust as those whom he has afflicted. We doubt, indeed, whether true gratitude and faith ever spring up in the soul till it has been smitten with anguish. The religion of those who have been always prosperous must be superficial and incom- plete. But deep, strong, Christ-like piety, strikes root in the soil which has been broken and softened by calamity. And if so, are not troubles promotive of our highest good? Are we not in great moral danger without them ? 4. Afflictions give us a new insight into, and endear unto us, the Scriptures of God. There are many portions of God's Word, the meaning of which we can never understand, the beauty of which we can never appreciate, and the preciousness of which Ave can never realize till we have known adversity. You cannot enter into the feelings of one in distress till you have been similarly tried yourself. Now, the Bible was mostly written by the afflicted, for the afflicted. Indeed, "Had he ne'er with grief been smitten, Then David's Psalms had ne'er been written.'' We do not overstate the truth, when we affirm that the Bible is more the afflicted man's book than the prosperous man's. A vast deal of the Scriptures is written for the comfort of such. Many of the Divine promises demand afflictions as the condi- tion of their fulfilment, and the element wherein alone their full lustre can radiate. Take this one: "When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee, and through the floods, they shall not overflow thee ; when thou passest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned, neither shall the flames kindle upon thee." This is a cheering Scripture to all, at all times, but oh ! how it comes home to the heart of those who are sinking in the deep waters of trouble. Says Christ, " Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." To all classes, such a promise is beautiful and encouraging; but to the tried, the bereaved and grief-smitten, it is more melodious than the tones of an angel's harp,, and more soothing than the fan- ning of a seraph's wings. This one verse has been bathed with the tears of millions who will ,weep no more. Take the great A SERMON. 9 doctrines of the immortality of the soul, the resurrection of the dead, and the meeting and recognition of the redeemed in Hea- ven. To mankind, in all conditions, such doctrines are grand, ennobling, and the mightiest restraints to vice and incentives to virtue. But how solacing are such Gospel truths, when death sweeps from us dear friends ! How the one saying, " Blessed are the dead that die in the Lord," supports the bleeding heart. when the red-mouthed grave is about receiving our parents, chil- dren, husbands and wives ! Said Luther, " I never knew the meaning of the Bible till I was afflieted." If, then, trials and - lead us to understand, apply, obey and prize the Word of God, are they not sent both in love and wisdom? In the high- est sense, they subserve our eternal good. 5. Afflictions tend to jurify us. Before some of the vessels of the temple could be used for sacred purposes, they had to be put into the fire. So, before we are prepared for the Master's use, it is needful that we pass through the furnace of affliction. The human heart, like the soil of the earth, has to be torn up by the plowshare of tribulation, before it will produce much fruit of holiness. About the best there cling besettirg sins, which greatly mar our religious characters and lessen our moral power. Now, the most effectual means of purging off from be- lievers the remains of pride, covetousness, sloth, malice and selfishness, is the fiery furnace of trouble. Were you to wit- ness a refiner refining gold, you would suppose that the gold it- self would be destroyed, in the intense heat. So, when you see a child of grace under an accumulation of ills, you would sup- pose he would be crushed. But how improved in piety when they come out of the furnace ! How humbled, softened, chas- tened, enlarged and crucified to the world ! Who has not been benefited by afflictions? Said David, "Before I was afflicted I went astray, but now I have kept thy word." Said that man of God, A. W. Clopton, when referring, on his dying bed, to a sore domestic affliction, "It was as essential to my salvation as the blood of Christ; I would not have died without some such trial, for a thousand worlds." When the trial came, he sup- posed all his hopes were crushed, and yet it was the means of his becoming a Christian, a minister, and an heir of glory. 10 A SERMON. And where and what would some of you be, but for some sore trouble ? 