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 SERMONS 
 
 PREACHED 
 
 Jifriatt |r0ttstant ^im^\\\ l\m\, 
 
 ST. THOMAS', PHILADELPHIA. 
 
 WM. DOUGLASS, Rector. 
 
 PHILADELPHIA : 
 
 KING & BAIRD, PRS., No. 9 SANSOM STREET. 
 
 1854. 
 
i 
 
TO THE 
 
 CONGREGATION OF 
 
 ST. THOMAS' PROTESTANT EPISCOPAL CHURCH, PHILADELPHIA 
 
 THE FOLLOWING SERMONS, 
 
 PREPARED AND PREACHED FOR THEIR BENEFIT, 
 
 ARE AFFECTIONATELY DEDICATED, 
 
 AS A SBIALL EXPRESSION OF GRATITUDE 
 
 FOR THE MANY TOKENS 
 
 OF ESTEEM AND LOVE 
 
 BESTOWED UPON THE AUTHOR 
 
 ' DURING HIS PAROCHIAL LABORS 
 
 AMONG THEM 
 
 FOR THE PERIOD OF NINETEEN YEARS. 
 
 Philadelphia, November, 1853. 
 

 ■fi£C. OCT 1862 
 
 CONTENTS 
 
 Page. 
 
 SERMON I. 
 THE GOD OP HOPE. 
 
 Now THE God op hope fill you with all joy and 
 
 PEACE IN BELIEVING, THAT YE MAY ABOUND IN 
 HOPE, THROUGH THE POWER OF THE HoLY GhOST. 
 
 Rom. XV. 13 
 
 SERMON 11. 
 
 PEACE IN CHRIST. 
 
 aHESE THINGS I HAVE SPOKEN UNTO YOU THAT IN ME 
 
 YE MIGHT HAVE PEACE. — Jno. Xvi. 33 29 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 SERMON III. 
 SPIRITUAL PROSPERITY OF GAIUS. 
 
 Page. 
 
 TnE ELDEB, UNTO THE WELL-BELOVED GaIUS WHOM I 
 LOVE IN THE TRUTH. BeLOVET), I WISH ABOVE 
 ALL THINGS THAT THOU MAYEST PROSPER AND BE 
 IN HEALTH, EVEN AS THY SOUL PBOSPERETH. 
 For I REJOICED OREATLY, when THE BRETHREN 
 CAME AND TESTIFIED OF THE TRUTH THAT IS IN 
 THEE, EVEN AB THOU WALKEST IN THE TRUTH. 
 
 SdEpis. Jno. 1, 2, 3 53 
 
 SERMON IV. 
 MUTUAL FORBEARANCE AND FORGIVENESS. 
 
 Forbearing one another, and forgiving one 
 
 ANOTHER, if ANY MAN HAVE A QUARREL AGAINST 
 ANY, EVEN AS ChRIST FORGAVE YOU, SO ALSO 00 
 
 YE.— Col. iii. 13 "^1 
 
 SERMON V. 
 THE SIN OF GRIEVING THE SPIRIT. 
 And GRIEVE NOT THE IIoLY SPIRIT OF GoD— Eph. 
 
 iv. 30 ^2 
 
CONTENTS. 7 
 
 SERMON VI. 
 
 THE FORBEARANCE AND RETRIBUTIVE JUSTICE OF 
 
 GOD. 
 
 Page. 
 The Lord is slow to anger, and great in power, 
 and will not at all acquit the wicked. 
 Nahum. i. 3 Ill 
 
 SERMON VII. 
 
 PRICE IN HAND OF THE FOOLISH TO GET WISDOM. 
 
 Wherefore is there a price in the hand of a 
 fool to get wisdom, seeing he hath no heart 
 TO IT? — Prov. xvii. 16 133 
 
 SERMON VIII 
 THE SHORTNESS AND UNCERTAINTY OF TIME. 
 But this I say brethren the time is short. — 
 
 1 Cor. vii. 29 15S 
 
 SERMON IX. 
 ADMONITION TO REDEEM THE TIME. 
 Redeeming the time, because the days are evil. 
 
 Eph. V. 16 173 
 
8 CONTENTS. 
 
 SERMON X. 
 THE WISDOM OF DULY CONSIDERING THE LATTER END. 
 
 Page 
 THAT THEY WERE WISE, THAT THEY UNDERSTOOD 
 THIS, THAT THEY WOULD CONSIDER THEIR LATTER 
 
 END !— Deut. xxxii. 29 193 
 
 SERMON XL 
 A SACRED NEARNESS TO GOD RECOMMENDED. 
 Draw nigh to God, and he will draw niqh to 
 
 YOU. — Gen. Epis. James iv. 8 21o 
 
 SERMON XII. 
 HAPPY END OF THE SERVANTS OF GOD. 
 For David after he had served his own genera- 
 tion BY the will of God, fell on sleep. 
 Acts xiii. 36 231 
 
 I 
 
SERMON I . 
 
 THE GOD OF HOPE. 
 "Now THE God of hope fill you with all jot and 
 
 PEACE IN BELIEVING, THAT YE MAT ABOUND IN HOPE, 
 through THE POWER OF THE HOLT GhOST." 
 
 Rom. XV. 13. 
 
 In how many consoling aspects do the 
 inspired writings represent the great 
 Sovereign of the Universe, at whose 
 dread tribunal mankind are destined to 
 appear, to render an account of the deeds 
 done in the body. Conscious as we all 
 are of guilt and condemnation, had we 
 no other point of view to contemplate 
 our Creator, than, as All-wise, Just and 
 Omnipotent, what an accumulation of 
 bitterness would be mixed in that cup 
 of sorrow, of which, all more or less are 
 forced to partake, in their pilgrimage 
 
 2 
 
10 THE GOD OF HOPE. [SER. I. 
 
 through mortality. There would then 
 be on the ocean of life, no haven of calm 
 repose to the troubled heart — it would 
 be perpetually tossed between the surg- 
 ing billows of faint hopes and alarming 
 fears. From the general goodnes of God 
 as displayed in his Providence, providing 
 all things plentifully both for man and 
 beast — ''(jiving us rain from Jieaven and 
 fridiful seasons, filling our hearts with food 
 and gladness'^ — from this single point 
 of view of God's Providence, we might 
 solace ourselves with some faint hopes 
 of his kind regards towards his erring 
 and sinful creatures. But how soon 
 would this hope be succeeded by the 
 most gloomy apprehensions in beholding 
 different aspects of the same Providence. 
 In view of the lightnings of heaven deso- 
 lating the habitations of man, and fear- 
 ful earthquakes ingulfing towns and 
 cities with their inhabitants — '' tlte iicsti- 
 lence that ivaUceth iii darkness^' and " the 
 ^ Acts xiv., 17. 
 
SEE. I.] THE GOD OF HOPE. 
 
 11 
 
 destrtwtion that toasteth at noon-day,''-'— i\iQ 
 variety of diseases and disasters to which 
 man is subject from the cradle to the 
 grave ;^ in view of these awful indications 
 of punitive justice, hope, in the clemency 
 of God would give way to agonizing fear. 
 The observing of our moral duties (at 
 best but very defective) could not restore 
 solid peace to our anxious hearts. The 
 consciousness of personal guilt and trans- 
 gression, with its attendant forebodings 
 of the wrath to come, would forbid it. 
 Upon our destiny in the future world, 
 would hang an impenetrable cloud. If 
 we anticipated any thing at the eventful 
 close of our mortal career, it could be 
 nothing but the righteous vengeance of 
 Heaven, upon our repeated violations of 
 his laws. This would be our wretched 
 state, had we no grounds to regard our 
 Maker in any other aspect than as All- 
 wase. Just and Omnipotent. But the 
 great Father of the Universe has not 
 
 ^ Ps. xci., 6. 
 
12 THE GOD OF HOPE. [SER. I- 
 
 thus hid from his church and people 
 the smilings of his countenance. He 
 has made a further revelation of his 
 divine character in the inspired volume. 
 The representations he has there made 
 of himself, so far from being repulsive, 
 are the most pleasing and attractive. 
 They are calculated to excite hope and 
 confidence, and thereby win our affec- 
 tions. For while we therein learn that 
 he " vnll not at all acquit the loiched,'''- 
 we are also informed from the same 
 divine oracles, that he is " the Lord, the 
 Lord God, mercifid and gracious, abun- 
 dant in goodness"" — the God of all com- 
 fort; the God of all grace,* the God of 
 X)eacer' These titles, with others of a 
 similar character that might be men- 
 tioned, are indicative, of not only what 
 our Creator is in himself, but also what 
 he is to us. In the words of the text, 
 
 1 Nahum. i., 3. ^ Ex. xxxiv., G. 
 
 8 2 Cor. i., 3. * 2 looter v., 10. 
 
 * lloiii. XV.; 33. 
 
SER. I.] THE GOD OF HOPE. 13 
 
 he is presented under the endearing title 
 of the God of hope. He is thus repre- 
 sented, because that ^'lively Z^ope" which 
 can sustain the soul amidst the various 
 trials' of life comes from God, and finally 
 leads us on to the enjoyment of his 
 beatifick presence. 
 
 There is a hope which man derives 
 from the constitution of his nature. It 
 shows itself in early childhood. At 
 mature age, he clings to it as a cheerful 
 companion in his multiplied pursuits in 
 life, and too often, never relaxes his 
 grasp upon the airy phantom, until com- 
 pelled to do so by the irresistible arm of 
 death. What is it that gives the most 
 buoyancy and light-heartedness to the 
 smiling youth ? Is it the survey of the 
 wondrous works of nature, and the great 
 achievements of human skill that pre- 
 sent themselves to their senses ? Or, 
 will the novelty of these scenes account 
 for their wonted hilarity and glee ? No. 
 
14 THE GOD OF HOPE. [SER. I. 
 
 It is hope in the future of joys to be 
 realized in the acquisition of this, that, 
 or the other prize which earth imparts 
 to a few of her devoted followers. What 
 is it that buoys up the mariner as he 
 leaves his friends, kindred and home, to 
 brave the perils of the deep, but liope^ 
 that he will safely return with the fruits 
 of his hard toil and labor. What but 
 hope that sustains the soldier as he leaves 
 his domestic comforts, to engage in the 
 strife and dangers of the battle field ? 
 It is true, that patriotism, a sense of duty 
 to his country, may strengthen his heart 
 and give energy to his arm ; but the hope 
 that he may escape death and return to 
 his native land to share the honors of 
 successful war, is the secret spring that 
 nerves him up to the terrible encounter. 
 What is it that has inspired so many for 
 the past few years, to suspend their busi- 
 ness and leave their homes for the gold 
 regions of Australia and California; but 
 the hope of returning richly repaid for all 
 
SER. I.] THE GOD OF HOPE. 15 
 
 the hard drudgery to which they sub- 
 mitted. What is it that cheers the sick 
 man upon his bed of languishing. but the 
 liope, that through medical aid and good 
 attendance, he will again renew his 
 wonted strength and vigor, and be thus 
 prepared to resume his daily avocation. 
 This hope as we before said is natural to 
 us ; and seems to be a merciful provision to 
 keep man from sinking under the various 
 difficulties and trials of his probationary 
 state. It is the spring that gives him 
 life and activity in all his movements. 
 
 But, as all the faculties, powers and 
 affections of the soul, have so far suffered 
 by the sad fall of our fore-jDarents, that 
 they incline to things that are '' earthly^ 
 sensual and devilisl^'^ rather than to 
 those things that are pure, spiritual and 
 godlike, hope therefore, unrenewed by 
 divine grace, proves to be a deceitful 
 guide. The object of pursuit is far from 
 being attained in every case. In those 
 ^ James iii., 15. 
 
16 THE GOD OF IIOrE. [SER. I. 
 
 instances where it is attained, this hope 
 is sure to be disappointed in the enjoy- 
 ment of the happiness fondly anticipated. 
 The young and sprightly may not realize 
 their airy dreams of future joys and plea- 
 sures. The stern realities of life will 
 ever and anon admonish them of the 
 vanity of their pursuits. The soldier, 
 who hopes to return from the battle and 
 receive the plaudit and honors of his 
 countrymen, may leave his carcass among 
 heaps of the slain, to be devoured by the 
 beasts of the field and the fowls of the 
 air. The sick man may be forced to 
 resign hope, and yield to despair of 
 recovery, as death approaches with his 
 cold and icy hand upon his vitals. 
 
 The hope referred to in the text, 
 grows not in nature's garden. It is the 
 fruit of the Holy Spirit. The endearing 
 object of its regard is God, the inex- 
 haustible fountain of blessedness. It 
 therefore never fails — it never disap- 
 points us — it " malcetli not ashamed; because 
 
SER. I.] THE GOD OF HOPE. 17 
 
 the lave of God is shed abroad in our hearts 
 hy the Holy Ghost lohich is given unto us!'^ 
 This holy hope is "an anchor of the soid, 
 hoth sure and steadfast, and tohich entereth 
 into that ivithin the vail"^ Hence it 
 buoys up the Christian under all the 
 trials, troubles and afflictions of life. It 
 will sustain him when "flesh and heart 
 failethr^ It will lead him with sweet 
 serenity and peace over Jordan's river, 
 and convey him safely to Canaan's happy 
 land. This heavenly guide will as infal- 
 libly lead the regenerate soul into the 
 beatifick presence of the King of saints and 
 angels, as did the miraculous star in the 
 east, which unerringly guided the wise 
 men to the consecrated spot, where their 
 astonished and adoring eyes beheld " God, 
 manifest in the flesJi^^ The hope now 
 referred to can have no place where there 
 is an absence of a true living faith in the 
 Lord Jesus Christ as the only Saviour of 
 
 1 Pvom. v., 5. "" Hebrews, vi., 19. 
 
 3 Psa. Ixxiii., 26. ' 1 Tim. ii., 16. 
 
18 THE GOD OF HOrE. [SER. I. 
 
 sinners. Faith lies at the foundation, 
 and sustains hope. It is the property 
 of faitli to lay hold of the precious decla- 
 rations and promises of God as contained 
 in his written word, and to apply and 
 appropriate them. Hope, desires and 
 expects to realize all what God has 
 thus promised. In the exercise of faith 
 in the promises, jay and peace spring up 
 in the soul : and as hope follows upon 
 faith, so faith, as it increases, causes hope 
 to Uihound' more and more. Hence the 
 prayer of the Apostle in behalf of his 
 Christian brethren at Rome: — that, "the 
 Gvd of liopG icoidd filV them ''lo'itli all 
 joy and peace in beUevlng that'' they "may 
 abound in hope throiujh the poiver of the 
 Holy Ghostr 
 
 They, therefore, who live in the enjoy- 
 ment of this hope are the sincere and 
 humble followers of Christ, who are born 
 again of the Spirit, and exalted to the 
 high dignity of " the sons of Godr' They 
 ' 1 John, iii., 22. 
 
SER. I.] THE GOD OF HOPE. 19 
 
 " in time past wallced according to the course 
 of this world, according to the prince of the 
 power of the air, the spirit that now worlceth 
 in the children of disobedience^'^ '^heing 
 alie7is from the ccnnmomoealth of Israel, and 
 strangers from the covenants of promise, hav- 
 ing no hope, and ivithout God in the world "^ 
 But through the rich mercy and grace of 
 God, the eyes of their understanding were 
 enlightened to perceive and feel their 
 wretched state and condition as sinners 
 before God. They saw themselves utterly 
 cut off from all hope of pardon and re- 
 conciliation with their Maker, "by the 
 deeds of the law" they had so often vio- 
 lated. All hope of working out a right- 
 eousness of their own, was immediately 
 crushed, upon meditating the startling 
 declaration : " Cursed is every cme that con- 
 tinueth not in all things which are written 
 in the hooh of the laio to do them^^ But, 
 on beholding that ''new and living ivay^ 
 
 ' Eph. i., 2. 2 Eph. ii., 12. 3 Qal. iii., 10. 
 
20 THE fJOD OF HOPE. [SER. I. 
 
 opened np for us by the blood of Jesus, 
 they " fled for refuge to lay hold upon" 
 that " blessed hope," which is " set before 
 us" in the gospel. They found shelter 
 from the wrath of God, the curse of the 
 law, under the protection of the all-sufli- 
 cient sacrifice of Christ. From his inex- 
 haustible fulness, they receive fresh sup- 
 plies of grace to enable them to '' live 
 soberly, righteously and godly, in this 
 present world" — " to use the world as not 
 abusing it" — '^ to pass through thi-ngs tem- 
 poral, so as not to lose those things that 
 are eternal." 
 
 My brethren, — the experience of a 
 goodly number of you, I trust, has thus 
 been briefly sketched. Some among you 
 have been timely awakened to see the 
 vanity of all that here dazzle and delude 
 the thoughtless and impenitent. You have 
 been enabled, through grace, to loosen your 
 attachment to them, and to prefer those 
 joys that are pure, spiritual and heavenly. 
 
SER, I,] THE GOD OF HOPE. 
 
 21 
 
 Your happy condition here does not ex- 
 empt you from pain, sorrow, and trials of 
 various kinds. These you have to meet, 
 as they come in their turn. But in the 
 midst of them all, you may sympathize 
 with the Psalmist when he said, " Itvait 
 for the Lord, my soul doth tcait, cmd in his 
 word do I ho2?er Let me exhort you 
 therefore, to "hold fast the hecjinning of 
 your confidence firm unto the end!' Let 
 your tribulations, trials and afflictions be 
 what they may, "^ress'' onward " toward 
 the mark for the prize of the high calling of 
 God in Christ Jesus;' increasing and 
 abounding in hope. Are you walking in 
 darkness and have no light ? Hear what 
 your Almighty friend and father says to 
 his afflicted Church, and 7iop)e on. "In a 
 little wrath I hid my face from thee for a 
 moment; hut with everlasting kindness toill 
 I have mercy on thee saith the Lord thy 
 Redeemer, For the mountains shall depart, 
 and the hills le removed ; hut my kindness 
 ^ Psa. cxxx., 5. 
 
22 THE GOD OP HOPE. [SER. I. 
 
 shall not dejyart from thee, neither shall the 
 covenant of my peace he removed, saith the 
 Lord that hath mercy on theeJ'' Are you 
 struggling against the fierce winds of ad- 
 versity ? Listen to the cheering voice of 
 your Redeemer and lift up your hearts. — 
 " The very hairs of your head,'' says he, 
 ^' are all numleredr^ There is no such 
 thing as chance in the history of God's 
 people. Every event of their life, however 
 afflictive in its character, is a link in that 
 golden chain, which is to raise them pro- 
 gressively, from earth to heaven. Are you 
 bowed down with the weight of years and 
 their increasing infirmities ? Hope in God 
 and rejoice, that the time is so near at hand, 
 when angels at the gate of Paradise, shall 
 hail you as an immortal horn; horn " to 
 an inheritance, ijicorrupihle, undefiled and 
 that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven 
 for you, v:lio are hept hy the poioer of God 
 through faith unto salvation, ready to he 
 revealed in the last time."^ 
 
 ^ Isa. liv., 8-10. " Luke, xii., 7. ^ 1 Pctcr, i., 4. 
 
SER. I.] THE GOD OP HOPE. 23 
 
 A word of admonition and entreaty to 
 that class of our hearers, whose hopes are 
 all centered in this lower world. It is 
 true my deluded friends, that this earth 
 lias its peculiar attractions. The innu- 
 merable multitude, that in every land, 
 throng the "broad loay that Jeadeth to 
 destruction^'' is proof positive, that some 
 strong enchantments are beguiling their 
 devious pathway to the unknown future. 
 But bear in mind, do not forget, in your 
 silly chase after a phantom, that this 
 planet, with all its fine furniture, is to be 
 dissolved. " The day of the Lord will 
 come as a thief in the night, in the lohich, 
 the heavens shcdl ^ass aivay with a gi^eat 
 noise, and the elements shall melt with fer- 
 vent heat, the earth also and the woi'lcs that 
 are therein shall he himied up. Nevertheless, 
 ice according to his promise look for new 
 heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth 
 righteousnessr'^ Very precious, indeed, to 
 the Christian, is this promise. But it can 
 » 2ad Pct.r, iii., 10-13. 
 
24 THE GOD OF HOPE. • [SER. I. 
 
 afford no ground of hope to characters 
 which you now sustain. In these iieio 
 heavens and neio earth spoken of, you can 
 have no portion. " There shall in no lolse 
 enter into it any thing that defiletli, neither 
 lohatsoever worheth ahomination, or malcetli 
 a lie: hut tliey ivhich are luritten in the 
 LamVs hooh of life!'^ As your hopes were 
 placed upon the idols of earth, w ith the 
 idols of a burning earth, you will then be 
 left to perish. The lot of all who shall 
 then sustain the characters that you now 
 do, must be with hypocrites, unbelievers, 
 and all the abominable in the region of 
 hopeless misery and despair. We turn 
 aside from this awful picture to urge you 
 to seek, for, you may yet obtain the Chris- 
 tian's hope. You are yet within the reach 
 of mercy. The gospel with its inviting 
 voice, still calls. — Conscience, in clamor- 
 ous tones, still warns. — The Holy Spirit, 
 though as still in his influences as the 
 dew of the morning, yet powerfully strives 
 ' llcv. xxi., 27. 
 
SER. I.] THE GOD OF HOPE. 25 
 
 with you. — The great High Priest who 
 has passed into the heavens, still pleads 
 in your behalf. Your condition, there- 
 fore, wretched though it be, is not despe- 
 rate. However, there is something to be 
 done on your part, before you can attain 
 this inestimable prize. You must be up 
 and doing, co-operating with God. While 
 he iDorheth in you to will and to do of Ms 
 good jpleasure, you are to " worh out your 
 own salvation ivitli fear and tremhling!^ 
 This hope is not attained by a few lazy 
 wishes and half-hearted endeavors. It is 
 attained only by an earnest, diligent and 
 persevering use of all the appointed means 
 of grace. There are difficulties to be sur- 
 mounted : hence, you are called upon in 
 the strength of divine grace, to renounce 
 the liidden works of darhness; to ''strive to 
 enter in at the straight gate/' to " labor to 
 enter into restr It is treasured up in 
 Christ ; therefore, your longing eye must 
 be constantly fixed upon him. In his 
 all-prevailing name alone, you must ap- 
 
 3* 
 
2G THE GOD OF HOPE. [SER. I. 
 
 proacli the throne of heavenly grace, and 
 a.b/.-, if you would receive, seeh, if you 
 would find, and hnoclc^ hioch, and hioch 
 again, if you would have the door opened 
 unto you. You have the divine assur- 
 ance, that every one that thus " ashetli 
 receiveth; and he that seeketh findetli; 
 and to him that hnocheth it shall he opened"^ 
 Oh, let me entreat you to begin this strug- 
 gle in good earnest. It is a noble and 
 magnanimous struggle — a battle against 
 self, against "- jlesli andhlood ; against 'prin- 
 cipalities and palmers ; against spiritual 
 loichedness in high placesT It is therefore, 
 a formidable struggle. Apparently, the 
 odds are against you. Not so. Greater 
 is He that is for you, than all that can be 
 against you in this greatest of all battles. 
 Angels look on with the most intense in- 
 terest, to see the issue. And whenever 
 they recognize the cry of a soul newly 
 born of the Spirit, they immediately raise 
 the loud shout in heaven : — " tlic dead is 
 
 J Matt, vii., 8. 
 
SER. I.] THE GOD OF HOPE. 27 
 
 alive, tlie lost is founcir God the Father, 
 who gave his only begotten Son to atone 
 for your sins — God the Son, who redeemed 
 you by his blood; — God the Holy Ghost, 
 who sanctifieth the people of God, are all 
 on your side in this noble warfare. Then 
 desert the camp of Satan. You know 
 that he has often deceived you, and but 
 for the Lord's mercy would have long 
 since led you onward to the pit of endless 
 woe. Escape then for your life : flee for 
 refuge to lay hold upon that hope which 
 comes from God, and will lead you to 
 those ineffable joys which He has laid up 
 for those who love him. 
 
SERMON II 
 
 PEACE IN CHRIST. 
 
 " These things i have spoken unto you, that in me 
 
 YE MIGHT HAVE PEACE. " Jolin, Xvi., 33. 
 
 Peace of mind, is an object so invalua- 
 ble in itself, that there is no human being 
 but what regards it as worthy of his 
 most anxious toils and ardent pursuit 
 Men may not be uniform in their ways 
 to obtain it, yet, the desire to enjoy it, is 
 implanted deeply in every bosom. But 
 the great and important question is : — 
 Where is it to be found ? 
 
 Is it to be found in the empty mirth 
 and sinful pleasures of the world ? So 
 thinks the thoughtless and inexperienced 
 youth who is anxious to be free from 
 parental care and restraint, that he may 
 
30 PEACE IN CHRIST. [SER. II. 
 
 give loose rein to the indulgence of his 
 carnal and corrupt appetites and passions. 
 Pie views the sober class of society with 
 a degree of pain and disgust. To their 
 quiet and sedate movements he finds 
 nothing in himself congenial. If he at 
 all admits the wisdom and propriety of 
 their course, he is sure to do it in such a 
 way as to shield himself from conviction. 
 A strict regard to the serious affairs of 
 religion, is proper only, as he will have it, 
 for the aged, the sick and dying. But as 
 it regards the young and sprightly, let 
 them eat, drink and be merry — let them 
 mingle in the circle where counte- 
 nances brighten, and the heart leaps up 
 at the sound of the timbrel and dance ; 
 where their ears are saluted with the loud 
 laugh and the merry song. This, is their 
 proper element, here alone can the soul's 
 native thirst for happiness be gratified. 
 Thus reasons the votary of pleasure. 
 But we would in all kindness beseech 
 him to ponder his steps. Consider, if 
 
SER. II.] PEACE IN CHRIST. 31 
 
 indeed, among your many frivolous 
 thoughts there is room left for considera- 
 tion, consider well the solemn and ad- 
 monitory words, " There is a way which 
 seemetJi right unto a man, hut the end 
 thereof, are the ivays of deathr^ " Rejoice, 
 young man, in thy youth, and let thy 
 heart cheer thee in the days of thy youth, 
 and walk in the ways of thine heart, and 
 in the sight of thine eyes ; hid Icyioio thou, 
 that for all these things, Ood will hring thee 
 into judgmentr^ Be not deceived by 
 external appearances. The sprightly air, 
 the elastic step, the high spirits that mark 
 the men of worldly pleasure, are not to 
 be regarded as infallible signs of inward 
 peace. These outward marks, may be 
 nothing more than a screen to hide from 
 human view, an inward anguish of spirit, 
 unknown to all but that Omniscient 
 Being, from whom no secrets are hid. 
 The pleasure enjoyed in gratifying the 
 inordinate desires of the depraved heart, 
 1 Prov. xiv., 12. 2 Ecc. xi., 9. 
 
32 PEACE IN CHRIST. [SER. II. 
 
 is always followed^ more or less, with 
 painful reflections. It is ^ false pleasure. 
 It is not a pleasure that results from the 
 whole machinery of man, moving on in 
 harmonious order, but a pleasure conse- 
 quent upon doing violence to the highest 
 faculty of our moral nature. There can 
 be no pleasure in sin, unless steps are 
 taken to hush the clamorina' voice of 
 conscience, and thus degrade the im- 
 mortal spirit by bringing it into subjection 
 to the animal nature. When men sue- 
 ceed in this, then, they have a pleasure 
 similar to what is enjoyed in a delightful 
 dream, when the imagination chiefly is 
 at work — a pleasure, equally as false, and 
 which they find to be so, when they 
 are awakened by the rebukes of the 
 Spirit, or the fatal blow of death, who 
 forces them to acknowledge, that alas! 
 it was but a dream. Vr'e proceed now 
 to inquire : — 
 
 1. Whether or not true peace is to be 
 found in the acquisition of wealth. One 
 
SER. II.] PEACE IN CHRIST. 33 
 
 might suppose that it is, judging from 
 the great struggle there is among men in 
 order to acquire it. But a very slight 
 observation of those who have been suc- 
 cessful in this respect will convince us 
 of the contrary. There is nothing more 
 remarkable in man, than his proneness 
 to lose sight of whatever he may possess 
 of earthly riches, in his ardent desire to 
 add to his possessions. Whatever may 
 be the opinion of his fellow-men with 
 regard to his state, he himself is far from 
 being satisfied. The point where he sup- 
 looses that he might possibly consider 
 himself happy, he has not attained. 
 And should he attain it, he then finds 
 that his desires are so much more 
 enlarged, that he feels himself to be as 
 far from happiness as he did before : 
 such is the unsatisfying nature of tem- 
 poral things. Besides this, there is the 
 painful disquietude arising from the fear 
 of loss. For it is impossible for man so 
 to secure himself in these things as to be 
 
34 PEACE IN CHRIST. [SER. IT. 
 
 out of all danger of loss. If he hear of 
 a lire, or of a vessel losing her cargo, or 
 of the sudden fall in the price of stock, 
 or of the dishonesty of individuals he 
 has credited ; or if he hear of the faihu'e 
 of some monied institution in which he 
 is interested, he is filled with the most 
 painful anxieties of mind, from which 
 his present possessions cannot possibly 
 relieve him. 
 
