POEMS ON SEVERAL OCCASIONS, WITH SOME OTHER COMPOSITIONS.
BY NATHANIEL EVANS, A. M. Late MISSIONARY (appointed by the SOCIETY for PROPAGATING the GOSPEL) for GLOUCESTER COUNTY, in NEW-JERSEY; and CHAPLAIN to the LORD VISCOUNT KILMOREY, of the KINGDOM of IRELAND.
PHILADELPHIA: PRINTED BY JOHN DUNLAP, IN MARKET-STREET. M.DCC.LXXII.
THE Author of the following Poems was born in the city of Philadelphia, Iune 8th, 1742; and was sent to the Academy there, soon after it was first opened, and before the Collegiate part of the Institution was begun. Having spent about six years in Grammar Learning, his parents, who were reputable citizens, designing him for merchandize, put him Apprentice; but not finding either his genius or inclination leading him much to that profession, he devoted more of his time to the service of the Muses, than to the business of the Counting-House. Soon after the expiration of his apprenticeship, he accordingly returned to the College, and applied himself, with great diligence, to the study of Philosophy and the Sciences, till the Commencement, May 30th, 1765; when, on account of his great merit and promising genius, he was, by special Mandate of the Trustees, upon the recommendation of the Provost and Faculty of Professors, complimented with a DIPLOMA for the degree of Master of Arts; although he had not taken the previous degree of Bachelor of Arts, on account, of the interruption in his course of studies, during the term of his apprenticeship.
[Page iv]IMMEDIATELY after the Commencement he embarked for England, carrying with him recommendations to the Society for propagating the Gospel in foreign parts, as a fit person to supply the new Mission, then proposed to be opened for Gloucester county, in New-Iersey. Upon the Society's nomination, he was admitted into holy orders by the present Lord Bishop of London, Dr. TERRICK, who expressed great satisfaction in his examination, and particularly in the perusal of an elegant English piece which he composed in a few minutes, upon a Theological question, which he was desired to give his sentiments upon.
HE returned from England, and landed at Philadelphia, December 26th, 1765; having had for his fellow-passenger (among others) the worthy and ingenious Lady, to whom many of his pieces are addressed. Upon his arrival, he entered immediately upon the business of his Mission; and alas! but just lived long enough to shew, by the goodness of his temper, the purity of his morals, the cheerfulness and affability of his conversation, the sublimity and soundness of his doctrines, and the warmth of his Pulpit Compositions, how well he was qualified for the sacred office, to which he had now wholly devoted himself. He died October 29th, 1767, lamented by all that knew him; and by none more earnestly and affectionately, [Page v] than by his own Congregations, whom he had not yet served two years!
SOON after his death, the papers which compose the following Volume were committed to the care of myself, and the Lady already mentioned, agreeable to some of his own last directions; and so sacred is the trust configned by deceased friend, that I scarce know how to excuse my long delay in offering them to the world; especially after the great encouragement given to the publication, by the numerous and respectable list of Subscribers, prefixed to the work. The true excuse will be the best, and I am persuaded, the most acceptable; namely, my want of leisure to select and review the different papers, and the interruption which the work met with, by my being obliged to take a voyage to South-Carolina, during the last winter.
WHAT high and rapturous Ideas our Author had formed of true POETIC GENIUS, may be in some measure conceived from the following Preface, which seems to have been intended for his Pieces, and was undoubtedly written by him, in the short interval between his last dangerous illness, and that fatal relapse, which put an end to his life—This Preface I shall give literally as he left it; for here the least variation would be criminal.
PREFACE.
‘POETRY, says he, has been accounted the most peculiar of all the liberal arts; and it is the only One, in the circle of literature, which a man of common capacity cannot, by meer dint of constant application, become master of. The most exalted prose writers that ever graced the learned world, have rendered themselves liable to ridicule in their addresses to the MUSES.’
