ADDRESS
DELIVERED IN THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH*
AT
TUSCUOTBIA, ALA., MAY 13, 1841,
ON OCCASION OF THE FUNERAL
OF
oILWCDHMBA ©fOBBAIBB*
BY
3WW* <3". ©a
® w & © w ssa SB a & g
MESSENGER & ROLLSTON, PRINTERS:
184 1
Note.—The following address, which was necessarily prepared in ex-
ceeding great haste, is published, not on account of any real or preten¬
ded claim to merit, hut solely in compliance with the earnest request of
the husband of the deceased, who wishes to put into the hands of her
distant friends, in a form that can be easily preserved, some of the par¬
ticulars of her life and death. The Author.
ADDRESS
II Corinthians, v, 1.
Respected friends, and beloved brethren in the Lord: In the all-wise,
but mysterious and inscratable providence of that Infinite Being, of
whom it is expressly declared in scripture, that " his way is in the sea,
and his path in the great waters, and his footsteps are not known," the
part of publicly announcing to you the irrevocable departure of an es¬
teemed lriend and beloved sister, has again unexpectedly devolved upon
me. Seldom has it fallen to my lotto perform a more melancholy and
painful duty—painful, because of that tvarm personal intimacy and un¬
interrupted friendship that has subsisted between myself and the family
of the deceased, and also on account of the affecting and irreparable
breach of which I am forcibly reminded this sudden dispensation has
effected in the ranks of the small "household of faith," which statedly
worship in this sanctuary of the divine God, and of which our departed
friend was a consistent and piou^member. This is the fifth time that I
have been called, during the last three years, to perform the same mel¬
ancholy task, of announcing the death of a member of our Church, and
of reminding you of the exceeding precariousness and entire vanity of
all the hopes and relations, even the strongest and most endearing, of
ins transitory existence. First, a meek and quiet, retired and humble,
sister Jones; then, the devout, conscientious, and prayerful sister Limer¬
ick; then, the beloved brother Somerville; then, the sincere, faithful and
devoted sister Ripley; and now, the unostentatious, kind and charitable
sister Stoddard—has gone the way of all the earth, and entered
The undiscovered country, from whose bourne
No traveller returns.
The hearts that once bled in view of the dissevered ties of endeared
and consecrated friendship, now bleed afresh. Even before the entire arri¬
val of that period of the year when we are accustomed to expect the rava¬
ges of sickness and death, our stricken spirits are bowed to the dust by
the soreness of unanticipated bereavement, and in this the day of our
calamity, we are compelled to adopt the language of pathetic lamenta¬
tion, and exclaim, Alas, my sister! Ah, how clearly and solemnly does
a voice from the throne of the Eternal proclaim to our sad and aston¬
ished hearts to day, the impressive, but too much neglected admonition,
"all flesh is grass, and all the goodliness thereof is as the flower of the
field; the grass withereth, and the flower fadeth; for the wind passeth
over it and it is gone, and the place thereof shall know it no'more."—
But blessed be the God and Father of our Lord and Saviour Jesus
Christ, that through the infinite riches of that grace which he has been
pleased freely and bountifully to bestow upon our fallen and ruined race,
we arc permitted, with feelings of devout and grateful praise, to add,
"But'the mercy of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting upon them
that fear him, and his righteousness unto children's children, to such as
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keep his covenant, and to those that remember his commandments to du
them." Yea, my hearers, "man that is born of a woman is of few days,
and full of trouble. He cometh forth like a flower, and is cut down:
he fleeth also as a shadow, and continueth not. And dost thou, O God,
open thine eyes upon such a one? For there is hope of a tree, if it be
cut down, that it sprout again, and that the tender branches thereof will
not cease. Tho' the root thereof wax old in the earth, and the stock
thereof die in the ground, yet through the scent of water it will bud,
and bring forth boughs like a plant. But man dieth, and wasteth away:
Yea, man giveth up the ghost, and where is he? As the waters fail lrom
the sea, and the flood decayeth and drieth up: so man lieth down, and
riseth not: till the heavens be no more, they shall not awake, nor be
raised out of their sleep."
