THE uniformity of the divine dispensations towards the righteous, and the wicked, was to Asaph, as he informs us in the 73d Psalm, a source of great perplexity and distress. It ap­pears, that he was deeply, and for a long time, employed in meditating on this mysterious sub­ject; and, the more he considered it, the more he doubted and desponded. Reduced, at length, to a state bordering on agony and despair, he exclaim­ed "I have cleansed my heart in vain, and wash­ed my hands in innocency; for all the day long have I been plagued, and chastened every morn­ing."

From the prosperity of the wicked, and his own great adversity, he was led ultimately to indulge these unhappy sentiments, and to feel as if God had no rest, no kindness, no peculiar care, for righteous men. This dangerous mistake was however rectified, and these censurable feelings were removed, when he afterwards went to the sanctuary of God. Then understood he the end of the wicked. He saw them set in slippery pla­ces, and ready to be cast down to destruction. He [Page 6] saw, that whatever apparent errors were found in the dispensations of God, in the present world, would be finally proved not to be errors, by their connection with future dispensations; that the Providence of God was one great scheme, reach­ing through time, and through eternity; that the parts of it, existing here, were to be explained by their consequences, existing hereafter; that, thus explained, all would be, and would be found to be, right; and that God would appear, as he had de­clared himself, and as a perfect Being must be, the uniform friend of the Righteous, and the uniform enemy of the impenitently Wicked.

Solomon, a man of more extensive views, close observation, and profound research, than Asaph, and assisted by the very discoveries made to Asaph, was enabled by the Divine Spirit to form more comprehensive, and more accurate ideas of this mysterious subject. Calmly and carefully exami­ning the circumstances of men, and the Provi­dence of God, he saw clearly, that "all things come alike to all; and that there is one event to the righteous and to the wicked." With these views he also determined easily and certainly, that there is "no knowledge of the love or hatred" of God to any person "by all" that part of his Pro­vidence "which is before us"—by his prosperity, or his adversity; and that he may be in either of these situations, and still be wicked, or still be righteous.

For all these things Solomon also discovered a reason, which satisfied him of the propriety of such a system of dispensations; viz. that all these things are in the hand of God. This Infinite Being, who rules all things, the greatest and the least, the best and the worst, alike, with universal and irresistible [Page 7] dominion, rules them, also, with a government perfectly wise and good. In the hand, and under the management, of such a Being, nothing, which is wrong, whatever may be the appearance to us, can exist; and nothing, which is right, and upon the whole desirable, can fail to he accomplished. Things, which to our Minds are strange and per­plexing, do indeed exist in immense multitudes. But this ought to be expected. The works of an infinitely wise and powerful Being must of course transcend our comprehension. They must suit the nature, the skill, wisdom, power, and goodness, of such a Being, and must wear the im­pressions and proofs of his Character. Such a Character, we know, is far removed from our comprehension; the particular displays of such a Character must, therefore, be often equally incom­prehensible. The works of such a Being must be designed to reach, either in their nature, or in their consequences, through eternity and immensity. Hence the propriety of their existence must, in a great measure, depend on things wholly unknown to us, and must, in a great measure, be hidden from our fight.

No works of God ought to be expected to par­take of this mysterious character more than his dispensations to the righteous, and to the wicked. Moral beings are formed for endless duration; and all dispensations towards them must, there­fore, have a future reference, and involve conse­quences, which will extend through eternity. Hence all the Providence of God respecting such beings must be in the number of the most mys­terious and incomprehensible events. The diffi­culties and perplexities found in this subject ought then to be considered as things of course, as things necessarily arising from the nature of the subject.

[Page 8]Solomon has, therefore, exhibited this subject in the manner, which is most proper, most accor­dant with truth, and most adapted to quiet unea­siness, and relieve perplexity. We do not, indeed, see the reasons, why things are as they are; but we see sufficient reasons to believe, that, though thus unknown, they are wisely ordered, and will terminate in the most desirable manner.

Among the mysterious dispensations of God to the righteous, and the wicked, the prolongation of the lives of the wicked, when useless, and when noxious to society, and the untimely termination of the lives of the righteous, when most useful, has, to me at least, seemed peculiarly perplexing. The wicked often live to annoy and distress man­kind, and live to advanced age, safe from sickness, accident, and violence; while the righteous, not unfrequently, are cut off in the morning, or in the meridian, of their usefulness; when all their ta­lents, their knowledge, experience, and wisdom, their virtue, weight, and influence, are in their full strength, and appear to have risen to this height, only to be destroyed. In this situation the Mind, adopting the words of Inspiration, slightly altered, almost instinctively cries, "Where­fore hast thou made such men in vain?"

To remove these impressions, and to introduce into their place such, as are more just and evan­gelical, is the object of this discourse, and the drift of the text, on which it is founded. If the melancholy event, which has called together this Assembly, has affected them in such a manner, and with such thoughts, as it has affected me, scarcely any subject can be more suited to the oc­casion. The deceased was taken from the world in the full strength of all his usefulness, and while [Page 9] employing all his faculties in the great business of doing extensive good. In the view of such an event the serious Mind searches for a satisfying cause of the dispensation, and is ready to spend its thoughts, if not in murmuring and repining, yet in useless wonder, and censurable perplexity.

To dispel these thoughts, and the emotions springing from them, no consideration can operate so effectually as that, suggested by Solomon in the text. "The Righteous, and the Wise, and their works, are in the hand of God." To a coinci­dence with me in this opinion my Audience may perhaps be advantageously led by the following observations, in which I shall endeavour to state the real force of this important declaration.