6. Once more, trials qualify for greater usefulness. As the heavens are only gemmed with stars in the night, so the light of Christian example shines most brilliantly in the darkness of Borrow. Nothing so well prepares a minister to preach, as a bed of languishing. Even Christ could not be a perfect Sa- viour, could not enter into all the feelings and exigencies of his people, without suffering. Hence, we read of the Captain of our Salvation being made perfect through sufferings — of his being tempted, (or afflicted) that he might succor them that are tempted, (or afflicted). Afflictions give us a heart to weep with those who weep. When we are in distress, in vain may we re- pair, for comfort, to those who never knew what anguish meant. They will not listen to our tale of woe; but those who have borne the smart themselves will sympathise with and speak a word in season to those who cry, "Pity me, pity me, ye my friends, for the hand of God has touched me." I doubt whether any Christian can be extensively useful, without having been trained in the school of adversity. There are departments in the vineyard that the untried, prosperous professor, cannot en- ter. God designs all his people to be useful, and hence, in some way he chastises and afflicts them all. If the chastisements that our Father inflicts on us are designed to make us more efficient in the great work of converting souls, let us pray, with Luther, "Strike on, strike on, my God." 7. Afflictions are promotive of our well-being, because they wean us from this world. When the dove first flew out from the ark, and found nothing but winds, rains and rolling waves, she soon returned to the ark for shelter and rest; but when, on her second flight, she found smiling plains, bathed in sunshine, she was delighted, and remained. Behold, man, an image of thyself. When the world becomes to thee a scene of wealth, health and pleasure, thou art captivated with the enchantress and exclaimest, it is good for me to be here, and to remain here forever. But when the world becomes to thee a place of gloom, poverty, anxiety and misery, then thou art induced to seek a better portion and home. As life is, notwithstanding all the A SERMON. 11 troubles and distresses that checker our path, how difficult to detach our affections from the things of time and sense. Even the old and the sick cling to earth with an idolatrous grasp. How completely rooted to this life would we be, if it were full of charms ! If our condition here was one of unbroken pros- perity, it would become our ardent wish to live here forever. Now, God loves us too much to allow us to remain contented with a portion and home as worthless as this world is. He has made us for a higher destiny, and prepared for us a better home ; and hence, he aims to cool our ardor for earth, and induce us to turn our aspirations to Heaven, by sending on us afflictions thick and trying. While his peculiar people were in Egypt, they were becoming satisfied in their degraded condition, had no de- sire to set out for Canaan, but God, by the oppressions of Pha- raoh, so stirred up their nest, that they sighed to leave for the promised land. So now, my brethren! all your troubles, your afflictions of all kinds, spring not from the dust, but arc sent on you by a God of love, to render you dissatisfied with this world as your final abode, and to induce you to seek that bright, saintly home, that lies far beyond the changes and panics, convulsions and woes of this present life. "Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trials which try you." God would not use such rough means, in disciplining us for the joys of his presence, if our hearts were not so stubborn and prone to attach them- selves supremely to earth. He would not speak to some of us with a voice so startling, if we were not so ready to slumber on the enchanted ground. Does he darken our heavens with clouds and tempests? It is to induce us to seek a place in Heaven, where storms are not known. Has he taken from you posses- sions? It is that you may lay up treasures in Heaven. Does he take from you dear friends ? It is that earth may have fewer, and Heaven additional charms. He intends every pain, dis- ease, loss, cross, and bereavement, to loosen the bonds that bind you to earth, that you may rise and seek the things that are above. And if so, are these things against us? "Which is bet- ter for you — to have temporal prosperity and no hope, or afflic- tions, which are but for a moment, followed by a far more ex- ceeding and eternal weight of glory? Judge ye, and make your 12 A SERMON. choice. If we were really wise, this would be our prayer: — "Come, disappointment, come! Though from hope s summit thou hurlest me, Still I welcome thee. As the rigid nurse of Heaven, Sent to wean me from the world; To turn mine eye from vanity And point to scenes that never, never die.' 7 8. The trials of time will render Heaven more delightful. We appreciate things by contrast. We could not enjoy our food, if strangers to hunger. We could not know the pleasures of rest, without previous toil. Why was the land of Canaan so pleasant to the Israelites? Because its possession was preceded by forty years wandering and suffering in the wilderness. So, Heaven would not be to us what it will be, were we not pre- pared for it by the chequered scenes of this life. It cannot be as blissful to the angels, who have never known sorrow, as it is to redeemed sinners, who reach it "through great tribulation." Said Dr. Judson, after his deliverance from the long and gloomy imprisonment at Ava, "I have no doubt my 21 months in that