‘THE great Cicero, not less famous for the elegance of his style, than for his universal knowledge, was a remarkable instance of the truth of this observation. And the wonder ceases, if what a celebrated Critic* says, be true, to wit— That to constitute a POET, is required ‘an elevation of soul, that depends not only on art and study, but must also BE THE GIFT OF HEAVEN.’ I say, if this be the case, the riddle is immediately expounded, and we are at no loss to assign a reason, why some, (comparatively speaking) illiterate men, have been the sublimest poets of the age they lived in.’
[Page vii]"IT is not strange, therefore, that those whom nature has thus distinguished, should be looked on as a kind of prodigies in the world. For, according to Horace, it is not a trifling power the man is endued with—
"THERE is a pleasing Je ne scay quoi in the productions of poetic genius, which is easier felt than described. It is the voice of nature in the POET, operating like a charm on the soul of the reader. It is the marvellous conception, the noble wildness, the lofty sentiment, the fire and enthusiasm of spirit, the living imagery, the exquisite choice of words, the variety, the sweetness, the majesty of numbers, and the irresistable magic of expression †.
THE prose writer, may indeed warm his Reader with a serene and steady fire; he may keep up his attention with the energetic, the flowing period. But the POET'S it is, to wrap him in a flame— to [Page viii] dissolve him, as it were, in his own rapturous blaze! The POET'S it is, to hurry him out of himself, with the same velocity, as though he w [...]re really mounted on a winged Pegasus—It is his to lift him up to Heaven, or plunge him into the gloom of Tartarus— It is his, to unveil to him the secrets of the deep, or to exhibit to his mind, all the novelty of this varied world—to carry him back into the darkness of antiquity, or waft him forwards into the vast sea of futurity—and finally, to inspire him with the patriot glow, or fire his soul with the heavenly ideas of MORAL BEAUTY, and all the varied passions of Love, Fear, Terror, Compassion, &c. &c."
‘SUCH is the genuine Poet, when improved by the precepts of Art; and the works of such have been the continual delight of mankind, as they afford the sublimest intellectual enjoyment. With such, to tread the flowery fields of imagination, and gather the rich fruits of knowledge, is HAPPINESS indeed!’
‘BUT it is rare, that such Natural Geniuses are seen to arrive at this envied height. Some black obstacle still clogs their wings, and retards their progress—Frequently those to whom Nature has been thus bountiful, have not leisure to attend to the cultivation [Page ix] of their talents—frequently, like the rose in the wilderness, they just bloom, and wither away in obscurity; and sometimes, alas! the iron-hand of DEATH cuts them SUDDENLY off, as their beauties are just budding forth into existence, and leaves but the FAIR PROMISES of FUTURE EXCELLENCIES****’
FURTHER his pen went not—What a dreadful blank closes the foregoing sentence, and how truly prophetic of his own fate? HE DIED in his TWENTY-SIXTH Year—He was my PUPIL, and truly dear and affectionate to me in his whole demeanor—If I had not the original, in his own hand to produce, I should have been afraid to publish this Preface, as his, lest it should be suspected to have been written after his death, and accommodated to that event.
HOW far his Poems will answer the idea he had formed of poetic eminence, must be left for his readers to judge. Many of them are fragments, and unfinished; and but few of them were revised by himself, with a view of being published. Some corrections have, therefore, been made, where there appeared any thing materially faulty in respect to Grammar, the exactness of the rhymes, &c. But in these the Publisher has been sparing, and has taken care that the Author's sense should in no case be deviated from— [Page x] The task he left to be performed was a mournful one; but it has been executed with that fidelity, which the writer of this would wish might be extended to any performance of his own, that may be thought worthy of the public eye, by that true friend into whose hands it may fall, when he himself shall be no more!
DAPHNIS AND MENALCAS, A PASTORAL ECLOGUE.
WRITTEN 1758.
ODE TO A FRIEND. 1758.
EPISTOLARY ODE TO A FRIEND.
PANEGYRIC ODE TO THE MEMORY OF GENERAL WOLFE, SLAIN AT THE SIEGE OF QUEBEC.
ELEGY TO THE Memory of THEOPHILUS GREW, A. M. Professor of Mathematics in the College of PHILADELPHIA.