In the first place, it teaches us, that there is no reason why we should wonder, that they are so disposed of, or that their concerns are ordered in such a manner.

In the great kingdom of the universe purposes infinitely numerous, and infinitely important, are to be accomplished, of which we have no com­prehension. As the purposes are unknown to us, so the proper means of accomplishing them are also unknown. If we knew the ends, we should probably often see the means to be proper, and fit­ted to the end. The use▪ which God intends to make of the righteous and their works, when he removes them from the present world, we cannot know. It lies beyond the grave, in a world in­visible, in a state unknown. Were we acquaint­ed with that world, with the state of intellectual society in it, and with the employments and inte­rests of the inhabitants, the difficulties, attending such events of Providence, as respect them, might probably vanish; but, while these things are un­known, [Page 10] we can form no judgment of the proprie­ty, or impropriety, of such measures. In the na­ture of the case, therefore, we see sufficient rea­sons to determine, that God must, of course, or­der his Providence in this respect, in a manner mysterious to us. That it should be mysterious is wholly to be expected, and that it should not be mysterious cannot rationally be expected. In­stead, therefore, of wondering why this part of Divine Providence is mysterious, we ought rather to wonder if at any time we see it divested of mys­tery. The dispensations are mysterious, because they are the works of God, because they are plan­ned and executed by an infinite Mind, and because they reach in their consequences throughout e­ternity. The ways of such a Being reaching through such an extent must be necessarily in­comprehensible to beings of yesterday, who know comparatively nothing. With this consideration in view, our doubts, of this nature, retire of course, our perplexities vanish, our fears, that the world is not wisely and happily governed, are re­moved, and our murmuring against that govern­ment is effectually prevented.

Asaph, had he thus thought, and thought as extensively as Solomon appears to have done, would never have concluded, that he had cleans­ed his heart in vain. With his excellent disposi­tion he would willingly have left the whole sub­ject, unknown as it was, to the disposal of God, and rested quietly on his wisdom, equity, and con­duct of the universe. All who are like Asaph in disposition, will, if they remember, and realize, tne declaration of Solomon, entertain the same views, and experience the same resignation.

2ndly. The same declaration assures us, that [Page 11] the Righteous are disposed of by design, and not by accident, and according to the pleasure of God, and not of any other.

We are accustomed frequently to call the dis­pensations of Providence by names, very ill ex­pressing their real character. We stile them ac­cidents and contingencies, good and ill luck, good and ill fortune, happy and unhappy chances. Our success and our disappointments, we attribute to our forecast and prudence, or to the want of them, to our industry and exertions, or to our negligence and sloth, or to an unknown somewhat, which we term nature, fortune, or chance. With such words in our mouths, and the corresponding sen­timents in our hearts, we often boast of our attain­ments, and glory in our talents and efforts.

Our wisdom and energy have, at times, unques­tionably a share in effectuating the good, which we enjoy; as our folly and indolence have in ac­complishing the evil which we suffer. God uses us as his instruments in promoting his designs. His kingdom is a kingdom of means, in which the faculties and exertions of his creatures are con­tinually employed by him to accomplish his own glorious purposes. At the same time it is still true, that "a man's goings are of the Lord." Paul at the utmost can only plant; Apollos can only water; God, and God only can give the in­crease. Pride and boasting have, therefore, no foundation in the nature of things. Reason, as well as Revelation, says, "Let him, that glori­eth, glory in the Lord."

Providence, while it employs our faculties, in­fluences also by ten thousand unforeseen events our various purposes, directs our steps, and regulates our lot, both in the present and future world. [Page 12] A stroke of lightning, the stumbling of a horse, a defect in a bridge, a leak in a ship, a worm, a fly; an atom, have deeply affected the affairs of men, disconcerted ambitious designs, ruined vast enter­prises, and changed wholly the state of individu­als, nations, and ages. Creatures, on whom these things can so greatly operate, ought to be far re­moved from boasting of themselves, or of their attainments.

Luck, fortune, chance, and accident, are names, which, if seriously used, have no meaning. Not a sparrow falls to the ground without our heaven­ly Father. Not a hair less, nor more, than the al­lotted number, is found on our heads. All things are providential; all are of God; all are the result of wisdom, contrivance and determination. The least sustain this character as truly as the greatest. From this the only just view of events the mind is naturally and greatly led off by a customary use of the language, which I have reprobated.

Whether we are disposed to this method of considering events, or not, we cannot hesitate to regard in this manner those events, which respect the righteous, if we receive and realize the decla­ration of the Text▪ They, and their works, their talents, and their interests, are in the hand of God. Nothing, which befals them, can be the result of accident. Every thing, on the contrary, must be foreseen, chosen, and provided for, and of course is adopted from full knowledge of the propriety of its existence.

As God is the supreme, and all present, as well all knowing disposer, so nothing can befal the righteous, but in accordance with his will, and as the result of his pleasure. The opposing wishes, aims, and efforts, of other beings are here exerted [Page 13] in vain. "My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure"—"I work, and who shall let it?" —is his own language on this subject. None can let, i. e. hinder, his work. Every dictate of that counsel, however minute, will be exactly accom­plished. These declarations, true as applied to all things, have a peculiar ground of truth as applied to the righteous. He, who attends so minutely to sparrows, as to number their days, and limit their lives by exact bounds; who suffers not a hair of our heads to fall without his providence; knows perfectly, that righteous men, rational, im­mortal, and destined to dignified employments and endless happiness, are of more value than ma­ny sparrows. Raised by their character, endow­ments, and services, to that rank of being, in which he vouchsafes to call them his friends, they are had in everlasting remembrance. No mo­ment fleets through the reign of time so rapidly, no period rolls so distantly in eternity, as ever to occasion them to be forgotten. Every thing which they do, and every thing which they need, is fresh in the Infinite Mind; the former will be certainly and bountifully rewarded; the latter will be punctually and amply bestowed.