dismal jail will render Heaven sweeter to me." Oh, what an exchange docs the child of God make in leaving earth for Hea- ven! When admitted into the New Jerusalem, what a radiant, ever-blooming, all-satiating contrast, does he find to the sorrows, trials, and dying scenes of earth, which he has just quitted! How happy was Jacob when he lay infolded in the arms of his dear Joseph, and saw the glorious results that God's once mys- terious providence had wrought out for him ! So, when, from the height of the heavenly Zion, the redeemed shall look and see all the way the God of grace led them ; when all the mys- terious providences of Jehovah shall be unfolded to them; when parents will see why they so early buried their children ; when the wife shall sec why the dear partner of her bosom was taken from her; when the poor shall see why they were kept in the vale of poverty ; when others shall see why health, and posses- sions and friends were taken; in fine, when we shall sec that the very afflictions that were most crushing were most essential to our salvation, then ten thousand voices, which on earth pro- A SERMOX. 13 nounced all these things against them, will shout and sing Ho- sanna to Him who once made their hearts bleed. Oh, how they will, through the wasteless ages of eternity, utter thanksgiving to God for having washed their robes in the blood of the Lamb, and brought them out of great tribulations, to dwell in his pres- ence forever. With one reflection, I will dismiss the discussion of this Scripture. Afflictions are only beneficial to those who submit to God, and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ for pardon and eter- nal life. All these things are against those who, in heart and life, arc against God and his gospel. Afflictions are generally God's last resort to bring men to repentance. If they fail, then they may turn to judgments, and augment our guilt and hard- ness in time, and our misery in eternity. Hearer, sec to it that you despise not the chastenings of the Lord. Better never to have been born than thus to frustrate his dealings with you. Thus, I have attempted to show the benefits of afflictions, with a hope that we might improve the sad dispensation that has brought us together to-day. I am not the one, nor is this the occasion, to do full justice to the memory and character of the excellent friend whose death we all so deeply deplore. It is due, however, to General Cocke, that the minister should, on this sacred occasion, briefly portray his excellent character. The character of our friends cannot be properly understood and appreciated till they are dead. We prized this valuable gentle- man while he was living, but now that he is no more, his bright assemblage of virtues loom up before us, and we begin to realize the loss we have sustained in his death. The grandest, most excellent and useful things in this world, is a well-formed, sym- metrical, virtuous character. The character of our deceased friend was one of rare worth, and should be studied, admired and embalmed. Unless I greatly mis-read him, I would say that, in the best sense of the term, he was a high-toned gentle- man. All who knew him were impressed with his honesty and sincerity. Most men are masked — act a part in which the outer is not a true exponent of the inner man. General Cocke im- pressed me as being a transparent man; and with these excel- lencies there were combined two others equally prominent and 14 A SERMON. valuable. He possessed the modesty of a woman, with the chiv- alry of a hero. Nor was his character merely negatively valu- able. He was a devoted patriot. This Commonwealth had no truer pon than he. In all of our scientific, philanthropic and agricultural enterprises, he was among the leaders, aiding with a liberal hand and wise counsels. No one man has done more to elevate Virginia in her great interests, than did he. When our present national troubles began to impend, and our wisest statesmen differed and hesitated as to the course the Southern States should take, he, with a clearer sagacity, saw and pointed out the only path of duty, safety and honor; and when the dread issue came, last spring, he led the vanguard to face dan- ger and death. In the field he remained exerting his energies, means and sword, in suffering, doing and daring, till forced home by the rapid wane of both his physical and mental powers. On that bloody day when the battle of Manassas was fought, he distinguished himself for his skill and daring. Wherever the balls flew thickest, he was to be seen cheering his men on to battle and to victory. He often said he was willing to lay down his life to expel the invader of our rights. I do regard his death as truly and as clearly a sacrifice for our country as if he had fallen on the 21st of July, Gen. Cocke was just as much a martyr for Southern liberty as Generals Bee or Bartow. He was a devoted member of the church of Christ. Most deeply will his own denomination feel his loss. In erecting houses of worship, in the support of his pastor, and in the general well being of the Episcopal Church of this county, he took a most conspicuous and important part. And still more does the value of this excellent man appear, if you view him as a neighbor and master. To struggling merit he was ever ready to extend a helping hand. For the sick and needy he had a feeling heart and an open purse. No man understood better the relation be- tween master and servant, and none that I have known met more scripturally the obligations this relation imposes. He made provisions for the bodily and spiritual wants of his ser- vants. I speak advisedly when I affirm that I have never known an owner of servants to manage and care for them more kindly and systematically than he did. Nor have I ever known ser- A SERMON. 