My hearers, centuries ago, the inspired declaration was uttered by the
wisest of kings, "It is better to go to the house of mourning than to the
house af feasting;" and the ground of the declaration evidently is this,
that "by the sadness of the countenance, the heart is made better."—
The uncertainty of life, the certainty of death, and the indispensable
duty and importance of a thorough and habitual preparation for that
great and solemn change which inevitably awaits us all, are truths which
are here proclaimed to us in the most forcible and affecting manner.
By these weighty considerations, wc are urged to prepare, without delay,
and with deep and serious earnestness, for an event which is so absolute¬
ly and infallibly certain, that all the art and ingenuity of which we are
capable, cannot evade it: and which will be productive to each and ev¬
ery one of us, as rational and immortal beings, of consequences inex
pressibly important and momentous. For it should be our highest wis¬
dom ever to bear distinctly in mind the serious and energetic words of
the great apostle: "Be not deceived; God is not mocked, lor whatsoev¬
er a man soweth, that shall he also reap; for he that soweth to the
flesh, shall of the flesh reap corruption; and he that soweth to the spirit
shall of the spirit reap life everlasting."
But where is the profit, my hearers, of our being so frequently and
forcibly reminded, in the providence of God, of these affecting truths?
Are we the holier and the better in consequence of it? Do we incline
our ear unto wisdom, and apply our hearts to understanding? Do we
seek her as silver, and search for her as for hid treasure, that by obtain¬
ing her, we may understand the fear of the Lord, and find the knowl¬
edge of God? What doth it profit us, when we see the dust return to
the dust as it was,we are admonished that we, too, must speedily return to
the dust, and that our disembodied and immortal spirits must return to
God who gave them, to receive the sentence of everlasting life, or eter¬
nal death? Does it appear from the general tenor ol our lives that we
duly improve these admonitions? Do we live and act, as if death were
indeed a reality, and that our days are passing away with the swiftness
of a weaver's shuttle, and every hour of the years of our pilgrimage,
while it is so much added to tl ose that are irrecoverably gone, is so
much subtracted from that which is to come? Do wc live and act, as
if we believed ourselves to be accountable creatures, liable at any mo¬
ment of our brief and v.iiu life to be culled before the flaming tiil unal
of a just and omnipotent God, to be righteously awarded according to
the deeds done in the body? Is our daily walk and conversation in
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heaven, from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ,
who shall change our vile body, according to the working whereby he is
able, even to subdue all things unto himself? Say not that these are
idle or unmeaning questions! They are as full of meaning and force as
judgment and eternity can impart to them; and, in view of the solemn
occasion for which we are at present assembled, address themselves with
peculiar emphasis to our hearts, and therefore, should not be lightly es¬
teemed, or carelessly responded to. See that you refuse not Him who
speaketh to you this day from heaven.
But alas! my hearers, does not conscience testify to your guilt? And if
your hearts condemn you, is not God greater than your hearts, and does he
not know all thin gs? In the midst of the most urgent admonitions and af¬
fecting reproofs of the Almighty, have you not struggled to push Eter¬
nity from your thoughts, and to banish all serious concern for the per¬
manent welfare of your immortal souls? ,
Infinite joy or endless wo
- Attend on every breath;
And yet how unconcerned you go
Upon the brink of death!
Indeed, so great, so inconceivably deplorable, is the infatuation of thou¬
sands, that, although in theory, they readily admit the truths, which
scenes like the present are calculated to convey; yet, their daily walk
and conversation appear to exhibit as much thoughtlessness and indif¬
ference in regard to futurity, as if our souls were destined to serve our
bodies, or as if this earth wrere designed as our only residence, and our
only portion. O, my friends, when snail the vail be taken away, that so
clouds our mental vision that we "cannot see afar off" into an opening
and illimitable eternity? "When shall we cease to do evil, and learn to
do well? When shall we put a stop to the indulgence of this criminal
spirit of indifference to our eternal concerns, and awake in real and
sober earnest, to a deep and abiding interest and care lor the true and
permanent welfare and felicity of our immortal minds? When shall
we arise in our strength, and shake off the lethargy, which, like a mighty
incubus, presses, with leaden weight, upon our spirit, and stifles its
heaven born aspirations and energies? Rest assured, my brethren, it is
high time to awake out of sleep; for now is your salvation nearer than
when you believed. And, O ye impenitent, who are without God and
without hope in the world, hear ye the word of the Lord which I this
day declare unto you, "now is the accepied time, and behold, now is the
day of salvation;" therefore, "seek ye the Lord while he may be found;
call ye upon him while he is near." O let us all, this day, while "God
from on high invites us home," realise the exceeding great importance
of being always ready at the call of our master. Let the one thing
needful—the pearl of great price—be the object towards the attainment
of which our most anxious hopes, prayers, and endeavors shall hence¬
forth be directed. Let our future walk and conversation daily and hour¬
ly evince thai we seek a building out of sight, whose builder and
maker is God; let the Bible be the man of our counsel and the guide
of our life, and let us with all dilligence search it, that we may attain
unto the possession of that purcl aecd inheritance which is incorruptible,
undefiled, and fadeth not away; let the spotless example of our Lord and
Saviour Jesus CI rist Le the invariable standard of our practice; let us, as
children of the day, be sober, and watch unto prayer, and daily and hour-
16]
ly live and act as those who fail not to hear and understand and obey
what the Holy Ghost saith, "To-day, if ye will hear his voice, harden
not your hearts."