A RIDDLE.
WRITTEN 1759.
ODE ON THE PROSPECT OF PEACE. 1761.
A RURAL ODE, Written by the Author at the Age of Sixteen.
ODE TO A FRIEND.
HYMN TO MAY.
AN ANACREONTIC ODE.
SONG. EXTEMPORE.
TO SYLVIA.
A SONG, After her recovery from a fit of sickness.
SONG.
AN ODE, Attempted in the Manner of HORACE, TO MY INGENIOUS FRIEND, MR. *THOMAS GODFREY.
A SONG TO MIRA; ON PARTING.
VERSES FOR THE NEW-YEAR 1762 *.
AN ODE, On completing my One and Twentieth Year of Age.
HEROIC STANZAS, On the Successes of his MAJESTY'S Arms, and the Greatness of the ENGLISH NATION; 1762.
AN EXERCISE; CONTAINING, A DIALOGUE AND ODE ON OCCASION OF THE PEACE.
Performed at the PUBLIC COMMENCEMENT in the COLLEGE of PHILADELPHIA, May 17th, 1763.
A DIALOGUE, &c. HORATIO, PALEMON, PHILANDER.
ODE, WRITTEN BY PAUL JACKSON, A. M.
PSALM XCVII. Paraphrased.
THERE is in no collection of devout compositions a greater diversity of matter than in the Psalms of DAVID. They appear to have been pen'd while the author was under the immediate impression of those feelings which he so admirably describes; whether of religious pensiveness, devout contemplation, admiration of God's attributes, pious joy, gratitude, and thanksgiving, arising from the various state of his mind or temporal affairs. They are, therefore, wonderfully fitted and adapted to the case of men in general, who, at one time or other, are in some of those situations, and actuated by the same sensations: And as they are written with great fervour of spirit, solidity of understanding, strength of fancy, and a soul illuminated by divine inspiration, it is not to be wondered that they have so often charmed the best and greatest geniuses.—Sundry of our most celebrated English poets have employed their pens in rendering divers of those excellent pieces into verse—and there is not a sublimer and more musical poem in the compositions of Addison, than that which is wrought out of the 19th psalm.
I have thus far premised, to induce, if possible, those youths among us, who have enjoyed the advantage of a [Page 83] liberal education, and have leisure for literary pursuits and a taste and capacity for poetry, which some have lately evinced, to turn their talents towards such instructive performances.—The Holy Scriptures are the true fountain from which to extract the richest draughts of poesy, both as to dignity of matter and embellishment of figures; witness the noble use the great Milton made of them in his marvellous poems, and though few must expect to reach to such heights as did that prodigy of learning and genius, yet all, according to their ability, may follow his illustrious example; and if we would wish to excel and atchieve any thing great and laudable, we should always look to a mark superior to ourselves.
The 145th psalm, in particular, one of those paraphrased below, is a most beautiful picture of the Supreme Being, whom the Psalmist extols for those amiable attributes, which most of all must [...]ffect men with joy, as subjects of God's moral government, his goodness and mercy. Such a theme needs no apology; and as to the present handling of it, if it should excite others, of a similar taste, who, like the Author, may sometimes have an hour in the country unoccupied by duty, business, or friends, which they would wish rationally to employ in such like amusements, he hopes it will plead his excuse.
PSALM XCVII. PARAPHRASED.
PSALM CXLV. PARAPHRASED.
PSALM CXXXVII. VERSIFIED.
Ad GULIELMUM LAUDERUM, P. P.
TO WILLIAM LAUDER, P. P.
CARMEN PASTORALE.
A PASTORAL, from the Latin of the same.
ELEGY, TO THE MEMORY OF MY BELOVED FRIEND, MR. THOMAS GODFREY, Who died near Wilmington, North-Carolina, August 3d, 1763.
October 1, 1763.
TO BENJAMIN FRANKLIN, ESQ L. L. D.
Occasioned by hearing him play on the HARMONICA.