15 vants more devoted to their master. On his unexpected return from Manassas, they rushed to meet him with an affectionate- ness that drew tears from a gentleman who was with him. And may I not venture to follow him into the sanctum sanctorum of his family, and view him in the responsible relation of husband and parent t What system! what punctuality in domestic de- votion ! what dignity and uniformity ! what forbearance ! what pure principles did he inculcate by precept and example ! what affectionateness ! Who can doubt that the life of such a father will exert a moulding influence on his children ? But he is gone. With a temperament nervous and excitable, being for more than a year under intense, high-wrought and continued mental anxiety about the country, and dwelling on the gloomy aspect of our revolution, his bright intellect gave way and was wrapped in the sombre cloud of irrationality, which caused his mournful end. Noble man ! Though thy sun went down at high noon, behind tempests and clouds, we trust it is al- ready risen again, in the undying splendor of a blessed immor- tality. General Cocke was just the man whose death makes a great vacuum in every sphere in which he was wont to move. He will be greatly missed — missed by our young and struggling nation; missed in our army; missed in his State; missed in his county; missed in his church ; missed by his servants ; missed by his children ; and, most of all, missed by her who was nearest to him. Surely, this untimely death is against us ! No, verily. To think so were to impeach the wisdom and goodness of God, repine under his rod, and frustrate the benevolent designs he ' has in sending the affliction. As certain as God reigns, great spiritual good is to come out of this sore trial. In eternity we shall see why this calamity came upon us. Alas ! how impotent are human sympathies and words to sol- ace the bereaved, while writhing under such a blow as this. It were unnatural to relinquish back to God such a gift without grief. The heart smitten by such a stroke will bleed. But God grant that the mourning of this family may be tempered with submission. Let us all pray that they may not yield to brood- ing sadness, but transfer their tears from the face of the be- 16 A SERMON. loved dead to the feet of Christ, the Great Consoler, and there compose their souls to serenity and peace. Of all afflictions, the greatest is an affliction lost. May this affliction not be lost on this dear household. May it lead each one of the survivors, savingly, to trust and serve Him who has thus chastened them. And wherever their divergent pathways may lead, as they are all beautifully bound together in sweet natural ties, so may they be bound to Christ by a living faith, be one in his service on earth, and all form an unbroken family in the Paradise of God. And now we are about to bid adieu to our dear friend. Peace to his memory. The mound of earth that will cover his re- mains will soon moulder into one undistinguished common by Time's oblivious march. The monument that will tell his name to coming ages, will fall by the crash of thunder and the war- ring winds: but his virtues, his principles, his example, his noble deeds, his influence, will live on in the good of his children, his State and the country. And now, beloved hearers, we who are here to mingle our sympathies with the afflicted, may learn from this sad event our deep central need of the religion of Christ. Already, many and crushing have been the trials of some of you. And per- haps sorer reverses are awaiting you. No plans, however wise ; no talents, however brilliant; no wealth, however unbounded; no strength, however great; or schemes of pleasure, however skilfully planned, can avert from you sorrows, woes and dying scenes. Now, can you venture to meet the inevitable trials of time without the supports of the Gospel? To say nothing of the dreadful sorrows of eternity, do you not, amid life's ills, feel your need of this great Comforter ? 0, go to the cross and seek the forgiveness of your sins and a hope of Heaven. Then, in all the afflictions of time, and in the agonies of death, you will be safe and happy. Then, when the world shall be melting down, by the fires of the last day, you will be calm and triumph- ant. Amid Nature's ruin. "You will fasten your band on the skies, And bid earth roll, nor feel her idle whirl."