From but a slight glance at the chapter immediately preceding the
one that has been read, we are led at once to conclude that in the early
periods of the christian church, the Apostles, and christians in general,
were constantly exposed to the most severe and trying persecutions and
afflictions for the sake of the Gospel of their Lord and Saviour, of which
they professed that they were not ashamed. Ineeed, so exceeding griev¬
ous and continued were their afflictctions, that they properly spake of
themselves as "always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord
Jesus," and as "always delivered unto death for Jesus' sake." This was
in exact accordance with the prediction of our blessed Saviour previ¬
ous to his departure from them. He had distinctly and fully announced
to them, in his exceedingly affectionate and deeply affecting farewell ad¬
dress, that "because they were not of the world, but he had chosen them
out of the world, therefore the world hated them; and if they had per¬
secuted him, they would also persecute his disciples; for the servant was
not greater than his Lord." He had given them to understand, in the
plainest terms, that, after his departing, they should be as sheep in the
midst of ravenous wolves, who would seek to rend and devour them; that
they should be delivered up to the councils, and he scourged in the syn¬
agogues, and be brought before Governors and Kings for his sake; and
through much tribulation, should enter into the Kingdom of heaven.—
•But under the pressure of all their trials, sore and protracted as they
were, and daily exposed, in every place, from persons of every descrip¬
tion, to all kinds of ignominy and torture, and standing in jeopardy every
hour of the most painful death at the hands of those who despised and
hated them, (for it deserves to be remarked that in the early ages of the
church, the followers of Christ "had trial of cruel mockings and scourg-
ings, yea, moreover of bonds and of imprisonmenls: they were stoned,
they were sawn assunder, were tempted, were slain with the sword, and
wandered about in sheep-skins, and goat-skins; being destitute, afflicted,
tormented;") yet, they "obtained a good report through faith,"1 and were
supported and solaced by the precious promise, "my grace is suflicient for
thee." They remembered the words of the Lord Jesus which with in¬
imitable tenderness, he spake to their disconsolate hearts, just before he
ascended to his God and their God, to his Father and their Father (for he
was not ashamed to call them brethren,) "let not your heart be troubled:
ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my Fathers house are many
mansions: if it were not so I would have told you. I goto prepare a
place for you, and if I go and prepare a place lor you, I will come again
and receive you unto myself, that where I am, there ye may be also."
Hence, though "troubled on every side," they were "not distressed;"
though "perplexed," they were "not in despair;" though "persecuted,"
they were "not forsaken;" and though "cast down," they were "not de¬
stroyed." "Knowing, that he which raised up the Lord Jesus, should
raise up them also by Jesus," and "present" them "faultless" before his
own glorious throne writh "exceeding joy," they "fainted not" under their
tribulations; and "though their outward man perilled, jet the inward
man was renewed day by day." "For," they considered that, while
they looked not at the things which are seen and temporal, but at the
m
brings which are not seen and eternal, their "light affliction, which wag
but for a moment, worked for them a far more exceeding and eternal
weight of glory." Yea, they could rejoice and be exceeding glad un¬
der the influence of the firm and unwavering persuasion, that "if their
earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, they had a building of
God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens."