ON THE AEOLIAN HARP.
AN EPISTLE TO MIRA.
AN ORATION ON SCIENCE.
Spoken at a Performance of SOLEMN MUSIC and ORATORY, in the Hall of the College of PHILADELPHIA.
VERSES, ADDRESSED TO THE TRUSTEES of the COLLEGE and ACADEMY OF PHILADELPHIA.
Written and pronounced as an Exercise at the Public Commencement, May 30, 1765, on taking the Degree of M. A. in said College.
EPITAPH, IN MEMORY OF MRS. MARGARET ROBINSON, WIFE OF CAPT. JAMES ROBINSON, Who died March 22, 1765, and was buried in St. Catharine's Church, London.
TO CLARINDA.
MAY 20, 1768.
THE MORNING INVITATION, To Two YOUNG LADIES at the GLOUCESTER SPRING.
FRAGMENTS, AND UNFINISHED POEMS.
ON TIME.
INTRODUCTION TO A NIGHT-PIECE.
A SEA-PIECE.
TO MELANCHOLY.
BEGINNING OF A POEM, ON THE PASSION and RESURRECTION of CHRIST.
AN INVOCATION, For the Return of Spring; March 17th, 1760.
ON SOLITUDE.
ORPHEUS AND EURYDICE.
AN ODE.
WRITTEN AT G—ME PARK.
Some LINES out of MR. POPE'S ELOISE TO ABELARD.
A PARODY On the foregoing LINES, by a LADY, assuming the Name of LAURA.
AN EPISTLE TO LAURA, ON HER PARODY.
LAURA's ANSWER.
TO LAURA, IN REPLY TO THE ABOVE.
VERSES ON THREE LADIES, Who filled up * Les Bouts Rimez and desired the AUTHOR to decide which was best.
ANSWER BY LAURA, One of the THREE LADIES above mentioned.
SERMONS ON VARIOUS SUBJECTS.
THE LOVE OF THE WORLD INCOMPATIBLE WITH THE LOVE OF GOD: A DISCOURSE ON 1 JOHN II.15, 16, 17.
TO THE MEMBERS OF THE CONGREGATION OF GLOUCESTER.
THE partiality you have shewn to the following discourse, in desiring me to furnish you with a Copy of it, to send to the press, merits my sincerest thanks.
At the same time, I cannot but observe to you, that the honour you pay me lays me under no small difficulty. For, to argue the unworthiness of the composition against its being printed, would be returning you a poor compliment, and might appear in me like an affectation of modesty.— On the other hand, my complying with your request, may subject me to the charge of vanity, with those who are readier to censure than to judge with candour. I can only say, therefore, that the reason you assign for your desire to have this discourse printed, is sufficient for me to wave the above objections, viz. That you believe it may be of service to some people in my mission, as it sets forth some practical truths (as you are pleas'd to say) in an agreeable [Page 6] point of light. Whether that can be said with propriety of the following Sermon, it becomes me not to decide.
Should it please God to bless it to any one of you, should it excite but in one single breast, a taste for vital religion and the practice of Christianity, whatever otherwise may be its fate, I shall rejoice that it now attends you to your closets.
I have only therefore, to add, that it appears the same now in print, as when delivered to you from the Pulpit, with no other than a few verbal alterations. And, as it was not compos'd with any design of being sent to the press, I hope no one will be surprised if he finds it to consist only of a few plain arguments and admonitions, counselling plain people, so to use this world, that (in some future state of existence) they may be found worthy to inherit the immortal joys of a better.
Recommending you, therefore, to God's Grace, and the best of Masters and Patterns, Jesus Christ; I remain, with true affection and regard,
The LOVE of the World incompatible with the LOVE of GOD.
Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof; but he that doth the will of God, abideth for ever.
NOTHING can sound more harsh and ungrateful to human nature than precepts of this sort. The load of sense with which we are weighed down, the variety of alluring objects that surround us, the syren-voice of temptation, and the prevalence of numerous example, are too apt, more especially in the spring-tide of life, to give nature the conquest over Grace, passion over reason, [Page 8] and vanity over wisdom. We are too apt to be hurried away into the flowery avenues of pleasure, to yield up the will to desire, regardless of the consequences, and impatient of control.