 3. Is true peace to be found in the 
 honors of the world — in fame ? What 
 is fame ? We may have seen its nature 
 illustrated in the history of the great 
 political men of the present day. For a 
 little while w^e see them puffed by the 
 wind of a multitude ; but how soon do 
 we behold them^by the same multitude 
 as severely pelted. The conduct of the 
 joeople toward our blessed Lord, forcibly 
 illustrates the emptiness of fame, and 
 clearly shows how little to be depended 
 on is the applause of men. Those who 
 at one time cried : — " llosanna, blessed 
 
SER, II.] PEACE IN CHRIST. 35 
 
 is he that cometh in the name of the 
 Lord/' at another, unite in the tumul- 
 tuous cry : — " Aioay lolth Mm, aivay tcitli 
 Mm, crucify himr There are few only, 
 who by hard toiling and study, which 
 " is a weariness of the flesh," ascend the 
 hill of fame ; and those few, if they 
 attained all the happiness anticipated 
 by them, (which is far from being the 
 case,) we find that they generally meet 
 with a reverse Avhich gives force to the 
 exhortation of Scripture : " Cease ye from 
 man wliose hreatJi is in Ms nostrihr^ But 
 suppose, what is very rare, that the 
 breeze of popular favor should be unin- 
 terrupted in its course — that fame's 
 trumpet should sound forth their praise 
 without one discordant note. Pleasing 
 as this might be to the distinguished 
 personage, it is certain, that this circum- 
 stance can afford no comfort to the soul 
 while the body lay prostrate upon a bed 
 
 1 Isa. ii., 22. 
 
36 PEACE IN CHRIST. [SER. II. 
 
 of languishing — no stay and staff to the 
 trembling spirit when the solemn hour 
 of departing life arrives. A pompous 
 funeral would, doubtless, follow the de- 
 ceased to the house appointed for all 
 living. Sculptured marble would tell to 
 future ages the spot where rests the 
 honored remains. A similar tribute of 
 respect we may fairly conjecture^ was 
 paid to the memory of that noted world- 
 ling we read of in holy writ. But it 
 could not reach his case, or meet his 
 necessity in the spirit land. While his 
 surviving friends were eulogizing his 
 name in this world, the thrilling mes- 
 sage that came back from Dives was : 
 "/ am tormented in this fiame." Thus 
 have we briefly inquired of the pleasures, 
 the profits, the honors of the world, and 
 in each department, a voice is heard say- 
 ing true peace is not to be found in me. 
 Where then is true and substantial hap- 
 l)iness to be found? Surely our heavenly 
 Father has not produced in our bosoms 
 
SER. II.] PEACE IN CHRIST. 37 
 
 this undying thirst after happiness to 
 be a perpetual source of torment to us. 
 Such a reflection cannot be indulged in 
 for a moment without incurring the guilt 
 of the most horrid blasphemy. " The 
 Lord is good to all : and Ms tender mercies 
 are over all his works.''^ The desire for 
 happiness has been incorporated in our 
 moral nature, for the benevolent purpose 
 of inciting us to seek it where alone it 
 can be found. Again we inquire, where 
 can it be obtained ? Let us hear what 
 the wise man of the east said on this 
 subject. He was surrounded by all the 
 magnificence and grandeur of a royal 
 court. He was eminent for profound 
 wisdom, and he diligently applied him- 
 self to the seeking of this invaluable 
 treasure. He tried every thing under 
 the sun that man calls good and great. 
 And what was the result of his long and 
 patient research? The conclusion of the 
 
 ^ Psa. cxlv., 9. 
 4* 
 
38 PEACE IN CHRIST. [SER. II. 
 
 whole matter to which he arrived was, 
 to — ''Fear God and heej-) his command- 
 inents.''' But a greater than Solomon is 
 here — the Lord from heaven — He whom 
 the iDrophet Isaiah points out as the 
 " MifjhUj God, the EverJasting Father, the 
 Prince of Peace!'^ Let us then give the 
 more earnest heed to what he says on 
 this all-important subject: for he must 
 be perfectly acquainted with the things 
 that belong to our peace. He is now in 
 communication with that favorite few 
 from whom he is soon to take his depar- 
 ture. And it is reasonable to suppose 
 that he will plainly point out to them 
 the path of peace. This he does : but 
 his instructions on this subject are very 
 different from the notions they enter- 
 tained of happiness. Like many of the 
 present day, their views were too much 
 tinctured with the spirit of i\\Q world. 
 To have the kingdom restored unto 
 
 ^ Ecc. xii., 13. 2 ipj^_ -^^ (5_ 
 
SER. II.] PEACE IN CHRIST. 39 
 
 Israel appears then to have been the 
 height of their ambition. And they had 
 entertained the hope that the great 
 object of his advent into this world was 
 to effect this desired end. But to their 
 great surprise, he expatiates upon his 
 death, resurrection and ascension to 
 heaven, and the glorious results that 
 would flow therefrom. In the precious 
 words that fell from his lips his God-like 
 benevolence shone forth conspicuously. 
 He knew very well the severe trials and 
 difficulties to which his discijDles would be 
 exposed after his departure from them. 
 Pie knew that neither the temporal pros- 
 perity and glory of Israel, or any thing 
 else in thisVorld was calculated to afford 
 solid peace to the soul. But he would 
 not leave them comfortless. Hence in 
 infinite love and compassion he assures 
 them that peace could be found no where 
 else but in Mm. " TTiese things I have 
 spoken unto you that in me ye might have 
 peace!' 
 
40 PEACE IN CHRIST. [SER. II. 
 
 " To he in Glirist,'' is a Scriptural 
 expression that deserves special notice. 
 You are aware that the inspired volume 
 in representing the wretched condition of 
 fallen and degenerate man, sets before 
 him as the only firm ground of hope, 
 the vicarious atonement of our Lord and 
 Saviour Jesus Christ. It directs us with 
 penitent hearts and a lively faith to 
 ground our expectation of pardoning 
 mercy at the hand of God, solely on 
 the all-prevailing merits of the Saviour. 
 Now, as those only who thus rely, derive 
 from him all the special benefits, bless- 
 ings and privileges procured by his death, 
 they are therefore represented as being 
 in liim, or united to him by the appro- 
 priating property of that "faith which 
 works by love, purifies the heart, and 
 overcomes the world." This spiritual 
 union is compared by our Lord to the 
 vital connexion that exists between the 
 branch and the vine. "/ am the vine,'' 
 says he, ^' yc are the hrancltes : he that 
 
SER. II.] PEACE IN CHRIST. 41 
 
 abideth in me, and I in Mm, the same 
 hringetJi forth mucli fruit: for loitliout me 
 ye can do nothing.''^ As the branch de- 
 rives all its nourishment from its union 
 to the parent stock, so does the Christian 
 in like manner derive spiritual life, vigor 
 and fruitfulness through his union to Christ 
 by true faith. The characters therefore 
 who are properly designated as being in 
 Christ, are his true sincere followers ; and 
 the happy result that follows from this 
 connexion is — they have peace. Let us 
 consider the nature of this peace which 
 can be found nowhere else but in Christ. 
 It is a spiritual peace, heavenly and 
 divine in its nature and origin. It is a 
 peace that relates to our Maker, our own 
 consciences and to all mankind. No one 
 is at peace with God in his natural and 
 impenitent state. In the bosom of every 
 man until renewed by divine grace, there 
 is a principle directly at war with the 
 Most High. It is irreconcilable in its 
 
 * St. Jno. XV., 5. 
 
42 PEACE IN CHRIST. [SER. II. 
 
 hostility to the divine government. " Tlie 
 carnal mind is enmity a(jainst God, is not 
 subject to Ids laivs, neitlier indeed can he!' 
 In consequence of this hostile position 
 maintained by the impenitent they are 
 objects of Heaven's righteous displeasure ; 
 and will inevitably perish by the hand of 
 divine justice, unless they avert it by a 
 timely reconciliation to his plan of salva- 
 tion, devised in mercy for the full reco- 
 very of man from the sad ruins of the fall. 
 Hence " there is no ]ieace to the wiched, 
 they are like the troubled sea, that cannot 
 rest, whose waters cast tip mire and du't." 
 They cannot enjoy peace and friendship 
 with God. They sit in darkness and in 
 the region and shadow of death. " God 
 is light, and in him is no darkness at 
 all." Light and darkness cannot amal- 
 gamate. ' Two cannot walk together ex- 
 cept they agree.' The ungodly may often 
 contrive to hush the voice of conscience 
 and sing a false peace to themselves ; but 
 there will be special seasons in their his- 
 
SER, IT.] PEACE IN CHRIST. 43 
 
 tory when they are made to sweat and 
 agonize under its tortures, and the fearful 
 forebodings of the wrath to come. Now 
 as such persons are enemies to God, ene- 
 mies to themselves, they must also be 
 enemies to the true peace and happiness 
 of their fellow men. For he who is blind 
 to his own best interest, cannot be pre- 
 pared to consult the true interest of others. 
 They are ail marshalled on the side of 
 their great Leader; "the Prince of the 
 ]Dower of the air, the spirit that noio worketli 
 in the children of disobedience.''^ Their 
 influence is in opposition to that kingdom 
 which Christ came to establish — that 
 " kingdom" that consists " in righteousness, 
 peace, and joy in the Holy Oliostr And 
 this is true of all the various grades of 
 character that obtain among the impeni- 
 tent. " He that is not icith me,'' says our 
 Lord, " is against me ; and he that gather- 
 eth not ivith me scattereth alroad!"' Thus 
 
 ' Epli. ii., 2. 2 Matt, xii., 30. 
 
44 PEACE IN CHRIST. [SER. II. 
 
 it is with the carnal mind which is en- 
 mity against God, destitute of tr^£ inward 
 peace, and in opposition to the true hap- 
 piness of their fellow-men. On the other 
 hand, those who maintain a vital union 
 wdth Christ, are new creatures — ^ they 
 are begotten again' — they are " lorn, not 
 ofUood, nor of the loill of the flesh, nor of 
 the will of man, hut of Godr^ Whereas 
 in their unregenerate state, the principle 
 of hostility against the divine government 
 reigned in their bosoms, now, the hea- 
 venly principle of love to God is graciously 
 shed abroad in their hearts. And while 
 they evince their love to Him by a sin- 
 cere and cheerful obedience to his laws. 
 He manifests his love and friendship to 
 them by sending forth his Spirit to seal 
 their pardon, remove their guilt, and 
 witness to their adoption into the hea- 
 venly family: so that instead of being as 
 before, tormented with a painful appre- 
 
 1 Jii . i., 18. 
 
SER. II.] PEACE IN CHUIST. 45 
 
 liension of his displeasure, they now have 
 the sweet comfort of regarding him as 
 their reconciled Friend and Father. They 
 have no ground to look for perfect and 
 uninterrupted happiness in this state of 
 probation., and trial. While they remain 
 in this world, they expect their share of 
 tribulation — they count it not strange, 
 when they are in heaviness through 
 manifold temptations. Of all this they 
 have been forewarned by their Lord and 
 Master, to whose suiferings they must in 
 their measure be conformed, if they would 
 hope to participate with him in the inef- 
 fable glories of his kingdom above. But 
 ' it is their exalted privilege at all times, 
 to ^4ook to the hill, from whence cometh 
 their help" — to approach the throne of 
 grace with humble boldness, and obtain 
 mercy and find grace to help in their 
 peculiar time of need — "in every thing hy 
 prayer and supplication luith thanhsgiving,'' 
 to 'let' their ''requests he made hnown unto 
 God; and the peace of God ivhich passtih 
 
46 PEACE IN CHRIST. [SER, II. 
 
 all understanding, shall keep' their " hearts 
 and mbids through Christ JesusJ'^ The 
 peace that flows from this source is called 
 the peace of God, because he is the author 
 and supporter of it. It is said to pass all 
 understanding, because its nature and 
 excellency can be fully set forth by no 
 human tongue. We do not say that the 
 ungodly have no pleasure. It is the plea- 
 sure which they enjoy in the gratification 
 of their carnal desires, appetites and pas- 
 sions, that so allures, captivates and holds 
 them in durance vile, that they have no 
 desire to be elevated above earth ; no 
 desire to have their eyes opened to behold 
 that radiant host of angels, patriarchs, 
 prophets and apostles who all point to 
 the Lamb of God as the only way to 
 glory, immortality, and eternal life. So 
 enfeebled are they in their moral nature, 
 that they cannot command the energy to 
 imitate the noble example of Moses, who 
 
 ^ Phil, iv., G. 
 
SER. ir.] PEACE IN CHRIST. 47 
 
 would '^rather suffer affliction witli the 
 people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of 
 sin for a season!''^ Ah ! how true it is, 
 that the pleasures of sin are but for a 
 seojson : — they are momentary. And be- 
 sides, they leave an ' aching void' within. 
 They leave nothing to which the mind 
 can recur with pure and pleasing delight. 
 Not so with the peace of God. The 
 sweet tranquillity the believer enjoys 
 from a sense of pardon and acceptance 
 with his Maker, is rendered doubly pre- 
 cious from the fact, that it is a pledge, a 
 foretaste of that eternal " rest that remains 
 for the people of God." Hence it is said 
 to be ' a peace that flows as a river.' As 
 a river flows onward and becomes wider 
 and deeper as it approaches the ocean into 
 which it is ultimately lost ; so does the 
 peace which Jesus gives, flow on pleas- 
 antly in the soul, increasing in its depth, 
 expanding in its onward course, until it 
 
 ^ Heb. xi., 25. 
 
48 PEACE IN CHRIST, [SER. II. 
 
 is finally lost in tlie boundless ocean of 
 never-ending peace. Here then is that 
 precious jewel which can satisfy the soul 
 of man, because it is every way suited to 
 his immortal nature, and fully adequate 
 to meet his wants both in this world and 
 that which is to come. 
 
 How unspeakably happy is the lot of 
 sincere Christians. The blessed Redeemer, 
 though seated at the right hand of the 
 majesty on high, yet manifests himself 
 unto them as he does not unto the world. 
 He still addresses you by his word and 
 Spirit in the same tones of love, tender- 
 ness and compassion, that charmed the 
 hearts of that little band that followed 
 him in the days of his humiliation. When 
 you are in heaviness through manifold 
 temptations — when exposed to the piti- 
 less peltings of storm after storm — when 
 the heart is sad and cheerless under the 
 bereavement of some near and dear 
 friend ; or when the foul breath of 
 slander has prevailed against you, causing 
 
SER. II.] PEACE IN CHRIST. 49 
 
 friends to forsake and enemies to ex- 
 claim : ' there, there, so we would have it ;' 
 in these dark hours, you may hear the 
 words of Jesus like the soft music of 
 heaven falling sweetly upon your ears, 
 saying, "Peace I leave loith you, my ^eace 
 I give unto you : not as the world giveth, 
 give I unto you. Let not your heart he 
 troubled, neither let it he afraid!'^ Those 
 among you, my brethren, whose experi- 
 ence can bear witness to the peaceful 
 paths of religion, should be careful to 
 evince your inward tranquillity by an 
 exhibition of Christian tempers, disposi- 
 tions, words and actions ; by works of 
 love and charity to your neighbors ; by 
 endeavoring to the utmost of your ability 
 to promote the cause of your Redeemer in 
 the world. Thus will you be letting 
 your light shine, and be preparing your- 
 selves more and more for that glorious 
 future not far in the distance, when the 
 
 ^ Jno. xiv., 27. 
 5* 
 
50 PEACE IN CHRIST. [SER. II. 
 
 cross shall be exchanged for the crown ; 
 " liglit afflictions for an eternal vjelr/ht of 
 
 There is another very interesting class 
 of whom the blessed Jesus is far from 
 being unmindful. We allude to those 
 who are writing bitter things against 
 themselves, who feel the burden of their 
 sins to be intolerable, who are seeking 
 true peace by a diligent use of the 
 appointed means of grace. Such should 
 be encouraged to persevere in hope of 
 obtaining the pearl they so anxiously 
 desire. Let them listen to Heaven's 
 inviting voice, addressing their peculiar 
 state, and dry up their tears. " Come 
 unto me all ye that labor and are heavy 
 laden, and Itolll give you rest.''^ '^ If any 
 man thirst, let him come unto me and 
 drinhr^ While you are* laying aside 
 every weight and the sin that so easily 
 besets you, continually look unto Jesus. 
 
 1 Mutt, xi., 28. 2 Juo. vii., 37. 
 
SER. II.] PEACE IN CHRIST. 51 
 
 Never lose sight of the cross, the Lamb 
 of God that taketh away the sins of the 
 world, for he alone is our peace. Shelter 
 yourselves under the protection of his 
 atoning blood, and you shall have peace : 
 your darkness shall be turned into light, 
 your mourning into songs of joy. 
 
 But in what terms shall we address 
 that numerous class of our fellow-crea- 
 tures, who are hewing out to themselves 
 cisterns, broken cisterns that can hold no 
 water ; who are enemies to God, and con- 
 sequently, utter strangers to true peace. 
 We might with great propriety utter forth 
 the terrible threatenings of God's word 
 against all who j)ersevere in their rebel- 
 lion against his government. We might 
 refer you to the many terrible exhibitions 
 of his wrath upon the impenitent in 
 former ages, illustrative of the truth, 
 " that though hand join in hand^ the wicked 
 shall not he impimished.''^ But we would 
 
 ^ Prov. xi.; 22. 
 
52 PEACE IN CHRIST. [SER. II. 
 
 rather beseech you to be reconciled to 
 God while as yet mercy may be sought, 
 and pardon and peace obtained. "W/to-e- 
 fore do ye spend money for that which is 
 not hread, and your labor for that which 
 satis fieth not ? hearhen diligently unto 7??e/' 
 saith the Lord. " and eat ye that lohiclt is 
 good, and let your soid delight itself in fat- 
 ness. Incline your ear, and come unto me ; 
 hear and your soid shall live^^ 
 
 1 Isa. Iv., 2. 
 
SERMON III. 
 
 SPIRITUAL PROSPERITY OF GAIUS. 
 
 *' The elder, unto the well-beloved Gaius whom I LOve 
 IN the tkuth. Beloved, I wish above all things 
 
 THAT THOU MAYEST PROSPER AND BE IN HEALTH, EVEN AS 
 THY SOUL PROSPERETH. FOR I REJOICED GREATLY WHEN 
 THE BRETHREN CAME AND TESTIFIED OF THE TRUTH THAT 
 IS IN THEE, EVEN AS THOU WALKEST IN THE TRUTH." 
 
 3 Epis. John 1, 2, 3 vs. 
 
 This epistle is addressed to some con- 
 verted Gentile called Gaius. But as 
 there are tliree persons of this name 
 mentioned in the New Testament, there 
 is an uncertainty with regard to the one 
 particularly referred to. There is one 
 Gaius of Corinthj whom St. Paul calls 
 his " host, and" tlie host of " tlte loliole 
 GhuTcIir^ There is anotlier named 
 ^ Kom. xvi. 23. 
 
54 SPIRITUAL PROSPERITY OF GAIIIS. [SER. III. 
 
 ^ Gaius^ a native " of Macedonia,''^ who 
 accompanied St. Paul, and spent some 
 lime with him at Ephesus. There is 
 " Oaius of Derhe,''^ who also was a fellow- 
 traveller of the Apostle Paul. It is 
 supposed, however, that the person here 
 particularly addressed, was the Gains 
 of Corinth, as hospitality was a promi- 
 nent feature in his character. The 
 design of the Apostle in writing this 
 epistle to Gains, was to commend his 
 steadfastness in the faith, and the general 
 hospitality -he had shown, especially, to 
 the ministers of Christ. In carrying 
 forward this design, he, in the mean 
 time, rebukes one Diotrephes, who, had 
 arrogantly assumed the chief direction 
 in the affairs of the Church. He had 
 not only refused a kind reception to 
 those messengers of peace and salvation 
 himself, but had hindered them from 
 doing so who were thus disposed. The 
 
 * Acts, xix. 29. 2 ^cts, xx. 4. 
 
SER. III.] SPIRITUAL PROSPERITY OF GAIUS. 55 
 
 Apostle also commends an excellent 
 person named Demetrius, whom he pro- 
 posed as a pattern which the whole 
 church might safely imitate. From the 
 high commendation here so cordially 
 given to Gains, he must have been uni- 
 versally regarded as a man of eminent 
 piety, one, who was deeply concerned for 
 the welfare and prosperity of the Church ; 
 one who endeavored to the utmost of his 
 ability to advance the cause of his 
 Redeemer in the world. It was this 
 that so greatly endeared him to the 
 venerable Apostle. Hence he addresses 
 him with all the tenderness of paternal 
 affection — " Tlie elder, unto tJie iveU-he- 
 loved Oaius whom I lave in the truth, or 
 tridy love." 
 
 He manifests his sincere love and 
 regard for him by earnestly praying for 
 his prosperity, both in a temporal and 
 spiritual point of view. " / wish above 
 all things^' or with respect to all things, 
 " that thou mayest prosper and he in health 
 even as thy soid pirospierethr 
 
56 SPIRITUAL PROSPERITY OF GAIUS. [SER. III. 
 
 Prayer in its very nature, is an 
 acknowledgement of our absolute de- 
 pendance upon God for the blessings we 
 petition at his hands. St. John, fully 
 realizing the truth, that " every good 
 gift, and every perfect gift, is from above, 
 and Cometh down from the Father of 
 lights," prays that " Gains might prosper 
 and be in health." Thus, by his exam- 
 ple, he inculcates upon us the duty of 
 cultivating the spirit of dependance upon 
 God for success in all our endeavors, to 
 improve either our temporal or spiritual 
 interests. The worldly-minded habitu- 
 ally indulge an opposite spirit. They 
 are wise in their own wisdom, and strong 
 in their own strength. Hence they 
 attribute the success and prosperity of 
 their affairs to their own prudence and 
 foresight. The folly and danger of this 
 lofty spirit Avere awfully exemplified in 
 that eventful crisis in the history of 
 Nebuchadnezzar. While he wall^ed 
 abroad in his palace, revolving with a 
 
SEK. III.] SPIRIi;jTAL PROSPERITY OF GAIUS. 57 
 
 secret complacency his grandeur and 
 magnificence, saying to himself, " Is not 
 this great BahTjlon that I have huilt for the 
 house of the hlngdom, hy the might of my 
 "power^ and for the honor of my majesty f'^ 
 While he thus, in the haughtiness of 
 pride arrogated all the glory to himself; 
 a voice from heaven declared to him that 
 his kingdom was departed from him, 
 that he should be driven from men, and 
 his dwelling be wdth the beasts of the 
 field, until he knew that the Most High 
 ruled in the kingdoms of men and gave 
 them to whomsoever he would. This 
 proud spirit which refuses to acknowledge 
 its dependance upon the Creator, the 
 holy scriptures every where assure us is 
 an object that God abominates : while on 
 the other hand, the spirit manifested by 
 the apostle, he highly approbates. " God 
 7'esisteth the proud, hut giveth grace unto the 
 humbler^ 
 
 Gains, in behalf of w^hom the apostle 
 
 1 Dan. iv. 30. "" Jam. iv., 6. 
 
58 SPIRITUAL PROSPERITY OF GAIUS. [SER. III. 
 
 prays, seems to have been very prosperous 
 Avith regard to his spiritual state. This 
 appears, 
 
 1st. From the genuineness of his faith. 
 It is affirmed that " tlie truth loas in him, 
 and that he walhed in. or accordina' to the 
 trulhr Evangelical faith may be defined 
 to be, a hearty belief of the truth as it is 
 in Jesus. It is not a cold speculative 
 principle, floating in the head without 
 influencing the heart and life. It is a 
 living, active principle, regulating the 
 heart and outward conduct It takes the 
 Lord at his word. It influences the pos- 
 sessor to provide against the evil he 
 threatens, and to pursue with earnestness 
 and decision the good he promises. For 
 instance, when God told Noah that the 
 end of all flesh had come before him, and 
 that he was about to deluge the earth 
 with a flood; Noah's f^xitli in the testi- 
 mony of God influenced him to provide 
 against the threatened evil by preparing 
 an ark for the saving of his house. When 
 
SER. III.] SPIRITUAL PROSPERITY OF GAIUS. 59 
 
 Lot was commanded to leave Sodom, 
 being informed by unquestionable autho- 
 rity that the Lord would destroy the city 
 with its inhabitants ; his faith led him to 
 fioe to the mountain, the divinely ap- 
 pointed place of refuge. It was this liv- 
 ing, active faith, that marked the character 
 of the Christian so highly commended in 
 the passage under consideration. 
 
 It is important to believe all the cardi- 
 nal doctrines of Chrisfianity, such as the 
 Divinity of Christ, his vicarious sacrifice, 
 the necessity of repentance, faith and 
 obedience ; the doctrines of future rewards 
 and punishment. But it is not enough 
 speculatively to believe these truths; it 
 is indispensable that we have a realizing 
 sense of the great importance of them in 
 their personal application ; otherwise, we 
 shall stand justly charged with having 
 only the form of godliness while we are 
 destitute of the power thereof. It was 
 not thus with the eminent Christian here 
 proposed as a pattern worthy of imitation. 
 
60 SPIRITUAL TROSPERITY OF GAIUS. [SER. III. 
 
 He was deeply sensible of the great neces- 
 sity of personal holiness. Hence his faith 
 led him to " renounce the devil and all 
 his works, the pomps and vanity of this 
 wicked world," and to present himself at 
 the throne of heavenly grace, where he 
 diligently sought and in due time found 
 " that peace which the world cannot give." 
 And having " the Holy Ghost given unto" 
 him, all those graces that adorn and 
 beautify the Christian character, viz., 
 virtue, knowledge, temperance, patience, 
 brotherly-kindness, charity, all these were 
 manifest in his life and conduct. For it 
 is further said of him, that, 
 
 2. ''He walked in the truiJi.'" His 
 course through life was in accordance 
 with the requisitions of the gospel. He 
 adorned the gospel of God his Saviour by 
 a holy walk and chaste conversation — 
 living soberly, righteously, and godly 
 amidst a crooked and perverse genera- 
 tion. Though he could not have regarded 
 himself as having attained perlection, 
 
SER. III.] SPIRITUAL PROSrERITY OF GAIUS. 61 
 
 yet, like the apostle Paul, who, "for- 
 getting those things that are behind, and 
 reaching forth unto those things that 
 are before, he pressed toward the mark 
 for the prize of the high calling of God 
 in Christ Jesus." 
 
 The bright and shining example set 
 before the world by this Christian, 
 afforded grounds of rejoicing to the apos- 
 tle John. " / rejoiced greatly,'^ says he, 
 " wlten the hrethren came and testified of 
 tlie truth that is in thee, even as thou 
 walhest in the truthr While it is always 
 a source of pleasure to a gospel minister 
 to witness the general health and tem- 
 poral prosperity of his fellow-Christians, 
 yet does it afford him more exquisite joy, 
 when they give a good testimony to the 
 truth, by their walking as it becomes the 
 gospel. As there can scarcely be a 
 greater obstacle in the way of sinners 
 duly considering the claims of Chris- 
 tianity, than the loose and irregular lives 
 of those who professedly say : " Lord, Lord, 
 
 6* 
 
62 SPIRITUAL PROSPERITY OF GAIUS. [SER. III. 
 
 and do not the things" that he says ; so, 
 on the other hand, there is nothing better 
 calculated, perhaps, to stop the mouths of 
 gainsay ers, to fasten conviction upon the 
 mind of the ungodly, than the consistent 
 conduct of religious professors. They are 
 then as a city set on a hill that, cannot be 
 hid — they evince to all around that reli- 
 gion is a divine reality, and not a cun- 
 ningly devised fable. 
 
 In the character of Gains, we see one 
 who used the world as not abusing it. 
 lie was blessed with all the necessary 
 comforts and conveniences of life, and 
 very probably upon the whole, was in a 
 very prosperous condition as it regards 
 temporal matters ; as we may learn from 
 his repeated acts of kindness ''tohretliren 
 and strangers^ There were many to 
 " bear witness before the church," of this 
 praiseworthy trait in his character. His 
 prosperity in the things of this life did 
 not, however, j)rove to him a curse. He 
 did not suffer the things of this world to 
 
SER. III.] SPIRITUAL PROSPERITY OF GAIUS. 63 
 
 cheat him out of his soul. He passed 
 through things temporal, so as not to lose 
 those things that are eternal. He labored 
 '^not only for the meat that perisheth, 
 but for that also which endureth to ever- 
 lasting life." His soul prospered. The 
 seed of divine truth sown in his heart, 
 sprung up and brought forth the fruit of 
 good living to the honor and glory of 
 God. He prospered not only with regard 
 to his present gracious state, but also with 
 regard to his future prospects. He was 
 laying up "treasures in heaven where 
 neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and 
 where thieves do not break through nor 
 steal." Truly prosperous, indeed ! A 
 prosperity which nothing on earth can 
 destroy. We may pass along here for 
 awhile in the enjoyment of excellent 
 health of body, but the blighting hand 
 of sickness sooner or later will pros- 
 trate the most vigorous constitution. We 
 come up like a flower, fair and beautiful, 
 opening and expanding the faculties by 
 
64 SPIRITUAL PROSPERITY OF GAIUS. [SER. III. 
 
 degrees ; but we are soon cut down by the 
 scythe of some ruthless distemper, or nipt 
 and withered by the frost of some wasting 
 weakness and decay. We may prosper 
 here in the riches of the world, but if 
 they do not take to themselves wings 
 and flee away from us, how soon are 
 we hurried away from them into the 
 eternal world by the irresistible arm 
 of death ? But what can destroy the 
 prosperity of the soul ? Can sickness ? 
 No. Can death? St. Paul triumphantly 
 answers — No. " Fo?- I am persuaded,'' 
 says he, " ihat neither deatJi, nor life, nor 
 angels, nor 'principaliiies, nor j^oioers, nor 
 things present, nor tilings to come, nor 
 height, nor depth, nor any other crreatiire, 
 shall he ahle to separate us from the love of 
 God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.'' 
 Blessed, yea, thrice blessed is the man 
 whose soul prospers. 
 
 But how few comparatively are in this 
 happy condition. You will all agree with 
 ^ Horn, viii., 88-39. 
 
SER. III.] SPIRITUAL PROSPERITY OF GAIUS. C5 
 
 me in saying that their souls do not pros- 
 per, who are in a state of nature, unre- 
 newed, unsanctified by the influences of 
 the Holy Spirit. For you are aware that 
 it is written upon the inspired pages that, 
 "' the wrath of Ood ahidetli urpon tliemr 
 They are represented therein, as wan- 
 derers upon dark and barren mountains 
 without a shelter and perishing with 
 hunger. Though by some strange infatua- 
 tion, they may imagine themselves "Wc/i, 
 increased in goods and have need of 
 nothing,'' they are nevertheless '' loretched, 
 and miserahle, and ]DOor, and Mind and 
 nalzedr 
 
 Nor can it be said of backsliders that 
 their souls prosper. They may be likened 
 to a " tree whose fruit withereth." " The 
 latter end is worse loith them than the begin- 
 ning. For it had heen hetter for them not 
 to have hnown the loay of righteousness , 
 than, after they have hnown it, to turn 
 from the holy commandment delivered unto 
 them. Bid it has happened unto them 
 
G6 SPIRITUAL PROSrERITY OF GAIUS. [SER. III. 
 
 according to the true proverh, The dog is 
 turned to his oion vomit again; and the sow 
 that loas icashed to her ivalloiuing in the 
 mire.'''^ Nor can it be said of the luke- 
 warm Christian, that his soul prospers. 
 He is self-condemned. The language of 
 his agonizing heart is : — 
 
 <^ Where is the blessedness I knew 
 
 When first I saw the Lord r* 
 Where is the soul-refreshing view 
 
 Of Jesus and his word ? 
 What peaceful hours I then enjoy'd, 
 
 How sweet their mem'ry still ! 
 But now I feel an aching void 
 
 The world can never fill.'' 
 