This was the pillar of their hope
That bore their fainting spirits up.
The prospect of heaven inspired and cheered them.
The Apostle here calls the body a "house," because it is a habitation
to accomodate the spirit for a season. It is "earthly" both in its origin
and destination, for it shall soon "return to the dust as it was."
Earth's highest station ends in, "Here he lies:"
And "Dust to dust" concludes her noblest song.—
It is called a "tabernacle," to denote its frailty, and liability to danger
and decay—it was rather "the unsettled and precarious abode of a few days,
than a stated residence." The tabernacle was so constructed, by means
of pins and cords, as to be easily taken to pieces and put together again,
as occasion required.—It was a movable, temporary, and slender abode;
and therefore the Apostle speaks of it in the figurative language of the
text as being "dissolved."
In contradistinction to this, he denominates the future blessed abode
of the ritghteous, a "building"—firm, solid, and immoveable. It is a
building of "God," and not "made" as the tabernacle was with the
"hands" of men. "I go says the Saviour to his disciples, "to prepare a
place for you." It is "eternal"—It shall remain without change from the
wasting influence to which the things of this life are all subject; and,
long after the heavens and earth that now are, shall have waxed old as
a garment, and have been folded up as a vesture, and changed, by the
Almighty, it will be "incorruptible and undefiled;" yea as long as the
years of Jehovah remain, it shall "never fade away." Its blessed inhabi¬
tants shall be as pillars in the temple of God, and shall serve him day
and night, and go no more out.
This building is said to be situated "in the heavens," where God dis¬
plays his glorious presence, and where light, purity, and felicity, are found
in full perfection. There:
In presence of the incarnate, holy God,
Duly at morn and night, the multitudes
Of men redeemed, and angels, all the hosts
Of glory, join in universal song,
And pour celestial harmony, from harps,
Above all number, eloquent and sweet,
Above all thought of melody conceived.
How infinitely desirable it is, amidst the troubles of life and the in-
firmalies of nature, to be assured of the truth that "if our earthly house
of this tabernacle be dissolved, we have a building of God, an house
not made with hands, eternal in the heavens!" The soul that on Jesus
has leaned for repose, is the only one that can know and feel it. Re¬
ligion alone can support in the dark hour of adversity and trial. No¬
thing else can sustain the soul, when death comes to claim his victim.
Jesus, and he alone, can make a dying bed feel soft as downy pillows
are. Try infidel philosophy, falsly so called. Alas! what can such phi¬
losophy do, when one of its proudest champions exclaimed, in the pros¬
pect of his disolution, "I give my body to the dust, and my soul to the
L8]
Great Perhaps—I am going to take a leap in the dark.1'' Oh, how dif¬
ferent are the views and feelings of the true christian! He knows that
his Redeemer livith, aud that he shall stand at the latter day upon the
earth; and though after Lis skin worms destroy his body, vet in his flesh
he shall see God. True, indeed, he must pass through what the scrip¬
tures denominate a "dark valley;'1 but his bless:d Saviour has gone
through before him, and rendered it safe and attraclive; he "fears no
evil," for the "rod and stall" of Immanucl "comfort" him; a light be¬
yond this valley points his upward eye to his eternal home; and minis¬
tering spirits ate ready to bear up his emancipated spirit to the rclms of
perfect and endless day, where "his sen shall go no more down, neither
shall his moon withdraw herself; for the Lord shall he his everlasting
light, and the days of his mourning shall be ended." None but the
christian Jias a right to claim the great and precious promise: "When
thou passeth through tne waters, 1 will be with thee: and through the
rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the
fire, though shalt not be burned ; neither shall the flame kindle upon
thee, for I am the Lord thy God, the holy One of Israel, thy Savior."
None but the christian can exclaim in the agonies of expiring nature,
"0 death! where is thy sting? O grave! wThere is thy victory? The
sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law; but thanks be unto
God, who giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ." Ah! my
brethren we have abundant reason to adore the infinite riches of the good¬
ness and mercy of God, who has "abolished death, and brought life and
immortallity to light through the Gospel." Precious is the declaration
of the Savior, "If any man kpep my saying, he shall never see death."
He must meet it; but his Savior Christ, for whom it was not possible to
be holden by death, has extracted its sting, and annihilated its horrors.