The eminent Apostle of the Gentiles, leaves us this account of his conflict with the world; * ‘I delight’ (says he) ‘in the law of God, after the inward man. But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin, which is in my members; which a great † genius of our nation thus paraphrases;’ ‘For that which my inward man is delighted with, that which with satisfaction my mind would make its rule, is the law of God. But I see in my members another principle of action equivalent to a law, directly waging war against that law which my mind would follow, leading me captive into an unwilling subjection to the constant inclination and impulse of my carnal appetite, which, as steadily as if it were a law, carries me to sin.’ This then is not a particular case, but what all mankind is liable to, for the mind would serve the law of God; but the flesh the law of sin. [Page 9] Which law of sin, as the Apostle expresses it, is the inherent propensity of our fallen natures to gratify the violent calls of animal desire. And what St. John means in the text by loving the world, no doubt, is the delight we take in indulging this depraved inclination, so as to make the gross and vicious pleasures of sense the prime object of our pursuits; instead of endeavouring to subdue our bodies and perfect our minds in the spirit of religion and solid virtue.
A person then may be said to love the world, according to the meaning of the text, when his mind is under the influence and guidance of his animal passions; when those passions are so far indulged as to occasion confusion and uproar in his soul, to breed disorder and irregularity in society, and to alienate his affections from the love of divine and moral excellencies; when his conduct is swayed by corrupt customs; when he looks upon the enjoyments of this world as his chief good, and his ideas of happiness are confined within its scanty orb; when, to gain its applause, he barters his conscience, neglects the great duties incumbent on him as a rational agent, and banishes the sacred forms of religion and virtue from his heart. Negatively, he may be said to love the world, when [Page 10] he does not prefer Almighty God as the first and grand object of his thoughts; when he does not esteem his favour as the highest felicity, endeavour to live as in his presence, devote himself to his service and strive to imitate, as far as the frailty of human nature will admit, his adorable perfections.
Further, by the love of the world we are to understand making an immoderate use of God's benefits, attaching our minds solely to earthly pleasures, following the errors and evil courses of lawless and abandoned men, giving way to low groveling thoughts, nor wishing to enjoy the more refined and manly pleasure which slows from a virtuous course of action.
Such being the love of the world, we cannot wonder at its being condemned by the good Apostle in the text; and it is a very vain thing for those who are connected with the world in the light we have represented, to expect any benefit from our Saviour's sufferings, or hope to be saved, in time of need, by only calling on his name. For it is written, that * ‘every one that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity.’ And the blessed Jesus hath solemnly assured us, that † ‘not every one that saith unto him, Lord, Lord, shall [Page 11] enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doth the will of his Father which is in heaven.’
Some there are, who think that not loving the world consists in banishing themselves from human society, and that turning their backs on their fellow-creatures is turning their backs on the world; and therefore fly to deserts and cloysters in pursuit of virtue and to avoid vice. But far otherwise is the prayer of our divine Master, when he recommended his disciples to the care of his heavenly Father. * ‘I pray not,’ says he ‘that thou shouldst take them out of the world, but that thou shouldst keep them from the evil.’ For the world is the grand theatre on which all virtuous actions must be performed, and the merit of our performance rests in not quitting the stage, and yet avoiding the evil. For what field have we to call forth the duties of Christianity in, if it is not among our brethren? By extending our love and charity among our fellow-creatures, by acts of devotion, justice, mercy, and living up to the dictates of truth and right reason, is the best method of showing our love to God, and the genuine path that the Gospel has [Page 12] pointed out. But this it is impossible to do without mingling with mankind; and although we may meet with some whose behaviour and manners may give us a pain too big to be utter'd, yet we are not to turn our backs on the world for any such reason. Does not the eternal Majesty of heaven, the infinite fountain of all excellence and perfection, bear with our weaknesses and follies from day to day? and shall we lack patience then with one another, when even the best of us are such frail, infirm creatures, as to be unable to enter into heaven without the imputation of a better righteousness than our own? 'Tis our duty to war against vicious habits, to endeavour, with the aids of God's Grace, after an upright and blameless conduct, and to convince the world, by the force of example, that our religion is more than a name, and that we are really in love with the beauty of holiness.