 The luke-warm professor is thus ad- 
 dressed by the great Head of the church : 
 " / tuoidd thou loei't cold or hot^ lecause 
 ihaub art hilce-warm, and neither cold or liot, 
 Ivjill spue thee out of my mouth r^ 
 
 The man of whose soul prosperity can 
 be truly affirmed, has been created anew 
 
 » 2d Tut. ii., 21-22. '' llcv. iii,, 15-lG. 
 
SER. III.J SPIRITUAL PROSPERITY OF GAIUS. 67 
 
 in Christ Jesus. He advances in the 
 divine life, and abounds in every good 
 word and work. He is deeply concerned 
 not only for his own personal salvation, 
 but also for the present and eternal well- 
 being of his fellow-travellers to eternity. 
 Hence he is found striving to the utmost 
 of his ability to advance the cause of 
 Christ among his fellowmen. He is eyes 
 to the blind, feet to the lame, a messent^^er 
 of peace and consolation to the distressed, 
 whether of mind, body or estate. 
 
 We should above all things, my beloved 
 brethren, see to it that our souls prosper. 
 It is very proper that we should pray 
 both for health of body and prosperity in 
 our daily avocations. It becomes us also 
 to be diHgent in the use of all lawful 
 means in order to obtain them. God, 
 however, in his wise and inscrutable pro- 
 vidence, may not see fit to crown our 
 efforts in this respect with desired suc- 
 cess. But in regard to the spiritual 
 prosperity of the soul, he never fails to 
 
68 SPIRITUAL PROSPERITY OF GAIUS. [SER. III. 
 
 crown persevering diligence with success, 
 Whoever humbly yields to the life-giving 
 and fructifying influences of that Holy 
 Spirit which is to abide with the church 
 forever, is sure to thrive and prosper, 
 '^ike a tree planted by the water side." 
 Upon the soul the Creator has stamped 
 his seal of immortality — it is destined 
 to run parallel with his own uncreated 
 existence. When our globe shall be dis- 
 solved, and all that are therein shall be 
 burned up, the soul, more refined and 
 dignified, shall survive the dissolution of 
 matter, and shall either flourish in im- 
 mortal youth and beauty on the healthful 
 plains of Paradise, or endure an inde- 
 scribable burden of anguish in the doleful 
 regions of endless woe. How invaluable 
 then is the soul, and how solemnly press- 
 ing are its claims upon our most serious 
 regard. Consider what the great Eternal 
 has done to promote its everlasting health 
 and vigor. He himself came down from 
 heaven, veiled his unutterable glories in 
 
SER. III.J SPIRITUAL PROSPERITY OF GAIUS. 69 
 
 humanity, proclaimed his own everlasting 
 gospel, led a suffering life, died an igno- 
 minious death, rose again from the grave, 
 " ascended up on high, led captivity captive, 
 and gave gifts mito men. He gave some 
 apostles, and some prophets, and some evan- 
 gelists, and some pastors and teachers'' — 
 " For the perfecting of the saints, for the 
 ww'h of the ministry, for the edfying of 
 the body of GlirisV,'^ " the Read, from 
 which all the hody hy joints and hands 
 having nourishment ministered, and hiit 
 together, increaseth with the increase of 
 Godr^ Now, who among us in this view, 
 does not perceive something of the incal- 
 culable value of the soul? For infinite 
 wisdom does nothing unnecessary. And 
 seeing that he has been at a vast expense 
 of means in behalf of our souls, it shows 
 the awfulness of the peril to which they 
 are exposed. It accounts for that solemn 
 and thrilling question propounded by 
 himself: — " What shall a man give in 
 ' Eph. iv., 12. ' Col. ii., 19. 
 
70 SPIRITUAL PROSPERITY OF GAIUS. [SER. III. 
 
 exchange for his soul?''' Nothing can be 
 compared to it in value. Lose that, and 
 you lose your all. I beseech you there- 
 fore to attend earnestly to its high con- 
 cerns. Beware of unbelief, pride, preju- 
 dice, envy and malice. These are the 
 briers that render the soul barren, and 
 prevent the word of divine truth from 
 being so ingrafted into the heart as to 
 bring forth fruit to the honor and glory 
 of God. Seek diligently the influences 
 of that Spirit who alone can cause the 
 native desert of the heart to bud and 
 blossom as the rose ; and having the 
 heavenly graces implanted therein by 
 his own right hand, and abounding in 
 the same w^hen this painful life shall 
 end, you may look forward in hope of 
 being conveyed to that bright world 
 where the soul no longer clogged in her 
 devotional exercises by frail humanity, 
 shall expand and grow more and more 
 like God through everlasting ages. 
 
SEEM ON lY. 
 
 MUTUAL FORBEARANCE AND FORGIVENESS. 
 
 Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, 
 if any man have a quarrel against any ; even as 
 Christ forgave you, so also do ye." — Col. iii., 13. 
 
 In this world, where sin has dominion 
 over the hearts of the great mass of man- 
 kind, and influences in some measure the 
 regenerate, there will always be numerous 
 occasions that will call for the exercise of 
 mutual forbearance, and the spirit of for- 
 giveness. Occasions will arise not only 
 among the ungodly, but also among 
 those who, in the general tenor of their 
 lives, are governed by Christian princi- 
 ples. To resent injuries, either real or 
 supposed, is natural to man. The ob- 
 vious design of this characteristic of our 
 
72 MUTUAL FORBEARANCE [SER. IV. 
 
 nature, is to guard us from real injuries. 
 When we suffer it to proceed no further 
 than to shield ourselves from real harm, 
 it is not, as we conceive, criminal. For 
 instance : — A person endeavors to instil 
 into the mind of another, principles 
 known by him to be dangerous in them- 
 selves, and destructive in their conse- 
 quences. Now, should a holy indigna- 
 tion arise in his mind against such prin- 
 ciples, from the view of their injurious 
 character, this resentment, . so far from 
 being criminal, would be just, properly 
 directed, and in strict compHance with 
 the exhortation of St. James, " Resist tlie 
 devil, and he tviU flee from you!''^ When 
 resentment is suffered to go so far as to 
 injure others merely for the sake of gra- 
 tifying this feeling, or as a retaliation for 
 some wrong done, or supposed to be done 
 to us, then it is highly criminal. In 02> 
 position to this spirit, we are exhorted in 
 
 • James iv., 7. 
 
SER. IV.] AND FORGIVENESS. 73 
 
 the text to cultivate the temper and 
 spirit of mutual forbearance and forgive- 
 ness. " Forbearing one another and forgiv- 
 ing one anotJier, if any man have a quarrel 
 against any, even as Christ forgave you, so 
 also do ye!' 
 
 This exhortation, you perceive, is ad- 
 dressed to professing Christians. It sup- 
 poses that the spirit of resentment may be 
 carried to a criminal extent even among 
 them, thus giving occasion among them- 
 selves for the exercise of the conciliatory 
 temper recommended in the text. 
 
 To injure a person, is unlawfully to 
 take or withhold from him that to which 
 he has a just claim. To deprive one of 
 life, liberty, or his personal or real estate, 
 which he has not forfeited by crime, is 
 the grossest violation of this principle. 
 No one, we presume, can consistently 
 bear the Christian's name, who is guilty 
 in either of these respects. But there 
 are other respects in which we may injure 
 
 7* 
 
74 • MUTUAL FORBEARANCE [SER. IV. 
 
 our neighbor, without depriving him of 
 either his life, liberty or property. We 
 may injure him hy raslt and precipitate 
 judging, hy indulging uncharitable thoughts^ 
 and hy evil spealzing. 
 
 1. Eash and precipitate judging. 
 
 Perhaps nothing is more common than 
 for men to form an unfavorable opinion 
 of their neighbor upon the slightest 
 acquaintance; yet, this is equally inju- 
 rious as it is unjust. To pronounce 
 unfavorably upon the general character 
 of a person from some single fault we 
 may discover, or think we discover, is 
 certainly injuring him, inasmuch as it is 
 withholding from him that esteem, which 
 his other good qualities justly demand, 
 even suppose him to be faulty in other 
 respects. For who is there without fault? 
 Perhaps there are few men so bad, but 
 that may possess some good traits of 
 character. Lest we should be misun- 
 derstood here, it may be necessary to 
 
SER. IV.] AND FORGIVENESS. 75 
 
 observe, that, in speaking of the good 
 traits in the character of a bad man, all 
 that we mean is, that they are good in 
 their effects ; not that they are positively 
 good in their nature and regarded so in 
 the sight of God. No action of an 
 accountable being can be intrinsically 
 good, good in the sight of our Maker, 
 that does not proceed from a proper 
 motive, a due sense of our obligations to 
 Him. The high and holy principle that 
 should govern us in our actions is thus 
 stated by the great apostle to the Gen- 
 tiles : — " Whether, therefore, ye eat or 
 driiiJvj or lohatsoever ye do, do all to the 
 glory of Qod!' ^ The same apostle, show- 
 ing how indispensable it is that we should 
 have a constant regard to this holy prin- 
 ciple, also says : — ^'Though Ihesioio all my 
 goods to feed the poor, and though I give my 
 hody to he hurned, and have not charity, it 
 profiteth one notJiing.''^ The loth Article 
 
 a Cor. X., 31. 2 2 Cor. xiii., 3. 
 
76 MUTUAL FORBEARANCE [SER. IV. 
 
 of our church is in perfect accordance 
 •with this statement of St. Pauh " Works 
 done before the grace of Christ, and the 
 inspiration of his Spirit, are not pleasant 
 to God, forasmuch as they spring not 
 of faith in Jesus Christ, neither do they 
 make men meet to receive grace, or (as the 
 school authors say,) deserve grace of con- 
 gruity : yea, rather, for that they are not 
 done as God has Avilled and commanded 
 them to be done, we doubt not but they 
 have the nature of sin." So, in this view, 
 nothing done by an impenitent man can be 
 really good. In another point of view he 
 may, however, do something that may be 
 called good, from the good eflects result- 
 ing therefrom. A liberal contribution, 
 for instance, may be cheerfully given to 
 some educational institution, or for reli- 
 gious purposes. This may be the means 
 of promoting the present and eternal 
 happiness of thousands of our race. An 
 unregenerate person may do this, and 
 other kindred acts, and in view of their 
 
SER. IV.] AND FORGIVENESS. 77 
 
 beneficial effects; they may in a qualified 
 sense, be denominated good. The point 
 however to which we would arrive, is 
 this : — If unregenerate men may have 
 some commendable traits in their charac- 
 ter, how much more ground is there to 
 regard those in a favorable hght, who are 
 in some good degree, renewed by the 
 Spirit ? So, for Christians to pronounce 
 unfixvorably upon the general character 
 of their brethren, simply on the ground 
 of some fault they may discover, or think 
 they discover, is to injure them seriously. 
 It is to withhold from them that affec- 
 tionate regard which their other good 
 qualities justly demand. Persons who 
 are given to this uncharitable turn, 
 require but little evidence; indeed, what 
 they require, is undeserving the name of 
 evidence; all they require, in order to 
 bring their minds to a decision upon the 
 general character of their neighbor, is 
 only to see, or think they see, in him 
 some slight deviation from their precon- 
 
78 MUTUAL FORBEARANCE [SER. IV. 
 
 ceiv^ed notions of propriety. Should his 
 peculiar manner, or mode of address not 
 happen to be in strict accordance with 
 their ideas of refinement, immediately, 
 an unfavorable inference is drawn with 
 regard to his taste. Should an opinion 
 be expressed on a certain subject, though 
 that opinion should not be the result of 
 much deliberation, but expressed at the 
 impulse of the moment, no allowance 
 whatever is made for this ; a broad 
 inference is at once made, utterly preju- 
 dicial to the whole character. Again, 
 should a professor of religion, in an 
 unguarded hour, manifest undue warmth 
 of feeling, why, he is denounced at once 
 as a hypocrite, utterly destitute of every 
 spark of vital piety. Such imperfections 
 as these, give a sufficient warrant to the 
 uncharitable, to cast a shade over the 
 whole character. How common is this 
 spirit of rash and precipitate judging 
 of others exhibited, not only among the 
 ungodly, but among the professed fol- 
 
 y^ 
 
SER. IV.] AND FORGIVENESS. 79 
 
 lowers of Christ. But what is more 
 unequitable and unjust? How far is this 
 from complying with that golden rule : — 
 " Whatsoever ye looidd that men should do 
 to you, do ye even so to themr ^ 
 
 Furthermore, this rash and precipitate 
 judging, leads, 
 
 2. To the indulging of unkind, cold 
 and bitter feelings. Our feelings in every 
 instance, are regulated by our belief. To 
 this general statement, I reckon there 
 can be found no exception. In all cases, 
 our feelings correspond with our belief. 
 Hence a child, believing the testimony of 
 others, concerning the venomous nature 
 of a viper, indulges a secret antipathy 
 towards it, though he may never have 
 seen anything more of the reptile than its 
 picture. It is needless to enumerate in- 
 stances to illustrate so plain a principle of 
 our nature. It must be admitted by all 
 who will reflect for a moment, that as we 
 
 1 Matt, vii., 12. 
 
80 MUTUAL FORBEARANCE [SER. IV. 
 
 believe, so do we feel and act. Here we 
 are disposed to digress a little, in order 
 to make a useful reflection. We would 
 observe, that Christianity is in strict 
 accordance with the laws of our nature. 
 Are we so constituted, that we feel and 
 act as we believe ? See then how Chris- 
 tianity is adapted to this law of our 
 moral nature, attaching as it does, so 
 much importance to fliith in God. 
 " Without faW I it is impossible toj^Iease Him, 
 for lie that cometli to Ood, must helieve tJtat 
 He is, and that He is a reioarder of them that 
 diligently seeh HimT'^ " Therefore, being 
 justified bij faith, we have peace with God, 
 through our Lord Jesus Christ!'^ As 
 faith, or belief, produces corresponding 
 feelings or actions in temporal matters, 
 so has it the- same effect in spiritual 
 things. And how clearly does the wis- 
 dom and goodness of God shine forth in 
 this view of the Christian system. His 
 wisdom, in appointing faith as an instru- 
 ^ IIc^rc^v,s, xi., G. " Ituin. v., 1. 
 
SER. IV.] AND FORGIVENESS. 81 
 
 ment in our salvation, it being from its 
 active nature, every way calculated to 
 produce the desired effect, viz., obedience. 
 His goodness is seen in adapting his 
 saving plan to the constitution of our 
 nature, thus rendering our salvation 
 attainable in perfect harmony with the 
 law of our moral being. But to return 
 to the inference that we were about to 
 make. As we feel and act as we believe, 
 so, when a rash and precipitate judgment 
 is formed, with regard to the general 
 character of our brother, we, as a natural 
 consequence, feel and act towards him 
 accordingly ; unless w^e be deceitful — 
 uttering smooth words with the lips, 
 while there is war in the heart. Do we 
 believe him to be a time-serving, popu- 
 larity seeking creature, unstable, driven 
 and tossed about by every wind, no mat- 
 ter from what point it blows ? Now, if 
 we have come to this conclusion concern- 
 ing his character, and have any just 
 views of what is praiseworthy in man, it 
 
 8 
 
82 MUTUAL FORBEARANCE [SER, IV. 
 
 is impossible to esteem, or to place any 
 confidence in such an one. If we have, 
 from some cause, been led to regard a 
 professor of religion as a hypocrite, and 
 have just views of what is becoming the 
 Christian, so far from cherishing in our 
 bosom, sentiments of esteem for his cha- 
 racter, we wdll behold him in all his 
 religious performances, with pain and 
 disgust. We mention these instances, 
 as specimens of unkind feelings following 
 in the train of unfavorable opinions 
 formed of our fellow-men. Having 
 arrived at an unfavorable decision with 
 regard to the character of our brother, 
 and unkind and bitter feelings being now 
 generated in the heart, the next step is 
 to proceed. 
 
 3. To evil speaking. — This naturally fol- 
 lows. When unkind feelings are indulged 
 towards any of our brethren, it will soon 
 be made manifest by unkind words. 
 " Oat of the ahuiK lance of the heart,'' says 
 
SER. IV.] AND FORGIVENESS. 83 
 
 our Lord, " tlie mouth speaheihr^ The 
 faults uncharitably conceived of our 
 neighbor, are now ungenerouslj^ exposed ; 
 exposed, too, while he has no opportunity 
 of explaining, or of defending himself, for 
 it is now done in his absence. These faults 
 are exposed, not to secure themselves 
 from injury, but to injure their neighbor, 
 to lower the esteem that others may 
 have towards him, and thus gratify that 
 malignant spirit which is far below the 
 Christian character. The tongue now is 
 set in operation, and when that is the 
 case, soon a great fire is kindled from 
 a little matter. The tale-bearer now has 
 his legitimate work to do. He listens 
 attentively, occasionally smiles, with his 
 ears wide open as he smiles, and when 
 he gets as much as he can conveniently 
 carry, he shoulders his burden, away he 
 goes and lodges it at his neighbor's door. 
 By adding a little, and saying with a sig- 
 nificant nod, — I would not take it if I 
 ^ Matt, xii., 34. 
 
84 MUTUAL FORBEARANCE [SER. IV. 
 
 were yon, lie succeeds in kindling a blaze. 
 Families, neighbors, and intimate com- 
 panions, are now at variance, indulging 
 the spirit of revenge, hatred and malice, 
 for, they can scarcely tell what. And 
 were the true cause ascertained, it 
 would in most instances be found to 
 have originated from a wrong judgment 
 rashly formed; from some word inad- 
 vertently spoken, or some action in the 
 performance of which, there was no evil 
 design whatever. Now, it is in these 
 ways that we may injure, and be injured 
 by others; and our duty as Christians, 
 is, on all occasions to be ready to exer- 
 cise the spirit of mutual forbearance and 
 forgiveness. ^' Forhearing one another, and 
 forgiving one another, if any man have a 
 quarrel against any, even as Christ forgave 
 you, so also do ye'' 
 
 We proceed to a few considerations 
 that should induce us to cultivate this 
 spirit. 
 
SER. IV.] AND FORGIVENESS. 85 
 
 1. We should recollect how apt we 
 are to be mistaken in our judgment of 
 the general character of a person even 
 after a patient observation, much more 
 so upon a slight and single circumstance. 
 Joseph was reared under the same roof 
 with his brothers; they, therefore, had 
 a fair opportunity to investigate his 
 character ; yet, see how grossly mistaken 
 they were respecting it. Because he 
 related to them his remarkable dream, 
 that " the sun, moon, and stars, made 
 obeisance to Jiim,'' they regarded him as 
 an ambitious youth, who desired to 
 exalt himself over them. * To arrive at 
 a correct decision at all times with 
 regard to the character of our neighbor, 
 requires more knowledge than God has 
 granted to man. Are we fully acquainted 
 with the constitutional make of any indi- 
 vidual? Do we know his peculiar turn 
 of thinking? Can we dive down into 
 the depth of his soul, and see the first 
 moving spring of action, and pronounce 
 
 8* 
 
86 MUTUAL FORBEARANCE [SER. IV. 
 
 with infallible certainty with respect to 
 its moral character? Do we know the 
 precise effect that early impressions have 
 had upon his mind, and exactly to what 
 extent allowance is to be made on this 
 score? Oar profound ignorance in all 
 these particulars, shows how apt we are 
 to be mistaken in our notions of the true 
 character of our neighbor, and should 
 lead us in no case to judge rashly. And 
 should we, after a cool, patient, and 
 impartial investigation, be compelled to 
 decide unfavorably, we should even then, 
 pass a decision with extreme diffidence — 
 with that ''charity that helieveth all tJfWf/s, 
 hopetli all tl tings r In many instances, no 
 doubt, where the uncharitable has cast a 
 shade of reproach, could lie see the whole 
 man as he is seen by his supreme Judge ; 
 shame would cover his face, to find that 
 the very person he thouglit so little of, 
 was at th-e very same time far above him 
 in moral excellence. 
 
SER. IV.] AND FORGIVENESS. 87 
 
 2. As we are apt to be mistaken in 
 onr judgment with regard to the general 
 character of persons, so are we equally so 
 with regard to their evil intentions. An 
 offence is taken from something that has 
 been said or done to us. Now what has 
 been said or done, may not have been 
 the result of either ill-will or malice. It 
 may have been the result of a wrong 
 judgment they had hastily formed, or 
 from some excited state of mind they 
 may have been led to say, or act as they 
 did. Such considerations should have a 
 tendency to cool our resentment, espe- 
 cially when we reflect that we are 
 equally liable to be influenced in the 
 same way. And besides, they may have 
 seriously considered their conduct, and 
 have mourned and wept bitterly in secret 
 on account of it. 
 
 Another reason wliy Christians should 
 cultivate a forgiving spirit, is — 
 
 ■3. God's forgiving mercy towards tliem. 
 
88 MUTUAL FORBEARANCE [SER. IV. 
 
 All of US have offended our Creator, by 
 violating Lis law in thought, word and 
 deed, ten thousand times. We have of- 
 fended him under circumstances the most 
 aggravated, against light and knowledge, 
 amidst all the loud calls of his providence, 
 his word, the strivings of his Spirit, and 
 the clamors of conscience. We have 
 thus rendered ourselves obnoxious to his 
 wrath and sore displeasure ; but upon 
 repentance, he manifested to you his 
 forgiving mercy. When he saw you 
 writing bitter things against yourselves, 
 mourning in sackcloth and ashes, he ap- 
 pointed unto you the oil of joy for 
 mourning, and the garment of praise for 
 the spirit of heaviness. And shall we 
 who have been forgiven, and daily stand 
 in need of forgiveness, not be ready to 
 forgive others? If the eternal God act 
 in the same way, what will become of 
 us ? Kemember the words of our blessed 
 Lord : — " If ye forgive not men their tres- 
 passeSy neither will your Father forcjive 
 
SER. IV.] AND FORGIVENESS. 89 
 
 your trespasses''^ As we desire forgiveness 
 at the hands of our heavenly Father, let 
 us see to it that we cultivate the spirit of 
 forgiveness towards our brethren. 
 
 How are we to forgive ? 
 
 To this, the apostle answers in the lat- 
 ter clause of the text, " As Christ forgave 
 you, so also do ye' 
 
 How does he forgive? 
 
 1. He forgives universally. His lan- 
 guage is — " Tliy sins which are many, are 
 forgivenr'' We should imitate Christ in 
 this respect. We should make no re- 
 serves, but forgive all and every one of 
 our brother's offences against us. 
 
 2. Christ sincerely forgives ; — He never 
 upbraids us for those sins he once forgives. 
 He blots out the hand-writing against us. 
 He remembers our sins against us no 
 more. There is a pretended forgiveness 
 that falls from the lips only, Avithout 
 
 1 Matt, li., 15. 2 Lu]^e vii., 47, 48. 
 
90 MUTUAL FORBEARANCE [SER. IV. 
 
 flowing from the heart. You may have 
 frequently heard persons profess to for- 
 give in terms like the following. I par- 
 don him for what he has done to me ; I 
 only wish the poor creature may be able 
 to forgive himself I leave him to God 
 and his own conscience. Now this disco- 
 vers a want of sincerity, and shows an 
 inward bitterness of spirit, utterly at 
 variance with a forgiving temper. This 
 is not the way that Clnist forgives : — He 
 forgives sincerely. '^ Let tJiis mind he in 
 you wliicJi was also in Christ Jesusr 
 
 How amiable and benign is the spirit 
 of Christianity ! Like its divine author? 
 its high mission is to promote true peace, 
 good order and happiness among men. In 
 what a glorious state w^ould be our world, 
 were it entirelj^ under its holy influence. 
 Earth then, would be but the counterpart 
 of heaven. If all cultivated the spirit of 
 forbearance and forgiveness^ where there 
 is now strife, contentions, animosities and 
 revenge, the angel of peace, with his 
 
SER. IV.] AND FORGIVENESS. 91 
 
 celestial train of meekness, gentleness, 
 brotherly kindness and charity, would 
 reign predominant in every bosom. But 
 alas! how little of this spirit is found 
 among men ; how little even among the 
 professed followers of Christ. What a 
 readiness to put the worst construction 
 upon the actions of the brethren. How 
 prevalent is whispering, tale-bearing, and 
 evil-speaking. What a satanic-like plea- 
 sure there is taken in circulating the tale 
 of slander to the great injury of our 
 neighbor. 
 
 My brethren, these things ought not so 
 to be. You are called to the cultivation of 
 an opposite temper, by the most endear- 
 ing considerations. As children of one 
 family you reverently bow down at the 
 same table, partake of the same bread, 
 drink of the same cup, and profess to be 
 travelling to the same eternal home. In 
 that blissful place, you expect to unite 
 with all the redeemed of the Lord, in the 
 same song : — " Unto him that loved us and 
 
92 MUTUAL FORBEARANCE. [SER. IV. 
 
 washed us from our sins in his own hlood, 
 and hath made us Icings and priests unto 
 God and his Father, to Him he glory and 
 dominion forever and everT^ How rea- 
 sonable therefore is it that you should 
 cherish for each other on your journey 
 thitherward, the same feelings of bro- 
 therly kindness. " Forhearing one ano- 
 ther, and forgiving one another, if any 
 man have a quarrel against any, even as 
 Christ forgave you, so also do ye^ 
 
 ^ Eev. i., 5. 
 
SERMON y. 
 
 THE SIN OF GRIEVING THE HOLY SPIRIT. 
 
 " AND GRIEVE NOT THE HOLT SPIRIT OF GOD." Eph. iv. 30. 
 
 Grief, as well as all other affections of 
 the human heart which we find applied 
 in the Scriptures to the Spirit of God, 
 must necessarily be understood in a meta- 
 phorical sense. It especially refers to his 
 mode of acting towards those who resist 
 his influences, reject his kind offers, and 
 not to any inward feeling which the term 
 implies when it relates to finite man. 
 With the course generally pursued by one 
 w^ho from just cause has been grieved at 
 the conduct of another, we are perfectly 
 familiar. Between this course and the 
 conduct of the Spirit towards man in cer- 
 tain cases a comparison is here instituted. 
 
94 THE SIN OF GRIEMNG [SER. V. 
 
 When an earthly friend and benefactor 
 becomes grieved in consequence of receiv- 
 ing from his beneficiary insults in return 
 for the many favors bestowed, he with- 
 draws all intimacy and friendship from 
 such an one, until the barriers that stand 
 in the way of a reconciliation are entirely 
 removed. Now, the Holy Spirit is the 
 Almighty Friend and liberal Benefactor 
 of our fallen and degenerate race. But 
 man too often requites his surpassing 
 kindness and benevolence by acting in a 
 way that causes the blessed Spirit to 
 withdraw his enlightening and renovating 
 influences, leaving him in his own native 
 blindness and ignorance, to pursue the 
 " loay that seemeth rigliV unto him, though 
 the " lijays thereof be the ^' %(^aiis of death!' 
 We are therefore to understand the text 
 as containing a solemn admonition against 
 every thing that would hinder the success 
 of this divine agent in his gracious and 
 renewing operations upon the soul. 
 
 The Spirit of God, the third person in 
 
SEE. v.] THE HOLY SPIRIT. 95 
 
 the ever-adorable Trinity, is called ^ lioly' 
 because of the infinite holiness of his 
 character, and of the work of holiness 
 which he begins and carries on in the 
 hearts of his people. All the moral attri- 
 butes; justice, goodness and truth, are 
 possessed by him in common with the 
 Father and the Son, in unbounded per- 
 fection. In the economy of redemption, 
 the Holy Spirit is the grand agent whose 
 office is to establish these principles of 
 holiness in the souls of men. In order to 
 this, " he spake by the prophets," inspired 
 the apostles from whose sacred writings 
 we may obtain right conceptions of the 
 character of God, and of his will concern- 
 ing us. He is still present in his church, 
 to own and bless his word, and the ordi- 
 nances of his house to the spiritual edifi- 
 cation of all who yield to his gracious 
 dictates. His success, however, is far from 
 being universal. Though we have every 
 reason to believe from the infinitude of 
 his benevolence, that there is not a human 
 
96 THE SIN OF GRIEVING [SER. V. 
 
 being on earth at the door of whose heart 
 he has not repeatedly knocked for en- 
 trance ; yet we find only here and there 
 a few, comparatively, who have cordially 
 submitted to the empire of his grace. 
 The generality of men oppose him at 
 every avenue through which he is wont 
 to gain the ascendancy in the soul, and 
 thus cause him, so to speak, to turn away 
 grieved at the obduracy and impenitency 
 of their hearts. I am sure that I now 
 speak the experience of many of our 
 hearers. In order that you may through 
 the divine blessing be brought to a due 
 sense of the awful guilt you are incurring, 
 and of the danger to which you are thus 
 exposing yourselves, we shall endeavor to 
 point out some of the ways in which men 
 ' (jrieve the Holy Spirit of God! 
 This is done, 
 
 1. By inconsideration. The want of 
 calm, sober thought, is one of the greatest 
 hinderances to a sinner's conversion to God. 
 