Do not understand me as intimating that all christians die under the
influence of rapturous feelings* Such is not the fact. "The useful (and
Safe) death," we are informed, "is not that only which abounds with ec-
stacy and rapture; but also that in which an inferior degree of confi¬
dence is blended w ith patience under suffering, submission to the will of
God, humbleness of mind, and a pure and holy serenity in wdiich the
mind is stayed upon God." The experience of the departed friend and
sister, whom we this day mourn, was of the latter kind. Hers was the
hope and confidence of one who "quietly waited all the days of her ap¬
pointed time until her change should come," and wrhen the time of her
change had really arrived, she was sustained by the prospect of an entrance
being daministered unto her into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and
Saviour "Jesus Christ. The sweet assurance of a home in the skies, be¬
yond this vale of tears, at the right hand of her Father and God, wrhere
there are pleasures for evermore, and in whose presence there is fulness
of joy, dissipated her fears, and imparted courage by the way. In re¬
gard to her life and death as a christian, it affords us no ordinary satis¬
faction to be enabled to say, that we can speak with no degree of ap¬
prehension or hesitancy. Of some, wTho profess the name of Christ, we
cannot speak but with fear and trembling, for we "stand in doubt of
them; yea, we make mention of them "even wTeCping," for they mind
earthly things," and are "the enemies of the cross of Christ." Not so in
this case. We believe our departed friend to have exhibited the life of
a true child of God; and her end was certainly marked with all the ev
t9]
idences of the peace and safety of the "perfect and upright" man. For
her to die was gain. Gain, did I say? Aye, gain unutterable! For
can the tongue of men or angels adequately describe what is conveyed
in the expression, "far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory?"
In vain my feeble fancy paints
The moment after death;
The glory that surrounds the saints
When yielding up their breath.
One gentle sigh their fetters break,
We scarce can say, they're gone,
Before the willing Bpirit takes
Her mansion near the throne.
Faith strives, but all its efforts fail,
To trace her in her flight:
No eye can pierce within the vail
Which hideg that world of light.
Thus much (and this is all) we know,
They are completely blest;
Have done with sin, and care, and wo,
And with their Saviour rest.
While, therefore, with united hearts we mingle together the tears of
sincere sympathy over the grave of departed friendship, "I would not
have you to be^gnorant, brethren, concerning them that are asleep, that
ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope. For if we believe
that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in JesuS
will God bring with him." Could she whom we this day mourn, look
in at this moment upon this sorrowful assembly, and speak to us in an
audible voice from the "excellent glory" of the heavenly sanctuary, me-
thinks she would be ready to exclaim, "Weep not for me, but for your¬
selves and children; I am now in the full fruition pf all my desires and
hopes; but ye have not yet accomplished your warfare, and many of you
are still in the gall of bitterness and in the bonds of iniquity. Where¬
fore, be concerned for yourselves; and gird up the loins of your mind,
and be sober, and watch unto prayer: for in such an hour as ye think
not, the son of man comelh."
Mrs. Lucinda Stoddard, consort of James A; Stoddard, was the
daughter of John and Sarah A.Lawrence, of Brooklyn, N. Y.; where
she was born on the 11th May, 1819, and where she spent the whole of
her life previous to her marriage. She was blessed with a pious mother,
and is supposed to have enjoyed all the advantages favorable to the cul¬
tivation of moral and religious principles and feelings. It does not ap¬
pear, from all that can be learned on the subject, that in the early part
of her life, she had any proper impression of the worth of her soul, or
of the necessity and importance of personal piety. For a long period,
she appears to have been thoughtless and careless, and lived without
hope, and without God in the world; and probably, she was never awa¬
kened to any proper sense of her condition as a lost and ruined sinner,
till the time when her husband was constrained, by a sense of duty, to
dedicate his two infant children to God, in the solemn ordinance of bap¬
tism. At this period, she seems to have realised, for the first time, her
responsibilities as a mother, and the necessity of divine grace to enable
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her faithfully and conscientiously to discharge the important duties grow¬
ing out of this interesting and tender relation to her children. Her con¬
viction of religious sentiments may, perhaps, be dated from this event,
which convictions were gradually deepened, until that interesting sea¬
son of spiritual refreshing from the presence of the Lord, with which
this little Church was graciously visited, under the administrations of
Rev. Daniel Baker, about eighteen *months ago—a season which none
of us can reflect upon but with the liveliest feelings of grateful pleasure.