By the love of the world, as mentioned by the Apostle in the text, it is very manifest that he means the love of sin; or, suffering our souls to yield (in St. Paul's phrase) to the "law of sin;" that is, debauching our reason, and converting the talents of the mind from their proper office, the perfecting us for heaven, to be the slaves of [Page 13] our appetites, to warp the judgment and blind the understanding, to call corruption pleasure, and madness joy. But it would be very injurious to the sacred text as well as highly absurd in its consequences, to suppose that St. John here means by not loving the world, to treat with contempt the good things of this life. For to what purposes were the mercies of God so plentifully strew'd over the vast and beautiful theatre of Nature, if they were not for us to use, and soberly and thankfully enjoy? Nay, so eminently glorious is the frame of this visible world, that it compelled many sensible Heathens, who were led only by natural light, loudly to acknowledge that so wonderful a system could alone be effected by the power, wisdom and goodness of an infinite intelligence; and is therefore fit for the admiration of man, as a reasoning creature, and one of the chief sources to deduce the most exalted ideas of his Almighty Creator. What is condemned and forbidden in the text is our making the blessings of this life the principal object of our pursuits, so as to make us unmindful of the shortness of our duration in this world, and that awful eternity into which we shall soon be translated; so as to injure our bodies and debase the nobler faculties of the soul, to unfit us for the various offices which [Page 14] our connexions require of us, and give the mind a disrelish for the rational pleasures of religion, and for those high and important meditations, which as men and christians it becomes us frequently to be engaged in. * ‘For this world is God's school, where immortal spirits clothed with flesh are trained and bred up for eternity.’ And it behoves us to be exceeding thankful to Almighty God that he has cautioned and commanded us against an immoderate desire after worldly enjoyments. For we shall find it our interest if we look no further than this life to make a sober use of its refreshments. For diseases of the body, with loss of reputation, ruin of families, the total destruction of communities, and above all the horrors of an evil conscience, attend our eagerly pursuing the inordinate calls of vice.
Were we born for no other purpose than to eat, drink and play, we might indeed strive who should roll foremost in the gay circle of pleasure, and only wish to beat the intoxicating round of licentiousness. But to other ends were we called into this life, and for far higher exercises were the faculties of the soul given to us than to [Page 15] be the ministers of iniquity. That illustrious Personage who came down from heaven for our salvation, has set us, and all his followers, an excellent example of all those virtues and amiable qualities which it is our duty to practise during our stay in this world. The love and charity, which, like another celestial glory, shed a lustre around him, the universal philanthropy which he breathed, should kindle in our breasts the warmest benevolence for all that bear the human shape; and the public-spiritedness of his actions should inspire us with that generous principle which directs every thought and deed to God's glory, and the public good.
He whose soul is set upon temporal pleasures and pursuits, will rarely find leisure for any secret communion with the Father of Spirits, or feel any inclination to enjoy so blessed a privilege. For the human mind is so formed as to be incapable of following the bent of two differing passions together. Or according to the language of scripture, ‘we cannot serve God and Mammon.’ If we are in love with the world, our thoughts will altogether be engaged in mean, selfish views. Earthly happiness will be the sole mark we shall aim at, and whatever may interfere with, or throw a [Page 16] check upon such a career, will be ever disgustful in our eyes. How can those passions, which are absorbed in carnal pursuits, be elevated with the flame of divine love? And how can that heart, which is coiled up in the narrow circle of self-love, distend with the true spirit of christian charity?
The pleasure which arises from the enjoyment of the good things of this world, though taken in moderation, is of so fleeting and perishable a nature, as to give but a momentary satisfaction, and yields no matter for comfortable reflection in time of need.— Could we call, from their mansions of clay, the votaries of sensuality, the votaries of wealth, and the votaries of ambition, that have bustled on the stage of this world for these four thousand years past— what account, think ye, would they give of their former favourite pursuits? ‘I imagine, they would tell us, that the reflection on the time past, on these unprofitable schemes gave them but a poor consolation in the eternal world; that they now reflect with sovereign contempt and abhorrence on what they once were so greatly enamoured of; that the high debauch, the dissolute frolic, the hoard of yellow dirt, the magnificent edifice, the splendid retinue, the nobility of blood, and the applause [Page 17] of the world, would appear to them unsubstantial,’ as the Poet happily expresses it, as—‘the baseless fabrick of a vision.’ But far otherwise are the pleasures of religion and virtue; they are of an undecaying nature; a fons perennis, a perpetual source of genuine comfort flowing in the breast of every christian. They shall live with him beyond the grave, and shall endure when this earthly globe shall be wrapt in flames, when you heavens shall vanish away, and the sun and moon shall dissolve. Nay, they shall exist, when time shall be lost in eternity, when new heavens shall roll and a new earth shall bloom, * wherein righteousness shall dwell for ever and ever.
The love of the world is a subject no way susceptible of novelty, and what every one can speak largely upon. And yet how rare and difficult is it for us to take the matter rightly to heart. We make no scruple of acknowledging that all the enjoyments under the sun are vain and unsubstantial. And yet vain and empty as they are, how hard do we find it to abstract ourselves from them? In some serious moments, perhaps, our souls, disgusted with some disappointment, or unpleasing [Page 18] occurrence, assume an air of dignity, and affect to despise the lower pleasures, the glittering gewgaws and the painted baubles of life. But, alas! how soon do we fall from these stout resolutions, and suffer ourselves to be ensnared with the next flattering temptation? Thus do we continue through life, still meeting with some new disappointment, and yet still giving way to the next temptation that comes in our way. That active principle that stirs within our breasts must have some object on which to employ its busy and enlarged powers; and could we but once fix it on its proper aim, how glorious would be its pursuits! Could we but once convince ourselves of the nothingness of all earthly bliss; could we but once see that the pleasures of this life, are like the glories of a painted cloud, beautiful at a distance, but, upon a near approach, nothing but a sun-gilt vapour; were this the case, I say, our souls would soon begin to search out for some more substantial happiness, and would quickly fix on that high and glorious source of all that is lovely, fair and good; where it would perceive such irresistible excellency, such transcendent glory and divine beauty, as would sweetly surprize and captivate all the powers of the soul. And how greatly are we blessed in having our souls so constituted as to be [Page 19] able to enjoy so exalted a pleasure! to be capable of discovering, admiring and loving the excellencies and perfections of the invisible God, and of imitating, though in great weakness, all his moral attributes! to be capable of pleasures far superior to those of sense, arising from the pursuit of what is excellent, and the practice of what is right! to be capable of receiving the highest satisfaction from the performance of acts of devotion, justice, mercy and charity; and, above all, to be capable of the sublimest pleasure from the reflection, that he that doth the will of God in this world, shall abide for ever in uninterrupted bliss in the world to come!
Surely, then, the man who seriously reflects on the value of his immortal soul, on the dignity of its nature, and the design of his coming into the world, will never be enslaved to corruptible and sublunary joys. He will use the things of this life as though he did not use them; and though his body may sometimes even wish to rebel against his mind, yet he will never suffer his nobler part to be satisfied with any happiness beneath that everlasting beatitude which the Sovereign of Heaven alone can bestow. To this end he will be continually endeavouring to wean himself from a too fond attachment to the delights of this life; [Page 20] to subdue those impetuous passions, which like some mighty torrent are apt to bear down all the powers of the mind, if not timely controled; to prepare himself by frequent contemplation on a spiritual life, for that pure etherial kingdom where no corruption can dwell. And happy, thrice happy! the highly favoured christian! who has the cooperating Grace of the Divine Spirit to aid him in the arduous enterprize of perfecting himself!
If we take a brief view of the condition of a person who has been altogether devoted to this world, and one who, having made a just estimate of human life, has given up his mind to the precepts of Christ, I imagine we shall make no hesitation in determining which character we would wish to possess.— Behold the man of the world under the hand of adversity, and he is the image of unhappiness. Trembling and irresolute, he dreads to look for consolation in his own bosom, its proper residence.— The gay ideas of pleasure flit like the vanishing wind before his view. Are the inexorable arrows of death pointed at his heart? alas! ten thousand dreary forms affright his imagination, and stiffen every pore with horror! Despairing to look forward, and dreading to think on what has pass'd, he feels a certain fearful looking for of judgment, and a [...]ry indignation [Page 21] already burning in his bosom. A reproaching conscience stares him in the face, and the reward of an ill-spent life is intolerable to his thoughts.— But not so the man who has secured his happiness on the glorious terms of the Gospel, whose salvation is sealed with the redeeming blood of the Lamb, and who has endeavoured to practise those graces and virtues which adorned his godlike Master, while here on earth. Having long inured his soul to the thoughts of a more perfect existence and glorious immortality, when these elementary bodies shall mingle with their congenial dust, he feels no anxiety at the thoughts of leaving this transitory life; and often wishes to cast off the sin-worn tabernacle that detains his soul from mounting to that throne, where myriads of glorified spirits are continually pouring forth their immortal songs to the praise and honour of the Supreme and All-creating Lord!— Is the good man oppressed with affliction and attacked by adversity, is he pursued by persecution, is he on the torturing rack, or bent beneath the merciless hand of the executioner? is he committed to the flames, limb by limb, and his whole body tumbling into dissolution? the testimony of a good conscience, and an immoveable confidence in the victorious Son of God shall speak peace to his soul, and like a heavenly hand [Page 22] stretched forth from the clouds, shall support him through all extremes, shall rob death of its sting, and the grave of its victory.
Who would not then strive to possess so heroic and manly a spirit? Who would be enslaved to the paltry pleasures of sense, when the joys of angels are at his acceptance, when the delights of virtue are so superior to all others, and so naturally fitted for the exalted powers of the soul? Is it so trifling an advantage to disarm death of its awful terrors? to rise triumphant over the grave? to be distinguished in God's courts with a crown of glory, and to enjoy the raptures of the blest through the boundless ages of futurity? If the thoughts of meeting with some celebrated philosophers and poets in a future state could make a wise heathen anticipate its joys; how great, think ye, must be the christian's exultation, when he reflects, according to St. Paul's sublime description, that he shall be translated from this life into * ‘the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels, and to the general assembly and church of the first-born, which are written in heaven, and to God the judge of all, and to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant.’
[Page 23]Knowing, therefore, that the world passeth away, and the lust thereof, but he that doth the will of God abideth for ever; who would be so far attached to this unstable state as to risk his everlasting happiness on its account? If we consider the great and glorious Being we have to answer to; what it is to appear at his awful tribunal, to give an account of our conduct; that it is he who shall distribute rewards and punishments for the deeds done in the flesh; that, ‘if any man have not the spirit of Christ he is none of his; and that the fruits of the Spirit are love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance;’ I say, if we duly consider these things, they are enough to animate us with a becoming sense of religion and virtue, and to disengage us from the fascinating delights of sense. Moreover, when we are assured that * ‘the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also, and the works that are therein shall be burnt up; seeing that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be, in all holy conversation and godliness?’ † ‘Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever [Page 24] things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things—’ ‘still pressing toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus, adding grace to grace, and virtue to virtue, till ye are made meet to be partakers of that transcendent happiness, which surpasseth all human conception, and which God hath prepared for those who love and obey him.’
‘And now may the God of peace, that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, make you perfect in every good work to do his will, working in you that which is well pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ; to whom, with the divine illuminating Spirit, the tri-personal and ever adorable Godhead, be all glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever.’ Amen.