and from any person, will pay little or no regard to the solemn reading of God's own word by his own appointed ministers and ambassadors;-conduct this, which cannot but too forcibly remind one of that memorable and cutting declaration of the blessed Jesus himself.

"I am come in my Father's name,
And ye receive me not:

If another should come in his own name,
Him ye are willing to receive."

No serious person, no really serious person, can contemplate such a state of things as this, without sincere sorrow and alarm. There is indeed no probability that in this respect (or perhaps in any other), the world will ever be better than it is now. Rather, we may expect that it will go on growing more and more corrupt to the last; that while the word of God is talked of, the word of man will be followed.

Yet still all persons of real serious thoughts and sound judgment will, by the blessing of God, be able to see through the mist that surrounds them. They will take refuge from disputes and controversies in the pure unsullied truths of the Bible itself. They will see of what value and importance it is, that portions of the Bible itself should be constantly read in our ears, without comment or explanation;-not because comments and explanations are not very useful in their places, but because, if they are constantly used, the minds of men will be more turned to them than to the Scripture itself, more (as I may say) to the sermon than to the text. How happy then should we think ourselves in having every day through the year some considerable portion of God's own book solemnly offered to our thoughts in the church service. And here again, as before, we are not to ask whether the matter is considered in this serious light by the generality of Christians; that is not the question; but whether this is not the true way in which it should be considered, be they few, or be they many, who are disposed so to do.

Nothing then remains, but that we endeavor more

and more to live up to our professions; that as we have such holy psalms, such devout prayers, such awful lessons from day to day; we should also from day to day labor unceasingly, that our whole behavior may become proportionably more holy, devout, and filled with an awful sense of the divine presence, that from day to day, we gather up a still increasing store of heavenly knowledge, showing itself in holy practice, in still increasing love to God and charity to all men; and, more than all, that we still keep a stricter watch over ourselves, feeling more and more our own worthlessness and inefficiency; that our only hope of pardon for the past, must be in the blood of our Redeemer; our only hope of assistance for the future, in the gracious influences of his Holy Spirit.

SERMON VI.

DEATH OF YOUNG PERSONS.

INNOCENTS' DAY.

REV. XIV. 5.

"They are without fault before the throne of God."

WHEN children and young persons are snatched away by (what we call) an untimely death, people are used, following the natural course of their feelings, to esteem such events as proper subjects for sorrow and regret. And with persons of tender affections, or under peculiar circumstances, this sorrow is sometimes cherished to such a degree as is obviously hurtful, and in many ways unreasonable.

Sometimes, indeed, men are to be met with, who professedly regard with indifference these startling proofs of human frailty and mortality. Whether it be, that they are naturally of greater coldness and insensibility than others, or whether (which is more probable) the business and engagements of the world prevail, by degrees, to deaden the affections, and to make men anxious about little beyond their own present interests and comforts.

But however, generally speaking, whether it be the real expression of their feelings, or taken up (as it were) out of civility, and in compliance with the notions of others, people are used, as was before observed, to speak of and consider the death of young persons, as more or less a fit matter for lamentation and regret. At least, it is taken for granted that such feelings are allowable in their near friends and relations, if not demanded of them, as a sort of duty.

Whether this view of the matter be a right one, or, if there be any mistakes in it, what these mistakes are, and how they should be guarded against, is evidently, as a point of practice, very proper for our inquiry, very proper at all times and to all persons; but I think, perhaps, particularly for us, just now.

It is then worth observing, in regard of the subject we are upon, that, as people are used to compassionate the sickness and death of the young, so commonly they regard with little sorrow, and often with real satisfaction and comfort, the decease of old persons, or of those who have been long or painfully afflicted with disease.

Now, in this latter case, the case of the very old and infirm, it is evident that in thinking and acting as we do, we are governed entirely, or chiefly, by our feelings, without giving much consideration and thought to the matter. This, I say, is evident, because the very mention of any person's dying in extreme feebleness or pain, calls from us some expression, not of regret, but of satisfaction (for example, that it is "a happy release"). And any one who should wish to have the life of another prolonged under such melancholy circumstances, would be thought almost cruel and unkind. It does not, perhaps, come into our thoughts at all what sort of person he was, how he had lived, or how he died; almost the only impression on our mind is, that he was in great distress and wretchedness, and that he is now "happily released" from it. And this impression, is what I say, has little or nothing to do with reason and consideration, but is merely made on our feelings at the moment.

Whether it be in itself a right or wrong impression, is another question. At all events, it cannot be much to be depended on, because it is not produced by sound reason and reflection.

Now, it is just in the same manner with this, guided by their feelings rather than by calm consideration, that people are apt to regard the early death of chil dren and young persons. They see an end (as they

think) put to all the fair promises and hopes of their after life-they consider them as flowers cut off in the spring, whose bud is not suffered to blossom, or their blossom to ripen into fruit-they consider the life of man, so short at the longest, made even shorter by a premature death-they consider what these young ones might have been, if they had been permitted to live; how their good qualities would have improved, and how their faults, if any had yet shown themselves, would have given way to better principles. Lastly, they remember their own loss, be it more or less, and are certainly inclined to think it hard, that when there are (as they suppose) so few real comforts in this life, Almighty God should deprive them of one of the purest and most

innocent.

In this way, it will probably be found, that the generality of people consider the death of children. Even those who are well and religiously disposed do so, and for the reason above given; because they suffer themselves to be led too much by the example of others, and their own feelings, and do not by any means bring home to themselves, as might reasonably be expected of them, the true and real state of the case. And what this is, is the very point which now remains for our consideration.

And here let us observe, that, as it is a subject about which men's feelings are particularly apt to be interested, it is highly necessary, at least if we wish to get at the truth, that we should make our inquiry with coolness and impartiality, and not take for granted that an opinion is right, merely because it is in harmony with our feelings: no, not even though it should be generally allowed and cherished by good sort of people. For, in all matters of practice, we can scarcely be too cautious.

Now considering ourselves merely as creatures of this world, weak and short-lived, and standing in need. of comforts of all sorts, to make our condition at all happy, or even tolerable; it cannot be denied, that parents and friends would have great reason to lament VOL. I.-5