At that time she was led seriously to enquire what she must do to be sa¬
ved; and after much distrust of herself; lest she should he found "walk¬
ing in the sparks of her own kindling," she was brought to rest her soul
in Jesus Christ for salvation. It is generally known that 'die was one of
a number who, as the fruits of that revival, united themselves with the
Presbyterian church in this place; and it affords me unfeigned satisfac¬
tion to have it in my power thus publicly to announce that ever since,
she has exhibited the walk of a christian. Yea, and I rejoice to be en¬
abled to say, that she was not only a christian, but, for the last few
months at least, of her life, a growing christian. Much of her time du¬
ring this period, was given to devotional reading. Soon after her con¬
version, she procured for herself a set of the "Evangelical FamiJy Li¬
brary," published by the American Tract Society, to the regular perusal
of which she is known to have devoted much of her leisure time, and to
have nearly completed the whole series of these precious volumes when
she was summoned to render her final account. She frequently spoke of
the delight these books afforded her; and we have reason to believe that
they were greatly blest to her growth in grace and knowledge.
To say that our departed friend regarded the tabernacles of the Most
High as truly amiable in her sight, would be saying what would be ne¬
cessarily expected of every true christian. She would olten appear in
the sanctuary of God, when the unfavorable state of the weather and
her own delicate and precarious health rendered her justly liable to the
charge of imprudence.
An interesting feature in the character of our deceased sister was
this:—She had such a serious and respectful regard for the Almighty's
appointed method of sanctifying and saving his people, that she endeav¬
ored at all times to profit by every exhibition of divine truth from the
pulpit which she w as providentially permitted to hear. She wras not
among the number of those who behold their natural face in a glass, and
then go their way, and straightway forget what manner of men they are;
but, receiving with "meekness the ingrafted word," she endeavored, by
meditation and prayer, so to perpetuate the impressiohs she received, that
they should not slip."
Sorrow and trial are the appointed lot of all of Adam's apostate race,
and our respected friend had her share: But in all her trials, she en¬
deavored by faith to apprehend the immutable and exceeding precious
promise, "all things work together for good to them that love God, who
are the called, accordiug to his promise." Under the pressure of unex¬
pected pecuniary embarrassment, which her family in common with
many others in this place, was called in the Providence of an all-wise
God, to bear; she considered it her duty, by the most persevering indus¬
try, and the strictest economy, so to order her domestic concerns, that
she might escape the censure of all, and become a burden to none. In
(11)
respect to this, she justly earned the reputation of the "virtuous woman,"
whom the wise man so highly commends:—"She seeketh wool, and flax,
aud worketh willingly with 'her hands* She looketh well to the ways of
her household, and eateth not the bread of idleness."
The nature of the disease with which it pleased providence to afflict
our sister, wras such as, in the estimation of her physicians, to preclude
extended conversation; but sufficient information was obtained at inter¬
vals to convince her friends that her "heart was fixed, trusting in God."