3dly. That the Righteous are disposed of with equity.

"Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?" is a question, carrying its answer in itself to the conscience and conviction of every considerate man. Injustice finds here no room for admission, even in thought. The proofs of the justice of a par­ticular▪ dispensation, indeed, may not, and often will not appear; but the proofs, that all, which is done by God, is done with perfect justice, are too plain, and too conclusive, to need a refutation.

[Page 14]Scarcely more necessary is it to mention the amazing importance of this consideration. The terrible effects of injustice, even in an earthly rul­er, are so dreaded by all men, as to create, when­ever they appear, the greatest agitation and dis­tress. No human convulsions have more shaken, or astonished, the world than those, which have chiefly originated from this cause. Thrones have been subverted, rulers destroyed, oceans of trea­sure expended, and oceans of blood poured out, to avert, or to remedy, the evil.

On known and exact justice all men, on the contrary, wholly and comfortably rely for such decisions and measures, as are most interesting to their wellbeing. All men also, who are not themselves unjust, acquiesce in such measures and decisions, as are seen to be just; nor can a higher commendation be given, nor a more im­portant duty required of him, who ruleth over men, than that he is, or must be, just ruling in the fear of God. So high a place, indeed, does the virtue of justice, or righteousness, hold, that it is perhaps, as often as any other, made to stand as a description of all that is virtuous. The Text is one example, and the pages of Scripture teem with innumerable others.

In the Infinite Ruler this glorious attribute claims an infinite distinction. From all the in­justice of earthly rulers, as well as from private wrong, there is beyond the grave, a final appeal. There a tribunal is erected, at which, there a Judge exists, before whom, every wrong, suffered here, will be redressed, and every right denied or wrested here, will be secured. Fraud may here plunder, lust pollute, ambition enslave, and cruel­ty torture; but the victim will there find a com­plete [Page 15] remedy for his wrongs, and an ample recom­pense rendered into the bosom of his enemies. The poor, the deluded, and the suffering, will there be gloriously exalted, and the proud man fall, and the mighty man be brought low before them. This is the final solace for every present wrong, the refuge, the home, of the persecuted and oppressed.

But from that tribunal there is no appeal. Whatever decisions are there given will be ulti­mate decisions. No future, wiser, juster judge is yet behind, to revise and correct the errors there committed, or to redress wrongs there in­flicted. Eternity is written on every sentence, and immutability instamped on every allotment. How dreadful, beyond measure, in this case would be injustice? injustice remediless and hopeless? Through what a duration would it extend, with what knowledge would it be contrived, with what power would it be enforced? The Creation would be one great prison, clanking with the chains, and echoing the groans, of agony and despair.

Against all these wrongs, against every wrong, all creatures are by the perfect justice of God wholly secured. The Righteous, particularly, neither in their death, nor in their future being, will find a right invaded, or an injury done. The determinations of God will command their entire approbation, and reflect the highest glory on his government. To all that he orders, and to all that he does, Wisdom and Virtue will subjoin their solemn Amen.

4thly. That they are disposed of with wisdom.

By this observation I intend, that in the disposal of the righteous valuable ends are proposed and ac­complished. No caprice, prejudice, or passion, [Page 16] is indulged or gratified. On the contrary, with a complete knowledge of all that is practicable, necessary, or desirable, and a disposition to pursue that, and that only, which is most desirable, a plan is formed and pursued, by which, in the most direct manner, the purpose will be certainly brought to pass.

The ends, which are here in view, respect both the individuals, who are the immediate subjects of the disposal, and their fellow creatures, and un­doubtedly are found both in the present and the future world.

We are not usually able to trace with precision the ends, which are by these dispensations to be accomplished, in the present world; yet we have sufficient reason to believe, that such ends are re­ally in view, and are actually accomplished. All events, here, lead to those, which follow them; and they to others, in perpetual progress. In some cases we are able, at least in an imperfect de­gree, to perceive the connection and design. This, however, can never be done, until the events re­ferred to, have taken place. The foresight of man reaches but a little distance, and that distance in a manner very imperfect. Future objects are involved in mist and obscurity; and the human eye, when it sees them at all, sees them in delu­sive colours, and of forms and sizes, which mock detection, and elude inquiry.

The wisdom, virtue, friendship, instructions, and example, of a righteous man obviously pro­duce, after his decease, greater effects on those, whom he leaves behind him, in many instances at least, than the same causes produced, when he was living. Dying words are always affecting words; and the instructions of a righteous man, [Page 17] who has left the world, possess the character, and the power, of dying words. They are remem­bered with more care and solemnity, and felt with greater force, than when he was alive. When he was present and acting with us, when his in­terests at times clashed, or were thought to clash, with ours, when by his example he cast a shade on our conduct and character, and when with his voice he reproved and restrained our faults, we naturally became impatient, cool, unfriendly, and prejudiced. His worth in our minds was lessen­ed, or denied; his instructions doubted and disre­garded; and his person viewed with dislike, and even with malignity. But when he is gone, our prejudices cease. We call to mind his excellen­cies with a more candid spirit, and view his con­duct without the intervention of selfish interests. Many things, which in his life he said, and did, and which were then unfavourably received by us, are now acknowledged to be true, just, and important. His whole character becomes thus more amiable and excellent in our view, and com­mands more extensively our reverence and imita­tion. From one righteous man the transition is easy to others, and to all; and from them our re­spect is naturally extended to their distinguishing attribute. Righteousness, which makes them the peculiar objects of our regard, becomes itself more valuable in our eyes; and gives birth to a train of sentiments in our minds, which not unfrequently grow into reformation and excellence of life.