SER. v.] THE HOLY SPIRIT. 97 
 
 The thunders of Sinai may roll, and tell 
 him of those eternal calamities that await 
 the ungodly beyond the grave ; the sweet 
 notes of redeeming love poured forth from 
 an angel's voice will all be in vain, so 
 long as the adversary of souls can contrive 
 to keep him from a train of regular, sober 
 thinlving. The great Jehovah thus com- 
 plained of his ancient people. "/ have 
 nourished and hrought up children, and 
 they have rebelled against me. The ox 
 Icnoioeth his otmier, and the ass his master's 
 crih : hut Israel doth not hnoio my people 
 doth not consider T'^ The same complaint 
 may be justly entered now. Against 
 every impenitent soul here in divine pre- 
 sence, the Holy Sjiirit may justly urge 
 the want of due consideration, as the 
 great reason why his holy influences have 
 not hitherto had their designed effect in 
 each case. God has made our salvation 
 to depend upon a cordial and hearty be- 
 lief of the truth as it is in Jesus. " With, 
 
 ^Isa. i.,2, 3. 
 9* 
 
98 THE SIN OF GRIEVING [SER. V- 
 
 theJieart man helieveth unto rujliteousnessr'^ 
 But we cannot thus heJieve the truth, unless 
 we luiclerstand, or realize it in its personal 
 application : nor can we thus understand 
 it when presented to our minds unless we 
 bestow upon it due thought andVeflection. 
 Thus you perceive how the thoughtless 
 sinner defeats, if we may so speak, the 
 purposes of divine grace. When the 
 Holy Spirit presents to the impenitent 
 mind divine truth, when he shows him 
 his own character, his depraved and sinful 
 state and the awful consequences that 
 will inevitably follow, when he discovers 
 unto him the character of God, his holi- 
 ness, justice and truth, instead of his 
 dwelling upon these truths in serious, 
 sober and penitential thought, Wiey are 
 excluded from the mind to make room 
 for subjects of a frivolous nature. So, the 
 Heavenly Visitor is thus grieved and 
 insulted at the cold repulse: — ''go thy 
 
 1 Rom. X , 10. 
 
SER. v.] THE HOLY SPIRIT. 99 
 
 way for this time ; when I have a conveiiieiit 
 secison Twill call for thee!'^ 
 The Holy Spirit is grieved, 
 
 2. By unholy conversation. The cha- 
 racter of our minds give in general a 
 direction to the train of our conversation. 
 Hence we may form a very good judg- 
 ment of the cast of our mind if we strictly 
 observe the character of the conversation 
 in which we take the greatest delight. 
 " Out of the ahundance of the heart,'' says 
 our Lord, " the mouth speahethr^ Of the 
 wicked it is said that, '' God is not in all 
 his thoughts!'^ Now so long as the incon- 
 siderate man continues so, and will not 
 wdth divine assistance use the power that 
 he has to bring his mind back from its 
 wanderings and lead it in the path of 
 serious, sober thinking, we cannot expect 
 him to delight in such a conversation of 
 which the Holy Spirit would approve. 
 His thoughts run in a channel, that is 
 
 1 Acts xxiv., 25. 2 Matt, xii., 34. ^ pg^. x., 4. 
 
100 THE SIN OF GRIEVING [SER. V. 
 
 "earthly, sensual and devilish." The 
 conversation in which he delights, must 
 consequently partake of the same cha- 
 racter. How then can the Holy Spirit 
 be otherwise than grieved to behold the 
 tongues of men so much employed about 
 temporal subjects, as totally to exclude 
 those that are spiritual and eternal; — 
 those subjects which excite the most 
 adoring wonder and rapturous songs of 
 joy among the redeemed in glory. But 
 upon this point, we need not confine our 
 remarks exclusively to the impenitent 
 j)art of our hearers. Professing Christians 
 are far from being faultless here. Indeed, 
 the apostle Paul in giving the admonition 
 contained in the text, evidently had his 
 Christian brethren at Ephesus chiefly in 
 view. In the words that immediately 
 ^precede the text, he addressed them 
 thus: — '^ Let no corrupt communication 
 proceed out of your mouth, hut that which 
 is good, to the use of edifyinij, that it mciy 
 minister grace to the hearers T The text 
 
SER. v.] THE HOLY SPIRIT. 101 
 
 then follows. — '^ And .grieve not the Holy 
 Spirit of Gocir 
 
 The rule laid down in this connexion 
 w^hereby Christians may avoid grieving 
 the Spirit, is to attend to the preceding 
 caution. But alas ! how seldom is this 
 rule attended to by professing Christians 
 in their intercourse with each other. 
 They may not violate the first part of 
 the rule. Their conversation may not 
 be of that character as to deserve to be 
 styled^ '^ corrupt communication !' But do 
 they not often violate the second part ? 
 When they meet together, is the commu- 
 nication that proceeds out of their mouth 
 good to the use of edifying'? Is there no 
 foolish talking and jesting which are not 
 convenient ? Is there no unkind and 
 unnecessary exposures made of the real 
 or supposed faults of neighbors ? Is there 
 no backbiting, no evil-speaking and slan- 
 dering ? Happy for the cause of religion 
 were it so. But the reverse is too often 
 the case. Instead of adhering to the 
 
102 THE JrlN OF GRIEVING [SER. V. 
 
 direction of the Apostle, aiming to edify 
 those present, there is too often a dispo- 
 sition shown to inflict an injury upon the 
 absent. And seeing this is the case, it is 
 no wonder that we behold so many dwarfs 
 in Christianity. It is no w^onder that 
 some run well for a season the Christian 
 race, grow weary, turn back and bring a 
 reproach upon the cause. You need 
 wonder no longer, inconsistent professor, 
 why you have no comfortable sense of 
 God's love, no delight in the sanctuary, 
 no relish for meditating on God's law, 
 and attending on the ordinances of his 
 house. You have grieved the Spirit of 
 grace, and caused him to withdraw from 
 you his comforting influences. When you 
 have learned to " speak good of the name 
 of the Lord, to be talking of his worship, 
 glory, praise and wondrous works ; to be 
 telling of his loving kindness early in the 
 morning, and of his truth in the night 
 season ;" then, may you expect him to 
 lift upon you the light of his countenance. 
 
SER. v.] IHE HOLY SPIRIT. 103 
 
 and to bless you with light, life and vigor. 
 On the contrary, if other matters of a 
 vain, foolish and reprehensible character, 
 are permitted to be themes to exj)atiate 
 upon in your social intercourse; depend 
 upon it a leanness will come over your 
 souls ; you will become like Samson shorn 
 of his strength, weak as other men : your 
 enemies will put out your eyes, leaving 
 you to grope your way in the darkness of 
 spiritual death. Again, the Spirit of God 
 is grieved — 
 
 3. By sinful tempers and affections. 
 In the verse that immediately follows the 
 text, St. Paul thus exhorts his brethren : 
 ''Let all hitterness and ivrath, and anger 
 and clamor, and evil-speahing, he put away 
 from you icWi all malice^ It is much to 
 be lamented that these evil affections 
 prevail too much among professing Chris- 
 tians in the present day. From the 
 slightest provocation received from hu- 
 man frailty, some will rave and toss 
 
104 THE SIN OF GRIEVING [SER. V. 
 
 themselves like an ox unaccustomed to 
 the yoke. They consider it too much 
 to be borne : and very often they dwell 
 upon these little matters until the poison 
 of the adder is found under their lips. 
 Then the very name of their supposed 
 adversary cannot be mentioned without 
 eliciting the serpent hiss. And by in- 
 dulging this revengeful spirit Lr a time, 
 it finally settles down in malice, a rooted 
 enmity, which makes a man more like 
 Lucifer than any other sin this side of 
 perdition. And can the Holy Spirit dwell 
 in a bosom that is indulging affections 
 like these? 'No, never. He can look with 
 delight only upon his own ^ fruit,' which 
 ''is love, joy, peace, lorKj-svffering, gentle- 
 ness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperances^ 
 Sinful tempers and affections are the 
 works of the devil. These works, the 
 Spirit of God in all his merciful and 
 gracious visits to man, aims to destroy. 
 Resolve then, my Christian friends, in 
 ' Gal. v., 22. 
 
SER. v.] THE HOLY SPIRIT. 105 
 
 the strength of divine grace, to resist and 
 overcome these enemies to your peace. 
 Christianity designs us to be of an excel- 
 lent spirit ; to be transformed by the 
 renewing of our minds : to be " ijeaceahle, 
 gentle, easy to he entreated, full of mercy 
 and good fruits r'^ By exhibiting an oppo- 
 site spirit we dishonor the cause of Christ, 
 and consequently grieve the Spirit whose 
 grand object is to advance it throughout 
 the earth. We have mentioned several 
 instances in which we may grieve the 
 Spirit; but we may add in a general way 
 that he is grieved by every species of sin, 
 whether it consists in doing the things 
 we ought not to do, or in leaving undone 
 those things which we ought to do. We 
 are all therefore guilty in this matter, 
 and have need daily to pray : " God, 
 make clean our hearts within us; And 
 take not thy Holy Spirit from us." 
 
 We shall endeavor now by a few con- 
 siderations. 
 
 ^ James iii., 17. 
 10 
 
106 THE SIN OF GRIEVING [SER. V. 
 
 • Second, To urge the admonition con- 
 tained in tlie text. 
 
 1. Consider the great dignity of the 
 Personage slighted. In the violation of the 
 rules of civility among men, the degree 
 of criminality is determined by the cha- 
 racter of the persons. Hence the same 
 act that would be termed simply an 
 insult from one man towards his equal in 
 station, w^ould be called a great indignity 
 towards his superior, say his Governor. 
 This arises from the inequality of position 
 that subsists between the parties. Now if 
 the degree of guilt contracted by grieving 
 the Spirit, is determined by his superior 
 dignity, where shall we find a term that 
 can give us an adequate idea of the 
 crime ? The Spirit of God fills immen- 
 sity. And where is the mind that can, 
 in its grandest and loftiest conceptions, 
 fully comprehend this great truth ? Such 
 knowledge is too high, too w^onderful, it 
 cannot be attained. This the enraptured 
 
SER. v.] THE HOLY SPIRIT. 107 
 
 psalmist confessed, when, in the sublimest 
 language he exclaimed : — " Whither shall 
 I go from thy Sinrit ? or icltither shall I 
 flee from thy presence ? If I ascend up 
 into heaven, thou art there; if I make my 
 hed in hell, behold thou art there. If I 
 talze the lolngs of the morning, and dwell in 
 the uttermost parts of the sea, even there 
 shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand 
 shall hold me!''^ This uncreated, eternal, 
 omnipotent, and omnipresent Being, man, 
 dying man, whose breath is in his nos- 
 trils, can dare to insult ! What horrid 
 impiety ! Consider, 
 
 2. His patience with you, notwith- 
 standing your repeated provocations. 
 When an earthly friend considers himself 
 to be insulted, he generally stands off in 
 cold indiiFerence towards you, until some 
 due acknowledgment be made ; and 
 even then his friendship is very apt to be 
 mixed with a little bitterness. But the 
 ^ Psa. cxxxix., 7, 8, 9. 
 
108 THE SIN OF GRIEVING [SER. V. 
 
 Spirit of God, though repeatedly grieved, 
 as often returns. He comes unasked, 
 and stands at the door, and knocks long 
 and loud, entreating us to open the door, 
 that he may come in and sup with us, 
 and we with him. Oh ! how aggravated 
 the guilt that must be contracted by a 
 continued opposition to such stupendous 
 love as this. But remember that God has 
 said : — " My Spirit shall not ahcays strive 
 with manr'^ There is an " accepted time, 
 a day of salvation,''^ in which we may 
 seek and find mercy at the hand of God 
 through Christ. That time, how^ever, and 
 that day may pass, when the things that 
 belong to our peace may be forever hid 
 from our eyes. By a long and continued 
 series of opposition to the Spirit's in- 
 fluences, the mind may at last become so 
 hardened in unbelief, so unsusceptible of 
 any permanent religious impression, by 
 the ordinary means of grace, (and we 
 have no right to expect any other means) 
 * Gen. vi., 3. ^2 Cor. vi., 2. 
 
SER. v.] THE HOLY SPIRIT. 109 
 
 as to cause the Holy Dove to take its 
 everlasting flight. Forty years was he 
 grieved at the disobedience of ancient Is- 
 rael, and said — " They do ahcay err in 
 their hearts, and they have not known my 
 ways. So I sivare in my icrcdh, they shall 
 not enter into my restr^ Take warning, 
 then, \ny brethren, from this example, 
 lest you fall under the same awful con- 
 demnation. That you have repeatedly 
 opposed the friendly counsels, warnings 
 and entreaties of the Spirit, you cannot 
 deny. He has often called you to par- 
 take of the waters of life, and you have 
 as often refused to hear ; he has stretched 
 out his hand to' deliver you from the 
 snares of the devil, but you have disre- 
 garded his kind intervention. Still he 
 waits to be gracious unto you, notwitli- 
 standing your past ingratitude and innu- 
 merable provocations. Though your sins 
 be as scarlet. He is ready and willing to 
 make them as white as snow. Let his 
 
 ' Hebrews, iii., 10, 11. 
 10* 
 
110 GRIEVING THE HOLY SPIRIT. [SER. V. 
 
 long-sufTering, goodness, and love, lead 
 you to that repentance that needeth not 
 be repented of again. Prostrate as you 
 should be at the footstool of mercy, while 
 you are acknowledging your repeated 
 insults to the heavenly visitor, let your 
 sincere, fervent and persevering prayer 
 ascend to the Lord, whose ear is ever 
 attentive ; and let its burden be — 
 
 ^^ Stay, thou insulted Spirit, stay, 
 
 Though I have done thee such despite ; 
 Nor cast the sinner quite away. 
 
 Nor take thine everhisting flight. 
 Though I have most unfaithful been, 
 
 And long in vain thy grace received j 
 Ten thousand times thy goodness seen, 
 
 Ten thousand times thy goodness grieved ; 
 Yet, oh ! the mourning sinner spare, 
 
 In honor of my great Iligh-Priest. 
 Nor in thy righteous anger swear, 
 
 T'exclude me from thy people's rest. 
 My soul lies humbled in the dust. 
 And owns thy dreadful sentence just; 
 Look down, Lord, with pitying eye 
 And save the soul coudemn'd to die." 
 
SERMON YI. 
 
 THE FOEBEAEANCE AND EETEIBUTIYE JUSTICE 
 OF GOD. 
 
 " The lord is slow to anger, and great in power, 
 
 AND AVILL NOT AT ALL ACQUIT THE WICKED." Nahum. i. 3. 
 
 In our attempts to worship the God of 
 heaven, it is highly important that we 
 entertain, as far as possible, just concep- 
 tions of the divine character; lest, while 
 we profess to worship Him with our lips, 
 we at the same time, be open to the 
 rebuke : " Ye worship^ ye Imoio not loJiat." 
 We are summoned to the house of prayer 
 at this time, under circumstances of 
 unusual interest. It has been recom- 
 mended by the Chief Magistrate, that 
 this day be devoted by the people 
 throughout the country to prayer and 
 fasting. And perhaps, there is no view 
 
112 THE FORBEARANCE AND [SER. YI. 
 
 of the character of God more proper for 
 the mhid to be duly impressed with on 
 an occasion like the present, than the 
 one contained in the text — his forbearing 
 mercy, in connexion with his power and 
 justice. 
 
 That Jehovah, whose perfections are un- 
 limited, should at any time, in the smallest 
 degree imaginable, be agitated, or dis- 
 turbed by any inward emotion hke mortal 
 man, is impossible. Passion is an attri- 
 bute that belongs exclusively to imperfect 
 beings, who require some moving principle 
 to excite them to action. But no such 
 necessity can be supposed to exist in the 
 great I AM, without involving the most 
 blasphemous absurdity. Hence, those 
 portions of scripture that ascribe anger, 
 wrath, jealousy, or any other passion, to 
 the Deity, are always to be understood 
 in a figurative, not in a literal sense. In 
 every case, it refers to his mode of pro- 
 ceeding, or acting, and not to any inward 
 emotion. As men, when provoked to 
 
SER. VI.] RETRIBUTIVE JUSTICE OF GOD 113 
 
 anger, generally take steps to avenge 
 themselves upon their enemies, so, when 
 God executes the sentence of His right- 
 eous laws upon the rebels against His 
 government, He is said to be avenged, 
 not that He, like man, takes a malignant 
 pleasure in the destruction of His enemies, 
 but He is said to be avenged, because in 
 such a case. His mode of procedure 
 resembles the steps that men take when 
 they are under the influence of anger. 
 With these preliminary remarks, we 
 shall enter upon the consideration of the 
 several propositions contained in the text 
 in the order in which they are presented. 
 
 First : — '' The Lord is slow to anger T 
 That is. He is slow to execute punish- 
 ment upon the transgressors of His law. 
 We have a striking illustration of the 
 truth of this proposition. 
 
 1. In the case of our fore-parents. 
 That eventful period, when they per- 
 
11 4: . THE FORBEARANCE AND [SER. VI. 
 
 petratod the crime that brought death 
 into the world and all our woe, in that 
 very hour. Jehovah could in justice have 
 banished them from the happy bowers of 
 Paradise, and consigned them to the 
 region of eternal misery and despair. It 
 was thus He dealt with Lucifer and his 
 rebellious crew. ''And the angels ichich 
 kept not their first estate, hut left their own 
 hahitation, he hath reserved in everlasting 
 chains, tender darkness, unto the judgment 
 of the great dayT^ But instead of dealing 
 thus with our fallen progenitors, he 
 granted them a day of grace — he gave 
 them a firm ground of hope in that 
 cheering and comprehensive promise : 
 " / will put enmity between thee and the 
 woman, and between thy seed and her seed ; 
 it shall bruise thy head, and thou shall 
 bruise his heeir^ That they had sufficient 
 time granted to avail themselves, as we 
 believe they did, of that gracious pro- 
 mise, is clear, from Adam's protracted 
 ' Judc G. =^ Gcu. iii., 15. 
 
S?:R. VI.] RETRIBUTIVE JUSTICE OF GOD. 115 
 
 term of life, which was extended beyond 
 the limit of nine hundred years. The 
 same penitence, faith and obedience, that 
 marked the character of Abel, when he 
 offered "a more excellent sacrifice than 
 Cain," were without doubt, equally prom- 
 inent in our fore-parents, w^hen " God 
 made coats of skins and clothed them." 
 It is not without good reason supposed, 
 that this clothing was the skins of beasts 
 shain in sacrifice by divine appoint- 
 ment, as typical of the one great sacrifice 
 of Christ, who, in the fulness of time, 
 " gave himself a ransom for all." 
 
 2. Another illustration of the truth that 
 God is SLOW TO ANGER, we have in the 
 case of the Antediluvians. They had 
 not only multiplied greatly in point of 
 numbers, but their sins and iniquities 
 also had increased to an alarming extent. 
 '' The loickedness of 7nan was great in the 
 earthy every imagination of the thoughts of 
 
116 THE FORBEARANCE AND [SER. Vr. 
 
 his licart was only evil continually.''^ 
 Being thus corrupt at the very fountain, 
 it followed as a natural consequence, that 
 ''the earth teas filled icltli violence throwjh 
 themr^ But what was the conduct of 
 God towards that guilty people ? He 
 mercifully w^arned them of the awful 
 consequence of their overgrown wicked- 
 ness by his servant Noah, who was " a 
 preacher of righteousness" to that devoted 
 people. He strove with them by his 
 Holy Spirit. He bore with their bad 
 manners ; he waited for their reforma- 
 tion for the space of one hundred and 
 twenty years, before he performed " his 
 act, his strange act!' 
 
 o. The same slowness to anger marked 
 the conduct of God towards his chosen 
 people Israel. They were under his 
 special guidance, government and protec- 
 tion : they were favored above all other 
 nations with the means of religious in- 
 
 * Gen. vi., 5. " Gen. vi., 13. 
 
SER. VI.] RETRIBUTIVE JUSTICE OP GOD. 117 
 
 struction, temporal security and prospe- 
 rity. They were " nourished and brought 
 up as children." When they groaned 
 under the Egyptian yoke, God delivered 
 them with a high hand and with an out- 
 stretched arm. When they travelled 
 through the dry and barren desert where 
 no water was, he caused streams to flow 
 from the flinty rock to refresh their faint- 
 ing spirits. He rained down manna from 
 heaven to relieve them from the pains of 
 hunger. But notwithstanding they en- 
 joyed such distinguished privileges and 
 blessings at the hand of God, they were 
 far from bringing forth those fruits of 
 purity and good living which might have 
 been reasonably expected. There were, 
 it is true, some honorable exceptions ; 
 but the general character given them in 
 the holy scriptures, is that of " a rebel- 
 lious and stiff-necked people," — they were 
 bent on backsliding — ever ready to depart 
 from their Almighty Sovereign and Friend, 
 and to conform to the abominable prac- 
 11 
 
118 THE FORBEARANCE AND [SER. VI. 
 
 tices and customs of the surroundinfij 
 heathen. But'did lie speedily give them 
 up to work out their own destruction with 
 greediness ? No. He bore with them for 
 upwards of fifteen hundred years after 
 he had delivered them out of the land of 
 Egypt and out of the house of bondage. 
 Moreover, when they had well nigh filled 
 up the cup of their iniquity in rejecting 
 the only Savior of sinful man, still, the 
 Lord forbore, to visit them according to 
 the demerit of their crimes. The axe it 
 is true, was lying at the root of the tree ; 
 but he did not speedily issue forth the 
 order, — cut it doion — its day of salvation 
 was protracted a little longer. Accord- 
 ingly, the blessed Savior, after his resur- 
 rection from the dead, in commissioning 
 his Apostles to spread the glad tidings of 
 mercy universally, instructed them, espe- 
 cially, to begin at Jerusalem — to give the 
 first oifer of salvation to them who had 
 crucified the Lord of life and glory. 
 Thus the history of that peculiar people 
 
SER VI.] RETRIBUTIVE JUSTICE OF GOD. 119 
 
 clearly illustrates the truth that the Lord 
 is sloiv to anger. 
 
 Again. The character of the Gentiles, 
 contrasted with God's conduct towards 
 them, is a further confirmation of the 
 first proposition of the text. A very 
 startling, but graphic picture of . their 
 wretchedly depraved character is drawn 
 by the Apostle Paul in the opening 
 of his masterly epistle to the Romans. 
 " Being filled^'' says he, " with all imright- 
 eoicsness, fornication, ivickedness, covetous- 
 ness, maliciousness ; full of envy, murder, 
 debate, deceit, malignity ; whisperers, hach- 
 hiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, 
 hoasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient 
 to parents, ivithout understanding ; covenant 
 breakers, ivithout natural affection, ijnpla- 
 cable, unmerciful : loho Iznotoing the judg- 
 ment of God, that they which commit such 
 things are loorthy of death, not only do the 
 same, but have pleasure in them that do 
 thenir^ Here then, we have the moral 
 
 1 Kom. i., 29, 32. 
 
120 THE FORBEARANCE AND [SER. VI. 
 
 portraiture of the Gentiles, as it presented 
 itself to themincl of the inspired Apostle. 
 Yet we find that they were not swept off 
 the face of the earth as with a besom of 
 destruction. The same Apostle says, — 
 ''And the times of this ignorance God 
 ivinlced at^''^ i. e. He bore with them in 
 mercy, in order to gi^ them a clear and 
 explicit call to repentance. But we need 
 not confine your attention to facts of 
 ancient date, since we have a sufficient 
 illustration of the truth under considera- 
 tion, in our own day and time. See, how 
 the Lord's day is profaned; the day conse- 
 crated to holiness and God is devoted by 
 multitudes, young and old, to idleness, 
 frivolity and sinful pleasures. How many 
 acts of inhumanity, cruelty, oppression, 
 high-handed robbery, murder, treachery, 
 and lewdness, are every day practised 
 amidst the blaze of moral and religious 
 light. These things are of so frequent 
 occurrence, that they almost cease to 
 ^ Acts xvii., 30. 
 
SER. VI.] RETRIBUTIVE JUSTICE OF GOD. 121 
 
 affect us. See the multiplied groggeries, 
 gambling cellars and dens of infamy 
 which are thronged, not only by the old 
 and hardened in crime, but thronged by 
 the young men of our city, whose down- 
 ward course is blasting the best hopes of 
 their parents and friends. Oh! were it 
 possible for us to X^ke a panoramic view 
 of all the abominations committed here 
 during the space of twenty-four hours 
 only, we should be overwhelmed at the 
 sight : we should be ready to regard our- 
 selves as dwelling among incarnate demons 
 instead of human, intelligent, and moral 
 beings. Horror-stricken at the sight, we 
 would tremble under the most agonizing 
 apprehensions, lest the earth would not. 
 long sustain such a mass of guilt, pollution 
 and crime. Now, w^e should bear in 
 mind, that the Supreme Kuler of the 
 Universe, surveys with one comprehen- 
 sive glance, not only all the crimes of a 
 single nation, but of the world at large. 
 He has a clear and distinct view of every 
 11* 
 
122 THE FORBEARANCE AND [SER. VI. 
 
 species of wickedness that is now, or ever 
 has been committed. Yet we behold his 
 sun rising upon the just, and upon the 
 unjust, we have the regular return of the 
 seasons : "He gives its rain from heaven and 
 fruitful seasons, filling our hearts ivith food 
 and gladness:' Why is this ? Since the 
 wickedness of man is still great in the 
 earth, why do we not see the vials of 
 unmitigated wrath, poured out upon its 
 guilty inhabitants? Why do we not 
 see the heavens gathering blackness and 
 the red thunderbolt hurled down in 
 flaming vengeance ? To these inquiries 
 unassisted reason can give no satisfactory 
 answers. To see virtue, humanity, truth 
 and justice lying prostrate upon the earth, 
 while vice, cruelty and gross injustice 
 receive honor and support, would be to us 
 an incomprehensible mystery, were it not 
 for the revelation of the truth contained 
 in the text, that, the Lord is slow to anger. 
 This truth will receive further confirma- 
 tion from its application to our own indi- 
 
SER. VI.] RETRIBUTIVE JUSTICE OF GOD. 123 
 
 vidual cases. There is not one among 
 us arriven to years of maturity, who upon 
 a review of his life can fail to see the 
 clearest evidences in his own case of the 
 truth contained in the first part of our 
 text. Let conscience speak, and she will 
 whisper in the ears of some thus. You 
 are now well-stricken in years ; you were 
 born in a Christian land ; you have heard 
 the sound of salvation ten thousand times, 
 but alas ! you cannot find in all your 
 life one single day truly devoted to the 
 service of that God in whom you live, 
 move, and have your being, and who has 
 made every provision for your present 
 and everlasting happiness. To another 
 she would say, in the spring-tide of life 
 you sought the Lord and found him to the 
 joy and satisfaction of your soul; but 
 suffering yourself to be drawn aside by 
 your giddy companions, and through the 
 deceitfulness of your own heart, you be- 
 came entangled again in the yoke of 
 bondage ; you crucified afresh the Lord of 
 
124 THE rOllBEARANCE AND [SER. VI. 
 
 glory ; put liim to open shame ; and now, 
 you are ten-fold more the child of Satan 
 than before. To us all she would bring 
 home the cliargc, of having too often 
 " done the things which we ought not to 
 have done, and" of having "left undone 
 those thiu2:s which we oujxht to have 
 done." But notwithstanding this, our 
 lots are still among the living and not 
 with the dead. So far from having any 
 visible marks of divine vengeance upon 
 us, we are still prisoners of hope, within 
 the reach of mercy, having the privilege 
 of partaking of the blessings of pardon, 
 peace and holiness in this world, as pre- 
 paratory for the enjoyment of eternal 
 happiness in the world to come. Breth- 
 ren, we all stand this day living witnesses 
 that the Lord is sloio to anger. 
 
 Second. This attribute of God is no 
 evidence of his want of ability to execute 
 upon transgressors the sentence of his vio- 
 lated law, for the prophet further adds that 
 
 He is ' (J real in poioer' Men maybe 
 
6ER. VI.] RETRIBUTIVE JUSTICE OF GOD. 125 
 
 sometimes slow in effecting their purposes, 
 because they are unable to accomplish 
 their ends with despatch. No such ina- 
 bility belongs to Jehovah. What can 
 stay his hand, who, " in the beginning 
 created the heaven and the earth — who 
 spake and it was done ; who commanded, 
 and it stood fast." Indeed, his slowness 
 to anger, or long-forbearance, is perhaps, 
 the greatest proof of his power that we 
 can have any conception of. In contem- 
 plating the magnitude, the number and 
 velocity of the planets, we are justly 
 struck with amazement at the great 
 
 s, power that upholds and sustains them. 
 But what comparison can there be between 
 
 - the power that is put forth in the mate- 
 rial system, and that which is manifested 
 in his long-forbearance towards sinners. 
 The former is power over matter, the 
 latter is power over his own uncreated 
 Being. The exhibition of monstrosity in 
 wickedness, arouses at once the indigna- 
 tion of men, and nothing but the want of 
 
126 THE FORBEARANCE AND [SER. Vf. 
 
 authority and power prevent tliem in such 
 cases, from visiting it* with summary 
 punishment. But this is an evidence of 
 our weakness. God "is of purer eyes 
 than to behold iniquity — Heaven is im- 
 i:)ure in his sight." Yet he is cognizant 
 of the great mass of human crime, but 
 strikes not. His own iniiexible justice 
 and truth call for vengeance against the 
 transgressors; but his long-forbearance, 
 holds back the bolt. Here lies the ^'tlmn- 
 der of his jyoicer^ which is beyond human 
 comprehension. 
 
 Again, nor does his slowness to anger 
 afford any security to the finally impeni- 
 tent ; for it is further added that 
 
 He ^^will not at all acquit the wicked^ 
 Though he bear long wuth sinners, yet 
 retributive justice will overtake them at 
 last. The fate of several nations as well 
 as individuals may be adduced as illus- 
 trative of this. The ante-diluvians, the 
 Sodomites, the Egyptians, tlie Ninevites, 
 
SER. VI.] RETRIBUTIVE JUSTICE OF GOD. 127 
 
 the Jews, all stand upon the historian's 
 page, as indisputable evidences of the 
 truth that He will not at all acquit the 
 finally impenitent. Now, as nations can 
 exist as such in this world only, and as 
 God is unchangeably the same, when 
 they become involved in national guilt, 
 nothing but a timely repentance can 
 avert a national punishment. Avarice, 
 pride and ambition might be expatiated 
 upon as sins of which this nation stands 
 guilty before God; but the great master 
 sin of the nation is, that of sanctioning 
 that system of outrage, which allows man 
 to hold property in his fellow-man, the 
 system, that blots out the moral image 
 traced upon the soul by the hand of God, 
 and writes thereupon — ' it is a thing' It 
 requires no labored attempt to show that 
 the nation is verily guilty in this matter. 
 In whatever department we look, whe- 
 ther legislative, literary, civil or religious, 
 we find in the general spirit and conduct 
 of each, a determined opposition to the 
 
128 THE FORBEARANCE AND [SER VI. 
 
 universal rights of man. And what 
 marks do we observe of true repentance ? 
 Is there a general concern upon the sub- 
 ject? Are the people awakened to a 
 sense of their awful guilt? Are they 
 bringing forth fruit meet for repentance ? 
 Are they like Zaccheus restoring four-fold 
 to their wronged neighbors? Far from 
 it, far from it. The great absorbing theme 
 dwelt upon from one end of the country 
 to the other is gain. The obHgation " to 
 do justly, to love mercy, and to ivcdk Itumhly 
 with God,'' is not taken into the account. 
 Here a general apathy prevails. It is 
 certainly a very imposing sight to behold 
 an entire people, as at tliis day, present- 
 ing themselves before God in the attitude 
 of humble suppliants. Prayer and fasting 
 are some of the signs of penitence, and 
 when accompanied with the other marks, 
 viz., the forsaking of evil, and the prac- 
 tising of good works, they are well- 
 pleasing to God; otherwise they are of 
 no avail. When the Ninevites under a 
 
SER. VI.] RETRIBUTIVE JUSTICE OF GOD. 129 
 
 dread of God's judgments clothed them- 
 selves in sack-cloth, and cried mightily to 
 God, it is said; that, " God saw their 
 works, that they turned frain their evil way ; 
 and God repented of the evil that he had said 
 that he ivould do unto them, and he did it 
 notr^ But what does the Lord say to his 
 people when they had given up themselves 
 to unrighteousness, and still offered to 
 Him a formal worship. " To ivhat pur- 
 pose is the midtitude of your sacrifices unto 
 me ? saith the Lord : When ye come to 
 appear before me, who hath required this at 
 your hand to tread my courts ? Briyig no 
 more vain oblations : incense is an cdtomina- 
 tion unto me ; the new moons and sabbaths, 
 the calling of assemblies, I cannot away 
 with : it is iniquity, even the solemn meeting. 
 And when ye spread forth your hands I will 
 hide mine eyes from you; yea, when ye 
 make many prayers I will not hear ;" and 
 the reason he assigns is : " your hands are 
 full of blood.'' Hence the exhortation; 
 
 * Jonah iii,, 10. 
 12 
 
130 THE FORBEARANCE AND [SER. VI. 
 
 " WasJi you, malce you dean ; jtut aicay the 
 evil of your doings from before mine eyes; 
 cease to do evil, learn to do loell, seek judg- 
 ment; relieve the opjyressed ; judge the 
 fatherless; jflead for the widoivT^ The 
 point upon which their happiness or 
 misery depended is thus stated. " If ye 
 he loilling and obedient, ye shall eat the good 
 of the land. But if ye refuse and rebel, ye 
 shall he devoured, by the sivord : for the 
 mouth of the Lord hath spoken it"^ This 
 threatening was signally executed upon 
 the Jewish nation in the terrible slaughter 
 which took place when their proud city 
 was besieged by the Roman army under 
 Titus. And it awfully exemplified the 
 inspired declaration : " Righteousness ex- 
 alteth a nation, hut sin is a reproach to any 
 people''^ With regard to the impenitent, 
 as individuals, though in this world they 
 find by experience that " the ivay of trans- 
 gressors is hard .•" yet the full measure of 
 
 *Isa. i.,11, 12, 18, 15, IG, 17 
 
 ^Isa. i., 19, 20. «Piov. xiv., 34- 
 
SER. VI.] RETRIBUTIVE JUSTICE OF GOD. 131 
 
 their punishment will not be meted out to 
 them until the final judgment. Then God 
 '^loill render to every man according to his 
 deeds."^ " Unto them that are contentious and 
 do not obey the truth, hut obey unrighteous- 
 ness ; indignation and wrath^ tribulation 
 and anguish upon every soid of man that 
 doeth eviir^ Be awakened then, my 
 impenitent bearers, to a sense of your 
 danger. Let God's patience with you 
 lead to a timely repentance. This is the 
 gracious design Heaven has in view, in 
 bearing with your bad manners from day 
 to day and from year to year. He is 
 slow to anger under all your provocations, 
 in order that you may be suitably affected, 
 and so be led to repentance and salvation. 
 Abuse not his mercy by hardening your 
 hearts and stiffening your necks. Think 
 not that because sentence against an evil 
 work is not executed speedily, you will 
 therefore escape punishment. The arm 
 
 Rom. ii., 6. Rom. ii., 8. 
 
132 THE FORBEARANCE, &C. [SER. VI. 
 
 of Divine Justice may be long delayed, 
 yet it will fall at last upon your guilty 
 head with accumulated vengeance. And 
 who can endure the idea of ftilling into 
 the prunitive hands of Him who is omni- 
 potent in power ! May you avert this, 
 by a timely repentance, by an unreserved 
 dedication of yourselves to His service. 
 Then, his power, justice and mercy will 
 combine to ensure your present and ever- 
 lasting happiness. 
 
SERMON VII. 
 
 PRICE IN HAND OF THE FOOLISH TO GET 
 WISDOM. 
 
 ** Wherefore is there a price in the hand op a fool to 
 get wisdom, seeing he hath no heart to it ?" 
 
 Prov. xvii. 16. 
 
 Wisdom is a gem of inestimable value. 
 Nothing SO strongly marks the superiority 
 of one class of men above another, than 
 their pre-eminence in wisdom. For the 
 various arts of civilized life, the innu- 
 merable comforts and conveniences we 
 enjoy, to which the native children of 
 the forest are entire strangers; we are 
 indebted to the operations of superior 
 wisdom. It guides the mariner across 
 the pathless waste of waters, and leads 
 him back over mountain billows safe to 
 
 12* 
 
134 PRICE IN HAND OF THE [SER. VII. 
 
 liis own kindred and home laden with 
 the riches of foreign climes. It scours 
 the surface of our globe, investigates the 
 numerous vegetables of the verdant king- 
 dom ; marks their genera, their species, 
 their different properties, their agencies, 
 especially in arresting the ravages of dis- 
 ease to which man is liable in this state 
 of discipline and trial. It penetrates the 
 bowels of the earth and explores the won- 
 ders and riches of the mineral kingdom. 
 It mounts up to heaven; up^ at a dizzy 
 height, and there observes the circuitous 
 pathway of the planets, and with its vast 
 line measures them as they roll along in 
 the wide expanse. The order and regu- 
 larity that obtain among men How from 
 this source. We sometimes see different 
 nations involved in angry disputes, and 
 led to the very point of bringing about all 
 the horrors of a desolating war. Fortu- 
 nately, however, superior wisdom in due 
 season rises up in her majesty and makes 
 her voice heard above the "sound of many 
 
SER. VII.] FOOLISH TO GET WISDOM. 135 
 
 waters:^ — the tumultuous murmurs of the 
 people are at once hushed : and the hos- 
 tile spirit with its menacing array of the 
 weapons of death, gives place to the 
 pleasing spectacle of harmony, fraternity, 
 peace, and their ever-attendant blessings. 
 In this limited view of wisdom's opera- 
 tions, all are ready to acknowledge its 
 paramount value and excellency. But 
 the Holy Scriptures speak of, and the 
 text alludes to, a wisdom of a much 
 higher order still. 
 
 Job, in a figurative style common among 
 the orientals, inquires where man's highest 
 wisdom is to be found : and having searched 
 in vain through every department of na- 
 ture, he at length arrived at the true and 
 only fountain. ^^ But loliere shall wisdom 
 he found ? and wliere is the 'place of under- 
 standing ? Man hnoioeth not the price thereof; 
 neither is it found in the land of the living. 
 The depth saith, It is 7iot in me : and the sea 
 saithy It is not in me. It cannot he gotten 
 
136 PRICE IN HAND OF THE [SER. VII. 
 
 for gold, neither shall silver he weighed for 
 the price thereof. It cannot he valued icith 
 the gold of Ophir, with the pfrecioics onyx, 
 or the sapphire. The gold and the crystal 
 cannot equal it: and the exchange of it shall 
 not he for jeicels of fine gold. No mentioii 
 shcdl he made of coral, or of pearls : for the 
 p)rice of loisdom is above rvibies. The topaz 
 of Ethiopia shcdl not equal it, neither shcdl 
 it he valued ivith pure gold. Whence then 
 cometh ivisdom ? and lohere is the place of 
 understanding ? Seeing it is hid from the 
 eyes of cdl living, a.nd kept close from the 
 fowls of the air. Destruction and death 
 say. We have heard the fame thereof with 
 our ears. God under standeth the way there- 
 of, and he hnoiveth the place thereof. For 
 he loolceth to the ends of the earth, and seeth 
 under the whole hea^ven. To maize the weight 
 for the winds ; and he weigheth the waters 
 hy measure. When he made a decree for 
 the rain, and a way for the lightning of the 
 thunder. Then did he see it, and declare 
 it; he prepared it, yea, and searched it out. 
 
SER. VII.] FOOLISH TO GET WISDOM. 13T 
 
 And unto man he said, Behold, the fear of 
 the Lord, that is ivisdom ; and to depart 
 from evil is understanding T ^ Thus we 
 perceive that the revelation God made 
 to man in the beginning, in which con- 
 sists his highest wisdom, is, ^^ the fear of 
 the Lord." 
 
 There is a servile dread of God, arisins: 
 from a sense of guilt and the awful desert 
 of sin, which sometimes so harasses the 
 impenitent, as to cause them to agonize 
 under awful forebodings of coming wrath. 
 But the principle referred to in the text, 
 is a holy, reverential fear of offending 
 the Divine Majesty, and a tender concern 
 to please him in all our walks and ways. 
 It includes the whole of practical obedi- 
 ence to the commands of God. Good 
 old ^* Noah moved loitlf this holy ''fear," 
 when in prompt obedience to the com- 
 mand of his Maker, he ''prepared an arh 
 to the saving of his house."^ This holy 
 > Job xxviii., 12-28. ^ Heb. xi., 7. 
 
138 PRICE IN HAND OF THE [SER. VII. 
 
 principle can never spring from unre- 
 newed nature. It is, " tlie vmdom that is 
 from above,'' and, " is first 'pure, then peace- 
 able, gentle, and easy to he intreated , full of 
 mercy and good, fruits, without partiality, 
 and without hypocrisy T^ 
 
 Whoever takes the hand of this 
 heavenly guide, and follows her direc- 
 tions, shall pass safely through the 
 perilous voyage of life, laden, not with 
 corruptible treasures ; but, with the 
 riches of Christ and his gospel, and 
 arrive at home, home to heaven, where 
 they shall unite with kindred spirits in 
 celebrating the praises of God and the 
 Lamb forever and ever. This wisdom, 
 in her ethereal flights, stops not among 
 the rolling orbs of the planetarj^ world. 
 She mounts up infinitely higher. Her 
 native place is in the palace of the King 
 of Saints and angels. Thither she 
 ascends, and unfolds to the eye of faith, 
 the glorious reward of righteousness : — 
 * Jam. iii., 17. 
 
SER. VII.] FOOLISH TO GET WISDOM. 139 
 
 heavenly mansions — everlasting joys — 
 " the crown of righteousness , which the Lord, 
 the righteous judge, shall give at that day, 
 unto all them that love his appearing."^ 
 
 To be destitute of this heavenly wis- 
 dom, and unconcerned about obtainin^: 
 it, however wise we may be as it respects 
 things that pertain to this life, we are in 
 the eye of God's Word, regarded as 
 "foohr This is indeed, a mortifying 
 epithet, but let us see whether it be not 
 very properly applied to all those who 
 " have not the fear of God before their eyes!' 
 If idleness, if a neglect to improve the 
 proper season to labor, if a want of fore- 
 thought to lay up provision for future 
 necessities, be marks of folly in a tem- 
 poral sense ; then, the man who has the 
 great work of his personal salvation 
 before him, and spends all his time in 
 matters of minor importance ; who 
 neglects, in " the accepted time,'' to pro- 
 ^ 2d Tim. iv., 8. 
 
140 PRICE IN HAND OF THE [SER. VII. 
 
 vide himself with that robe of righteous- 
 ness, in which he " may appear pure and 
 blameless at the coming of our Lord and 
 Saviour Jesus Christ;" he, who thus acts, 
 may very properly regard himself as 
 being superlatively foolisli. 
 
 What a numerous multitude among 
 our fellow-men show themselves to be 
 deserving of this opprobrious epithet. 
 There is not a city, town, or village, but 
 what is crowded with them. They make 
 up the great mass of mankind. Hence, 
 the world may be compared to a bedlam. 
 The number of our fellow-creatures 
 deserving to bear this epithet being so 
 vast, it will not be a matter of wonder, 
 if a goodly number be found enclosed 
 within these sacred walls. We cannot 
 be fairly charged with a want of charity 
 in thinking, that a little honest and sober 
 reflection on the part of some of our 
 hearers, would constrain them to class 
 themselves with the number. There is 
 such a thing as partial insanity. A 
 
SER. VII.] FOOLISH TO GET WISDOM. 141 
 
 crazy man may converse quite rationally 
 upon certain topics 5 but, so soon as you 
 approach some particular subject, he 
 reasons no longer. Thus it is with man. 
 Place before him his temporal interests, 
 and he acts like a reasonable being. 
 Bend his mind upon the various sciences, 
 and the deep researches of his reasoning 
 powers, demonstrate his near relation to 
 superior beings. But lay before him the 
 all-important subject of religion, and 
 immediately you perceive the change. 
 However eminent he may be as a 
 scholar, a statesman, a philosopher ; 
 however wise and prudent he may be 
 in his affairs as a farmer, mechanic or 
 merchant, with regard to ' the one tiling 
 needful,' he gives little, or no signs of 
 reason. Some are totally unconcerned 
 about the things that belong to their 
 present and everlasting peace. Others 
 have a feeble sense of the importance of 
 this subject, but put off the due con- 
 sideration of it to a more convenient 
 
 13 
 
142 PRICE IN HAND OF THE [SER. VII. 
 
 season. Another class, with more ener- 
 getic folly than the former, make the 
 attempt to serve both God and Mammon 
 — to give half the heart to the Lord, the 
 other half to the world. Others again, 
 merely put on the garb of religion, the 
 form of godliness, while they are destitute 
 of its life and power. In this way, the 
 great majority of mankind are acting as 
 it relates to their spiritual and eternal 
 welfare. Man thus suffers his precious 
 moments to pass away unimproved, till, 
 alas ! in an hour when he thinks not 
 death comes : '' he givetJi %ip the ghost, and 
 where is hef'^ Is this a rational mode of 
 acting ? What would be thought of any 
 set of persons who acted thus, when they 
 had some great temporal interest at 
 stake, in danger of losing all their pro- 
 perty by fire ? If the most of them were 
 seen to be totally unconcerned; others 
 putting off their exertions to save their 
 effects, to a more convenient season ; 
 
 » Job xiv., 10. 
 
SER. VII.] FOOLISH TO GET WISDOM. 143 
 
 others using one hand to secure their all; 
 and others merely putting on the appear- 
 ance of concern ; would they not be 
 regarded as insane persons ? But how 
 much more foolish do they appear, who 
 act thus, in relation to their present and 
 eternal welfare. A man may lose his 
 earthly goods, but in the course of time, 
 by industry, frugality and economy, he 
 may succeed in accumulating an equiva- 
 lent to all his losses. But when the soul 
 is lost, all is lost — the joys of heaven 
 once lost, are lost forever — the soul that 
 descends to the dismal regions of despair, 
 shall never be cheered by the glad sound 
 of salvation. How egregious then, is the 
 folly of ungodly men ! If their folly was 
 unavoidable, they would be excusable. 
 For no one can be fairly blamed for 
 unavoidable ignorance. But this is not 
 the case. For their folly, they alone are 
 to blame. 
 
144 PRICE IN HAND OF THE [SER. VII. 
 
 The text says — 
 
 " TlIEKE IS A TRICE IN THE HAND OF A 
 FOOL TO GET WISDOM." 
 
 By this we are to understand, that the 
 means to obtain wisdom, through the 
 benevolence of God, are placed in our 
 hands. W6 have reason, conscience, the 
 holy scriptures, the ordinances of God's 
 house, the preaching of the gospel, the 
 aids of the Holy Spirit, liberty of access 
 to God through Christ, by prayer and 
 supplication ; we have pious parents, re- 
 lations, friends, or good books to assist 
 us. Here then is a j2^?7*ce, a talent, or 
 rather, talents of inestimable value placed 
 into our hands to obtain wisdom; and 
 by persevering in the right use of these 
 means, we cannot fail to attain it. St. 
 James says, — ^' If any of you lack icisdom, 
 let him ash of Qod, that giveth to all men 
 liberally, and ujyhraidetli not ; and it shall 
 he (jiven him. But let him ask in faith, no- 
 tiling loavering. For he that loavereth is 
 
SER. Vir.] FOOLISH TO GET WISDOM. 145 
 
 like a wave of the sea driven imtli the tvmd 
 and tossed. For let not that man think 
 that he shall receive anything of the Lord^^ 
 But with all these advantages in their 
 hands to become wise unto salvation, it 
 is a melancholy fact, that too many of 
 our race remain foolish notwithstanding. 
 The ungodly are wont to frame many 
 excuses for their folly in continuing in 
 their wretched state. They are all so 
 frivolous in their character, that it is 
 needless to detail. But whatever excuses 
 they may frame to account for their not 
 being truly wise, in the text, the grand 
 reason is declared to be, that they have 
 ''no heart to it!' " Wherefore is there a 
 price in the hand of d fool to get wisdom, 
 seeing he hath no heart to it .?" That is, he 
 has no sincere desire to obtain it. He 
 will not be at the pains of considering 
 long upon its nature, hence its transcend- 
 ant excellencies are hid from his view. 
 
 James i., 5, 7. 
 13* 
 
146 PRICE IN HAND OF THE [SER. Vn. 
 
 And seeing no beauty in it, he has no 
 ardent desires after it. His desires are 
 strong for the perishable objects of time 
 and sense. He can ardently exclaim : — 
 " What shall loe eat? or What shall we 
 driiik? or Whereioithal shall ive he 
 clothed?''^ " But none saith, where is Ovd 
 my maher^ loho giveth sojigs in the nightr^ 
 Since ungodly men, with all the f^icili- 
 ties kind Providence has given them to 
 be wise, continue wretchedly foolish not- 
 withstanding, the wise man enquires, — 
 Wherefore is it that they have these ad- 
 vantages? The question implies, that 
 these means of wisdom are unworthily 
 placed, — that they are of no essential 
 benefit to the possessor. Hence, he says, 
 Wherefore is this ? " Whei^efore is there a 
 ^rice in the hand of a fool to get wisdom, 
 seeing he hath no heart to itf^ 
 
 We may answer, that this price is 
 given — 
 
 * Matt, vi., 31. * Job xxxv., 10. 
 
SER. VII.] FOOLISH TO GET WISDOM. 147 
 
 1st. As a clear demonstration of the 
 proposition, that God taketh " no pleasure 
 in the death of the iviched, hut that the 
 loicked turn from his icay and live r^ "I 
 exhort,'' says St. Paul, " that suj^plications, 
 prayers y intercessions and giving of thanhs 
 he made for all men. For this is good and 
 acceptahle in the sight of God our Saviour, 
 ivho ivill have all men to he saved and to 
 come to the hioivledge of the truth "^ " God 
 so loved the loorld,'' said our Saviour, " that 
 he gave his only hegotten Son, that lohosoever 
 helieveth in him sliould not perish, hut have 
 everlasting life!'^ As a confirmation of the 
 glorious truths here announced, God has 
 graciously placed into the hand of every 
 man ample means, which if rightly used, 
 will compass his present and everlasting 
 happiness. So the great Father of us all, 
 may utter now the same vehement com- 
 plaint of every ungodly impenitent sinner, 
 as he did with regard to the base ingrati- 
 
 Ezek. xxxiii., 11. n Tim. ii.,13, 4. « John iii., 16. 
 
148 PRICE IN HAND OF THE [SER. VII. 
 
 tude of his people of old — '^ What could 
 have heen done more to my vineyard, that I 
 have 7ioi done in itf"^ Furthermore, the 
 ^' price' is placed into the hand of every 
 man. 
 
 2d. That in the great day of account 
 the finally impenitent shall not be able to 
 show any reason why the sentence of 
 condemnation should not be passed upon 
 them for their neglect of improving it. 
 In the parable of the talents the servant 
 who had 07ie, offered as an excuse for 
 not improving it, his knowledge of the 
 severity of his Lord ; ''reaping where'' he 
 had ''not sc/ivn, and gathering ivliere" he 
 had "not strawed,"^ But he thus con- 
 demned himself. And his Lord showed 
 him, that the very excuse he offered, 
 was a more urgent reason why he should 
 have improved the talent intrusted to his 
 charge. Hence he was struck dumb : 
 stripped of every extenuating plea — forced 
 
 * Isaiah v., 4. a j^i^tt. xxv , 2G. 
 
SER. VII.] FOOLISH TO GET WISDOM. 149 
 
 tacitlj to acknowledge the sentence : — 
 '' Cast ye the u7iprofitahle servant into outer 
 darkness;' to be the just dement of his 
 consummate folly. Thus will it be in 
 the last great day with all who shall 
 be found destitute of heavenly wisdom. 
 When all the golden opportunities they 
 suffered to pass away unimproved; the 
 many glorious privileges neglected ; the 
 repeated calls and entreaties of God's 
 providence, word and Spirit that have 
 been slighted; when all these are brought 
 to their remembrance; while the Judge 
 is pronouncing the sentence, ''Depart ye 
 cursed,'' they will be constrained in inex- 
 pressible agony to say, Amen, to their 
 own condemnation. And what a bitter 
 ingredient will this be in that cup of 
 indignation, which shall be their portion 
 forever and ever — self-condemnation — 
 forever exclaiming, I have destroyed 
 myself ! 
 
 See the importance then, my hearers, 
 
150 PRICE IN HAND OF THE [SER. VII. 
 
 of duly improving the ^mce that God in 
 his goodness has placed into your hands 
 to get wisdom. You are stewards of the 
 manifold grace of God. And the day is 
 at hand, when you will be called to stand 
 at his dread tribunal, to render a strict 
 aecount of your stewardship. You are 
 surrounded with every necessary facility 
 to enable you to make your peace with 
 God, your calling and election sure. 
 Through the providence of God your lot 
 has been cast, not amidst the darkness of 
 Paganism, superstition and idolatry, but 
 in a Christian land, under the moral 
 influences of Christian sabbaths, religious 
 counsel and example. You have the 
 Bible in your hand, that blessed book, 
 which is "a lajitem unto our feet^ and a 
 lif/Jit unto our j^ath^' which informs us of 
 the great love of our heavenly Father in 
 giving his " Son to die for our oflences, 
 and to be raised again for our justifica- 
 tion," and his Holy Spirit to enlighten, 
 renew and sanctify our depraved nature. 
 
SER. VII.] FOOLISH TO GET WISDOM. 151 
 
 Now if you fail to bring forth the fruit 
 of righteousness, after having all these 
 superior privileges and blessings at hand, 
 how tremendous must be the punishment 
 that awaits you in the eternal world ! 
 How can ye escape wrath to the utter- 
 most? 
 
 I beseech you, let not the grace of God 
 be granted you in vain. Avoid the doom 
 of the wicked and slothful servant. In 
 all your getting, get wisdom. Continue 
 no longer under the shameful reproach of 
 having "no heart to it'' Seek after it, for 
 it is better than rubies, and all the things 
 that may be desired are not to be com- 
 pared to it. Seek it diligently and per- 
 severingly. For "if thou seekest her as 
 silver, and searchest for her as for hid 
 treasures, then shalt thou understand the 
 fear of the Lord, and find the knowledge 
 of God." And what " thy hand findeth 
 to do,'' on this great subject, " do it with 
 thy might, for there is 7io work, nor device, 
 nor hnowledge, nor ivisdom, in the grave 
 whither thou goest," 
 
SERMON YIII. 
 
 THE SHORTNESS AND UNCERTAINTY OF TIME. 
 
 "But this I say brethren, the time is short." 
 
 1 Cor. vii., 29. 
 
 The sentiment contained in the words 
 of the text, is one of those solemn truths 
 which the mind of man is averse duly to 
 contemplate. Some airy phantom, some 
 earthly vanity, is always cordially invited 
 to a prominent place in his thoughts, 
 while this serious truth is banished from 
 the mind as an unwelcome guest. The 
 promise of enjoying yet many days of 
 health, ease and pleasure here, though it 
 be a lie conjured up by a corrupt and 
 deceitful imagination, is listened to by the 
 worldling with delight; while the truth, 
 which reason, observation and divine 
 
 14 
 
THE SHORTNESS AND [SER. VIII. 
 
 revelation confirm, is practically rejected. 
 But however averse we may be to give 
 this subject that due consideration which 
 its importance demands, its truthfulness 
 nevertheless, remains the same. Our in- 
 difierence to it cannot alter it. It becomes 
 us, therefore, as rational and accountable 
 beings, calmly, but seriously to consider, 
 how short the time is that w^e have to 
 remain upon the stage of action. And 
 may the Holy S23irit help us so to con- 
 sider it, that we may be led to apply our 
 hearts unto heavenly wisdom. 
 
 " The time is sliort'' Compared with 
 that eternal duration which is without 
 beginning or end; time, in its most ex- 
 tended sense, stretching out its line from 
 the dawn of creation to the final consum- 
 mation of all things, is short. For though 
 our planet should continue its diurnal and 
 annual revolution a thousand times longer 
 than it has already, a period is to arrive, 
 when its present career through its ap- 
 
SER. VIII.] UNCERTAINTY OF TIME. 155 
 
 pointed pathway will be terminated — 
 when " it shall ivax old as doth a garment ^ 
 and he changed^ But, eternity, properly 
 speaking, has neither beginning nor end. 
 There can be no proportion, therefore, 
 between the longest duration of time and 
 that of eternity. But it becomes us to 
 contemplate that portion of time which is 
 parcelled out to us as individuals, by the 
 Author and giver of life. And how ex- 
 ceedingly small is the part allotted us. 
 In the Adamic age, the life of man was 
 reckoned up by hundreds. Adam, the 
 father of the human race, lived nine hun- 
 dred and thirty years before he died. 
 Seth, his son, lived nine hundred and 
 twelve years, and he died. Enos, his 
 grand-son, lived nine hundred and ^yq 
 years, and he died : and so the catalogue 
 proceeds in its statement of the length- 
 ened lives of the patriarchs who lived 
 before the flood. But in the time of the 
 Psalmist David, we find human life to be 
 reckoned up not by hundreds as before, 
 
166 THE SHORTNESS AND [SER. VIII. 
 
 but by scores. " The days of our years'^' 
 says he, " are three-score years and ten, and 
 if hy reason of strength they he four-score 
 years, yet is their strength labour and sor- 
 row, for it is soon cut off, and we fly awayT^ 
 As if years were too large a point by which 
 to reckon up the shortness of human hfe, 
 the Scriptures count it by months. " The 
 number of his months are loith thee,"^ Very 
 frequently it is reckoned by days. " Man, 
 that is horn of a looman,'' says Job, " is of 
 few daysr^ Nay, it is accounted but one 
 day. " Till he shall accamfplish a^ an hire" 
 ling his dayJ'* The apostle Paul, com- 
 pares it to a still shorter period — a mo- 
 ment. " Our light affliction," says he, 
 ^'ivhich is hut for a momentr^ So short is 
 human life, as if there could not be any 
 thing in nature to give a just representa- 
 tion of it, the Psalmist says, — " Mine age 
 is as nothing hefore thee^^ A very slight 
 
 1 Psa. xc, 10. "" Job xiv., 5. 
 
 ^ Job xiv., 1. ■* Job xiv., 6. 
 
 * 2 Cor. iv., 17. ^ Psa. xxxix., 5. 
 
SER. VIII.] UNCERTAINTY OF TIME. 157 
 
 observation will lead us to acknowledge 
 the justness of this melancholy view of 
 human life. If we look over this congre- 
 gation, or any other assembled for a simi- 
 lar purpose; if we take a larger survey, 
 and view the community in which we 
 live, how few comparatively do we see 
 whose heads are crowned with the frost 
 of seventy winters. We behold only a 
 few here and there moving along the 
 shore of time, as relics of days gone by; 
 and their fewness are as monuments bear- 
 ing our text as an inscription, to be read 
 and seriously pondered by every beholder. 
 The silent but significant language of 
 their whitened locks and furrowed cheeks, 
 to the present generation, is, " Brethrei^, 
 THE TIME IS SHORT." — It is true that we 
 have reached our three-score years and 
 ten, but this point in human existence, 
 the great majority of our race never 
 attain. The large circle of those with 
 whom we passed the blithesome hours of 
 youth, have long since shot the awful 
 
 14* 
 
158 THE SHORTNESS AND [SER. VIII. 
 
 gulf of a boundless eternity. A few of 
 us stand trembling upon the shore, to ad- 
 monish you with a silent but impressive 
 voice, how vain it is for you to calculate 
 upon attaining the days of our lengthened 
 years. For long, long before man reaches 
 this, he enters the narrow house appointed 
 for all living. The most of our fellow 
 creatures die like a flower blasted in the 
 morning, or at noon, a fact, that shows 
 how delusive is the hope of a protracted 
 life. Another point worthy of our con- 
 sideration is, that time is as uncertain as 
 it is short. The present moment is all 
 that we can safely calculate upon. The 
 future is veiled in the bosom of the great 
 Eternal. He only knows whether or not 
 any one present shall survive the setting 
 sun. We know not what a day may 
 bring forth. Neither youth nor superior 
 strength is the least security against the 
 sudden attack of death. His shafts fly 
 so promiscuously, that none can tell who 
 will be the next victim. Sudden as 
 
SER. VIII.] UNCERTAINTY OE TIME. 159 
 
 lightning sometimes his arrows fly, and 
 wound and kill in the twinkling of an 
 eye. Before another day rolls over our 
 heads, for all that we know to the con- 
 trary, some one of us may behold that 
 veil removed which now hides from our 
 view, the grand, but awful scenes of the 
 eternal world. 
 
 The short and uncertain tenure of 
 human life would be of small moment 
 were it not connected with other results 
 of the most solemn and overwhelming 
 character. God, in his great wisdom and 
 goodness saw fit to create different ranks 
 and orders of beings, and to place them 
 in different localities in his wide domin- 
 ions, to answer certain good purposes. 
 Upon our earth we behold a variety of 
 living creatures, some of which, so far as 
 we know, have no relation at all to another 
 state of being — all their movements are 
 confined within the small circle of time 
 here allotted to them. But man is placed 
 in circumstances quite different. He, like 
 
160 THE SHORTNESS AND [SER. VIII. 
 
 the other creatures, has but a small space 
 of time to carry on his operations here, 
 but his movements are not confined, like 
 theirs, within the little boundary marked 
 out to him in this world. No. His do- 
 minion over the rest of the creatures, his 
 superior skill, his boundless desires, his 
 hopes, his fears, all more than intimate 
 that he has within him a spirit, destined 
 to survive this material system, and that 
 his future happiness or misery will depend 
 upon the character formed in this state 
 of mortality. These solemn and over- 
 whelming truths, indicated by the light 
 of reason, are set forth in the brightness 
 of a sun-beam upon the inspired page. 
 We are there told not only that life is 
 short, that " it is appointed unto men once 
 to die,'' but we are also told that " after this 
 the judgment''^ — that '^ God loill render to 
 every man according to his deeds, — to them 
 who hy patient continuance in well-doing, 
 seek for glory, honor, immortality, eternal 
 * llebrcws; ix., 27. 
 
SER. VIII.] UNCERTAINTY OF TIME. 161 
 
 Z^^/' while on the other hand, " unto tliem 
 that are contentious, and do not obey the 
 truth, hut obey mirigliteousness, indignation 
 and wrath, tribulatio7i and angicish, ujpon 
 every soul that doeth evil."^ These con- 
 siderations, brethren, stamp upon our 
 time an incalculable value, connected as 
 it is with our eternal destinies. We may 
 contemplate the shortness of life as an 
 abstract truth, somewhat unmoved. But 
 it becomes us to consider it as connected 
 with its thrilling results — we should ever 
 bear in mind that our few days here below 
 will tell whether we shall be happy for- 
 ever in heaven, or forever miserable in 
 hell. This is the sober view in which 
 we should always regard this subject; 
 this is the view in which the Apostle 
 regarded it when he lifted up his voice 
 and pronounced with such solemn empha- 
 sis, saying, — " But this I say, brethren, the 
 time is shorts 
 
 ^ Rom. ii., 6, 7, 8, 9. 
 
162 THE SHORTNESS AND [SER. VIII. 
 
 Let US inquire now, what influence this 
 subject should have upon our Hfe and con- 
 duct. Should the thought, that in a few 
 days we shall be in the world of spirits, 
 have the effect of filling our minds with 
 superstitious dread, and of imbittering 
 our whole lives with the fearful apprehen- 
 sion of death ? No. This course would 
 have the tendency of rendering our lives 
 still shorter, and would be contrary to 
 sound reason, and contrary to God's ex- 
 press command : — " Thou shalt not kill." 
 Again, because our days are few, should 
 we therefore leave all converse with our 
 fellow-men, seclude ourselves in some re- 
 tired cell, and there spend our time in 
 mortifying the body for the good of the 
 soul ? This would be a superstitious ab- 
 surdity, but no part of Christian duty. 
 Utter seclusion from the world is nowhere 
 enjoined. The Bible addresses us as mem- 
 bers of society, and enjoins upon each in 
 his vocation and calling to serve the Lord 
 faithfully — ^' to glorify God in body and 
 
SER, VIII.] UNCERTAINTY OF TIME. 163 
 
 spirit which are his." The godly are 
 represented therein, as the light of the 
 world. And they are called upon in all 
 their relations, whether domestic, civil or 
 religious, to let their light shine, that 
 others seeing their good works may be 
 led to glorify their Father in heaven. In 
 the words that immediately follow the 
 text, the apostle clearly shows what effect 
 the sentiment therein contained should 
 have upon us: "But this I sai/^ hretliren, 
 the time is shoi^t. It remaineth therefore^ 
 that they that have wives he as though they 
 had none, and they that weep as though they 
 ivept not, and they that rejoice as though 
 they rejoiced not, and they that huy as though 
 they possessed not, and they that use this 
 toorld as oiot ahicsing it, for the fashion of 
 this world passeth away." 
 
 We learn from this subject, the impor- 
 tance of setting a proper estimate on 
 all earthly things — of regarding them as 
 they really are, fleeting and swiftly pass- 
 
164 THE SHORTNESS AND [SER. VIII. 
 
 ing away. We may lawfully enjoy, yet 
 we should always endeavor to preserve 
 ourselves from immoderate attachment to 
 the most endearing objects. We should 
 sit loose from the world, and be found 
 cultivating that pious frame of mind 
 that will enable us in cheerful submission 
 to take our departure whenever a wise 
 and gracious Providence shall call us so to 
 do. Such a temper as this will keep the 
 mind properly balanced. With its affec- 
 tions set on things above and not on 
 things on the earth, it will not be puffed 
 up with the joys, nor cast down by the 
 Borrows of earth. If, with such a tem- 
 per, the Christian be in trouble, sorrow, 
 need, sickness, or any other adversity, 
 possessing natural sensibilities, he may 
 weep. But knowing that all his troubles 
 and adversities will soon end in the 
 tomb, he weeps as though he wept not. 
 Does the sun of prosperity shine upon 
 his path ? He rejoices as he should, and 
 gives thanks to the Author of every 
 
SER. VIII.] UNCERTAINTY OF TIME, 165 
 
 good and perfect gift. But being duly 
 sensible of the transitory and changing 
 nature of all earthly things— knowing 
 that the clearest morning sky may be 
 overcast with clouds long before the noon, 
 he tempers all his earthly joys with 
 godly fear. This is the noble temper 
 with which the apostle designed to in- 
 spire his brethren at Corinth — a kind of 
 independence of all temporal things. — 
 Not despising the good things of the 
 world, but putting a due estimate upon 
 them, using them in their proper place — 
 not seeking happiness in them, but in the 
 only living and true God. This is the tem- 
 per that becomes us as dying men diligent- 
 ly to cultivate. With our hearts thus aloof 
 from earth, our conversation in heaven, 
 when the time of our departure is at 
 hand, we shall be kept in perfect peace, 
 and enabled to pass through the valley 
 and shadow of death, fearing no evil. 
 We may then in the triumphant lan- 
 guage of St. Paul, exclaim — "/ have 
 
 15 
 
166 THE SHORTNESS AND [SER. VIII. 
 
 fought a good fight, I have finished my 
 course, I have kept the faith : henceforth 
 there is laid uj) for me a craimi of righteous- 
 ness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, 
 shall give me at that day : and not to me 
 only, hut unto all them also that love his ap- 
 pearingT^ But on the other hand, if we 
 suffer our minds to linger here with fond 
 attachment to the/things of earth, we 
 shall be lifted up by its joys, and thrown 
 down by its sorrows ; and when we are 
 called to die, having devoted all our at- 
 tention to the things of time, the soul 
 will be forced away into eternity, with a 
 weight of unrepented sins that must 
 inevitably sink it into endless perdition. 
 For, " except a man he horn of water and 
 of the Spirit," our Lord declares that ''he 
 cannot enter into the Jcingdom of God"^ 
 He can neither be admitted into the 
 kingdom of grace here, nor participate in 
 the ineffable glories of his kingdom here- 
 after. As it is not in man to desire 
 * 2(1 Tim. iv., 7, 8. = St. Jno. iii., 5. 
 
siER. VIII.] UNCERTAINTY OF TIME. 167 
 
 misery — all would like at last, after they 
 have shook off this mortal coil, to escape 
 the damnation of hell, and enter upon an 
 endless career- of happiness in heaven. 
 But this cannot be, there must be a pre- 
 vious fitness, a preparation in order to 
 participate in the happiness of the saints 
 in light. Otherwise, heaven itself would 
 be a hell. The imperfect happiness that 
 falls to the lot of mortals here on earth, 
 flows from congeniality of mind, sentiment 
 and affection. And the same law pre- 
 vails among the society of the blessed. 
 The inhabitants of that glorious region 
 are all holy — they have one common cen- 
 tre of attraction — they all harmonize in 
 adoring, worshipping, and praising Him 
 who is God over all blessed forever. 
 Place an unholy being in sight of the 
 tree of life that is in the midst of the 
 Paradise of God, and of those fountains 
 of living waters to which the redeemed 
 of the Lord are led, and let him hear 
 that great multitude which no man can 
 
168 
 
 THE SHORTNESS AND [SER. VIII. 
 
 number, and all the angels that burn 
 around the throne, let him hear them 
 in full chorus sing : — " Blessing and 
 glory, and wisdom, and thanksgiving, 
 and honor, and power, and might be unto 
 our God forever and ever ;" so far would 
 he be from partici^Dating in the general 
 joj, that his misery would be increased. 
 He would turn away with a look of malig- 
 nant envy and deep despair, exclaiming — 
 
 " Which way I fly is hell, 
 Myself am hell/' 
 
 The hope therefore that may be enter- 
 tained by the ungodly, of finally sharing 
 in the blessedness of heaven, is sure to 
 meet with an awfully sad disappointment. 
 " If we SOLO to the flesh, we shall of the flesh 
 reap corruption, hut if tve soio to the Spirit, 
 we shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting^ 
 And this w^ork of sowing to the Spirit, 
 must be attended to in the proper season. 
 You have a day in which you may labour 
 with success. But it is only a day — a 
 day swiftly passing away. why should 
 
SER. VIII.] UNCERTAINTY OF TIME. 169 
 
 we be grovelling here, seeing that we 
 shall so soon be called away to try the 
 realities of the eternal world? Does it 
 not become us to be up and doing the 
 work of our soul's salvation while it is 
 called, to day ? This is the great lesson 
 that a mysterious Providence is enforcing 
 upon us by the awful plague* that is now 
 sweeping off the race by hundreds, both 
 in this and in other countries. God now 
 impressively calls upon men "to consider 
 their ways," " to do justly, love mercy, 
 and to walk humbly before him." Short- 
 sighted indeed must he be who has failed 
 to observe the growing disposition to cast 
 off the fear of God, the wholesome re- 
 straints of religion, to profane the Lord's 
 day — to lessen the influence of churches 
 and ministers, and all sacred institutions. 
 Indeed, even children are now much wiser 
 than their parents, guardians and teachers, 
 in their own estimation. Many of these 
 young wiseacres, have yet to learn the 
 
 * The Cholera. 
 *16 
 
170 THE SHORTNESS AND [SER. VIII. 
 
 rudiments of moral science. They may, 
 notwithstanding, be seen with all the 
 pompous air of assumed independence, 
 uniting in the mad cry, — ''down loWi 
 churches, doicn icitli the ministryr And 
 this spirit is doing its legitimate work of 
 devastation and ruin. A large contribu- 
 tion for a ball, club supper, or some other 
 demoralizing amusement, can be raised 
 with ten-fold more ease, than even a 
 paltry penny collection to sustain a 
 church, or Sabbath school institution. 
 We speak now with general reference. 
 We believe it to be universally true, that 
 there is a growing disregard among men 
 to all that is godly, holy and good. Men 
 are growing wiser, but not better. They 
 are making wonderful improvements in 
 the arts and sciences. But their minds 
 are evidently blinded more and more by 
 the god of this w^orld, who leads them 
 captive at his will. In view of such a 
 state of things, is it any wonder that we 
 behold God's judgments abroad in the 
 
SER. VIII.] UNCERTAINTY OF TIME. I7l 
 
 earth — " the pestilence walking in dark- 
 ness and destroying" its victims " at 
 noonday." For his usual method has 
 been, that when his appointed agencies 
 have failed to reclaim men from the error 
 of their ways, he has uniformly put forth 
 the fearful arm of vengeance. Let us be 
 wise, and improve the awful visitation in- 
 flicted upon us, by sincere repentance ; by 
 cultivating works of piety and love j be- 
 seeching him to turn away his anger, that 
 we perish not. And, '' ivhat thy hand 
 findetli to do,'' on this subject, " do it lolth 
 thy might, for there is no ivorTc' to be done 
 in this matter, " no device,'' no scheme to 
 be devised for your salvation, ^'nohnow- 
 ledge" of this to be obtained 'Hn the 
 grave," of which we are now so frequently 
 reminded, by the mourners daily walking 
 the streets, carrying man to his long 
 home. I beseech you, therefore, to attend 
 to the things that belong to your peace, 
 now while you may, lest they be forever 
 hid from your eyes. 
 
sehmon IX. 
 
 ADMONITION TO REDEEM THE TIME. 
 
 " Redeeming the time because the days are evil." 
 
 Eph. V. 16. 
 
 The benevolent Author of our exis- 
 tence, has allotted us a portion of time, in 
 order that we may attend to the various 
 duties that devolve upon us in our several 
 stations in life, and to prepare by sober, 
 righteous and godly living, for the solemn 
 concerns of death and eternity. And 
 when we are brought seriously to reflect 
 upon the very short space that is granted 
 to us individually, and the great and im- 
 portant work that must be done to secure 
 our everlasting happiness, and escape the 
 wrath to come, together with the many 
 difficulties and dangers to which we are 
 
174 ADMONITION TO [SER. IX. 
 
 perpetually exposed : when we thus reflect, 
 time assumes an importance with which 
 it would be well to have our minds at all 
 times duly impressed. It was in this 
 point of view, its relation to the eternal 
 world, that caused the apostle so ear- 
 nestly to exhort Christians, in the lan- 
 guage of the text, to Redeem the time. He 
 regards it as a most precious gem that 
 should be, so to speak, bought up, and 
 never suffered to be lost, thrown away, 
 or wasted in idleness, sloth, vicious prac- 
 tices and pursuits; but to be redeemed 
 out of their hands, and employed in that 
 way which is consistent with the dictates 
 of an enlightened conscience, and the 
 revealed word of God. To redeem the 
 time, therefore, is not to recall hours that 
 are past and gone. This is impossible. 
 But it is to employ the present in that 
 manner that will promote our own true 
 peace, the welfare of those around us, 
 and thus secure the aj^probation of our 
 Creator. 
 
SER. IX.] REDEEM THE TIME. 175 
 
 We should redeem the time. 
 
 1. From idleness. An idler, one who 
 has no regular employment either for his 
 head or hands, is one of the most mise- 
 rable and contemptible creatures that 
 society can possibly be infested with. 
 Such an one is not only a misery to him- 
 self, but exerts also a most pernicious 
 influence upon all with whom he asso- 
 ciates. God created man with active en- 
 ergies; and he evidently designed that 
 he should put them forth to some good 
 purpose, in whatever state of life he may 
 be providentially placed. Active indus- 
 try is as much a religious duty, as it is 
 indispensable to our temporal comforts. 
 " Be not slotJiful in business" says the in- 
 spired apostle, hwi" fervent inspirit ^serving 
 the Lordr^ In thus uniting lawful indus- 
 try, with fervency of spirit, serving the Lcyrd, 
 he evidently designed to give it a sacred 
 character. The reason why active indus- 
 ^ Rom. xii., 11. 
 
176 ADMONITION TO [SER. IX. 
 
 try may be regarded in close contact with 
 religion, is, that a habit of diligence is 
 thereby cultivated, which is indispensable 
 to true religion. Moral virtue and reli- 
 gion are sure to suffer wherever idleness 
 prevails. It is an enemy to all good, and 
 the nursery of every evil and vicious 
 principle and practice. An idler, there- 
 fore, should be shunned, as you would the 
 plague or pestilence. These remarks may 
 not apply to any one present: each one 
 may readily point to his daily avocation 
 as a just refutation of the charge of idle- 
 ness, so far as temporary matters are con- 
 cerned. This is all very well in its place, 
 we are every way disposed to award to 
 you all the credit that is due to an atten- 
 tive regard to daily business. But there 
 is such a thing as idleness in another 
 direction in which you may not so easily 
 ward olf the conviction of your guilt. 
 We are compound beings, possessed of an 
 immaterial, as well as a material and 
 mortal nature. And the same great Eter- 
 
SER. IX.] REDEEM THE TIME. 177 
 
 nal who has made it obligatory upon us 
 to be active and industrious in view of 
 the temporal comforts of the body ; has 
 also made it our solemn and imperative 
 duty, to be diligent, actively engaged with 
 reference to the soul, upon which he has 
 stamped his own image of immortality. 
 What are you doing in this direction? 
 What efforts are you putting forth to 
 " enter in at the straight gate ;" — " to lay 
 hold on eternal life,'' — to have God for 
 your reconciled friend and father, and 
 your names written in the Lamb's book 
 of life ? Ah ! you cannot nullify the 
 charge of idleness here. You are com- 
 pelled to acknowledge in your own minds 
 that the charge is fully sustained in your 
 case. You are aware of having suffered 
 many hours to pass away, so far from 
 having been employed to any good pur- 
 pose, that they may be considered as total 
 blanks in your existence. Your golden 
 moments have flown swiftly by, and you 
 have looked on with as much thought- 
 
 16 
 
178 ADMONITION TO [SER. IX. 
 
 lessness and indifference, as if j^our Crea- 
 tor had sent you into the world for no 
 other purpose than to sit down and quietly 
 repose in a state of spiritual stupor and 
 inactivity — doing nothing in reference to 
 your own salvation, or the salvation of 
 others. Our days may be suffered to pass 
 away as if they were of no account; but 
 it will be seen in a coining day, that time 
 wasted and unimproved was noticed by 
 Him with whom we have to do. It will 
 be seen to your terror and dismay, unless 
 averted by timely repentance, that every 
 vacant hour will be so many witnesses 
 rising up around you in the day of judg- 
 ment, to condemn you. Your fate will 
 be similar to the unprofitable servant 
 who hid his talent in the earth. Time 
 is a most precious talent granted us to be, 
 employed to the honor and glory of God; 
 but spiritual idlers bury this inestimable 
 jewel in the grave of their "earthly, sen- 
 sual and devilish" pursuits and practices. 
 What else have thoy any ground to expect, 
 
SER. IX.] REDEEM THE TIME. 179 
 
 but to have the awful commission exe- 
 cuted upon them. — " Cast ye the unprofit- 
 able servant into outer darJmess : there shall 
 he weeping, and gnashing of teeth T^ 
 
 We ought to redeem time. 
 
 2. From vain and vicious pleasures. 
 Man has found out a variety of ways to 
 amuse his fancy, and give pleasure to his 
 corrupt taste. And to gratify himself in 
 this respect, he scarcely begins to calcu- 
 late the cost. His estimate of the plea- 
 sures of the world is so high, that the cost 
 of participation is scarcely thought of. 
 To witness a theatrical performance, to 
 participate in a ball, or some other con- 
 vivial party, his hand readily opens, and 
 his means are freely expended; but to 
 contribute to the cause of God, religion 
 and humanity, it is done, if done at all, 
 with a mean, parsimonious and grudging 
 spirit. All this clearly shows how strong 
 1 Matt. XXV., 30. 
 
180 ADMONITION TO [SER. IX. 
 
 a hold transitory pleasures have in the 
 affections, excluding therefrom all that is 
 truly good, holy and divine. But what 
 after all is the character of these pleasures 
 upon which there is such a high estimate 
 placed ? They are all vain and empty as 
 a bubble on the w^ave. They are like a 
 dream which assumes all the appearance 
 of reality, till we awake from our slumber 
 and discover the deception. 
 
 They leave no trace upon the mind that 
 can be dwelt upon with real satisfaction, 
 like that which follows a virtuous and re- 
 ligious course. On the contrary, the pur- 
 suit of the vanities of life, is not only time 
 lost, but it is sure to bring in its train 
 that bitter remorse, and those keen up- 
 braidings, which foreshadow to the guilty 
 mind, the wrath to come. ye lovers of 
 pleasures more than lovers of God, you 
 who are even now indulging glowing 
 anticipations of worldly joys, hear the im- 
 pressive voice of inspiration and ponder 
 your steps. " Rejoice, youmj man in 
 
SER. IX.] REDEEM THE TIME. 181 
 
 thy youth, and let thy heart cheer thee in the 
 days of thy youth, and loalh in the icays of 
 thy heart, and in the sight of thine eyes: hut 
 hnoio thou, that for all these things God ivill 
 bring thee into judgment.''^ Plow will you 
 then answer for so much of your misspent 
 time in unsatisfying and vicious plea- 
 sures ? Will you say in the presence of 
 Jesus, who left us an example that we 
 might follow his steps, will you say in his 
 presence, that you considered them inno- 
 cent amusements? be wise, and 
 redeem the time by employing your pre- 
 cious moments, not in hewing out cisterns, 
 broken cisterns that can hold no water ; 
 but in seeking substantial pleasures; 
 that flow from an evidence of your 
 acceptance with God, and your adoption 
 into the family of heaven. 
 
 Much time may be redeemed. 
 
 3. From unprofitable conversation. 
 ^ Ecc. xi. 9. 
 
 IG- 
 
182 ADMONITION TO [SER. IX. 
 
 Man is a social being, and may therefore 
 derive much improvement, both in an 
 intellectual and moral point of view, by 
 a free interchange of sentiments and 
 opinions upon a proper subject, with his 
 associates and friends. The mere sugges- 
 tion of another who has viewed the sub- 
 ject in a different light from ourselves, 
 may in a moment free the mind from 
 some difficulty that might take days and 
 weeks of private investigation to remove. 
 Besides, there is a refined pleasure attend- 
 ing this mutual flow of thought. A per- 
 son travelling a journey in pursuit of 
 something valuable, may enjoy a good 
 degree of pleasure by anticipating the 
 object of his desire, but how is his joy 
 increased, when accompanied on the road 
 by associates of congenial minds. It is 
 thus with a circle of friends when they 
 convene together, and employ their time 
 in the reciprocal interchange of thought 
 upon a suitable theme. But when per- 
 sons meet together and pass away, the 
 
SER. IX.] REDEEM THE TIME. 183 
 
 time in worse than idle talk, circulating 
 tales of slander, whispering, backbiting, 
 and speaking evil of their fellow-men, 
 this is killino; time. And how manv 
 even among the professed followers of 
 Christ, too often squander away their 
 precious moments in this way. When 
 they are found together, instead of ad- 
 hering to the Apostolic injunction, aim- 
 ing by their conversation, " to edify, to 
 minister grace' to those ^3 resent, there is 
 too often a disposition manifested to in- 
 tlict an injury upon the absent, forgetting 
 that for " every idle word that men shall 
 speah, they shall give account thereof in the 
 day of judgment!''^ 
 
 As candidates for eternity, we should 
 also redeem the time. 
 
 4. From Worldly business. Diligent 
 attention to the lawful business of life, is 
 unquestionably a duty indispensable. " If 
 
 * Matt, xii., 36. 
 
184 Admonition to [ser. ix. 
 
 any j^rovide not for his oxvn, and specially 
 for those of his oivn house, he is worse than 
 an infideir^ But, we are not to infer 
 from this inspired declaration, the liberty 
 of being absorbed in worldly business. 
 The most devoted busines man is careful 
 to redeem sufficient time to partake of 
 his daily food. And should there be no 
 time specially devoted to attaining the 
 bread that came down from heaven ? 
 Shall the body only be nourished, while 
 the soul, the deathless part, is suffered to 
 jierish for lack of that spiritual meat that 
 endureth to everlasting life ? What ex- 
 cuse will be given by you when called 
 to give a strict account of your steward- 
 ship at the awful tribunal of the Judge ? 
 Will you say that business was so urgent 
 that you could not spare any time for 
 purely religious purposes ? Such a frivo- 
 lous excuse may hush the voice of con- 
 science now, but it will not ansVer in the 
 great day of the Lord. David was 
 1 1 Tim. v., 8. 
 
SER. IX.] REDEE31 THE TIME. 185 
 
 exalted to the throne, and had the cares 
 and perplexities pertaining to the charge 
 of a kingdom ; jet he, with a host of 
 other ancient worthies, will put you to 
 silence. They all, without exception, 
 had stated hours to retire from the noise 
 and bustle of secular business, to com- 
 mune with God and their own hearts. 
 ''Evening, and morning, and at noonr 
 says the Psalmist, " loiU I ][)ray and cry 
 aloud, and he shall hear my voice''^ There 
 are many who, so far from cultivating 
 piety during the week, are found daringly 
 to encroach upon the day consecrated to 
 holiness and God — the day on which the 
 Prince of life and glory triumphed over 
 death, " ascended up on high, led cap- 
 tivity captive, and received gifts for men, 
 yea, for the rebellious, that the Lord God 
 might dwell among them" — this day is 
 devoted by many to calculations of the 
 loss and gain of business ! 0, what deep 
 depravity, what shocking ingratitude is 
 ' Psa. Iv., 17 
 
186 ADMONITION TO [SER. IX. 
 
 this ! It is from these and other prac- 
 tices that might be specified, we are ex- 
 horted in the text, to redeem the time. 
 The important duty is urged upon us by 
 the following powerful motive : " because 
 tlie days are evil" 
 
 The evil days spoken of were those in 
 which sin and wickedness prevailed to an 
 alarming extent, especially among the 
 Gentile nations of the earth. They were 
 famous for their literature and knowledge 
 of the arts and sciences of civilization, 
 but they were nevertheless, sunk into the 
 lowest depths of superstition and moral 
 debasement. This he uses as an argu- 
 ment to his Christian brethren, why 
 they should "ivalk circiims]iectly, redeeming 
 the time,'' lest they become corrupted by 
 the pernicious errors and practices that 
 then prevailed. Does not a similar state 
 of things exist in the present day? It 
 is true that the impressive sound of the 
 church-bell regularly bids the people to 
 
SER. IX.] REDEEM THE TIME. 187 
 
 enter the courts of the Lord's house, " to 
 hear his most holy word, to set forth his 
 most worthy praise, and to ask those 
 things which are requisite and necessary 
 as well for the body, as the souL" The 
 heralds of the cross in every direction 
 continue to beseech their fellow-men to 
 be reconciled to God. Sabbath schools 
 are in operation, directing the young in 
 the way they should go. Tracts and 
 other religious periodicals are scattered 
 broad-cast over the country ; yet, maugre 
 all the efforts that are made for the refor- 
 mation of man, does not sin, with his bra- 
 zen front, still stalk abroad in the land, 
 leaving misery, ruin, and desolation in 
 his track ? How many may we see on 
 the Lord's day, instead of being in the 
 house of God where prayer is w^ont to be 
 made, either standing at the corners of 
 the streets, riding about, or sailing on 
 pleasure excursions, or assembled together 
 in some genteel groggery ! ! Is not the 
 list of the intemperate, of gamblers and 
 
188 ADMONITION TO [SER. IN. 
 
 infidels, fearfully increasing ? Acts of 
 high-handed robbery, injustice, cruelty, 
 murder and the like, are now of such 
 frequent occurrence, that they cease to 
 affect us. St. John the divine informs 
 us that he ^' heard a loud voice, saying, 
 Woe to the inliahiters of the earth and of 
 the sea ! for the devil is come doion unto 
 you, having great wrath, hecause he hnoweth 
 that he hcdh hut a short time"^ We do not 
 say, that this prophecy refers to the pre- 
 sent state of the world, but we may say, 
 that the prevailing wickedness of the 
 present time, shows that it is not alto- 
 gether inapplicable. And is there no 
 danger of being contaminated in the 
 midst of so much wickedness ? Is it not 
 as true now as ever, that, '^ Evil commu- 
 nications corrupt good manners T Have 
 we not had deplorable instances within 
 our own immediate observation, of the 
 increase of crime and wretchedness ? 
 Do we not see some young men, who, a 
 * llcv. xii., VI. 
 
SER. IX.] REDEEM THE TIME. 189 
 
 few days ago gave fair promise of a course 
 of honor and usefulness, falling victims 
 to the vice of intemperance ? Where is 
 that beautiful and interesting array of 
 young men which was seen with sober 
 mien and orderly deportment, engaged 
 either in the Sabbath school, or taking 
 part in the surpassingly beautiful and 
 sublime services of our church ? A few, 
 we rejoice to say, are still to be found at 
 their post. But where does the Sabbath 
 find too many of them now? In the 
 path, which if not speedily retraced, will 
 inevitably lead to shame, disgrace, and 
 ruin in this world, and everlasting pun- 
 ishment in the world to come. This is 
 an ensnaring world — the moral atmos- 
 phere by which we are surrounded is 
 charged with death. And if we would 
 avoid being fatally infected, we must re- 
 deem the time, we must improve it by 
 daily seeking that divine aid which will 
 enable us to resist with success, the many 
 temptations that beset our path ; other- 
 
 17 
 
190 ADMONITION TO [SER. IX. 
 
 wise, you will be carried down the stream 
 of this world's delights, and be finally 
 lost in the gulf of endless woe. 
 
 2. By evil days the apostle had refer- 
 ence to the days of persecution. When 
 he wrote the epistle in which the text is 
 found, he was imprisoned at Rome, then 
 the seat of learning, and the metropolis 
 of the world, for the testimony he bore 
 to the despised doctrines of the cross. In 
 this view his argument may run thus : — 
 tliG days are evil. — You are daily liable to 
 be dragged to a loathsome prison, thence 
 to the place of execution, therefore, I 
 exhort you, to " itxdh circiimspecdy^' cor- 
 rectly, '•'not as fools, hut as tvisej redeem- 
 ing the timer 
 
 We may not consider our lives to be in 
 danger from the spirit of persecution. 
 We are permitted to sit under our own 
 vine and fig-tree, none daring to molest 
 us. But are we secure against the attack 
 of some of the multiplied diseases and 
 
SER. IX.] REDEEM THE TIME. 191 
 
 disasters which daily carry our fellow-crea- 
 tures to the grave ? Are you certain of 
 living another week, another day, nay, 
 another hour? Do you not see some as 
 young, healthy and gay as yourselves, 
 fade away under the blightings of disease, 
 and finally fall like the leaves of autumn ? 
 Have you made a league with death that 
 it shall not come nigh you ? Were you 
 not included in the sentence, — '' Dust thou 
 art, and unto dust shaJt thou return f Ah ! 
 it cannot be long before the solemnly im- 
 pressive words in our burial service will 
 be pronounced over every one of us now 
 in divine presence : '' earth to earth, 
 ashes to ashes, dust to dust." Oh, does 
 it become man, mortal man, critically 
 situated as he is, passing swiftly through 
 time to the eternal world, where his des- 
 tiny will be unalterably fixed in a state 
 of happiness or misery, depending upon 
 the character formed in this probationary 
 state ; I say, does it become him in such 
 circumstances, to be squandering his time 
 
192 ADMONITION TO REDEEM THE TIME. [SIR. IX. 
 
 ill the vain pleasures and vicious practices 
 of the world ? Should he not, on the 
 contrary, regard every flying moment as 
 precious, and be diligent in " working 
 out his own salvation with fear and 
 trembling, while God worketh in him 
 both to will and do his good pleasure ?" 
 This course your own conscience approves, 
 and the word of God enjoins. Let the 
 time past suffice wherein you have 
 wrought folly. Resolve now that in the 
 strength of divine grace, you will no 
 longer live unto yourselves, but unto 
 Him who died for you and rose again. 
 And may He, "of whose only gift it 
 Cometh that " we can do unto him " true 
 and laudable service, grant, that you may 
 so faithfully serve him in this life, that 
 you fail not finally to attain his heavenly 
 promises through the merits of Jesus 
 Christ our Saviour." — Amen. 
 
SERMON X. 
 
 THE WISDOM OF DULY CONSIDERING THE 
 LATTER END. 
 
 " Oh that they were wise, that they understood 
 
 THIS, that they would CONSIDER THEIR LATTER END." 
 
 Deut. xxxii., 29. 
 
 It is a serious thought, not always easy 
 to thrust aside, that every thing pertain- 
 ing to this life must come to an end, how 
 soon none can tell. This is a secret veiled 
 in the bosom of the great Eternal. The 
 solemn truth we cannot evade; the con- 
 viction is deep in our minds, that all 
 things which now delight the eye, gratify 
 the taste, dazzle and delude the giddy, 
 and which excite the ambition of a vain 
 multitude, all shall have an end. The 
 stars themselves shall fade, the sun grow 
 
 17* 
 
104 THE WISDOM OF DULY [SER. X. 
 
 dim with age, the earth shall wax old as 
 doth a garment, and be changed : and 
 man, its honored inhabitant, involved in 
 the same destiny, like the flowers of the 
 field, shall fade, wither, and finally die. 
 Every thing around, about, and within us 
 is calculated to prompt us to the import- 
 ant duty ; " so to number tjur days, that we 
 may apply our hearts unto ivisdomr The 
 setting sun closing his golden eye in the 
 west — the faded leaf falling to the earth 
 — the majestic river flowing on gradually 
 until finally lost in the bosom of the 
 ocean — the daily spectacle of " man going 
 to his long home, and the mourners walk- 
 ing along the streets," all are so many 
 monitors of Providence, reminding us of 
 the solemn change w^e individually must 
 shortly make. But notwithstanding the 
 instructive lessons that pour in upon us 
 from these and other sources, like the Is- 
 raelites to whom the text primarily refers, 
 the great majority of mankind will not 
 be wise : more stupid than the ox, they 
 
8ER. X.] CONSIDERING THE LATTER END. 195 
 
 will not understand, they will not " consi- 
 der their latter end." Happy for you, my 
 brethren, did you all form an exception — 
 happy, were you free from the charge of 
 a criminal thoughtlessness upon this all 
 important subject. But you are not so 
 devoid of candor as to present your claim 
 to innocence on this point. Well do you 
 know, and often have you felt the appli- 
 cation of the text in your own case ; often 
 have you heard the still, but powerful voice 
 within, exclaiming, — " Oh, that you loere 
 wise, that you understood this, that you would 
 consider your latter end I" 
 
 The two following propositions, will 
 form the foundation of the remarks that 
 we shall offer for jour consideration. 
 
 1st. A due consideration of our latter 
 end, is the part of true wisdom. 
 
 2d. The unwillingness of men to be 
 wise in those things which involve their 
 highest interest, affords matter for deep 
 lamentation. 
 
J 96 THE WISDOM OF DULY [SER. X. 
 
 1. Duly to consider our end is not occa- 
 sionally to bestow some thought upon the 
 subject. This we cannot avoid if we 
 would. Thoughts of death, will now and 
 then, of their own accord, flit across the 
 mind of every man. He is compelled, by 
 the law of his nature, which, while it 
 leads him to look forward to other future 
 events, constrains him to give some 
 thoughts to the subject of his mortality. 
 But such a consideration as this, does not 
 constitute true wisdom. A due conside- 
 ration of any subject, is to give it that 
 practical attention Avhich its importance 
 demands. If our end consisted in the 
 total annihilation of both soul and body; 
 were we destined to be remanded back to 
 nothing; then, the proper consideration 
 of our end would lead us to confine our 
 thoughts chiefly to this world. The dic- 
 tates of wisdom would be for us to make 
 the best we could of our ephemeral exist- 
 ence — " to cat, drink, and be merry." 
 But annihilation is not our destiny. 
 
SKR X.] CONSIDERING THE LATTER END. 197 
 
 ^' A voice within us speaks the startling word, 
 Man, thou shalt never die. Celestial voices 
 Hymn it around our souls." 
 
 There will only be a temporary separa- 
 tion of parts — the spiritual from the 
 material. The body will moulder away 
 to its original elements and remain in 
 that condition until animated and recon- 
 structed again by the voice of the Arch- 
 Angel and the trump of God. The soul, 
 not subject to dissolution and decay, will 
 be conveyed to the Paradise of God, there 
 to await in joyful anticipation, the con- 
 summation of its bliss, reunited to the 
 body, in God's eternal and everlasting 
 kingdom : or else be " driven away in its 
 wickedness," to participate in the horrors 
 of those condemned spirits that are " re- 
 served in chains of darkness unto the 
 judgment of the great day :" depending 
 upon the character formed in this proba- 
 tionary state. It is unnecessary to cite 
 the Scripture passages that contain the 
 truths here advanced. Your perfect fami- 
 
1C8 THE WISDOM OF DULY [SER. X. 
 
 liarity Tvith them, we take for granted. 
 Seeing then, that in the '' Latter end" of 
 man, his happiness or misery will be unal- 
 terably fixed forever, a due consideration 
 of it, would unquestionably lead him to 
 prepare to avoid the one and enjoy the 
 other. And here the great question 
 arises, how can sinful man be thus pre- 
 pared ? How can he who has transgressed 
 the laws of his Maker, and rendered 
 himself obnoxious to his sore displeasure, 
 become reconciled to him, restored to his 
 favor and image here, and be advanced to 
 honor, dignity, glorj^, and endless happi- 
 ness hereafter ? There is a way, and but 
 one way ; viz., " the new and living way 
 opened up for us by the blood of Jesus." 
 Reason debased, for ijenturies tried, but 
 in vain, to find, the sure, the narrow way, 
 that leads to glory and immortality. But 
 it pleased God in infinite benevolence, to 
 devise the plan by which " He can be just 
 and yet the justifier of him that believ- 
 eth in Jesus, with a heart unto righteous- 
 
SER. X.] CONSIDERING THE LATTER END. 199 
 
 ness." '' God so loved the world, as to give 
 Ills only hegotieii Son, that ivliosoever heliev- 
 etli in him slioidd not perish, hut have ever- 
 lasting life."^ We may clothe ourselves 
 in the garment of self-righteousness, we 
 may felicitate ourselves on the ground of 
 our own goodness, and be esteemed by a 
 short-sighted world as the best of citizens, 
 but this will be found at last to be a poor 
 preparation for an exit from time to eter- 
 nity. With no other preparation than 
 our own righteousness, we shall be like 
 the man, spoken of in the Gospel, who 
 built his house upon the sand, " When 
 the rains descended and the Hood came 
 and beat upon his house, it fell and great 
 was the fall." 
 
 Nothing can be more absurd than the 
 idea of man attempting to recommend 
 himself to the favor of God by his own 
 fancied goodness. He has often violated 
 the law of God which denounces death 
 upon the transgressor ; yet, he attempts 
 * St. Juo. iii., 16. 
 
200 THE WISDOM or DULY [SER. X. 
 
 to gain the favor of God by his outward 
 observance of it, seeking to be justified by 
 the law, that condemns him as a trans- 
 gressor, and continually cries : — " Pay 
 that thou owest" — settle up for your past 
 follies. Let us suppose that you are now 
 blameless so far as may relate to your 
 outward deportment. What is to be done 
 with the follies and vanities of youth ? 
 What amends can you make for your 
 past thoughtless indifference, and criminal 
 negligence of God and of his claims upon 
 your undivided service ? You must re- 
 member, that his law requires a line of 
 perfect, unfaltering obedience from the 
 time of our accountability to the end of 
 life. Its terms are rigid. Its language 
 is: — "Do this and liver ''The soid thai 
 sinneth it shall die." Ah, self-righteous 
 man, you are in a dilemma. You must 
 either enter and make good your plea at 
 the bar of your judge, of perfect obedience 
 on your part, or humbly fall at the foot- 
 stool of mercy, sue lor pai'doii, and plead 
 
SER. X.] CONSIDERING THE LATTER END. 201 
 
 the perfect obedience, and vicarious death 
 of another, viz., the Lord Jesus Christ. 
 To perfect obedience to the law, you can 
 lay no claim. " All have sinned and come 
 short of the glory of God." None can 
 " tell how oft he offendeth." To be justi- 
 fied by the deeds of the law, therefore, is 
 impossible. The great provision made in 
 the gospel, is the only hope of sinful man. 
 If then we would be prepared to meet 
 death in perfect peace, we must be " found 
 in Christ, not having our own righteous- 
 ness which is of the law, but that which 
 is through the faith of Christ, the right- 
 eousness which is of God by faith." The 
 promise of eternal blessedness is to those 
 only, who are thus united to Christ, by 
 that faith " which works by love, purifies 
 the heart and overcomes the w^orld ;" who 
 have been raised from a death of sin, 
 unto a new birth unto righteousness, by 
 the power of the Holy Ghost, and are 
 walking as those who are alive from the 
 dead. The persons who answer this de- 
 ls 
 
202 THE WISDOM OF DULY [SER. X. 
 
 scrip tion have been graciously brought to 
 understand, and duly consider their latter 
 end. They have availed themselves of 
 God's plan of reconciliation. Hence, they 
 are truly wise. That man would be con- 
 sidered wise, who in having to travel 
 over a trackless desert infested by rave- 
 nous beasts, first provided himself with 
 proper guards, and other necessaries pro- 
 per to render his journey both safe and 
 comfortable. In our pilgrimage through 
 mortality, many dangers beset our path, 
 from the world, the flesh and Satan. Is he 
 not eminently wise, who has chosen the 
 Lord for his portion, his strong tower and 
 defence ? Such an one need not fear any 
 evil tidings, his heart may be fixed, trust- 
 ing in the arm of the Lord. That man, 
 who, before rearing his superstructure, 
 first secures a foundation of sufficient 
 strength to bear its weight, may be con- 
 sidered wise; but how much more so 
 should he be considered, who rears his 
 hopes of heaven and eternal happiness 
 
SER. X.] CONSIDERING THE LATTER END. 203 
 
 upon the Rock of Ages, the sure and 
 immutable foundation which God himself 
 has laid in Zion. He who provides in 
 spring and summer against the cold and 
 chilling winds of winter is wise : but how 
 much more so is the man who provides 
 for his solid comfort against the cold 
 blasts of death by securing a shelter 
 under the everlasting arm? Such an 
 one judges rightly in that which should 
 concern him most ; in that which involves 
 his highest and best interests ; hence he 
 is pre-eminently wise. He regards him- 
 self only as a pilgrim, a sojourner here. 
 He sets his affections, not on things below, 
 but on things above. His conversation is 
 in Heaven. He puts a proper estimate 
 upon the things of this life. He uses the 
 world, as not abusing it. He passes 
 through things temporal so as not to lose 
 those things that are eternal. He rea- 
 sons thus. — The things that are seen, are 
 temporal, but the things that are not seen 
 are eternal. What then would it profit 
 
204 THE WISDOM OF DULY [SER. X. 
 
 me were I to gain the whole world and 
 finally lose my soul ? Were all its wealth 
 and honor and glory mine, I could keep 
 them only a few days. But if I lose my 
 soul, it is not lost for a limited time, but lost 
 forever. Seeing that his immortal spirit 
 outweighs the world with all its magnifi- 
 cence and all its glory, he wisely ^^ counts 
 all things but dung and loss, that he 
 might win Christ, and be found of him in 
 peace." But how little of this heavenly 
 wisdom is to be found in the world ? If 
 we contemplate man as an inhabitant of 
 this earth, without reference to eternity, 
 and consider his great and wonderful 
 achievements in the arts and sciences, we 
 are forced to acknowledge his eminent 
 wisdom. But when we regard him as a 
 candidate for eternity, what a falling off 
 is here. Plow blind, how grossly ignorant 
 is he in his spiritual and eternal concerns ! 
 And it is not because of the impossibility 
 of his displaying the same wisdom in this 
 
SER X.] CONSIDERING THE LATTER END. 205 
 
 direction as in the other, but solely be- 
 cause he loill not — he loill not be wise. 
 
 The Scriptures represent man's unwil- 
 lingness to accept the offers of mercy as 
 made to him in the gospel, as the chief 
 cause of his final ruin. " Ye tvill oiot cc/ine to 
 me^' says Jesus, '^ that ye might have life^^ 
 ^' Jerusalem y Jerusalem, thou that killest 
 the prophets and stonest them which are sent 
 unto thee, how often would I have gathered 
 thy children together, as a hen gathereth her 
 chickens under her wings, a7id ye ivoidd not ! 
 Behold, your house is left unto you deso- 
 later^ 
 
 " Because I have called, and ye refused ; I 
 have stretched out my hand, and no man re- 
 garded : But ye have set at nought all my coun- 
 sel and tuould none of my reproof. I also tvill 
 laugh at your calamity : I ivill jnocJc lohen 
 your fear cometh : lohen your fear cometh as 
 desolation, and your destruction cometh as a 
 lohirlivind, when distress and anguish cometh 
 upon you. Then shall they call upon me, hut I 
 
 * St. Jno. v., 40. 2 Matt, xxiii., 37-38. 
 
 *18 
 
206 THE WISDOM OF DULY [SER. X, 
 
 will not cmsiDer, tliey sliall seeh me early ^ hut 
 they shall not find me. For that they hated 
 hnowledge, and did not choose the fear of 
 tlie Lord. They ivoidd none of my counsel^ 
 they despised all my reproof Therefore, 
 shall they eat of the fruit of their ovm loay, 
 and he filled ivith their oivn devices"^ 
 
 We pass on to consider. 
 
 II. The unwillingness of men to be 
 wise in those things which involve their 
 highest interest, aflforcls matter for deep 
 lamentation. To see a man dwelling 
 close to a perennial spring of w^ater, and 
 yet wdth great labor and fatigue hewing 
 out first one broken cistern, and then 
 another, and after multiplied disappoint- 
 ments to die of thirst, could not fail to 
 excite our pity for his consummate folly. 
 In this, we have a faint i3icture of the 
 conduct of men generally. The fountain 
 of living waters, is wdthin the reach of 
 > Prov. i., 24-31. 
 
SER. X.] CONSIDERING THE LATTER END. 207 
 
 every man. He has an unconquerable 
 thirst for happiness. But instead of 
 seeking it where alone it can be found, 
 he tries this, that and the other expedi- 
 ent, and though disappointed over and 
 over again, he will not be wise ; he dies 
 eternally, he perishes for lack of those 
 heavenly streams, which he might have 
 received if he would, " without money 
 and without price." The prodigal son, w^ho 
 strayed away from the paternal care of a 
 kind parent, squandered his substance in 
 riotous living, and reduced himself to a state 
 of starvation and wretchedness, was truly 
 an object to be pitied. But preeminently 
 so are those who have strayed away from 
 the wholesome restraints of their Heaven- 
 ly Father. Unwilling to yield to the 
 holy requisitions of his love, they follow 
 the devices and desires of their own 
 hearts. See the multitudinous crowd of 
 immortal men, wending their way in the 
 " broad" road, led on by Satan, the god of 
 this world. A portentous storm is gath- 
 
208 THE WISDOM OF DULY [SER. X. 
 
 ering not far in the distance. The day of 
 God's wrath is at hand, and they are out 
 in that dangerous and destructive path 
 without a shelter, and in a filthy, ragged, 
 and starving condition. Their Heavenly 
 Father is willing to shelter them beneath 
 his everlasting arm ; to wash them in the 
 blood of the everlasting covenant, to 
 clothe them with the robe of righteous- 
 ness ; to feed them with the bread of 
 heaven. He condescends to call after 
 the wanderers in the language of paternal 
 affection : " My son, give one thy heartr^ 
 He expostulates wdth them, saying, — 
 '^ How Jong ye simple ones, will ye love sim- 
 plicity, and fools hate hnowledge f^ " Where- 
 fore do ye spend money for that which is not 
 hread ? and your lahor for that which satis- 
 fietli not ? hearlzen diligently unto me, and 
 eat ye that wldch is good, and let your soul 
 delight itself in fatness.''^ But all these 
 kind calls and tender expostulations are 
 disregarded. The deluded souls continue 
 * Prov. xxiii., 26. = Prov. i., 22. « Isa. Iv., 2. 
 
SER. X.] CONSIDERING THE LATTER END. 209 
 
 to wander farther and farther from God. 
 Still he cries after them : " Turn you, turn 
 you at my reproof r Some wander at such 
 an awful distance, that the voice of mercy 
 which once came home to them with power, 
 now, dies away in whispers upon their 
 obdurate hearts. They wander, until 
 they " stumble" at last " upon the dark 
 mountains," and plunge headlong, into the 
 whirlpool of endless perdition. This is 
 the silly part acted by that being who is 
 so prone to pride himself on the dignity 
 of his nature. We would not cast any 
 reflection upon his dignity; we would 
 rather mourn over the strong indications 
 he gives of a moral desolation. He pre- 
 sents a scene truly affecting. He is like 
 a noble mansion in ruins. The grand 
 and lofty columns, the fine exquisite 
 workmanship, wdiich are still seen, are 
 striking evidences of former greatness : 
 but the glory has departed. It is natural 
 for us to linger in pensive melancholy, as 
 we behold the remaining traces of depart- 
 
^10 THE WISDOM OF DULY [SER. X. 
 
 ed grandeur. There is something enchant- 
 ing in the sight, that keeps us fast bound 
 to the spot. Our eyes are fixed upon tlie 
 spectacle. We compare the past with the 
 present, and the sad contrast affects the 
 heart, and awakens the tenderest emo- 
 tions. The unconscious tear stands tremb- 
 ling in the eye, as we behold the melan- 
 choly scene. But there is nothing so 
 affecting, so much to be lamented, as the 
 jDcrverse ol)stinacy, and rebellious course 
 of impenitent sinners. It was in view of 
 this, that the Psalmist exclaimed : " Rivers 
 of waters run doivn mine eyes, because tliey 
 Iceep not tliy laioT^ It was in view of this, 
 that the blessed Jesus lingered about Je- 
 rusalem, and " loept over it" saying, " If 
 tlian liadst hnown, even thou at least in tJiis 
 thy day, the things which belong unto thy 
 peace! but noio they are hid from thine 
 eyes!'^ It was in view of this, that the 
 great Jehovah himself, is represented as 
 lamenting, in the terms expressed in our 
 » Psa. cxix., 13G. = St. Luke xix., 41-42. 
 
SER. X.] CONSIDERINa THE LATTER END 211 
 
 text, — " 0, that they were ivise, that they 
 understood this, that they ivould consider 
 their latter end I " 
 
 Permit me now, my brethren, to urge 
 you forward in the glorious pursuit of 
 true wisdom. Of all other inquiries, let 
 this be the all-absorbing one — What shall 
 I do that I may inherit eternal life ? How 
 may I ensure a blissful immortality when 
 my flesh and my heart shall fail ? Get 
 wisdom, but with all your getting, get 
 understanding. See to it, that you lay up a 
 good foundation aga^inst the time to come. 
 Ignorance here, is fatal. Better be a way- 
 faring man and a fool in other matters, 
 so that you be wise unto salvation, than 
 to stand upon the loftiest pinnacle of 
 earthly wisdom, and be ignorant in hea- 
 venly things. The advantages of earthly 
 wisdom are confined to this world ; but 
 the wisdom which is from above, leads us 
 besides " the still waters" of comfort in 
 this world, and introduces into that glori- 
 
212 THE WISDOM OF DULY [SER. X. 
 
 ous region above, where is fulness of joy 
 and pleasures forevermore. I entreat you 
 then, above all things, to get this wisdom 
 — the wisdom that includes a preparation 
 against that hour, when the earth shall 
 recede and disappear, and eternity with 
 all her awful realities, shall break in upon 
 your astonished sight. Prepare, by break- 
 ing ofi' your sins, by righteousness and 
 turning to the Lord, in full purpose of 
 heart. Prepare, by obtaining an interest 
 in the merits of Christ, who died for our 
 offences, and was raised again for our jus- 
 tification. He is your only hope. He is 
 the only rod and staff that can comfort 
 you when called to pass the valley and 
 shadow of death. He is the " bright and 
 morning star" that can light up your path- 
 way from earth to heaven. Then be wise. 
 Choose him for your portion. Take him 
 for your " all in all." Pass through things 
 temporal, so as not to lose those things 
 that are eternal ; counting all things but 
 loss, so that you may win Christ, and be 
 found of him in peace. 
 
SEKMON XI. 
 
 A SACRED NEARNESS TO GOD RECOMMENDED. 
 
 '* Draw nigu to God, and he will draw nigh to you." 
 
 Gen. Epis. James iv., 8. 
 
 In discoursing from the words of the 
 text, we shall be led to consider, 
 
 First, — The distant relation that fallen 
 man sustains to his Maker. 
 
 Second, — The duty enjoined upon man 
 to DRAW nigli to God. 
 
 Thirdly, — The encouragement to the 
 performance of this duty. — He will draw 
 
 NIGH TO YOU. 
 
 1. The distant relation that fallen man 
 sustains to his Maker. The great God in 
 his essential presence, is not far from any 
 one of us. " He is about our bed, and 
 
 19 
 
214 A SACRED NEARNESS [SER. XI. 
 
 about our path, and spies out all our 
 ways." He fills the great immensity of 
 space, and is therefore, everywhere pre- 
 sent at the same time. This truth, too 
 large for either human or angelic minds 
 fully to grasp, is set forth by the Psalmist 
 in language the most lofty and sublime : 
 " Whither sJiall I go from thy Spirit ? or 
 whither shall I flee from thy presence ? If 
 I ascend up into heaven thon art there. If 
 I make my hed in hell behold thou art there. 
 If Itahe the wings of the morning and dioell 
 in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there 
 shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand 
 shall hold me'"^ God is present to spy out 
 all our thoughts, motives, intentions, dis- 
 positions, tempers and actions : He is pre- 
 sent to know, sustain and uphold every 
 minute part of his widely extended crea- 
 tion, whether animate or inanimate; aye, 
 his presence extends far beyond the bounds 
 of those innumerable worlds that roll in 
 
 * Psa. cxxxix., 7-10. 
 
SER. Xr.] TO GOD RECOMMENDED. 215 
 
 the wide expanse of heaven ; infinitely 
 further than the imagination can possibly 
 reach. But notwithstanding the great 
 Eternal be thus everywhere present, and 
 of course nigh unto all of us, yet, fallen 
 man, nevertheless, stands at an awful 
 distance from him. The Omnipresence 
 of God is one of his natural attributes. 
 It follows as a necessary consequence of 
 his existence. It is just as impossible 
 for the Creator not to be Omnipresent, as 
 it is for him not to exist. And that the 
 non-existence of the Deity is impossible, 
 is clear from what strikes our senses in 
 every direction. We see, for instance, 
 a variety of living creatures on the earth, 
 in the air, and in the waters. And we 
 know that they could not create them- 
 selves ; they must depend upon some 
 other cause for their existence ; and that 
 cause must be absolutely independent ; 
 for an eternal succession of dependent 
 beings is impossible. There must be an 
 end to the chain of secondary causes, 
 
216 A SACRED NEARNESS [SER. XI- 
 
 and that end, is the uncaused, uncreated 
 God. Thus we see, that the non-exist- 
 ence of God is impossible. And that he 
 should not be Omnipresent, is equally 
 impossible. He being, as we have seen, 
 uncreated ; he must necessarily be abso- 
 lutely independent ; and the being who 
 is absolutely independent, must be Omni- 
 potent, must possess Almighty power, 
 power to do everything that does not 
 imply a contradiction. And he who has 
 power thus to do everything, must be 
 everywhere present; for we cannot con- 
 ceive of power to do anything, where 
 there is no agent to exert that power. 
 But there are other attributes of the 
 Deity spoken of in the Holy Scriptures 
 denominated moral ; such as his holiness, 
 justice, goodness and truth. We need 
 recite only a few passages that relate to 
 God's moral excellency. " Who is like 
 unto thee, Lord, among the cjods ? Who 
 is like thee, (jlorlous in hoUnessJ'^ '' Thou 
 *Ex. XV., 11. 
 
SER. XI.] TO GOD RECOMMENDED. 217 
 
 art of prn^er eyes than to heliold evil, and 
 canst not look on iniquit/j.^'^ " God is 
 lujht, and in him is no darkness at all!'^ 
 Of his justice they thus speak. ''Jus- 
 tice and judgment are the habitation of thy 
 throner^ " He is excellent in poioer and 
 in judgment, and in 'plenty of justice!^"^ 
 They are equally explicit in declaring 
 his goodness and truth. " The Lord, the 
 Lord God, merciful and gracious, long- 
 suffering, and abundant in goodness and 
 truthr^ Now it is the duty and high 
 privilege of man to be conformed to the 
 Divine nature in his moral excellence. 
 But when we contemplate unregenerate 
 man, either in the light of experience or 
 revelation, we cannot fail to see the vast 
 distance at which he stands from that 
 moral likeness of God, which it is his 
 privilege to bear. God is holy ; he looks 
 upon sin with infinite abhorrence. But 
 
 * Hab. i., 13. » 1st Epis. Gen. Jno. i., 5. 
 
 5 Psa. Ixxxix., 14. * Job xxxvii., 23. 
 
 ^ Ex. xxxiv., 6. 
 
 19* 
 
218 A SACRED NEARNESS [SER. XT. 
 
 man is unholy ; he is conceived and born 
 in sin. Sinful thoughts, desires, afiec- 
 tions and tempers, he freely indulges in, 
 while sinful practices and pursuits are 
 engaged in by him with delight. God is 
 just; but man is unjust. He is unjust 
 to himself, as he fails to bestow the atten- 
 tion that is due to the paramount 
 interests of his spiritual nature. This 
 being the case, he cannot be otherwise 
 than unconcerned about the spiritual and 
 eternal concerns of his fellow-creatures. 
 He is unjust towards God, in withholding 
 that reverential fear and devout service 
 to which he has an indisputable claim. 
 God is good. His goodness, like the 
 bright sun in the heavens, shines along 
 the pathway of every child of Adam that 
 comes into the world. In all his works 
 and ways, he evidently has a kind regard 
 to the happiness of the creatures he has 
 made. But unrenewed man is so far 
 from bearing the moral likeness of his 
 Maker in this respect, that, on the con- 
 
SER. XI.] TO GOD RECOMMENDED. 219 
 
 trary, all his works and ways tend ulti- 
 mately, not only to his own misery, but 
 to the utter ruin also of all over whom 
 he has influence. To use the strong 
 language of scripture : — " Destruction and 
 misery are in their ways,'^ " and the way of 
 peace have they not hnoivn!'^ We have 
 thus given a brief sketch of the moral 
 image of unrenewed man. And how 
 unlike the moral likeness of his Maker? 
 The -one is Light, the other, darkness. 
 Now so long as man maintains this 
 position, so long as he stands in this 
 opposing relation to his Maker, he can- 
 not be happy. It is impossible. Where 
 is there an intelligent creature in the wide 
 universe, who can be happy, unless 
 approbated by his Maker, the only source 
 of happiness ? And can the great Su- 
 preme, approbate a character, that is in 
 direct opposition to his own ? No, never. 
 Light and darkness can amalgamate 
 sooner than the Eternal God can look 
 » Horn, iii., 16-17. 
 
220 A SACRED NEARNESS [SER. XI. 
 
 with complacency, either upon man or 
 angel, that does not, in his measure, bear 
 his moral image and likeness. There is 
 a perpetual war between the two. God 
 has no fellowship with the wicked. And 
 the wicked have no communion with him. 
 '' The carnal mind is enmity against Gocir 
 The final issue of this hostility, according 
 to the sacred oracles, will be terrible in 
 the extreme. They teach us that " the 
 day conietli, when all the proud" con- 
 temners of God's law, '^ and all that do 
 wickedl}^," shall, at the awful sentence of 
 the Judge, " go away into everlasting 
 punishment, where shall be weeping and 
 wailing and gnashing of teeth." Awfully 
 tremendous is the doom that awaits the 
 finally impenitent. But as our heavenly 
 Father " hath no pleasure in the death of 
 the wicked, but that the wicked turn 
 from his wickedness and live," he has in 
 infinite kindness devised a plan by which 
 be may escape that misery to which his 
 native opposition to God will certainly 
 
SER. XI.] TO GOD RECOMMENDED. 221 
 
 lead. There is no way, however, of 
 escape for man, unless he alter his posi- 
 tion, unless a radical change take place 
 in his moral character. Hence the ex- 
 hortation in the text — "Draw nigh to 
 God." As man's distance from the moral 
 image of God is particularly alluded to, 
 so to draw nigh to Him, is to advance 
 progressively towards his divine image, 
 and likeness. We draw nigh to God : — 
 
 1. By repentance. Repentance pro- 
 perly speaking comprehends three things, 
 viz. : conviction of sin, sorrow on account 
 of it, and the forsaking of it. The search- 
 ing light of heaven first discloses to the 
 sinner the sad reality that his " whole 
 head is sick," and his "whole heart faint;" 
 that, " from the sole of the foot even unto 
 the head there is no soundness in it, but 
 wounds, and bruises, and putrifying sores :" 
 that " have not been closed, neither bound 
 up, neither mollified with ointment." This 
 view of native depravity, this conviction 
 
222 A SACRED NEARNESS [SER. XI. 
 
 of sin, is accompanied with a generous 
 sorrow on account of it. '' / am iceary^^ 
 says penitent David, "ivltJi my groaning ; 
 all the night malce I my hed to sioim : I water 
 my couch with my tears. 3Iine eye is con- 
 sumed because of griefr^ This sorrow, 
 however, is not merely a mental anguish 
 arising from the fear of punishment, but 
 a tender and filial grief for having sinned 
 against the most endearing goodness, and 
 offended the kindest and best of friends. 
 No other consideration pierces the soul 
 so deep and causes it to overflow with 
 penitential sorrow, as the thought of its 
 ingratitude and rebellion against Him who 
 bought us with the Saviour's blood. He 
 sums up all his guilt and crime in the peni- 
 tent acknowledgement — " Against thee^ 
 thee only have I sinned r^ This conviction 
 of and sorrow for sin, lead to the forsaking 
 of it. The penitent, like the prodigal in 
 the Gospel, forms the resolution to arise 
 from his state of wretchedness, and he is 
 Psa. vi., G-7. " Psa. li., 4. 
 
SER. XI.] TO GOD RECOMMENDED. 223 
 
 enabled through grace to put his resolu- 
 tion into practice : he arises, brings forth 
 fruit meet for repentance, ceasing to do 
 evil and learning to do well. ^'The vows 
 that" he "made, or that was made in" 
 his " name at" his " baptism," he ratifies 
 and confirms, "acknowledging" himself 
 " bound to believe and to do all those 
 things which" he "then undertook, or" 
 his "sponsors undertook for" him. 
 
 The soul has now so far changed 
 its position, that whereas sin, in which 
 it formerly took so much delight, now 
 appears in all its native odiousness, as 
 something to be loathed and shunned. 
 He perceives also a beauty in the holiness 
 of God which he never saw before, and 
 his anxious desire is to be conformed in 
 his measure, more and more to the same 
 image. Hence he draws nigh to God. 
 
 2. In the exercise of faith. Under 
 the dispensation of the Gospel, God has 
 appointed repentance and a lively faith 
 
224: A SACRED NEARNESS [SER. XI. 
 
 in his mercy through Christ, as the terms 
 to be complied with on the part of man 
 in order to his restoration to the divine 
 favor. Hence the command : " Repent 
 YE AND BELIEVE THE GosPEL."^ So, when- 
 ever a soul is suitably humbled under a 
 sense of his sins, though he may see 
 sufficient grounds for self-reproach for his 
 former ingratitude, his mmatural and long 
 continued rebellion against God, yet he 
 goes to his heavenly Father with the 
 determination to submit to his govern- 
 ment, imploring and relying upon his 
 mercy through Christ. We repeat, that 
 he relies upon God's mercy through Christ. 
 For we have no grounds to expect pardon- 
 ing mercy at the hands of God in any 
 other way than through faith in Jesus 
 Christ. "No man can come to me,'' says 
 Jesus, "except the Father iDliicli hath 
 sent ME, DRAW iiiM."^ Again he says, 
 "Him that cometh to me I will in no wise 
 cast outy^ Here we learn that in the 
 * St. Mark i., 15. ^Juo. vi., 44. ='Jno . vi , 37. 
 
SER. XI.] TO GOD RECOMMENDED. 225 
 
 economy of grace God the Father draws 
 man : he draws him by the cords of love, 
 he sheds light into his mind, and dis- 
 covers unto him his wretched condition ; 
 he shows him the great provision his love 
 has made for his salvation, he directs him 
 to look to the Lamb he has appointed to 
 take away the sins of the world. And 
 whenever the penitent in obedience yields 
 to this drawing, and centres all his hopes 
 in Him who gave himself a ransom for 
 all, then to such an one the promise in 
 the text is verified. The Lord in his 
 mercy draws nigh to that soul. . 
 
 1. He draws nigh to impart a com- 
 fortable sense of pardon and reconcilia- 
 tion. 
 
 He sheds abroad'in the believing heart a 
 peace thg-t the world cannot give ; a peace 
 that passeth all understanding. " Tlie 
 Spirit itself,'' says St. Paul, " heareth wit- 
 ness ivith our spirit that ive are the children 
 
 20 
 
i:2n A SACRED NEARNESS [SER. XT. 
 
 of Gocir^ And being emancipated through 
 grace, from the servile fear of wrath and 
 condemnation, they are enabled to ap- 
 proach God as their Almighty friend and 
 Father, from whose inexhaustible fulness 
 they receive all that they need, both for 
 time and eternity. God deals with them 
 as children. He manifests himself unto 
 them as he doth not unto the world, by 
 imparting unto them light, life, strength, 
 comfort and consolation, to aid them to 
 walk in the path of holiness. Once they 
 Avere strangers to communion with God, 
 but now they know what it is to enjoy 
 sweet fellowship with the Father and 
 with his Son Jesus Christ. But as they 
 are daily exposed to a very formidable 
 opposition to their advancement in the 
 divine life; an opposition from the world, 
 the flesh and Satan, through whose influ- 
 ence they would inevitably fall if left to 
 themselves, the Lord draws near, — 
 
 * Rrnn. viii., 10. 
 
SER. XI.] TO GOD RECOMMENDED. 227 
 
 2. To guide, direct and support them. 
 At all times, and under all circumstances 
 of trial, he is near, whispering in tones 
 sweeter than heavenly music, saying unto 
 them, ''Fear not ; he 7iot dismayed, I am thy 
 God, I will uphold thee, I will strengthen 
 theer Though they pass through the 
 waters of affliction, he assures them that 
 '' they shall not be overflowed." And 
 when they are called to " walk through 
 the valley and shadow of death," he will 
 be the rod and staff to comfort them, and 
 will ultimately lead them to that eternal 
 rest that remains for the people of God. 
 
 How thankful we should be, my breth- 
 ren, for the great provision that is made 
 for us in the gospel. We had by wicked 
 works alienated ourselves from God, ren- 
 dered ourselves obnoxious to his wrath 
 and sore displeasure — '' treasured up unto 
 ourselves wrath against the day of wrath 
 and revelation of the righteous judgment 
 of God." But in his infinite benevolence 
 he contrived a plan by which we may be 
 
228 A SACRED NEARNESS [SER. XI. 
 
 brought back, restored to his favor and 
 image here, and finally exalted to ever- 
 lasting happiness in the bright world 
 above. Let those who have been gra- 
 ciously brought into a sacred nearness to 
 God, show their thankfulness for this ines- 
 timable privilege, by making nearer ap- 
 proaches to him, by diligent attendance 
 upon all the appointed means of grace — 
 daily cultivating those graces of the Spirit 
 which in the sight of God are of great 
 price. " The path of the just is as the 
 shining light, which shines more and 
 more unto the perfect day." The nearer 
 you ajDproach to Him, the nearer will He 
 be found to you, imparting more light to 
 direct you in the way in which you should 
 go ; more strength to enable you to resist 
 your spiritual foes ; more comfort to ani- 
 mate you on your pilgrimage. Thus 
 advancing in the divine life, being ambi- 
 tious to comprehend with all saints, what 
 is "the length and breadth, height and 
 depth, and to know the love of Christ 
 which passeth knowledge," you may hope 
 
SER. XI.] TO GOD RECOxMMENDED. 229 
 
 to have an abundant entrance into that 
 kingdom where is fulness of joy and plea- 
 sures forevermore. 
 
 We would now address a few words, 
 especially, to that part of our hearers who 
 are far off from God by wicked works. 
 My impenitent hearers, consider what a 
 fearful position you occupy — enemies to 
 the great God of the universe ! You may 
 be shocked at this, but it is nevertheless 
 true. Every one now in Divine presence, 
 who has arrived to the years of maturity, 
 and is found in a state of impenitency, is 
 an enemy to God. You are rebels against 
 His government. You stand in battle 
 array against him, led on by " the Prince 
 of Darkness, he who now worketh in the 
 hearts of the children of disobedience." 
 And, what do you suppose, will be the 
 issue of this hostility ? Canst thou, whose 
 habitation is in the dust, contend with 
 the arm of Omnipotence ? Suppose the 
 wrath of every individual in this commu- 
 nity was aroused against you, would you 
 
230 A NEARNESS TO GOD RECOMMENDED. [SER. XT. 
 
 stand singly and alone, and contend 
 against it ? No. You would escape for 
 your life ; you would prefer a lodging in 
 some vast wilderness. But what will you 
 do when the Lord " ariseth to shake terribly 
 ilie earth?'' When the great day of his 
 wrath shall come, whither shall you fly ? 
 " Behold, he cometh luith clouds, and every 
 eye shall see him, and they that jpierced 
 him." Where now will you find shelter 
 from that "Jire that shall devour he/ore 
 Him?" Where in the wide universe 
 will you then find an all-availing friend ? 
 Thank God, that we are yet pirsoners 
 of hope, that a Throne of Grace is 
 erected, and that sinners may now 
 obtain mercy and find grace to help them 
 in their time of need. I beseech you, 
 therefore, to improve these precious pri- 
 vileges, while as yet pardon may be 
 obtained. Lay down the weapons of 
 your rebellion, and fight against God no 
 ^"^ ' more. Acquaint now thyself with Ilim, 
 and be at peace. Draw nigh to Ilim, and 
 He will draw nigh to you. 
 
SERMON XII 
 
 HAPPY END OF THE SERVANTS OF GOD. 
 
 "For David after he had served his own genera- 
 tion BY the will of God, fell on sleep."* 
 
 Acts xiii. — 36. 
 
 It requires but little reflection clearly 
 to perceive, that the benevolent Author 
 of our existence has sent us into the world 
 to be active : active in the discharge of 
 all those duties that conduce to our own 
 individual happiness, and the happiness of 
 those around and about us. The chain 
 of mutual dependence that connects the 
 one family of man together ; the progres- 
 sive improvement in moral and intellec- 
 
 * Preached on occasion of the death of Eev. Peter 
 Williams, rector of St. Philip's Church, New York 
 city, Nov. 15th, 1840. 
 
232 HAPPY END OF THE [SER. XII. 
 
 tual worth of which he is susceptible; 
 the clear indications he gives of being an 
 heir of immortality, destined to survive 
 the globe he inhabits ; all show, that he 
 has been made an inhabitant of this world 
 for quite different jourposes than to sit 
 down on the lap of ease, and be a mute 
 spectator of what he beholds around him. 
 " I must worh the worhs oflmn that sent me 
 while it is day .-"^ was the motto of our 
 divine exemplar, while his dwelling was 
 among the sons of men. True it is, that 
 no mortal man, nor flaming seraph, was 
 adequate to the great work which he, in 
 amazing condescension, undertook to per- 
 form, and which he so triumphantly 
 finished. But it is vain for any to bear 
 His name, who is not actuated by the 
 same principle of devotedness to God, that 
 shone so conspicuously in His eventful 
 life. 
 
 The life of the Christian is a state of 
 service. He is in the condition of a 
 
 * John ix., 4. 
 
SER. XTI.] SERVANTS OF GOD. 233 
 
 servant, ordered with others into their 
 Master's vineyard, to perform a certain 
 amount of labor. They all have a day 
 in which they may attend to the work 
 allotted them. And, however, some may 
 loiter away their time and neglect their 
 work in defiance of the orders given, the 
 Christian, as a good and fixithful servant, 
 is found diligently employed at the post 
 assigned to him. Being duly impressed 
 with the importance of what he has to 
 do, and with the value of time allotted 
 him, he " works out his own salvation 
 with fear and trembling, while God 
 worketh in him [both to will and to do of 
 his good pleasure." He lahoi^s to have 
 that " Kingdom" established in his heart 
 that consisteth in ^' righteousness, peace 
 and joy in the Holy Ghost." The oppo- 
 sition he meets with in this work, affords 
 him ground for greater diHgence. The 
 world, in all its fascinating and bewilder- 
 ing charms, is often presented, in order 
 to divert his attention; the remains of 
 
234 HAPPY END OF THE [SER. XII. 
 
 inward depravity often prove a source 
 of much trouble and difficulty in the way 
 of his progressive improvement ; Satan, 
 that invisible but powerful enemy, uses 
 his various devices to harass, intimidate 
 and dishearten. But maugre all this 
 hostile and formidable array, he is ena- 
 bled in the strength of Jesus to persevere 
 in his course. He adds to his "-faith, 
 virtue; and to virtue, knoioledge ; and to 
 Tcnowledge, temperance : and to temperance, 
 patience; and to patience, godliness ; and 
 to godliness, hrotherly-ldndness ; and to 
 hrotlierly-hindness, charityr^ The Chris- 
 tian, in order to be successful in securing 
 his own personal salvation, finds that it 
 requires continual watchfulness, prayer, 
 self-denial and diligent attendance on all 
 the appointed means of grace. But his 
 efforts do not terminate on himself. 
 " He serves his generation.'^ He " looks 
 not on his own things," exclusively, 
 " but also on the things of others." 
 1 2d Peter i., 5-6-7. 
 
SER. XII.] SERVANTS Or GOD. 235 
 
 True religion expands the heart ; it leads 
 those who pay homage at her holy altar 
 to devote a portion of their time and 
 talents towards ameliorating the condi- 
 tion of their fellow-men. While it con- 
 sists with paying special regard to our 
 own personal happiness, or the happiness 
 of those with whom we are connected by 
 the ties of blood, conjugal relation or 
 Christian fellowship, it cannot be confined 
 within these narrow limits. Unrestricted 
 by these ties, it extends its kind wishes 
 and benevolent regards to the limits of 
 the habitable globe. Its sincere and 
 devout prayer is ; — " Thy Kingdom 
 come : Thy will be done on earth as 
 it is in heaven." Nor does it rest in 
 kind feelings towards mankind. It lends 
 a helping hand to all those institutions 
 whose object is to advance peace and 
 happiness, truth and justice, religion and 
 piety throughout the earth. Under its 
 expanding influence our hearts and hands 
 will be open to supply the needy, and to 
 
236 HAPPY END OF THE [SER. XII. 
 
 every species of distress we shall be dis- 
 posed to give relief. Even towards our 
 enemies, we shall not be satisfied with 
 verbal expressions of kindness, but will 
 be ready at the first opportunity to give 
 our kindness a tangible form. 
 
 The rule by which the Christian is 
 governed in his actions deserves our 
 notice. 
 
 "He serves his generation by the will 
 of God." It is possible for a person to 
 render very important services to the age 
 in which he lives, without having any 
 reference whatever to the will or com- 
 mands of his Maker. He may give libe- 
 rally to the poor and needy, he may exert 
 his talents in diffusing correct notions on 
 the subject of human rights; he may take 
 a conspicuous part in all the great moral 
 enterprises, which, like "the leaves of the 
 tree of life, are for the healing of the 
 nations," and at the same time be actu- 
 ated by no higher motive than self- 
 
SER. XII.] SERVANTS OF GOD. 237 
 
 aggrandizement. "Yerily," as our Saviour 
 said of the Pharisees, '^ihey have their 
 reward." They may obtain the object of 
 their pursuit — " the praise of men ;" but 
 the plaudit of Heaven they cannot hope 
 to receive. For all works flowing from 
 such motives, however extolled among 
 men, are in the sight of God of no value. 
 On the other hand, the true Christian is 
 governed in his actions by a due regard 
 to God. His will or word is the regu- 
 lating principle in all his works and 
 ways. In whatever station Divine Provi- 
 dence sees fit to place him, whether in a 
 public or private — in whatever condition, 
 whether rich or poor, high or low, he 
 makes the will of God as contained in his 
 word the rule by which he acts. This 
 is ever a "lantern unto his feet and a 
 light unto his path." What a wide con- 
 trast presents itself between the Phari- 
 saical and the truly godly man. While 
 vain-glory is the only incentive by which 
 the former is moved, the latter is actuated 
 
 21 
 
238 HAPPY END or THE [SER. XII. 
 
 by motives of piety to his Maker. Charac- 
 ters so essentially diifering from each other, 
 cannot fail to secure for themselves in the 
 end widely different results. Fame and 
 popular applause may be very soothing 
 to the worldly mind in the day of health 
 and manly vigor. But when the solemn 
 hour of departing life arrives it vanishes, 
 leaving the trembling spirit agitated under 
 the most fearful and awful apprehensions 
 of a judgment to come. But the faithful 
 servants of the Most High, ^ after' having 
 ^' served their generation" ' hy,' or acccord- 
 ing to, " the toUl of God,'' are said to ''fall 
 asleep!' This is a figurative expression 
 which is often used in Scripture to signify 
 the peaceful and happy termination of 
 the Christian's mortal life. Their death 
 is represented under the idea of sleep. 
 
 1. On account of the sweet calm and 
 composure in which they depart this life. 
 The approach of death excites no terror 
 in the bosom of the Christian, because he 
 has the Lord Jehovah for his everlasting 
 
SER. XII.] SERVANTS OF GOD. 239 
 
 strength. It matters not under what cir- 
 cumstances he comes, whether at mid- 
 night or in the morning; whether in a 
 slow measured pace, or as quick as the 
 lightning's flash, he walks " through the 
 valley and shadow of death," calm and 
 collected, fearing " no evil," for the " rod 
 and staff" of his divine Master afford him 
 unspeakable "comfort." " The sting of 
 deathb' being extracted, he is enabled in 
 grateful adoration to exclaim : " Thanhs 
 he to God lohich giveth us the victory through 
 our Lord Jesus Christr'^ Death to the 
 pious may with great propriety be repre- 
 sented under the idea of sleep. 
 
 2. Because they then rest from all the 
 toils and cares inseparable from this pro- 
 bationary state. As when evening comes 
 on the labourer takes his rest, and forgets 
 the toils of the day when he lies down to 
 sleep, so at death, the faithful servant of 
 God finishes his course of service, retires 
 » 1 Cor. XV., 57. 
 
240 HAPPY END OF THE [SER. XII. 
 
 from the field of labor, and then goes to 
 his rest in the Paradise of God. There, 
 he joyfully waits in anticipation of that 
 " cfi'own of rigJiteousness icJiich the Lord, the 
 righteoits Judge, shall give at thai day, unto 
 all them that love his aijpearingr^ The 
 disembodied spirit in the heavenly world, 
 unquestionably, enjoys all the happiness 
 that it is capable of in its separate state. 
 But, its full and perfect fruition cannot 
 be realized until "Christ shall appear the 
 second time without sin unto salvation." 
 Then, and not till then, shall the whole 
 company of the redeemed exult in " the 
 saying hraiight to pass ;^ that, ''Death is 
 sivallowed up in victory T^ This leads us 
 to consider. 
 
 3. Another reason why the pious may 
 be said to 'fall asleep in death. — Their 
 bodies shall then be raised to a glorious 
 immortality. Revelation teaches that at 
 the final catastrophe of the world, man- 
 
 1 2d Tim. iv., 8. ^ 1 Cor. xv., 54. 
 
SER. XII.] SERVANTS OF GOD. 241 
 
 kind universally shall be aroused from 
 their long slumbers, and be made to start 
 into life. But so broad will be the line 
 of distinction drawn, that the renewed 
 cheerfulness and vigor that follow rest, 
 cannot apply to all. " Many of them that 
 sleep in the dust of the earth shall aioahe, 
 some to everlasting life, and some to shame 
 and everlasting contemptr^ " The hour is 
 coming^' said our Lord, " in the wMch all 
 that are in the grams shall hear his voice ^ 
 and shall come forth ;" — but mark the dis- 
 tinction; ''they that have done good unto 
 the resurrection of life; arid they that have 
 done evil, unto the resurrection of damna- 
 tion"^ The bodies of the saints shall be 
 formed and fashioned like the glorified 
 body of Christ : made capable of enjoying 
 in union with the soul, and bearing up 
 under, that, "far more exceeding and 
 eternal weight of glory. '' Oh ! how full 
 of comfort is this consideration to the 
 believer. While he,' with a sorrowing 
 ^ Dan. xii., 2. = John v., 28-29. 
 
 21* 
 
242 HAPPY END OF THE [SER. XII. 
 
 heart, deposits in the grave a departed 
 friend who died in the Lord, he may look 
 forward with a lively hope to the resur- 
 rection morning, when the vast empire of 
 death shall be utterly abolished; when 
 the bodies of the saints shall arise all- 
 glorious and immortal. Then, these 
 earthly tabernacles will no longer be clogs 
 to the soul in her devotional exercises; 
 but happy instruments and assistants in 
 all the exalted services of the Church tri- 
 umphant above. 
 
 But, on the other hand, the wicked, 
 being ^'vessels of wrath fitted 'to destruc- 
 tio7i,'' will be raised with bodies built upon 
 indestructible materials, only to be made 
 capable of enduring in union with the 
 soul, that "horrible tempest" of wrath, 
 which is to be their portion forever and 
 ever. Oh, who does not wish to escape 
 this tremendous doom of the finally im- 
 penitent, and to share in the inefiable 
 glories that are in reserve for the godly. 
 Baalam exclaimed : '' Let me die the 
 
SER. XII.] SERVANTS OF GOD. 243 
 
 death of the righteous, and let my last 
 end be like his !"^ But how vain was 
 such a wish unaccompanied with the 
 necessary qualifications. However strong 
 the desire of the ungodly may be to die 
 the death of the righteous and to have a 
 glorious end like theirs, it can never be 
 realized. The only way to this, is to live 
 the self-denying and pious life of the 
 righteous. We must here like them be 
 raised from a death of sin unto a life ot 
 righteousness by the power of the Holy 
 Spirit. And being thus quickened to life, 
 we must walk " as those that are alive 
 from the dead: seeking for glory ^ honor 
 and imm^ortality, hy a 'patient continuance 
 in well-doing: heing carefid to maintain 
 good worhs, that are good and profitable 
 unto menr A firm foundation of peace 
 and comfort at the closing scene of life is 
 laid, only, after we have thus served our 
 generation hy the will of God, Such was 
 the character and end of our late friend 
 ^ Num. xxiii., 10. 
 
244 HArPY END OF THE [SER. XII. 
 
 and brother, the Rev. Peter WiUiams; 
 called gtway suddenly to us, but not to 
 him, from the field of toil and labor, to 
 rest in Abraham's bosom. Our departed 
 friend was brought under the influence of 
 saving grace in the most favorable season 
 of life. He gave heed to the admonition : 
 " Rememher noio thy Creator in the days of 
 thy youth, while the evil days come not, nor 
 the years draw nigh, when thou shalt say, I 
 have no pleasure in themr^ Blessed as he 
 had been with the advantage of pious 
 parents, he very probably traced his early 
 religious impressions to their godly admo- 
 nitions and counsels. The time however 
 came that 'must come to all, when the 
 sacred tie that bound the hearts of parents 
 and child together, had to be severed by 
 death. He was left behind to mourn the 
 loss of them for awhile ; but with what 
 raptures must they have hailed each 
 other as they met again on the borders of 
 the heavenly world, to part no more for- 
 * Ecc. xii., 1. 
 
SER. XII,] SERVANTS OF GOD. 245 
 
 ever. At the age of seventeen or eighteen 
 years, he became a communicant member 
 of the Episcopal church of which Dr. 
 Lisle was pastor. Soon after, he assisted 
 an aged gentleman, whose name was 
 Thomas McKoom, in giving catechetical 
 instruction to the children assembled in a 
 private room rented for that purpose. In 
 the same place a number of adults regu- 
 larly met on Sunday evenings for religious 
 purposes. The exercises were generally 
 conducted by Mr. McKoom. After the 
 death of this gentleman, Mr. Williams 
 was regularly appointed lay-reader. He 
 acted in that capacity until the year 1820, 
 at which time he was ordained deacon by 
 Bishop Hobart in the church in which he 
 dispensed the word of life to the close of 
 his earthly pilgrimage. He was ordained 
 priest by the same Bishop in the year 
 1826. He manifested a deep concern for 
 the improvement not only of the people 
 of his charge, but for his brethren gene- 
 rally. Hence he was found contributing 
 
246 HAPPY END OF THE [SER. XII. 
 
 his influence and pecuniary means towards 
 supporting the various organized instru- 
 mentahties that had a tendency to elevate 
 and improve the condition and character 
 of his oppressed people. I doubt very 
 much, whether there exists in the city of 
 New York one single society having an 
 immediate bearing on the general interests 
 of our people, but what met with his 
 countenance and support. He was not 
 conspicuous in these matters. For no 
 man, perhaps, was less given to display, 
 or aimed less at popular applause than he. 
 If he could hide himself from personal 
 gaze, he seemed to be best pleased. His 
 whole deportment seemed to say : — 
 
 " Let me be little and. unknown, 
 Lov'd and priz'd by God alone." 
 
 A retiring modesty and unaffected diffi- 
 dence formed a very prominent feature 
 in his character. His hopes for an im- 
 provement in the character of our people 
 were in the young and rising generation, 
 
SER. XII.] SERVANTS OF GOD. 247 
 
 in whom he manifested a lively interest. 
 Did he see a promising youth, who lacked 
 nothing but the necessary advantages to 
 enable him to reflect credit on himself and 
 people in a moral and intellectual point 
 of view; he was the man that would 
 spare no pains to get such an one in a 
 situation favorable to the development 
 of his powers. He took delight in seek- 
 ing out such cases. There is now a high 
 school in the city of New York that owes 
 its establishment chiefly to his untiring 
 efibrts. 
 
 He was a universal friend. His coun- 
 tenance, which was expressive of kind 
 and benevolent feelings, added to that 
 ease and gentleness which were ever seen 
 in his manners, told every one that ap- 
 proached him, that he was in the presence 
 of a friend. He loved every one, hence 
 he was universally beloved in return. 
 To use the language of one with whom 
 he had long been most intimate : — " he 
 was a friend to every body — he was 
 
248 HAPPY END OF THE [SER. XIT. 
 
 always in trouble about other people's 
 troubles. He was a kind of depository 
 for every one to lodge his cares and anxie- 
 ties. People of diflterent denominations, 
 whenever they got in difficulty, would 
 invariably go to him ; and he, in the 
 kindness of his heart, would as often use 
 his endeavors to have their affairs satis- 
 factorily settled." 
 
 As it regards his fidelity and zeal in the 
 discharge of his ministerial duties, I need 
 only quote the words of his Diocesan, 
 delivered on the day of his interment. 
 " It was my privilege," says the venera- 
 ble Prelate, " to be often the depository 
 of the cares and anxieties, the longing 
 desires and earnest endeavors, the 
 watchful solicitudes, the cheering hopes, 
 the affectionate fears, and practical de- 
 pendance on God's grace, with which he 
 gave himself, instant in season and out 
 of season to his pastoral charge. I have 
 often said, and would now say, in con- 
 
SE^. XII.] SERVANTS OF GOD. 249 
 
 scious sincerity and integrity of heart, 
 that in all the wide range of my observa- 
 tion, I never knew a pastor whose whole 
 soul seemed more engaged in the great 
 work to which he had been set apart. I 
 have seen this in the happy results of his 
 ministry, and felt it in the many occasions 
 on which he has taken counsel with me 
 in matters pertaining to his high and holy 
 trust." 
 
 During the last two or three years of 
 our departed friend's life, it was evident 
 to his friends that his health was de- 
 clining. I have been informed that a 
 little while previous to his death, he had 
 one or two attacks of the apoplexy ; and 
 that he was impressed with the idea that 
 he would be called away in one of these 
 attacks. The solemn messenger, it is 
 true, did not come in this form, but his 
 purpose was not executed with less des- 
 patch. He was aroused from his bed at 
 the hour of 11 o'clock, Saturday night, 
 
 17th ult., by an alarm of fire. He looked 
 22 
 
250 HAPPY END OF THE [SER. "XII. 
 
 out at his window, and immediately com- 
 plained of a difficulty in breathing; and 
 at 3 o'clock Sunday morning, he leaned 
 his head on his Saviour's bosom, and 
 breathed his life out sweetly there. Peace 
 to his mortal remains, until reanimated by 
 the voice of the Archangel and the trump 
 of God. 
 
 The task of friendship done to the 
 memory of our deceased brother, I shall 
 conclude in a few words to his dear rela- 
 tives. And here, my duty is easy. I have 
 only to point you, my dear friends, to the 
 consoling ingredients with which your 
 cup is mixed. You are taught by the 
 holy apostle, St. Paul, not to be sorry as 
 men without hope for those who sleep in 
 Jesus. For the comfort of the bereaved 
 and disconsolate, a voice from heaven 
 proclaimed : — '' Blessed are the dead tclio 
 die in the Lord : even so saith the Sjnrlt : 
 for the?/ rest from their lahorsr I know it 
 would have added to your consoling 
 thoughts, if your hands had administered 
 
SER. XII.]. SERVANTS OF GOD. . ' 251 
 
 to the last necessities of decaying nature ; 
 if you had been permitted to stand 
 around him and witness that calm sere- 
 nity of his countenance that bespoke his 
 inward peace. But the great Supreme, 
 who doeth all things right, ordered it 
 otherwise : and it is for us to quiet every 
 feeling by the pious consideration — " It is 
 the Lordr Ever cherish his memory by 
 following his example of piety and devo- 
 tedness to God. Take Christ as your por- 
 tion, and though separated you must be 
 for a while, you shall unite again in that 
 glorious region where parting shall be no 
 more forever. May we all be awakened 
 by this visitation of Providence, to a deep 
 sense of the vanity and uncertainty of 
 human life ; and be graciously led to seek 
 supremely those things which are above ; 
 " that so, among the sundry and manifold 
 changes of the world, our hearts may 
 surely there be fixed, where true joys are 
 to be found, through Jesus Christ our 
 Lord." — Amen. 
 
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