She was frequently oppressed with shortness of broath, which prevented
her from speaking much, and at the periods of its recurrence seemed to
threaten speedy dissolution. Indeed, some of her friends were appre¬
hensive that she was not fully sensible of her dangerous condition; but
this was ascertained to be a mistake. Though she spoke little, she
thought and felt, and prayed much. It is a matter of unfeigned grati¬
tude to the Giver of all good, that her mind, to the last, was graciously
kept clear and calm; and that her hope hi the Lord was steadfast unto
the end. When her affectionate husband communicated to her the mel¬
ancholy intelligence, thatber case was considered an exceedingly critical
one, she betrayed no alarm, but expressed an entire willingness to abide
the will of the Almighty, and with much earnestness, exhorted him to pre¬
pare to meet her i i heaven, and to train up the motherless children in
the nurture and admonition of the Lord. The night before her death, it
seems to have been mercifully ordered that she should have sufficient
strength and voice to communicate, without difficulty, to her friends, the
gratifying intelligence, that death to her had no terrors. She requested
them all to be called, thanked them for their kindness, and assifred
them that she was ready to depart at the bidding of her father; and to your
speaker, who watched by her bed, she declared repeatedly, and in a dis¬
tinct and audible voice, her unwavering and unhesitating trust in the sa¬
viour of sinners. Never has it fallen to my lot to witness more entire re¬
signation to" the will of the Almighty. On one occasion, being asked if she
•was afraid to die, she responded with much earnestness, "O/t/ wo, no! 1
am not afraid to die: and I thank the Lord that I feel so well prepared
at the very time it is needed." A few hours before she died, your speaker,
while sitting by her side, heard her repeat, "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit-"
"Come Lord Jesus, come quickly. She lingered until Wednesday morn¬
ing 1 Jth May, 64 o'clock, when, after a protracted sickness of 9 days, she
sweetly "fell on sleep," and yielded her spirit to the God who gqvp it, aged,
almost to a day, 2'd years. Oh! who can be informed of such n death-
scene and not exclaim, "Let me die the death of the righteous." ^ Kuflet
us never forget, that to die the death, we must live the life of the righteous,
So much I have felt bound in duty to say of the life and character of
our deceased friend. The remarks that ^iave been made, are not inten¬
ded as an eulogy; but my purpose has been simply to state, with frankness,
a few leading facts in the christian ohariicter and expedience of one for
whom I entertained the highest respect. In all the respects that have
been mentioned, hef example is certainly worthy of your imitation; and
if in bther respects, you have discovered in her instances of human frailty,
it will be your Wisdom to throw over them the mantle of that benignant
"Charity" that "covereth a multitude of sins," and. to remember, that "to
err is human," I will now close this discourse, with a few brief reflections.
I. In view of this solemn dispensation, I woqld again admonish, as I
[12]
have already repeatedly admonished this congregation, ol the extreme
uncertainty of human life, and of the exceeding brittle tenure by which
we hold all its possessions, enjoyments and relations. Ah, my brethren,
how^ forcibly are we reminded of the significant inquiry:
What is this sublunary world? A vapor!
A vapor all it holds; itself a vapour.
How infinitely less than "the spider's most attenuated thread," is man's
tender tie upon the pleasures and pursuits of this vain and fleeting exis¬
tence! "Its little joys go out one by one," like successive meteors that
expire athwart the midnight sky, shrink to nothing in the grasp, "and
leave poor man, at length, in perfect night."
How soon he must resign his very dust,
Which frugal nature lent him but for an hour?
Alas, my brethren!
Each moment has its sickle, emulous
Of Time's enormous sythe, whose ample sweep
Strikes empires from the list: each moment plays
His little weapon in the narrow sphere
Of sweet domestic comfort, and cuts down
The fairest bloom of sublunary bliss.—
And shall we seek our happiness in such a world as this?—a world of
unsubstantial, fleeting bliss?—a land of mere empty apparations, which
we no sooner attempt to seize than they straightway fly away, and leave
us a prey to relentless grief? Shall we crawl, like worms, in the dust of
the earth, or grasp at transitory toys, while a heaven of unuterable and
eternal joys waits our acceptance? Shall we not raiher weigh anchor
from a sea of disappointment, and rise on the wings of pure and strong
desire to explore those happier climes, "where saints immortal reign?"
Where everlasting spring abides,
And never withering flowers?
Shall we not give our thougts full play to the realities of future scenes,
and act habitualy in obedience to the inspired injunction, "If ye then
be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ
sitteth on the right hand of God. Set your affection on things above,
not on things on the earth; for ye are dead, and your life is hid with
Christ in God.
Be assused, my brethren, the lesson you are called upon this day to
learn is one of no ordinary importance, as was remarked at the outset,
five times during the last three years has the unerring shaft flown from
the string of the insatiate archer, and pierced the bosom of one of our
number. And five times during that period, has the voice of lamenta¬
tion and wo been heard in the assembly of the saints of the most High.
Soon, very soon, I may be called, in the mysterious providence of the
Almighty, to the performance of the melancholy and painful task of an¬
nouncing that some one of you has filled up the measure of your allot-
ted^existence here, and has gone the way of all the earth. Do you really
feel that you are fully prepared to meet your Maker and Judge?—
Should not each one of you, in deep solemnity, address to the Father
of your spirit the thrilling inquiry, "Lord, is it I?" Be ye therefore,
ready.