This is but one of the numerous important ends, accomplished in this world by the removal of the righteous. Not unfrequently are they removed from this world, that they may be taken away from the evil to come. From sin and temptati­on, [Page 18] from toil and sorrow, from the degeneracy of their children and the miseries of their friends, from the sufferings of their country and the per­secution of the church of Christ, a deliverance un­speakably desirable is granted to them by the in­finitely merciful God. Their bodies rest from their labours in the peaceful grave, and their spi­rits, ascending to the mansions of eternal quiet, gain a similar release from the bondage of sin. From every snare, and every enemy, they finally escape, and calumny, injustice, and envy, follow them with eyes vainly malignant, and with curses that roar unheard and unregarded.

When persons of high eminence for talents and virtue have long acted a conspicuous part on the stage of life, and appear to be necessary to the well-being of mankind, God not unfrequently intends, when he calls them away, to shew the surviving world, that he is perfectly able to carry on the designs of his providence without their agency. The importance of individuals to the system of things rises, at times, too high in the public esti­mation, and prompts us to forget the all-suffici­ency of God, in the strong sense we entertain of the excellence of men. This, though a natural, is an unhappy error, and is often best eradicated by the removal of those, who have innocently and virtuously contributed to its existence.

In many instances he teaches us in an affecting manner, that we have regarded the deceased with affections undue and unwarrantable. Good men can be loved too much. Among the numberless idols of the human heart, they, not unfrequently, find a place. To love them is felt to be justifia­ble, and known to be commanded. The mind, conscious of rectitude in this indulgence of affec­tion, [Page 19] is frequently inattentive to the danger of in­dulging it to excess. A darling child, a venerat­ed parent, a beloved husband, or wife, steals, in­sensibly, the heart from God; and often renders the return difficult, perhaps impossible, without a removal of the idolized object.

At the same time the contrary evil is not less frequent, or unhappy. The value of righteous men is often unseen, neglected, and despised; their services are requited with obloquy and unkind­ness; and their persons are made the objects of hatred, abuse, and persecution. No inhabitant of Sodom was probably less esteemed, or befriended, than Lot; and no Israelite of his time than Eli­jah. From men thus disposed the righteous are removed, in judgment. Nor is the judgment less, because it is unregarded, or regarded with pleasure. The death of a good man, which is considered by us as a benefit, will on that account prove the more certainly a curse. The hardness of heart, which is thus manifested, is of all curses the most dreadful, and by the very event, which excites our pleasure, is surely and dreadfully increased.

This detail might be easily extended beyond the limits of your patience. The instances already mentioned are sufficient to illustrate the point in discussion.

Of the particular ends, designed at in the fu­ture world, by the removal of good men from this, we know nothing. A general exhibition, only, is made to us in the scriptures, of the state of be­ing beyond the grave. From this we are assured, that their translation to that world is intended to accomplish purposes, in the highest degree impor­tant and desirable. None, there, are idle, or use­less; but all are far more active, able, and useful, [Page 20] than they could have been here. Superiour pow­ers, directed to sublimer objects, and actuated by more excellent dispositions, are there engaged in nobler exertions, and more dignified employments. To these exertions, and employments, they are di­rectly summoned by their Maker, and enter upon a career of more distinguished usefulness to them­selves, their fellow creatures, and their God, which will know no end

5. That they are disposed of with kindness and mercy.

We know, saith the Apostle, that all things do work (or labour) together, for good to them that love God; to them who are the called, according to his purpose. This is the end of the united labours of all beings, and all events, of God, and of good and evil beings in his creation. In the hands of a Being, who has contrived, and who is directing, all things for this glorious end, those who love him cannot but find unspeakable good will manifested in every employment, and in eve­ry concern.

From this world of toil, of sorrow, and of sin, they are removed forever. No more shall their strength be wasted by weariness, their health im­paired by langour and pain, or their comfort and peace destroyed by enemies and dangers. No more shall their eyes be pained by the sight of families corrupted, perverse, and hopeless; of friends ali­enated from God, religion, and life; and of a world in guilt and ruin. No more shall they be called to war with lust, to struggle with tempta­tion, or to endure the stings of scorn, the shafts of malice, or the iron hand of oppression. Their hearts shall no more be wounded by conscious guilt, and shameful backsliding. When they take [Page 21] their flight from this great prison, they will bid a final adieu to every enemy and evil, and see the distance between themselves and their enemies widening forever. Toil, pain, sorrow, fear, and death, time, temptation, and sin, recede from their flight, and the tumult roar, and rage, behind them in vain.

In the mean time they ascend to God, and re­turn to their final home. In his children they find none but friends, from his hand no commu­nication but of love, and in his house nothing but joy. With expanded minds, and purified hearts, with strength incapable of decay, and activity su­periour to fatigue, they enter on a course of enjoy­ment perpetually enlarging. Ransomed of the Lord, returned and come to Zion with songs and everlasting joy upon their heads, they are acknow­ledged as sons, and kings, and priests, to God the Father, and live and reign with him forever and ever.

Those, whom they leave behind them, will, if informed with the evangelical spirit, and regarding the solemn dispensation with attentive wisdom, share in the kindness, of which their deceased friends so largely partake.

The grave of a good man is one of the most in­structive of all earthly objects. We there behold the end of the course even of virtuous life; of wis­dom as well as of ambition; of worth as well as of wickedness. The humble origin of man is there traced in our kindred to corruption, to worms, and to dust. There we summon up to solemn view the trials, the labours, and the excellencies of him who is gone; the patience with which he bore affliction, the fortitude with which he en­dured danger, the resolution with which he sur­mounted [Page 22] difficulties and vanquished enemies, the peace with which he heightened enjoyment, the faith with which he quickened diligence, the hope which gleamed through the gloom of despond­ency, and the prayers which invoked and drew down from heaven the supporting energy of the Infinite Spirit. What objects can so interest, en­lighten, quicken, and sustain? In what other place can these possess equal influence?

From this affecting scene we also lift our eyes to the distant, invisible world, and trace our de­parted friend far on his final and glorious flight, hastening to the endless reward of all his labours, sufferings, and virtues. We see him escaped from every danger, and victorious over every enemy. The conflict is passed; the day is won; and the palm of eternal triumph awarded.

Here, more than in any other place, we learn so to struggle, endure, and overcome. Here we learn to lean upon the God, on whom he has leaned, and to trust in the Saviour, in whom he has trust­ed; to despise the world, which he has proved to be vanity, and to seek the inheritance, which, end­less and sincere, he has sought, and obtained. In a word, heavenly mindedness, the ornament and beauty of virtue, is a plant, which eminently flou­rishes and blossoms around the grave of a righte­ous man.

To the affecting occasion, which has called us together, these observations are so naturally appli­ed, that my audience have probably anticipated me in making the application. We are called to­gether, my friends and brethren, to follow to the house, appointed for all living, a wise and righte­ous man. In his death each of us finds an affect­ing concern. To one is most strongly presented [Page 23] the image of a departed friend; to another of a departed minister. One will most deeply regret an obliging neighbour, another a prudent coun­sellour, a third a lost benefactor, and a fourth a spiritual guide. All naturally form their claims upon the preacher; and their claims he feels and acknowledges. The demand is too just, and the occasion too affecting, to be unfelt by any heart, not wholly unacquainted with feeling.

Among those, who are most deeply concerned in the departure of the Deceased, the surviving Family claim our first regard. To them he stood in most of the important relations, in which he is remembered by others; and in some, in which he was known to them only; relations peculi­arly important and endearing. To them, there­fore, to the bereaved widow, and her mourning children, to the brethren, sisters, and other near relatives, let me first address the instructions and consolations of the text.

While you, Madam, your Children, and your near Connections, are mourning the loss of this beloved Friend, to you and your children the best of all friends, God only excepted; while your more distant Connections around you stand uniting their sorrows with yours, and mingling with your tears their own tears of sympathy; let me, whose of­fice it now is, attempt to administer to you, and to your fellow mourners, such consolations, as your distresses will permit. Imperfect they may be; but they may still be found of real use.

The heart, when sorely wounded, is, I am well aware, ready to revolt at the thought even of con­solation. In such a case, the words of Thomas are but too naturally adopted, "Let us go also, that we may die with him." Still the scriptures [Page 24] furnish comfort in every distress. The consolati­ons, which they give, are the consolations of God, who knows perfectly the nature of the wound which he has made, and who, in his Word, has mercifully provided a balsam to assuage its an­guish. Be mine the task to point it out to you, to induce you to use it, and to aid you to possess yourselves of its healing power.

To this purpose no considerations are, unless I greatly mistake, more naturally, or effectually a­dapted, than those suggested by the text. When events deeply and sorely affect us, it is no small support fully to realize, that they are contrived, chosen, and accomplished, by the infinite God; that, though mysterious in themselves to such shortsighted creatures as we are, though contrary to our wishes and expectations alike, and though opposed to all which we should think proper to be done, there is still in them nothing of chance, of caprice, or of enmity to us. The consideration rises still higher, and our support becomes still stronger, when we call to mind, that this design and its accomplishment are directed by perfect e­quity; and that the dispensation, when scrutiniz­ed by the strictest eye, must be approved of as perfectly right. Still more pleasingly must we be affected, when we remember, that consummate Wisdom conducted the event, pursued import­ant ends, and selected this as a necessary mean of promoting them; and that such ends may be re­alized by ourselves, if we wait with patience, ex­amine with care, and act with wisdom and piety. But our consolation will be most effectually found, when we further remember, that the same event is the fruit of infinite kindness and mercy to our­selves and ours.

[Page 25]All these supporting considerations attend the death of a righteous man, and all the circumstan­ces of his death. It may be sudden, awful and peculiarly painful to the human eye. He may die, far from his family and friends; and they may be prevented of the power, and frustrated of the wish, to attend him in the last moments, and to do for him the last kind offices. All these are unavoidably distressing to us; but every one of them, however unaccountable it may seem, is contrived and executed by God with entire wis­dom, justice, kindness, and mercy. The Lord doth not willingly afflict the children of men; but, as a father pitieth his children, so the Lord pitieth them that fear him.

Say not then, my suffering friends, that your cup is filled with bitterness only. Bitter indeed it is, but it is still sweetened with mercy. Think what would be your situation, if you were now mourning, as those mourn, who have no hope. Call up to view the image of a graceless husband, of an unprincipled father, of an abandoned bro­ther, and compare it with the character of him whom you have lost. How affecting the contrast? How incalculably different might your situation have been; how unspeakably more pungent and agonizing your sorrows? In your remembrance nothing rises, but the prudence, the care, the in­struction, the kindness, of the friend, the father, and the husband; the wisdom, the piety, and the dignity, of the christian, and the minister. What a train is here presented to the mind? Who, when called to mourn, would not choose so to mourn?

All this, you will instinctively answer, is a mere description of the greatness of our loss. Let me [Page 26] reply. Could you wish the case otherwise? Could you at this moment be willing, that one virtue less, or in any less degree, had entered into the character of the deceased?

In the mean time, let me exhort you not to forget blessings, because they are past. How much longer than the common lot have you enjoyed the presence, instructions, and kind offices of the de­ceased? How long has he formed, and increased, conjugal happiness; trained up his children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord; commanded his houshold to follow after God; and walked exemplarily before them in the statutes and ordi­nances of the Redeemer? How long, how faith­fully, and how uniformly, has he exhibited the benevolence of a friend, and a brother? Forget not, in the height of your affliction, such blessings as these. Forget not, that they came from the same God, who has now called you to sorrow and tears.

Let me also exhort you affectingly to remember all those amiable things in the deceased; whose value you declare by the sorrow, with which you lament the loss of them, and to remember them as motives, as guides, and as an example, all prompting you to pursue the same desirable con­duct. "Go thou, and do likewise," is the in­struction, which should close the account, and the remembrance, of every virtuous example. An ex­ample so near, so beloved, cannot want motives to enforce it. All the just, important, evangelical things, which the friend whom you mourn has said, and done, will now, as they rise in your view, appear invested with a new force and solemnity. They will come as instructions from the invisible world, and as an example from beyond the grave. [Page 27] In this affecting character let them be heard, reve­renced and obeyed.

Commending you now to God, and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up, and to give you an inheritance among all them that are sanctified, suffer me to direct my attention to the Congregation, over which the deceased has so long presided as a Minister of Christ.

My friends and brethren, you are bereaved of a friend, connected with you in a relation, which is plainly one of the nearest and most important in the present world. With the manner in which he has sustained this relation, and discharged the duties of it, to you, I am not, though a stranger to you, wholly unacquainted. From his preach­ing and conversation, and from the information of others, I know him to have adopted the doctrines of grace; doctrines acknowledged as the true, doct­rines of Christ by the great body of those, who, in every age and country, have been esteemed or­thodox Christians. In accordance with these doctrines he looked for salvation for himself, his family, and his flock. These were the object of his unshaken attachment, and the subject of his fervent exhortations; were extensively understood by him, and ably defended. In these he lived, and in these he died.

From his mouth you have heard them weekly, and I need not tell you, with what ability, learn­ing, fervour, and uniformity, set forth in full dis­play from the beginning to the end of his ministry. In conformity to these doctrines you have ever been called to Faith and Repentance in the Lord Jesus Christ, and to the Love of God and man­kind. You have been taught, that man is a de­praved and ruined creature, condemned by the law [Page 28] of God, and with no means of return, or reconci­liation, in himself; that in Christ alone is your hope for forgiveness, acceptance, and eternal life; that your salvation is a reward not of works, but of the grace of God; that the faith of the Gospel is Faith which worketh by love, purifieth the heart, and produceth every good fruit; and that by this Faith alone you are united to Christ, and interest­ed in the blessings of his redemption.

All these are doctrines humbling to human pride, and wounding to human obstinacy. They lay man low at the footstool of divine mercy, and unclothe him of that self righteousness, which he thinks his ornament and glory, but which is in­deed a garment of rags, and a wreath of shame. Nor less alarming are they to the fears, than hum­bling to the pride, of sinners. That quiet and security, in which a hard heart and a stupid mind love to rest, they disturb and destroy; and pre­sent to impenitence nothing but danger, terror, and death.

Men who love to be at ease in Zion, and who cherish the pride and pleasure of self righteousness, are usually enemies to the doctrines, which I have mentioned. While these doctrines, and the preachers of them, are a savour of life unto life to them who are saved, they are also a sa­vour of death unto death to them that perish. To many of the Congregation in this town, both living and dead, they have doubtless proved the means of life; to some, perhaps, they have serv­ed only as means of awakening resentment, oppo­sition, hardness of heart, and final unbelief.

According to these doctrines the deceased lived before you; daily exemplifying their influence on his faith, and on his conduct. The example, which he set, was the example of prudence, dili­gence, [Page 29] truth, justice, kindness, and godliness. In all the relations, of life he shewed, that he believ­ed and lived, as he urged you to believe and live. You know, though I am ignorant, whether you received his words, as the words of a friend and a minister of Christ, or whether he has all the day long stretched out his hands to a gainsaying and disobedient people. Search your hearts, and en­quire what is the account, which you will soon be obliged to give.

He is now gone; gone to the world of depart­ed spirits; gone, we trust, to receive the appro­bation of his Lord, and the reward of a faithful servant. He is removed from your esteem, your love, your kind offices, your communion and your knowledge. At the same time he is placed be­yond the reach of your resentment, opposition, and unkindness. Intercourse between you and him has, in this world, ceased forever. But let me exhort you to remember, that you will meet again, and at the close of a little period will stand face to face. Both he and you will be called to give an account of his ministry, and the manner in which it was received by you; of what you believed, and what you practised. You will then meet with other views, and other feelings, than some, which you have been wont to experience here. Here many interests, aims, pursuits, prejudices, and pas­sions, of this world have occupied your minds, and greatly coloured and obscured your views of future things. But eternity will then have be­gun to you, and all these earthly things will have disappeared. Passion and prejudice will then have ceased to operate, and truth naked and entire will be brought out to view.

At that time, those of you, who have cordially received from his lips the instructions of righte­ousness, [Page 30] will meet him with joy. His witness will redound to your everlasting happiness, and yours will be to him a crown of glory. He will bless God for giving you to him as a diadem of beauty, as an everlasting crown which shall never fade away; and you will bless the same God for giving him to you, as a minister of righteousness, and the means of your salvation. What a meet­ing will this be? What a progress will be made in friendship thus begun, a friendship to be en­larged and improved through an endless duration?

How different will be the interview between him and those of you, should any such be found, who have rejected his words of truth? Are you prepared to alledge, before his Judge and yours, the reasons which induced you, when he called, to refuse; and, when he stretched out his hand, to disregard; to set at nought his counsel, and to receive none of his reproof. Are you ready to declare to your Judge, that you hated this truth, kingdom, and character, despised his grace, griev­ed his spirit, accounted the blood of the covenant an unholy thing, and crucified afresh the Lord of glory by your unbelief? Soon will you follow him to the grave, and be numbered, as he is, with the dead. Soon will you stand before God, and give an account of every work done in the body, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil. This, of all considerations the most affecting, the most amazing, can never be more properly urged, or more happily realiz­ed, than on the present occasion. Let it not pass without some lasting good to you. Think, I be­seech you, how soon you are going—to whom— on what errand—with what preparation—to what end.

[Page 31]You have lost a minister, long settled over you in the things of the Lord. Many of you know not by experience either the difficulties, or the dangers, of such a situation. Most of you have arrived at manhood since he commenced his min­istry; many of you have been born since that pe­riod; and not a few have been baptized by his hand. In this situation suffer a friend to you, and to your children, to suggest to you a few interest­ing truths.

In former years you have been happily united; within a period of moderate length, I have been informed, your union has been less perfect; in your present state it may become less perfect still. A variety of causes, incapable of being foreseen by men, may lead a flock, without a shepherd, to scatter and to stray. But if disunited, you can be neither virtuous nor happy.

To prevent this sore evil, let me, not wholly unexperienced in cases of this nature, exhort you to mark any, who may attempt to cause divisions among you, and to avoid them. Cultivate, with sedulous care, peace and good will in your neigh­bourhoods. In all your affairs conduct yourselves with calmness, with deliberation, without passion, and without haste. Shun hard speeches. Watch, with alarm, the beginnings of party spirit; and remember, that the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace, of them that make peace.

Carefully regulate your families, and punctual­ly preserve your family worship. Train up your children for God, and walk before them in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blame­less. Make your houses houses of God, and your families families of piety, peace, and love. As your public privileges are lessened, prize your pri­vate ones more.

[Page 32]Continue the public worship of God among you, without ceasing, and [...] a neglect of the Sabbath by shutting the doors of his house. Inattention will soon grow into negligence, negli­gence will soon be confirmed into a habit, and that habit will soon become an evil which cannot be cured.

Recal to mind, as far as you can, the just and evangelical things, which from time to time have been said to you by your deceased pastor; lay them up in your hearts, and practise them in your lives.

As speedily as you can, reestablish among you the ministry of the Gospel. Seek an evangeli­cal minister, who will not shun to declare to you all the counsel of God. Such an one will, in­deed, declare to you many painful and humiliating things; but they will still be the things of God, and will make you and yours wise unto salvation.

In your closets ask daily of God his direction and blessing. Prayer, offered with sincerity and faith, was never offered in vain. If you will thus ask, he will give, and give liberally without up­braiding.

Finally, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord; and remember, that your labour shall not be in vain in the Lord.

3. Let me now address the subject to the Mi­nisters of Christ who are present.

My beloved brethren, a great man is fallen in our Israel to day; a man of distinguished learning and understanding, of unusual prudence, and of singular skill and experience in the concerns of congregations, churches; and ministers. Recom­mended by tried wisdom, he was, as you well [Page 33] know, very extensively employed, and confided in by both minister and people, throughout the state. By both were his useful labours acknowledged in composing their differences, and directing their interests. To you, to me, to all with whom he was connected, the loss is great and affecting. In the congregations, in the churches, and espe­cially in the University, of this state, every weigh­ty concern will remind us of his important servi­ces, and force us to feel what we have lost. His talents were not only great and distinguished, but they were also of that most useful kind, which we call practical. Such talents are eminently fitted for the service of God, and for usefulness to man­kind. In whatever he was called to judge, or act, he made it his first business thoroughly to ex­amine, and fully to understand. This he accom­plished by diligent scrutiny, close attention to both sides of disputable points, a careful investigation of principles, and a cautious consideration of conse­quences. For this important business his thorough knowledge of the human character qualified him in an eminent degree, as did also his strong pow­ers of judging, and his peculiar coolness and self possession. Not less important were his attention, patience, and perseverance, in investigating. In these most useful things he was at once an emi­nent blessing to mankind, and a most profitable example to us. No man living probably so well understood the interests of our University, or for more than twenty years took so active and import­ant a part in its concerns. Few so well knew the interests of our churches, or so ably and so extensively served them. I trust his services will be, by us at least, gratefully remembered.

[Page 34]God has now taken him from us in the full strength of all his powers, and at the height of his usefulness. Let this dispensation be, at once, a solemn monition to us of our own approaching dissolution, and of our duty to imitate his diligence. Let us be quickened by it to faithfulness, zeal, and constancy, in the service of our Master. Times like these furnish a minister with abundant em­ployment, and demand of him unusual diligence, faithfulness, and fortitude. The industry of infi­dels, their perseverance, their fanaticism, present to us a powerful stimulus to equal, if we cannot excel, them in constancy and exertion. Long has it been a just and melancholy complaint, that vile men are more assiduous in their labours, than vir­tuous men; and that a bad cause is usually sus­tained with more vigorous and unremitted efforts, than a good one. Let us endeavour, that this shall no more be truly said, where we are engaged. Troubles and dangers, instead of discouraging, ought only to quicken our resolution, faithfulness, and zeal. They that are with us are more, and mightier, than they that are against us. For dis­couragement there is no room; for exertion there is abundant. When our fathers and brethren are taken away, their labours devolve on those, whom they leave behind. Let us resolutely take up the burden, and God will give us strength to carry it. What will give us boldness and peace in the pre­sence of Christ at the judgment? What, but faith­fulness in his service?

We shall indeed meet with rebuffs and scoffs, with obloquy and opposition. But to us these things are of no real consequence. God is far more slighted, abused, and reviled, than we are. In the same manner was Christ treated; and in a [Page 35] degree unspeakably more gross and injurious. Like him, let us set our faces as a flint against all oppo­sition, and he will support and bless us. Let us be constant and unwearied in our prayers and la­bours, and we shall certainly be heard and pros­pered.

4. I will now close the discourse with an ad­dress to this numerous Assembly.

The Friend, the Minister, whose remains are shut up in yonder coffin, a few days since was liv­ing and acting in the midst of you, his neighbours, his friends, and his flock. He has finished his earthly course, and has been summoned by his Master to the invisible world to give an account of his stewardship. He will not return to you, but you will soon go to him. You will soon close your eyes in the iron sleep, will inhabit the dark and narrow house, will become the prey of corruption, and the feast of worms. Your bodies will be mingled with the common dust, and be changed into the cold clod of the valley. But they rest not here. There is beyond the grave a resurrection to immortal being.

How vain, how momentary, is your present life, when viewed as a period of enjoyment for a reasoning mind? How important and solemn, as a period destined to secure the attainment of end­less virtue and happiness? On it, transient and vi­sionary as it is, hang heaven and hell, immortal glory and excellence, and interminable wretched­ness and depravation. Ask the first hoary head, which you meet, and he will tell you, that his own protracted years are, in his view, a vapour, which has appeared for a little time, and is now vanish­ing away; that, compared with that ocean of e­ternity, on the shore of which he now stands, [Page 36] ready to launch into the boundless deep, it shrinks into a single drop; that its contentions were the jarrings of children, its hopes the dreams of a night, and its happiness the painted form of a cloud, changing, fleeting, eluding the grasp, and mocking enjoyment. How few of you will reach the period to which he has arrived? How many of you will probably die, before you are aware, suddenly, early, unprepared?

Ask yourselves how you will feel, and what ap­pearance you will make, when your bodies, at the call of the Archangel, and the trump of God, shall spring from the grave, when bone shall rejoin its bone, when the frame shall be clothed with flesh, when the Spirit of God shall breathe upon the lifeless mass, and cause it to awaken into endless existence; and when you, together with the un­numbered millions of the great family of Adam, shall again stand upon your feet, as an army of in­comprehensible multitude? What will be your emotions, when you shall see the Son of Man de­scend from heaven in the clouds; and all the kind­reds of the earth shall wail because of his coming? Stretch your view forward to this amazing scene, and bring it home to your thoughts; consider the final day as arrived, and realize your personal ap­pearance, and concern, in its affecting transactions. Behold the Redeemer, arrayed in the glory of his Father, and surrounded with the innumerable company of Angels. Listen to the shout, which bursts from the mouths of all the host of heaven, and rends the universe. Mark around you the im­mense congregation of saints and sinners, of the friends and the enemies of the Judge; his friends arrayed with the smiles of transport, and his ene­mies overwhelmed with dismay and horror. Hear [Page 37] the one great company exclaim, O Death! where is now thy sting? O grave! where is now thy victory? and the other call to the rocks and to the mountains to fall on them, and hide them from the wrath of the Lamb. But they call in vain; for lo! the mountains and the rocks themselves, with the great world in which they stand, are kindling on every side with ten thousand fires▪ and dissolving in one immense, united conflagration, surrounding the earth, and ascending to the hea­vens. See the elements melt with fervent heat, and all the buildings, arts, and labours of man swept away at a stroke by the besom of destructi­on. See the Righteous, escaped from the univer­sal ruin, are caught up to meet the Lord in the air; while the Wicked, left behind in inexpressi­ble agony, wait with supreme dismay the approach of the Judge. Trembling, amazed, despairing, they are forced to the left hand, the place of dis­grace, confusion, and misery. Listen to the so­lemn sentence, "Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom, prepared for you from the foundation of the world;" and mark the extasy on the faces of the happy throngs, who are thus welcomed to endless life. Listen again! What do ye hear? "Depart, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels." Fol­low the scene one step farther. Behold the Judge, again ascending through the heavens, with his glorious and happy followers, to the world of ev­erlasting joy. Pursue their path through yonder skies, and trace them rising, approaching, enter­ing the mansions of life eternal. Cast now your eyes downward, and see, wrapped in the clouds of death, the miserable companions of evil spirits, sinking to the world of silence and darkness, of [Page 38] sorrow and despair. See them for the last time vanishing from your sight, while the gulf yawns to receive them, and closes on them forever.

Look, my friends and brethren, into your own bosoms, and ask your consciences, in which as­sembly you will be numbered, and to which world you will wing your flight, on this great and dread­ful day.