Haste, haste, he lies ia wait, he's at the door,
Incidious death! should his strong hand arrest,
No composition 6ets the prisoner f/ee.
And what you do, do with all your might- "fnr thprp is no work, nor
L13]
device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, whither you go."'
2. We have spoken freely of the hope of the righteous in life, and
of his prospect and support in death. Cut by way of contrast to the
remarks that have been made on this subject, it becomes my indispen¬
sable duty to address to the impenitent portion of this congregation,
the startling inquiry, "what shall the end be of them that obey not the
Gospel of God?" Tell me ye who are without God and without hope in the
world, what is there in your principles and practice to sustain and con¬
sole your agonised souls in that dark and trying period, which must in¬
evitable arrive, when an utter end shall be determined of all your earth¬
ly schemes and desires, and "eternity's inexorable chain" shall "fast bind"
your struggling spirit, and vengeance" shall "claim its full arrear" of your
multiplied crimes and aggravated guilt? Where shall the ungodly and
the sinner appear, when all the acts of their lives, open or secret, shall
be naked and open unto the eyes of Him with whom we have to do,
and God will bring every work into judgement, with every secret thing,
whether it be good or bad?
You have seen that, in regard to the christian, death has been conquer¬
ed and rendedred harmless. Its piercing and poisonous sting, which gives
it all its terror, has been extracted; and, in virtue of the attoning effica-
cacy of the precious blood of Jesus, the christian can not only meet it
with undaunted spirit, but can vanquish it, and triumph over it. The
wicked are not so; for "they are driven away in their wickedness," and
death is to them "the King of terrors." With no righteousness tojusti-
fy them; no spirit to sanctify them; no title nor fitness for heaven; no
capacity for its services, and no susceptibility for its joy. They stand
inevitably excluded from the everlasting kingdom and presence of that
infinite Saviour whose smile irradiates and gladdens the pure and unfading
Paradise above, and whose angry frown, kindles and keeps alive the fierce
and devouring flames of an interminable hell. Aye, the wrath of an infin¬
itely holy God already abides upon them: and will abide upon them
throughout eternal ages, and will continue, with ever increasing energy,
to press their agonised souls to the lower depths of the fathomless abyss
of the "blackness of darkness." You may be nearer to this awful doom
than you are aware. Nothing but death separates you from it; be¬
tween you and death, there is but a step at least. "Our birth is nothing
but our death begun." Whatever we do, and whatever we are, we
are fast travelling to the grave and eternity.
Infinite joy or endless wo
Attend on every breath.
And shall not these truths affect you, and that deeply? Shall they not
arouse you to all the treshness and vigor ot an immediate resolution to
throw aside every encumbrance of sin, and to strive to enter in at the
straight gate? Will you sleep upon the very brink of death, and of
that eternal wo which is consequent thereon? While more than fifty of
your fellow-beings are dying every minute, and more than eighty thou-
and every day, and the knell of the departed is incessantly ringing in
your ears, and a voice from heaven colling upon you, in tones of earnest
and persuasive entreaty, to prepare to meet your God, can you persist
in pushing eternity from your thoughts, and forgetting your own mor¬
tality?
Smitten friends
Are angels sent on errands full of lore;
i 14]
For lis they languish, and for us they die:
And shall they languish, shall they die, in vain1?
Ungrateful, shall we grieve their hovering shades
Which wait the revolution in our hearts'?
Shall we disdain their silent, soft address;
Their posthumous advice, and pious prayer?
Senseless, as herds that graze their hallow'd graves,
Tread under foot their agonies and groans?
Frustrate their anguish, and destroy theirdeaths?
Alas! no: Let us be wise to-day, and let us at once give evidence of
this wisdom by a speedy and undivided attention to the inspired admo¬
nition, "Now is the accepted time, behold, now is the day of salvation."
Let the present afflictive dispensation "damp our brainless endeavors,
and abate that glare of life, which often blinds the wise." Let it melt
down our stubborn souls, like softened wax, and then impress indeliably
death's image on our bleeding hearts; and O! Thou, in whose hands our
breath is, and whose are all our ways, break, O! break, the strange en¬
chantment that "plants he phantom of an age 'twixt us and death, al¬
ready at the door;" and in thine own infinite mercy, so teach us to number
our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom.