of*-' 4 •*;>:*^fS*^: '■^7^9f^ ^^m'^m Gray's Elegy in a Coiiniiy. Churchyard has pro- bably ueeii more sead and admired than any piece of composition in the English language. It was seven years from the time the author began this ex- quisite morceau before it was finished. It has had a thousand imitators, but it will not be contended that any one has reached the touching simplicity of the original It has been more successtully approached by an American writer than by any other person. — Several years since an anonymous author published in a Rhode Island paper, the presented amendment, thinking "that Gray had nor ij.venthe subjects oi his muse enough oi a religious character to make the charm complete." It was suggested that it should I follow the stanza beginning — I "Far from the maddening crowd's ignoble strife." I There is piety and poetry in every line of it. I No airy dreams their simple fancies tired, j No thirst for wealth nor panling after fame ; - But truth divine, sublimer hopes inspired, j And urged them onward to a nobler aim. I From every cottage, with the dsy arose ; The hallowed voice of .«pirit-breathing prayer ; I And .Triless anthems, at thp peaceful clofe, j Like holy incense, charmed the evening air. I Though they, each tome of human lore unknown, The brilliant path of science never trod. The sacred volume claimed their hearts alone, Whicli taught the way to glory and to Gsd. Here they from Truth's eternal fountain drew The pure and gladdened waters day by day ; I.earnt since our days are evil, floet. and few, I To walk in wisdom's bright and peacet'ul way. I In yon lone pile, o'er which hath sternly pass'd 1 The heavy hand of all destroying Time, Through whose low moulderiii!; aisles now sighs the I And round whose altars grass and ivy climb ; [blast ' They gladly thronged their grateful hymns to raise, Oft as the calm and holy sabbath shone ; The mingled tribute of their prayers and praise In sweet communion rose before the throne. Here, from those honored lips, which sacred fire From heaven's high chancery hath touched, they hear Truths which their zeal inflame, their hopes inspire, Oive wings to faith, and check affliction's tear ! When life flowed by, and, like an an/el. Death Came to rele ise I hem to the world on high. Praise trembled still on each expiring breath, And holy triumph beamed from every eye. Thr n gentle hands iheir "dust to dust" consign ; With quiet tears, the rimple riHes are said ; Arvl here they sleep, till at the trump divine. The earth and ocean render up their dead. r J /K,^^Ki^>ra/^ i^- ^^^ w;;/r/-«/v «l V MEDITATIONS AND CONTAINING MEDITATIONS AMONG THE TOMBS. REFLECTIONS ON A FLOWER-GARDEN. A DESCANT UPON CREATION. CONTEMPLATIONS ON THE NIGHT. COI^TEMPLATIONS ON THE STARRY HEAVENS. A WINTER-PIECE. By JAMES HERVEY, A. M. LATE nf.CTOR OF WESTC/N-F AVELL, IN NORTH AMPTONSHIEB. Clttlifl.LlSHEU WITH FOtFR BEAUTIFUL ENGRAVINGS. BUNGAY : kiaNTEW AND PUBLISHED BY BRIGHTLY AND CHILDS. ^uhlhhed uho lii T. Kxr.ntTi>.'.'.f 1816. TO MISS R««««- I*****. MADAMy 1 HESE reflections, the one on the deepest, the other on the gayest scenes of nature ; when they pro- ceeded privately from the pen, were addressed to a ludy of the most valuable endowments ; who crown- ed all her other endearing qualities, by a fervent love of Christ, and an exemplary conformity to his divine pattern. She, alas ! lives no longer on earth, unless it be in the honours of a distinguislied cha- racter, and in the bleeding remembrance of her ac- quaintance. It is impossible. Madam, to w ish you a riclicr blessing, or a more substa'.itial happiness, than that the same spirit of unfeigned faith, the same course of unde filed religion, which have enabled her to triuniph over death, may both animate and adorn your life. And you will permit me to declare, that my chief inducement in requesting your acceptance of the following Meditations, now thi3ymake a pub- lic appearance from the press, is; that they are de- signed to cultivate the same sacred principle, and to promote the same excellent practice. Long, Madam, may yon bloom in all the vivacity and amiableness of youth, like the charming subject of one of these Contemplations. But at the same timf . remember, that, with regard to such inferior accom \V DEDICATIOM. plishmentSj you must one day fade, (may it prove some very remote period ! ) like the mournful ob- jects of the other. This coasideration will prompt you to go on, as you have begu«j in adding the meek- ness of wisdom, and all the beauties of holiness, to the graces of an engaging person and the refine- ments of a polite education. And might — O ! might the ensuiiog hints furnish you with the least assistance, in prosecuting so de- sireable an end ; might they contribute, in any dc- greC:, to establish your faith or elevate your devotion ; they would, then, administer to the Author such a satisfaction, as applause cannot give, nor censure take away : a satisfaction, which I should be able to enjoy, even in those awful moments, when all that captivates the eye is sinking in darkness, and every glory of this lower world disappearing for ever. These wishes. Madam, as they are a most agree- able emiiloy of my thoughts, so they come attended with this additional circumstance of pleasure, that they are also the sincerest expression of that very great esteem, with which I am. Madam, Your most ohedient, iiiost humble Sei^ajU^ James Hervny, WMton-Favell, near Northampicn, May, 20, 1716. PREFACE, n~^HE first of these occasional Meditations, begs letitte to ■*■ rerniud my readers of tkctr latter end : and would in^ vite them to set^ -not their bourses only^ hut, which is inex' pressibli/ more needful, their soith in order ; that they may be able, through all the intermediate stages, to look for- ward upon their approaching exit, withovt any anxious apprehensions : and, when the great change commences, may tnd adieu to terrestrial things, with alt the calmness of a cheerful resignation, with all the comforts of a well' grounded faith. The other attempts to sketch oid some little traces of the all-sufficiency of our Redeemer, for the grand and gra^ cious purposes of everlasting salvation. That a sense of his u))utterable dignity and infinite perfections, may incite us to regard him, zoith sentiments of the most profound ve- neration ; to long for an assured interest in his merits, with all the ardency o/" desire ; a/?rf to trust in his power' fnl mediation, zsith an affiance not to be shaken by any temptaiions, not to he shared with any perfcrmances of our own. J flatter myself, that the thoughts conceived among the tombs, may he welcome to the serious atid humane ?nind. Because, as there are few, who have not consigned the re- mains of some dear relations or honoured friends, to those silent repositories ; so there are none, but must be sensible, that this is the house appointed for all living ; and that they themselves are shortly to remove into the same solemn mansions. — And who rmuld not turn aside, for awhile^ from the most favorite amusements, to view the place where his once-loved companions lie * Who would not sometimcc survey those apartments, where he bixuMilf i» to take up an abode, till time shell be no mOT€ f VI PREFACE. Js to the other little Essny\ may I not humbly presumf^ that the zery subject itself icill recommend tile remarks * For, who is not delighted with the prospect of the blooming, creation, and even charmed zcith the delicate attractio!».s of/luictrs ? Who does not covet to assemble them in the gar* den, or xcear them in a nosegay? Since this is a passion so universal, who would not be willing to render it produc- tive of the sublimest improvement:^ — This piece of holy finjgaiity, 1 have ventured to suggest, and endeavoured to exemplify in the second letter ,• that, while the hafid is cropping the transient beauties of a /lower, the aHentivc mind may be enriching itself with solid and lasting good. — And J cannot hut entertain so?ne pleasing hopes, that the nicest ia.fte may receive and relish religious impressions, when they are' O'tveyed by such lovely monitors/ when the instructive les-jns are found, not on the leaves of some formidable tblioy but stand legible on the fine sarcenet of a narcissus ; when thev savor not of the lamp and rccluwr, ttst come hre^Uhing from the fragrctKt bosom of a pnqml. MEDITATIONS AMONG THE TOMBS. In a Letter to a Lady, Madam, Travelling lately into Comwall I hap- pened to alight at a considerable village in that county : where finding myself under an unexpected necessity of staying a little, I took a walk *o the church. The doors, like the heaven to which they lead, were wide open ; and readily admitted an unworthy stranger. Pleased with the oppor- tunity, I resolved to spend a few minuter under the sacred roof. Jfi a situation so retired and awful, I could no^ avoid falling into a train of meditations, serious, and mournfully pleasing. Which, I trust, were in some degree profitable to me, while they pos- sessed and warmed my thoughts ; and, if they may administer any satisfaction, to you. Madam, now they are recollected, and comnuttcd to writing, I shall receive a fresh pleasure from them. V Z MEDITATIONS It was an ancient pile ; reared by hands, that ttgfcs ago were moiildered into dust. Situate in the centre of a large burial-ground; remote from all the noise and hurrj of tumultuous life. The body spacious ; the structure lofty ; the whole magni- ficently plain. A row of regular pillars extending themselves through the midst ; supporting the roof with gimplicity, and with dignity. The light that passed through the windows, seemed to shed a kind of luminous obscurity ; which gave every object a grave and venerable air. The deep silence, added to the gloomy aspect, and both heightened by the loneliness of the place, greatly increased the solemnity of the scene. A sort of religious dread stole insensibly on my mind, while I advanced, all pensive and thoughtful, along the inmost isle. Such a dread, as hushed every ruder passion, and dissipated all the gay images of an alluring world. Having adored that Eternal Majesty, who, far from being confined to temples made with hands^ has heaven for his throne, and the earth for his foot-stool. I took particular notice of a handsome altar-piece ; presented, as I was afterwards informed, by the master-builders of Stow ; out of gratitude, I presume, to that gracious God, who carried them through their work, and enabled them to " bring forth their top-stone with joy." O ! how amiable is gratitude ! especially when it has the supreme benefactor for its object. 'I have always looked upon gratitude, as the most exalted principle that can actuate the heart of man. It has something noble, disinterested, and (if I may be allowed the term) generously devout. Repentance indicates our nature fallen, and prayer turns chiefly upon a regard to one's self : but the exercise* of gratitude subsisted in paradise, whcD AMONG THE TOMES. J thete was no fault to deplore ; and will be p(?r- petuated in heaven, when"^ God shall be all in all." The language of this sweet temper is^ " I arr '' unspeakably obliged ; what return shall 1 make r* And/ surely, it is no improper expression of an unfeigned thankfulness, to decorate our Creator's courts, and beautify " the place where his honour "dwelleth." Of old, the habitaticm of his feet was glorious : let it not, now, be sordid or con- temptible. It must grieve an ingenuous mind, and be a reproach to any people, to have their own houses wainscoted with cedar, and painted with vermilion ; while the temple of the Lord of hosts is destitute of every decent ornament. Here I recollected^ and was charmed with Solomon's fine address to the Almighty, at the dedication of his famous temple. AYith immense charge, and exquisite skill, he had erected the most rich and finished structure, that the sun ever saw. Yet, upon a review of his work, and a reflection on the transcendent perfections of the Godhead, how he exalts the one, and abases the other ! The building was too glorious, for the mightiest monarch to inhabit ; too sacred, for unhallowed i'cei even to enter ; yet infinitely too mean, for the Deity to reside in. It was, and the royal worshipper ac- knowledged it to be, a most marvellous vouchsafe- 3nent in uncreated excellency, to '' put his name " there." The whole passage breathes such a de- litacy, and 3s animated with such a sublimity oi sentiment, that I cannot persuade myself to pass on without repeating it. Biit will God indeed dwell on the earth ? JBehold ! the htaven, and hea- licri of heavens, cannot contain thee ; how much less thra house that I have huildcd ! Incomparable saying ! worthy the wisest of men. Who would not choose to possess such an elevated dcvotioa b2 4 MEDITATIONS rather than to own all the glittering materials of that sumptuous edifice ? We are apt to be struck with admiration at the stateliness and grandeur of a masterly performance in architecture. And, perhaps, on a sight of the antient sanctuary, should have made the superficial observation of the disciples ; '' what manner of *^*" stones, and what buildings are here !" But what a nobler turn of thought, and juster taste of things, does it discover, to join with Israel's King, in celebrating the .condescension of the divine inha- bitant ! That the high and lofty One, who fills immensity with his glory, should in a peculiar man- ner, fix his abode there I should there manifest an extraordinary degree of his benedictive presence ,* permit sinful mortals to approach his majesty ; and promise " to make them joyful in his house of " prayer!" This should more sensibly atfect our hearts, than the most curious arrangement of stones can delight our eyes. Nay^ the everla"sting God does not disdain to dwell in our souls by his Holy Spirit ; and to make even our bodies his temple. Tell me, ye that fram« critical judgments, and balance nicely the distinction of things ; " is this most astonishing, or most rejoic- "^ing?" He humbleth himself, the scripture as- sures us, even to behold the things that are in hea- ven, 'Tis a most condescending favour, if He pleases to take the least approving notice of angels and archangels, when they bow down in homage from their celestial thrones. Will he then graci- ously regard, will he be united, most intimately united to poor, polluted, breathing dust ? Un- parallel'd honour ! invaluable privilege ! Be this my portion, and I shall not covet crowns, nor envy conquerors. But let m« remember, what a sanctity of di»- AMONG THE TOMSS. 5 positicn, and uprightness of conversation^ so cxalled a relation demands : remember this, " and rejoice " with tremblins:." Durst I commit any iniquity; while I tread these hallowed courts ? Could the Jewish high-priest allow himself in any known transgression, while he made that solemn yearly entra.ice into the holy of holies, and stood before the immediate presence of Jehovah ? No, truly. In such circumstances, a thinking person must shud- der at the most remote solicitation, to any wilful offence. I should now be shocked at the least in- decency of behaviour, and am apprehensive of every appearance of evil. And why do we not carry this holy jealousy, into all o"ur ordinary life ? Why do we not, in every place, reverence ourselves ; as persons dedicated to the divinity, as living temples of the Godhead ? for, if we are real, and not merely nominal christians, the God of glory, according to his own promise, " dwells in us, and wfdks in us.'* O ! that this one doctrine of our religion might operate, with an abiding efficac}-, upon our con- sciences ! It would be instead of a thousand laws, to regulate our conduct ; instead of a thousand mor lives to quicken us in holiness. Under the influeiice of such a conviction, we should study to maintain a purity of intention ; a dignity of action ; and to walk worthy of that transcendently majestic Being, who admits us to a fellowship with himself, and with his Son Jesus Christ. The next thing which engaged my attention, was the lettered floor. The pavement, somewhat bke Ezekiel's roll, was written over from one end to the other. I soon perceived the comparison to hold good, in another respect ; and the inscriptions to be matter of " mourning, lamentation, and woe." They seemed to court ray observation ; silently in- viting me to read them. And what would these dumb jnonitors hiform me of ? " That, beneath DC H 6 MEDITATIONS '^ their Utile circumterences, were aeposited such " and such pieces of claj, wliich once lived and mo- '^ \ed, and talked : that they had received a charge ^' to preserve their names, and were the remaining "^ trustees of their memory." Ah ! said I, is such my situation ! The adorable Creator around me, and the bones of my fellow- creatures uiider me ! surely, then, I have great reason to cry out, with the revering- patriarch, '' Hoiv dreadful is this place !" Seriousness and devotion become this house for ever. Mav I never enter it liglitly or irreverently ; but with a profound a^we, and srodiv fear ! O ! that they were wise !'* said the inspired enman. It was his last wish for his dear people, 'e breathed it out, and gave up the ghost. But what is wisdom ? it consists not in relined specula- tions ; accurate researches into nature ; or an uni- versal acquaintance with history. Tlie divine law- giver settles this important point, in his next aspira- tion : " O ! that they understood this .'" that thej had right apprehensions of their spiritual interests, and eternal concerns ! that they had eyes to discern, and inclinations to pursue the things which belong' to their peace ! But how shall they attain this valuable knowledge } I send them not, adds the illustrious teacher, to turn over all the volumes of literature ; they may acquire, and much more ex- peditiously, this science of life, " by considering '' ilieir latter end." This spark of heaven is of- ten lost, under the glitter of pompous erudition ; but shines clearly, in the gloomy mansions of the tomb. Drowned is this gentle whisper, amidst the noise of secular affairs ; but it speaks distinctly, in the retirements of serious contemplation. Behold! how providentially I am brought to the school of wisdom ! The grave, is the most faithful master ; «nd thoiC instances of mortality, the most instruC'* AMJ)NG THE TOMBS. 1 tive lessons. Come then^ calm attention, and com- pose my thoughts ; come, thou celestial spirit, and enlighten my mind ; that I may so peruse these aw- ful pages, as to become '' wise unto salvation." Examining the records of mortality, I found the memorials of a promiscuous multitude. They were huddled, at least, they rested together;, without any regard to rank or seniority. None were ambi- tious of the uppermost rooms, or chief seats, in this house of mourning. None entertained fond and eager expectations of being honourably greeted, in their darksome cells. The man of years and ex- perience, reputed as an oracle in his generation, was content to lie down at the feet of a babe. In this house appointed for all living, the servant was equally accommodated, and lodged in the same story with his master. The poor indigent lay as softly, and slept as soundly, as the most opulent possessor. All the distinction that subsisted, was, a grassy hillock, bound with osiers ; or a sepul- chral stone, ornamented with imagery. Why then, said my w^orking thoughts, O ! why should we raise such a mighty stir, about supe- riority and precedence ; when the next remove, will reduce us all to a state of equal meanness ? Why should we exalt ourselves, or debase others ; since we must all, one day, be upon a common level, and blended together in the same undistin- guished dust ? O ! that this consideration might humble my own, and others' pride ; and sink our imaginations as low, as our habitations will shortly be! Among these confused relics of humanity, tl>cre are, without doubt, persons of contrary interests, and contradicting sentiments. But death, like some able daysman, has laid his hand on the con- tfMiding parties ; and brought all their difTerencea tp an amicable conclusion. lUere enemies, sworn S MEDITATIONS enemies, dwell together in unity. Thej drop every imbittered thought, and forget that they once were foes. Perhaps, their crumbling bones mix, as thev moulder ; and those who while they lived, stood aloof in irreconcileable variance ; here fall into mutual embraces, and even incorporate with each other in the grave. O ! that we might learn from these friendly ashes, not to perpetuate the memory of injuries ; not to foment the fever of resentment : nor cherish the turbulence of pas- sion. That there may be as little animosity and disagreement in the land of the living, as there is m the congregation of the dead ! But I suspend for a while such general observations, and address ynyself to a more particular inquiry. Yonder white stone, emblem of the innocence it covers, informs the beholder of one, who breath- ed out its tender soul, almost in the instant of re- ceiving it. There, the peaceful infant, withctit so much as knowing what labour and vexation mean, lies still and is quiet ; it sleeps and is at rest. Staying only to wash away its native impurity in the laver of regeneration, it bid a speedy adieu to time, and terrestrial things. What did the littla hasty sojourner find, so forbidding and disgusting' in our upper world to occasion its precipitant exit ? *Tis written, indeed, of its suflering Saviour, that when he had tasted the vinegar mingled with gall, he would not drink. And did our new-come stran- ger begin to sip the cup of life ; but, perceiving the bitterness, turn away its head, and refuse the drauglit ? Was this the cause, why the wary babe only opened its eyes ; just looked on the light, and then withdrew into the more inviting regions of 'jndisturbed repose ? Happy voyager ! no sooner launched, than ar- rived at the haveu ! But more eminently happy AMONG THE TOMBS. 9 they, "who have passed the waves, and weathered all the storms oi^ a troublesome and dangerous world ! who, '*^ through many tribulations, have ''' entered into the kingdom of heaven ;" and lliere- by brought honour to their divine convoy, adminis- tered comfort to the companions of their toil, and left an instructive example to succeeding pilgrims. Highly favoured probationer ! accepted without being exercised ! It was thy peculiar privilege, not to feel the slightest of those evils, which op- prest thy surviving kindred ; which frequently fetch groans, from the most manly fortitude, or most elevated faith. The arrows of calamity, barbed with anguish, are often fixed deep in our choicest comforts. The fiery darts of temptation, shot from the hand of hell, are always flying in showers around our integrity. To thee, sweet babe, both these distresses and dangers were alike unknoAATi. Consider this, ye mourning parents, and dry up your tears. \Yhy should you lament, that youi little ones are crowned with victory, before the sword was drawn, or the conflict begun ? Per- haps, the supreme disposer of events, foresaw some inevitable snare of temptation forming, or some dreadful stbrm of adversity impending. And why should you be so dissatisfied with that kind precaution; which housed your pleasant plant, and removed into shelter a tender flower before the thimders roared ; before the lightnings flew ; be- fore the tempest poured its rage ? O remember ! tliey are not lost, but taken away from the [evil to come. At the same time, let survivors, doomed to bear the heat and burden of the day, for their encouragement reflect ; that it is more honourable to have entered the lists, and to have fought th« 10 MEDITATIONS good fight, before they rome oit conquerors. They who have borne tlie cross, and submitted to afflic- tive providences, with a cheerful resignation ; liave girded up the loins of their mind, and per- formed their master's will, with an honest and persevering fidelity : these, having glorified their Redeemer on earth, will, probably, be as stars of the first magnitude in heaven. T^hey will shine with brighter beams, be replenished with stronger joys, in their Lord's everlasting kingdom. Here lies the grief of a fond mother, and the blasted expectation of an indulgent father. Tha youth grew up like a well-watered plant ; he shot deep, rose high, and bid fair for manhood. But just as the cedar began to tower, and prO'- mised, ere long, to be the pride of the wood, and prince among the neighbouring trees. Be- Iiold ! the ax is laid unto the root ; the fatal blow struck ; and all its branching honours tum- bled to the dust. And did he fall alone ? No : the hopes of his father that begat him, and the pleasing prospects of her that bare him, fell, and were crushed together with him. Doubtless, it would have pierced one's heart, to have beheld the tender parents, following the breathless youth, to his long home. Perhaps, drowned in tears, and all overwhelmed with sorrows, they stood, like weeping statues, on this very spot. Methinks, I see the deeply dis- tressed mourners attending the sad solemnity. How they wring their hands, and pour floods from their eyes! Is it fancy? or do I really hear the passionate mother, in an agony of affliction, taking her final leave of the darling of her soul ? Dumb she remained, while the awful obsequies were performing ; dumb with grief, and leaning upon the partner of her woes. But now the inward anguish struggles for vent ; it grows too AMONG THE TOMBS. 11 big to be repressed. She advances to the brink i)f the grave. All her soul is in her eyes. She fastens one more look upon the dear doleful ob- ject, before the pit shuts its mouth upon him. And as she looks, she cries ; in broken accents, interrupted by many :{ rising sob, she cries, *' Farewel, my son ! my son ! my only beloved ! *' would to God I had died for thw ! Farewel, " my child, and farewel all my earthly happi- '' ness ! I shall nevermore see good, in ihe land '' of the living. Attempt not to conifoit me. ^' I will go mourning, all my days, till my grey *■ hairs come down, with sorrow, to the grave." From this affecting representation, let parents be convinced how highly it concerns them to culti- vate the morals, and secure the immortal ijiterests of their children. If you really love the offspring of your own bodies ; if your bowels yearn over those amiable pledges of conjugal endearment ; spare no pains, give all diligence, I entreat you, " to bring them up in the nurture and admo- ■' nition of the Lord." Then, may you have joy in their life, or consolation in tlieir death. If their span is prolonged ; their unblameable and useful conduct, will be the staflf of your age, and a balm for declining nature. Or, if the number of their years be cut off in the midst, you may commit their remains to the dust, with much the game comfortable expectations, as you send the survivors to places of genteel education. You may commit them to the dust, with cheering hopes of receiving them again to your arms, inexpressibly improved in every noble and endearing accom- plishment. 'Tis certainly a severe trial ; and much more afflictive, than I am able to imagine ; to resign a lovely blooming creature, sprung up from your own loipjs^ to the gloomy recesses of corruptiou. 1% BIEDITATI0M5 Thus to resign him, after having been long dandled upon your knees ; united to your affections by a thousand ties of tenderness ; and now become^ both the delight of your eyes, and the support of your family ! To have such a one torn from your bosom, and thrown into darlviiess ; doubtless, it must be like a dagger in your hearts. But O ! Iiow much more cutting to you, and confounding to the child, to have the soul separated from God ; and, for shameful ignorance, or early impiety, trans- mitted to places of eternal torment ! How would it aggravate your distress, and add a distracling emphasis to all yeur sighs, if 3'ou should follow the pale corpse with these bitter reflections ! " This ** dear creature, though long ago capable of know- *' inggood from evil, is gone out of the world, be- '* fore it had learned the great design of coming into *' it. A short-lived momentary existence it received " from me ; but no good instructions, no holy *' admonitions, nothing to further its well-being in '' that everlasting state, upon which it is now *' entered. The poor body is consigned to the " coffin, and carried out to consume away, in the *' cold and silent grave. And what reason have I •*■ to suppose, that the precious soul is in a better ** condition ? May I not justly fear, that, sen- '* tenced by the righteous Judge, it is going, or " gone away, into the pains of endless punishment ! *' Perhaps, while I am bewailing its untimely *' departure ; it may be cursing, in outer dark- *• ness, that ever to be deplored, that most calami- " tous day, when it w^as born of such a careless, " ungodly parent, as I have been." Nothing, I think, but the gnawings of that worm which never dies, can equal the anguish of these self-condemning thoughts. * The tortures of a rack must be an easy suffering, compared with the stings and horrors of such a remorse. How earnestly d^ khW^G THE tOMBB. 13 I wi'sli, that as many as are intrusted with the management of children, would take timely care to prevent these scoiirg-es of conscience, by endea- vouring to conduct their minds into an early knowledge of Christ, and a cordial love of his truth. On this hand is lodged one, whose sepulchral stone tells a most pitiable tale indeed ! Well may the little images, reclining over the sleeping ashes, hang down their heads with that pensive air ! None can consider so mournful a story, without feeling some touches of sympathizing concern. His age twenty-eight ; his death sudden ; himself cut down in the prime of life, amidst all the vivacity and vigour of manhood ; while *' his ** breasts were full of milk, and his bones moist- *' cned with marrow." Probably, he entertained no apprehensions of the evil hour. And, indeed, who could have suspected, that so bright a sun should go down at noon ? To human appearance his hill stood strong. Length of days seemed written in his sanguine countenance. He solaced himself with the prospect of a long, long series of earthly satisfactions. When, lo ! an unexpected stroke descends, descends from tliat mighty arm, which '' overturneth the mountains by their roots ; " and crushes the imaginary hero before the moth ;** as quickly, and more easily, than our fingers press such a feeble fluttering insect to death. Perhaps, the nuptial joys were all he thought on. Were not such the breathings of his enamoiw'd soul ? " Yet a very little while, and I shall possess " the utmost of my wishes. I shall call my char- '* mer mine ; and, in her, enjoy whatever my " heart can crave." In the midst of such enchant- ing views, had some faithful friend but softly re- minded him of an opening grave, and the end of all things ; how unseasonably would he have 14 MEDITATIONS reckoned the admonition ! Yet, though all warm with life, and rich in visionary bliss, he was even then tottering upon the brink of both. Dreadful vicissitude ; to have the bridal festivity turned into the funeral solemnity ! Deplorable misfor- tune ! to be shipwrecked in the very haven ! and to perish even in sight of happiness ! What a memorable proof is here of the frailty of man, in his best estate ! Look, O ! look on this mo- nument, ye gay and careless ,* attend to this date ; and boast no more of to-morrow ! Who can tell, but the bride-maids, girded with gladness, had prepared the marriage-bed ? Had decked it with the richest covers, and dress- ed it in pillows of down ? When oh ! trust not in youth, or strength, or in any thing mortal ; for there is nothing certain, nothiiig to be de- pended on ; beneath the unchangeable God. Death, relentless death, is making hini another kind of bed in the dust of the earth. Unto this he must be conveyed, not with a splendid procession of joyous attendants ; but stretched in the gloomy hearse, and followed by a irain of mourners. On this he must take up a lonely lodging, nor ever be released, " till the heavens *' are no more." In vain does the consenting fair-one put on her ornaments, and expect her spouse. Did she not, like Siscra's mother, look out of the lattice ; chide the delays of her be- loved ; and wonder " why his chariot was so *' long in coming ?" little thinking, that the intended bride-groom had for ever done with tran- sitory things ! that now everlasting cares employ his mind, without one single remembrance of his lovely Lucinda ! Go, disappointed virgin ! go, mourn the uncertainty of all created bliss \ Teach thy soul to aspire after a sure and im- mutable felicity ! For the once gay and gallant AMONG THE TOMBS. 1$ Fidelio sleeps in other embraces ; even in tlie icy arms of death ! forgetful, eternally forgetful, of the world — and thee. Hitherto, one is tempted to exclaim against the king of terrors, and call him capriciously cruel. He seems, by begiiming at the wrong end of the register, to have inverted the la\A8 of nature. Passing over the couch ofdecrepid age, he has nipped infancy in its bud ; blasted youth in its bloom ; and torn up manhood in its full maturity. Terrible indeed are these providencefi, yet not un- •earchable their counsels. For us they sicken, and for us they die. Such strokes, must not only grieve the relatives, but surprize the whole neighbourhood. They Bound a powerf^il alarm to heedless dreaming mor- tals, and are intended as a remedy for our carna! security. Such passing-bells^ inculcate loudly our Lord's admonition ; " Take ye heed, watch, '^' and pray : for ye know not when the time is." We nod, like intoxicated creatures, upon the very verge of a tremendous precipice. These astonish- ing dispensations, are the kind messengers of hea- ven ; to rouse us from our supineness, and quicken us into timely circumspection. I need not, surelv, accommodate them with language, nor act as their interpreter. Let every one's conscience be awake, and this will appear their awful meaning. " O I " ye sons of men, in the midst of life you are in *' death. No state, no circumstances, can ascer- " tain your preservation a single moment. So '' strong is the tyrant's arm, that nothing can re- •' sist its force ; so true his aim, that nothitig •* can elude the blow. Sudden as lightning, some- " times, is his arrow launched ; and wounds, and " kills, in the twinkling of an eye. Never pro- 16 MEDITATIGS8 " misc yourselves safety in any expedient, but " constant preparation. The fatal shafts fly so " j^romiscuously, that none can guess the next vie* *' tim. Therefore, be ye always ready : for in " such an hour as ye thhik not, the final summons '' cometh." '' Be ye always ready : for in such an hour as *^ yc think not — " Important admonition ! me- thinks^ it reverberates from sepulchre to sepulchre ; and addresses me with line upon line, and precept upon precept. The reiterated warning, I acknow- ledge^ is too needful ; may co-operating grac6 render it effectual ! The momentous truth, though worthy to be engraved on the tables of a most tenacious memory, is but slightly sketched, on the transient flow of passion. We see our neigh- bours fall ; we turn pale at the shock ; and feel, perhaps, a trembling dread. No sooner are they removed from our sight, but, driven in the whirl of busiuess, or lulled in the languors of pleasure, we forget the providence, and neglect its errand. The impression made on our unstable minds, is like the trace of an arrow, through the penetrated air ; or the path of a keel, in the furrowed wave. Strange stupidity ! To cure it, another monitor bespeaks me from a neighbouring stone. It con- tains the narrative of an unhappy mortal, snatch- ed from his friends, and hurried to the awful bar ; without leisure, cither to take a last farewel of the one, or to put up so much as a single prayer preparatory for the other : killed, according io the usual expression, by a sudden stroke of casualty. Was it then a random stroke } Doubtless, the blow came from an aiming, though invisible hand. God presideth over the armies of heaven ; God ruleth among the inhabitants of the earth ; and God conducteth what men call chance. Nothing, pothing comes to pass through a blind and undis- AMON& THE TOMBS. 17 cerningfatiillty. If accidents happen ; they happen according to the exact foreknowledge, and conform- ably to the determinate counsels, of eternal wisxlom. The Lord, with whom ^re the issues of death, signs the warrant, and gives the high commission. The seemingly fortuitous disaster is only the agent, or i\ie instrument, appointed to execute the su- preme decree. When the king of Israel was mor- tally wounded, it seemQ4 to be a casual shot. "^ A " certain man drew a how, at a xenture," At a venture, as he thought. But his hand was strength- ened by an omnipotent aid ; and the shaft levelled by an unerring eye. So that, what we term ca- sualty, is really providence ; accomplishing delibe- rate designs, but concealing its own interposition. How comforting this reflection ! Admirably adapted, to sooth the throbbing anguish of the mourners, and compose their spirits into a quiet submission ! excellently suited to dissipate the fears of godly sur- vivors, and create a calm intrepidity even amidst innumerable perils ! How thin is the partition, between this wovld and another ! How short the transition, from time to eternity ! The partition, nothing more than the breath in our nostrils; and , the transition rnaybe made, in the twinkling of an eye. Poor Chremy- lus, I remember, arose from the diversion of a cj^rd- table, and dropt into the dwellings of darkness. One night, Corinna was all gaiety in her spirits, all finery in her apparel, at a magnificent ball. The next night she lay pale and stiff, an extended corpse, and ready to be mingled with the moulder- ing dead. Young Atticus lived to see his ample and commodious scat completed ; but not to spend one joyous hour, under the stately roof. The sashes were hung to admit the day ; but the master's eyes are closed in endless night. The apartments were furuished to invite society, or administer repose; c 18 MEDITATIONS out their lord rests in the lower parts of the earth in the solitary, silent chambers of the tomb. The gardens were planned, and a thousand elegant de- corations designed ; but alas ! their intended pos' sessor, is gone down to "^^ the" place of skulls;" is gone down to the valley of the shadow of death. A^-^hile I am recollecting, many, I question not, aie experiencing the same tragical vicissitude. The eyes of that sublime Being, who sits upon the circle of the earth, and views all its inhabitants ^ with one comprehensive glance ; even now behold many tents in affliction. Such affliction as over- whelmed the Egyptians in that fata) night, when the destroying angel sheathed his arrows in all the pride of their strength. Some, sinking to the floor from their easy-chair ; and deaf even amidst the piercing shrieks of their distracted relations Some, giving up the ghost as they sit retired, or lie re- clined under the shady arbour, to taste the sweets of the flowery scene. Some, as they sail, associate with a party of pleasure, along the dancing stream, and through the laughing meads. Nor is the grim intruder mollified, though wine and music flow around. Some intercepted, as they are returning home ; and some interrupted, as they enter upori an important negociation. Some arrested with the gain of injustice in their hands ; and some sur- prised in the very act of lewdness, or the attempt of cruelty. Legions, legions of disasters, such as no pru- dence can foresee, and no care prevent, lie in wai< to accomplish our doom. A starting horse may throw his rider ; may at once dash his body agaiiist the stones, and fling his soul into the invisible world. A stack of chimnies may tumble into tlie street, and crush the unwary passenger under the ruins. Even a single lile, dropping from tlie roof, nmy be as fatal as the fall of the whole Mtj\tcture. So AMONG THE TOMBS. 19 f/ail, 80 very attenuated is the thread of life, that it not only bursts before the storm, but breaks even at a breeze. The most common occurrences, those from which we suspect not the least harm, may prove the weapons of our destruction. A grape- stone, a despicable fly, may be more mortal than Goliah, with all his formidable armour. Nay, if God gives command, our very comforts become killing. The air we breathe, is our bane ; and the food we eat, the vehicle of death. That last enemy has unnumbered avenues for his approach. Yea ; lies intrenched in our very bosom, and holds his fortress in the seat of our life. The crimson fluids which distributes health, is impregnated with the seeds of death. Heat may inflame it, or toil oppress it ; and make it destroy the parts it was designed to cherish. Some unseen impediment may obstruct its passage, or some unknov/n violence may divert its course ; in either of which cases, it acts the part of a poisonous draught, or a deadly stab. Ah ! in what perils is vain life engaged ! What slight neglects, what trivial faults destroy The hardiest frame ! of indolence, of toil We die ; of want, of suijeriluity . The aJl-surroundiiig heav'n, the vital air. Is big with death. Since then we are so liable to be dispossessed of thii earthly tabernacle, let us look upon ourselves only as tenants at will ; and hold ourselves in per- petual readiness, to depart at a moment's warning. Without such an habitual readiness., we are like wretches, that sleep upon the top of a mast, while a horrid gnlph yawns, or furious waves rage, below And where can be the peace, what the satisfaction of such a state .^ Whereas, a prepared condition will inspire a cheerfulness of temper, not to be dis^- luayedby any alarming accident ; and create a firm- c2 20 MEDITATIONS iicss of mind, not to be overthrown bj the most ihreateiiing dangers. When the city is fortified with walls, furnished with provision, guarded by a])le and resolute troops ; what have the inhabitants to fear? what may they not enjoy? So, just so, cr rather by a much surer band, are connected the real taste of life, and the constant thought of death. I said, our very comforts may become killing. And see the truth inscribed by the hand, sealed with the signet of fate. The marble, which graces yonder pillar, informs me, that near it, are depo- sited the remains of Sophronia ; the much lamented Sophronia, who died in child-bed. How often does this calamity happen ? the branch shoots, but the stem withers. The babe springs to light ; but she that bare him, breathes her last. She gives life, but gives it ( O pitiable consideration ! ) at the ex- pence of her oa^ti ; and becomes, at once, a mother, and a corpse. Or else, perhaps, she expires in severe pangs, and is herself a tomb for her infant ; while the melancholy complaint of a monarch's woe, is the epitaph for them both ; tJie children are come to the birth, and there is iwt strength to hring forth. Less to ])e lamented, in my opinion, this misfortune than the other. Better, for the tender stranger, to be stopped in the porch ; than to enter, only to converse with affliction. Better to find a grave in the womb ; than to be exposed on a ha- zardous world, without the guardian of its infaiK tile years, without the faithful guide of its youth. This monument is distinguished by its finer ma- terials, and more delicate appendages. It seems to have taken its model from an affluent hand ; directed by a generous heart ; which thought it could never flo enough for the deceased. It seems also, to ex- hibit an emblematical picture of Sophronia'g person iiiid accomplishments. Is her beauty, or, what is ARrONG THE TOMBS. 21 more than beaut jj her white rob'd innocence, re- presented by the snowy colour ? Tlie surface, smoothly polished, like lier amiable temper, and engaging manners. The whole adorned, in a we]I- judged medium, between extravagant pomp, and sordid negligence ; like her undissembled goodnea*, feraote from the least ostentation, yet in all points exemplary. But ah ! how vain were all these en- dearing charms ! How vain, the lustre of thy sprightly eye ! How vain the bloom of thy bridal 30uth ! How vain the honours of thy superior birth ! How unable to secure the lovely possessor, from the savage violence of death ! How ineffec- tual the universal esteem of thy acquaintance ; the fondness of thy transported husband ; or even the spotless integrity of thy character ; to prolong thy span, or procure thee a short reprieve ! The concurrence of all these circumstances, reminds me of those beautiful and tender lines ; How lov'J, how valu'd once, avails thee not ; To whom related, or bj' whom bogot. A heap of dust alone remains of thee : 'Tis all THOU art ! and all the proud shall be ! POPE, Yet, though unable to divert the stroke, Chris- tianity is sovereign to pluck out the sting of death. Is not this the silent language of those lamps, which burn, and of that heart, Avhich flames ; of those palms, wliich flourish, and of that crown, which flitters, in the well-imitated and gilded marble ? >o they not, to the discerning eye, describe th« vigilance of her faith ; the fervency of her devo- tion ; her victory over the world ; and the celes- tial diadem, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, shall give her at that day } How happy the husband, in such a sharer of bin bed, and partner of big the funeral marbles. Let me draw near, and inquire of the stone ; " Who, or what, is beneath its sur- " face?" I am informed, he was once the owner of a considerable estate ; which was much improved by his own application and management : that he left the world in the busy period of life ; advanced a little beyond the meridian. Probably, replied my musing mind, one of those indefatigable drudges, who rise early, late take rest, and eat the bread of carefulness ; not to secure the loving-kindness of the Lord : not to make provision for any reasonable necessity ; but only to amass to- gether ten thousand times more than they can pos- sibly use. Did he not lay schemes for enlarging his fortune, and aggrandizing his family ? Did he not purpose to join field to field, and add house to house, till his possessions were almost as vast as his desires? That then he would sit down, and enjoy what he had acquired ; breathe a while from his toilsome pursuit of things temporal, and, perhaps, think a little of things eternal. But see the folly of worldly wisdom ! How silly, how childish^ ig the sagacity (of what is called) 28 MEDITATIONS nianly and masterly prudence ; when it corrln'ves more solicitously for time than it provides for eter- nitj ! How strangely infatuated are those swbtile headS;, which weary themselves in concerting mea- sures for phantoms of a day, and scarce bestow a thotight on everlasting realities ! When every wheel moves on smoothly, when all the well-dis- posed designs are ripening apace for execution, and, the long expected crisis of enjoyment seems to ap- proach ; behold ! God from on high laughs on the Babel-builder. Death touches the bubble, and it breaks ; it drops into nothing. The cobweb, most finely spun indeed, but more easily dislodged, is swept away in an instant, and all the abortive pro- jects are buried in the same grave with their pro- tector. So true is that verdict which the wisdom from above passes on these successful unfortunates : They walk in a vain shadow, and disquiet themselves in vain. Speak, ye that attended such a one in his last mo- ments, ye that heard his expiring sentiments ; did he not cry out, in the language of disappointed sensual- ity ? *' O death ! how terrible is thy approach to *^ a raaa immersed in secular cares, and void of all '^ concern for the never-ending hereafter ! Where, " alas ! is the profit, where the comfort of enter- " ing deep into the knowledge, and of being dex- *' terous in the dispatch of earthly affairs ; since I " have, all the while, neglected the one thing need- " ful ! Destructive mistake ! I have been attentive " to every inferior interest ; I have laid myself out *' on the trifles of a moment; but 1 have disregarded " heaven, have forgot eternal ages ! O ! that my *^ days — " Here he was going on to breathe some fruitless wishes, or to form, I know not what, inef- fectual resolutions. But a sudden convulsion shook his nerves, disabled his tongue ; and, in less than an hour, dissolved his frame. ''^'a-z Jlih.t^TI^mncr/Ifi/ Afji/ IValHssc^^l' O Death! /h>irfr7nM^' is t/uj (I/jhrparh . AMONG THE TOMBS^^, 29 May tlie children of this world be warned, by the dying words of an unhappy brother, and gather ad- vantag^e from his misfortunes. Why should tliey pant with such impatient arflor, after white and yel- low earth, as if the universe did not afford sufficient for every one to take a little ? Why should they lade themselves with thick clay^ when they are to run for an incorruptible crouin, and pi^ess towards the prize of their high calling ? Why should they overload the vessel in which their everlasting all is embarked, or fill their arms with superfluities, when they are to swim for their lives ? Yet, so prepos- terous is the conduct of those persons, who are all industry, to heap up an abundance of the wealth which perisheth ; but are scarce so much as faintly desirous of being rich towards God. O ! that we may walk through all these glitter- ing toys, at least with a wise indifference, if not with a superior disdain ! Having enough for the conveniences of life, let us only accommodate our- selves with things below, and lay up our treasures m the regions above. Whereas, if we indulge ao anxious concern, or lavish an inordinate care on any transitory possessions, we shall rivet them to our af- fectioiiiS with so firm an union, that the utmost seve- rity of pain must attend the separating stroke. By such an eager attachment, to what will certainly be ravished from us, wc shall only insure to ourselvei accumulated anguish, against the agonizing hour. We shall plant afore-hand our dying pillow with thorns. Some, I perceived, arrived at threescore years and ten, before they made their exit ; nay, some few re- signed not their breath till they had numbered four- score revolving harvests ; these I would hope, re- %ntnibei\d their Creator in the days of their youth ; before their strength became labour and sorrow: beiibre that low ebb of languishing nature when 30 MEDITATIONS the keepers of the house tremhlc, and those that look out of the -windows are darkened : when even the lighting down of the grashopper, is a bur- den on the bending shoulders ; and desire itself fails in the listless, lethargic soul: before, those heavy hours come, and those tiresome moments draw nigh ; in which there is too much reason to say, " we have no pleasure in them ; no im- provement from them." If their lamps A\ere unfurnished with oil ; how unfit must they be, in such decrepit circumstances, to go to the market, to buy ! For, besides a variety of disorders, arising from the enfeebled constitution ; their corruption* must be surprisingly strengtliened, by such a long course of irreligion. Evil habits must have struck the deepest root ; must have twisted themselves with every fibre of the heart ; and be as thoroughly ingrained in the disposition, as the soot in the Ethiopian's com- plexion, or the spots in the leopard's skin. If such a one, under such disadvantages, surmounts all the difficulties which lie in his way to glory, it must be a great and mighty salvation indeed. If such a one escapes destruction, and is saved at the last ; it must, without all peradventure, be so as hy fire. This is the season which stands in need of com- fort ; and is very improper to enter upon the con- flict. The husbandman should now be putting in his sickle, or eating the fruit of his labours ; not beginning to break up the ground, or scat- ter the seed. Nothing, 'tis true, is impossible with God : he said, let there he light, and there was light : instantaneous light, diffused as quick as thought, through all the dismal dominion of primeval darkness. At his command, a leprosy of the longest continuance, and of the utmost in- veteracy, drparts in a moment. He can, in the AMONG THE TOMBS. 31 ^rcatnei?s of liis streng'th. quicken the wretch who has lain dead in trespasses and sins, not four days only, but fourscore years. Yet trust not, O trust not, a point of such inexpressible impor- tance, to so dreadful an uncertainty. God may suspend his power ; may v^ ithdraw his help ; may swear in his wrath, that such abusers of his long- sulFering " shall never enter into his rest." Ye therefore, that are vigorous in health, and blooming in 3ears, improve the precious oppor- tunity. Improve your golden hours, to the neblest of all purposes : such as may render you meet for the inheritance of saints in light ; and ascer- tain your title to a state of immortal youth, to a crown of eternal glory. Stand not, all the prime of your day, idle : trifle no longer with the offers of this immense felicity : but make haste, and delay not the time, to keep God's commandments. While you are loitering in a gay insensibility, death may be bending his bow, and mal-king you out for speedy victims. Not long ago I happened to 'spy a tiioughtless jay. The poor bird was idly busied in dressing its pretty plumes, and hopping carelessly from spray to spray. A sportsman coming by observes the feathered rover. Immediately he lifts the tube and levels his blow ; swifter than whirlwind fl^ies the leaden death ; and, in a moment, lays the silly creajture breathless on the ground. Such, such may be the fate of the man w ho has a fair occasion of obtaining grace to-dav, and wantonly postpones tiie iniproNement of it till to-morrow. He may be cut oil" in the midst of bis folly, and ruined for e\er ; while he is dreaming of being wise hereafter. Some, no doubt, came to this their last re- ircat full of piety and full of days ; as a shock of iiorn ripe -with a^e, and laden uith 'plenty, comcth in, iu his atawn. Tliese were children of light, and Z2 MEDITATIONS. wise in their generations. Wise with that exalt- ed wisdom, which cometh from above ; and with that enduring wisdom which lasts to eternity. Rich also they wcre^, more honourably and per- manently rich, than all the votaries of mammon. The wealth of the one has made itself wings and is irrecoverably gone. While the wretched ac- quirers are transmitted to that place of penury and pain, where not so much as one drop of water is allowed to cool their scorched tongues. The stores of the other still abide with them, will never de- part from thera, but make them glad for ever and ever in the city of their God. Their trea- sures were such as no created power could take away ; such as none but infinite Beneficence caa bestow ; and, comfortable to consider, such as I, and every indigent longing sinner may obtain ; trea- sures of heavenly knowledge aud saving faith ; treasures of atoning blood and imputed righteous- ness. • Here lie their bodies " in peaceful habitations, '* and quiet resting places." Here they have thrown off every burden, and are escaped from every snare^ The head aches no more ; the eye forgets to weep ; the flesh is no longer racked with acute, nor wasted with lingering distempers. Here they receive a final release from pain, and an everlasting dis- charge from sorrow. Here danger never threat- ens them with her terrifying alarms ; but tran- quillity softens their couch, and safety guards their repose. Rest then, ye precious relics, within this hospitable gloom. Rest in gentle siumbers, till the last trumpet shall give the welcome signal ; and sound aloud, through all your silent mansions, arise, shine, for 1/our light is come: and the glory of the Lord is risen upon you. To these, how calm was the evening of life ! In what a smiling; serenity, did their sun go AMONG THE TOMBS. r^3 down ! Whien their flesh and. their heart fiviled, how reviving was the remembrance of an all- sufficient Redeemer ; once dying for their sins, now rising again for their justification ! How cheering the well-grounded hope of pardon for their transgressions, and peace with God, through Jesus Christ our Lord ! How did this assuage the agonies, and sweeten the bitterness of death ? Where now is wealth, with all her golden moun- tains ? Where is honour, with her proud trophies of renown ? Where are all the vain pomps of a deluded world ? Can they inspire such comfort, can they administer any support, in this last extremi- ty ? Can they compose the affrighted thought ? or buoy up the departing soul amidst all the pangs of dissolution ? The followers of the Lamb seem pleased and triumphant, even at the last gasp. " God's everlasting arms are underneath" their faint- ing heads. His Spirit whispers peace and consola- tion to their consciences. In the strength of these heavenly succours, they quit the field, not captives but conquerors ; with " hopes ftill of immortality." And now they are gone. The struggles of re- luctant nature are over. The body sleeps in death : the soul launches into the invisible state. But, who can imagine the delightful surprise, when they find themselves surrounded by guardian an- gels, instead of weeping friends ? How securely do they wing their way, and pass through un- known worlds, under the conduct of those celes- tial guides ! The vale of tears is quite lost. Farcwel, for ever, the realms of woe, and range of malignant beings ! They arrive on the fron- tiers of inexpressible felicity. They " are come to the city of the living God :" while a voice, sweeter than music in her softest strains ; sweet as the harmony of hymning seraphim : congratulates their arrival, and bespeaks their admission : I{ft up vour 34 MEDITATIONS heads, ye gates ; and he ye lift up, ye freer-* lasting doors ; that the heirs of glory may enter in. Here, then, let us leave the spirits and souls of the righteous ; escaped from an entangled wil- derness, and received into a paradise of delights ! Escaped from the territories of disquietude, and settled in regions of unmolested security ! Here, they sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of their Father. Here, they min- gle with an innumerable company of angels, and rejoice around the throne of the Lamb: rejoice in the fruition of present felicity, and in the assured expectation of an inconceivable addition to their bliss ; when God shall call the heavens from a- have, and the earthy that he may judge his people. Fools accounted their life madness, and their end to be without honour : but, they are numbered among the children of God; and their lot, their distinguished and eternal lot, is among the saints ! However, therefore, an undiscerning world may despise, and a prophane world vilify, the truly religious ; be this the supreme, the invariable de- sire of my heart ! " Let me live the life, and die *' the death of the righteous. Oh ! let my latter " end, and future state, be like theirs!" AVhat figure is that, which strikes my eye, from an eminent part of the wall ? It is not only placed in a more elevated situation, than the rest ; but carries a more splendid and sumptuous air, than ordinary. Swords and spears ; murdering engines, and instruments of slaughter ; adorn tlie stone with a formidable magnificence. It proves to be the monument of a noble warrior. Is such respect, thought I, paid to the memo- ry of this brave soldi<'r, for sacrificing his life to tiie public good ? Then, what honours, what im- mortal honours, are due to the great Captain of AMONG THE TOMBS. 35 our salvation ? Who, though Lord of the angelic legions ; and supreme commander of all the hea- venly hosts ; willingly offered himself a bleeding propitiation for sinners ! The one died, being a mortal ; and only yielded up a life, which was long before forfeited to divine justice ; which must soon have been surrendered as a debt to nature, if it had not fallen as a prey to war. But Christ took flesh, and gave up the. ghost, though he was the great I AM ; the foun- tain of existence; who calls happiness and im- mortality ail his own. He, who thought it no robbery to be equal with God : he, whose out- goings were from everlasting ; even he, was made in the likeness of man, and cut off out of the land of the living. Wonder, O heavens ! Be as- tonished, O earth ! he died the death, of whom it is witnessed, that he is "^ the true God, and *' eternal life." The one exposed liimself to peril, in the ser- yice of his sovereign and his count''y ; which, though it was glorious to do, yet would ha 'e been ig- nominious, in such circumstances, to have declined. But Christ took the field, though he was the ulessed and only potentate ; the King of kings, and Lord of lords. Christ took the held, though he was sure to drop in the engagement ; and j)ut eii grace itself will fan thy flame. As to earthly me- morials, yet a little while, and they are all oblite- rated. The tongue of those, whose happiness we have zealously promoted, must soon be silent in the coffin. Characters cut with a pen of iron, and committed to the solid rock, will, ere long, cease to be legible. But as many as are inrolled in the Lamb's book of life, he himself declares shall never be blotted out from those annals of eternity. When a flight of years has mouldered the triumphal column into dust ; when the brazen statue perishes under the corroding hand of time ; those honours still continue, still are blooming and incorruptible in the world of glory. Make the extended skies your tomb ; Let stars record your worth : Yet know, vain mortals, all must df^^ As nature's sickliest birth. 40 MEDITATIONS Would bountftHis heav'n indulge ray prayV, i fiarnc a nobler choice ; Nor, living, wish the pompons pile ! Nor dead, regret the loss. In thy fair book of life divine, My God, inscribe my name ; There let it fill some himible place Beneath the slaughter'd Lamb. Thy saints, while ages roll away, In endless fame survive ; Their glories, o'er the wrongs of time , Greatly triumphant, live. Yonder entrance leads^ I suppose to the vault. Let nne turn aside, and take one view of the ha- bitation and its tenants. The sullen door grates upon its hinges : not used to receive many visitants, it admits me with reluctance and murmurs. What meaneth this sudden trepidation, while I descend the steps, and am visiting the pale nations of the dead ? Be composed, my spirits, there is no- thing to fear in these qui^t chambers. " Here^ " even the wicked cease from troubling." Good heavens ! what a solemn scene ! How dis- mal the gloom ! Here is perpetual darkness, and night even at noon-day. How doleful the soli- tude ! Not one trace of cheerful society, but sor- row and terror seem to have made this their dreaded abode. Hark ! how the hollow dome resounds at every tread. The echoes, that long have shipt, are awakened, and lament, and sigh along the walls, A beam or two finds its way through the grates, and reflects a feeble glimmer from the nails of the coffins. So many of those sad spectacles, half concealed in shades, half seen dimly by the bale- \u[ twilight, add a deeper horror to these gloomy AMONG THE TOMBS. 41 mansions. I pore upon the inscriptions, and am just able to pick out, that these are the remains of the rich and renowned. No \ulgar dead are deposited here. The most illustrious and riglit honourable have claimed this for their last retreat. And, indeed, they retain 9f)mewhat of a sliadowy pre-eminence. They lie ranged in mournful or- der, and in a sort of silent pomp, under the arches of an ample sepulchre ; while m.eaner corpses, with- out much ceremony, ^' go down to the stones of the " pit" My apprehensions recover from their surprise. I find, here are no phantoms, but such as fear raises. However, it still amazes me, to observe the wonders of this nether world. Those, who re- ceived vast revenues, and called whole lordships their own ; are here reduced to half a dozen feet of earth, or confined in a few sheets of lead. Rooms of state, and sumptuous furniture, are resigned ; for no other ornament than the shroud, for no other apartment than the darksome niche. Where is the star, that blazed upon the breast ; or co- ronet, that glittered round the temples ? The only remains o f departed dignity are, the weather-beaten hatchment, and the tattered escutcheon. I see no splendid retinue, surrounding this solitary dwelling. The lordly equipage hovers no longer about the lifeless master Hp has no other attendant, than a dusty statue ; which, while the regardless yv orld is as gay as ever, the sculptor's hand has taught to weep. Those, who gloried in high-born ancestors, and noble pedigree ; here drop their lofty preten- sions. They acknowledge kindred with creeping things, and quarter arms with the meanest rep- tiles. They say to corruption, thou art my fa- tlicr ; and to tlie worm, thou art my mother, and my sister. Or, should they still assume tht; stile 42 MEDITATIONS of distinction, ah ! how impotent were the claim ! how apparent the ostentation ! Is it j-aid by their monument. Here lies the Great ? How easily is it replied by the spectator ! False marble ! where ? Nothing but poor and sordid dust lies here. Mortifying truth ! sufficient, one would think, to wean the most sanguine appetite, from this tran- sitory state of things ; from its sickly satisfactions, its fading glories, its vanishing treasures. . For now, ye lying vanities of life! Ye ever-tempting, ever-cheating train ! "Where are ye now ? And what is your amount 1 What is all the world to these poor breath- less beings ? What are their pleasures ? A bubble broke. What their honours ? A dream that ig forgotten. What the sum total of their eiyoyments below ? Once, perhaps, it appeared to inexperi- enced and fond desire, something considerable. IJut, now death has measured it with his Hne, and weighed it in his scale, what is the upshot ? Alas ! it is shorter than a span ; lighter than the dancing spark ; and driven away like the dis- solving smoke. Indulge, my soul, a serious pausie. Recollect all the gay things, that were wont to dazzle thy eyes, and inveigle thy affections. Here, examine those baits of sense. Here form an estimate of their real value. Suppose thyself first among the favourites of fortune ; who revel in the lamp of pleasure ; w ho shine in the robes of honour ; and swim in tides of inexhaustible riches. Yet how soon would the passing-bell proclaim thy exit ! And, when once that iron call has summoned thee to thj future reckoning where would all these AMONG THE TOMBS. 43 gratifications be ? At that period, will ail the pa- geantry of the most atiluent, splendid^ or luxuri- ous rircu instances, vanish into empty air ! And is this a happiness, so passionately to be coveted ? I thank you, ye relics of sounding titles, and magnificent names. Ye have taught me more of the littleness of the world, than all the volumes of my library. Your nobility arrayed in a wir^d- ing-sheet, your grandeur mouldering in an urn, are the most mdisputable proofs of the nothing- ness of created things Nerer, surely, did pro- vidence write this important point, in such legible characters, as in the ashes of my lord, or on the corpse of his grace. Let others, if they please, pav their obsequious court to your wealthy sons ; and ignobly fawn, or anxiously sue, for preferments, Mv thoughts shall often resort, in pensive con- templation, to the sepulchres of their sires ; and learn, from their sleeping dust, to moderate my ex- pectations from mortals, to stand disengaged from every undue attachment, to the little interests of time, to get above the delusive amusements of ho- nour, the gaudy tinsels of wealth ; and all the empty shadows of a perishing world. Hark ! what sound is that ? In such a situation, every noise alarms. Solemn and slow, it breaks again upon the silent air. 'Tis the striking of the clock. Oesigned, one would imagine, to ratify all my serious meditations. Methinks, it says amen, and sets a seal to every improving hint. It tells me, that another portion of my appointed time is elapsed. One calls it " the knell of my departed " hours." 'Tis tlie watchword to vigilance and ac- tivity. It cries in the ear of reason, redeem the time. '* Catch the favourable gales of opportunity : " O ! catch them while they breathe, before they " are irrecoverably lost. The span of life shortens ** continually. Thy miimtes are all upon the wing. 44 MEDITATIONS *' and hastening to be gone. Thou art a borderer "^ upon eternity ; and making incessant advances to *' the state thou art contemplating." May the ad- monition sink deep into an attentive and obedient mind ! May it teach me that " heavenly arithmetic *' of numbering my days^ and applying my heart '' unto wisdom !" I have often walked beneath the impending pro- montory's craggy cliff ; I have sometimes trod the vast spaces of the lonely desert^ and penetrated the inmost recesses of the dreary cavern : but never^ ne- ver beheld nature louring, with so tremendous a form ; never felt such impressions of awe, striking cold on my heart, as under these blac.k-browed arches, amidst these mouldy walls, and surrounded by such rueful objects ; where melancholy, deepest melancholy, for ever spreads her raven wings. Let me now emerge from the damp and dreadful obscu- rity. Farewel, ye seats of desolation, and shades of death ! Gladly I revisit the realms of day. Having cast a superficial view, upon these recep* tacles of the dead, curiosity prompts my inquiry into a more intimate survey. • Could we draw back the covering of the tomb ; could we discern what those are now, who once were mortals ; O ! how would it surprise, and grieve us ! surprise us, to behold the prodigious transformation, which has taken place on every individual ; grieve us, to ob- serve the dishonour done to our nature in general, within these subterraneous lodgments ! Here, the sweet and winning aspect, that wore perpetually an attractive smile, grins horribly a na- ked, ghastly skull. The eye, that outshone the dia- mond's brilliancy, and glanced its lovely light- ning, into the most guarded heart ; Alas ! where is it } Where shall we find the rolling sparkler ? How are all its sprightly beams eclipsed ! totally eclip- sed ! The tongue, that once commanded all the AMONG THE TOMBS. 45 power of eloquence, in this strange land, has *' for- " got its cunning," Where are now those strains of harmony which ravished our ears ? Where is that flow of persuasion which carried captive our judgments ? The great master of language and of song, is become silent as the night that surrounds him. The pampered flesh, so lately cloathed in purple and fine linen, how is it covered rudely with clods of clay! There was a time, when the timo- rously nice creature, would scarce adventure to .set a foot upon the ground^ ' for delicateness and tenderness ; but now enwrapped in clammy earth, and sleeps on no softer a pillow than the rag- ged gravel stones. Here, " the strong men bow "themselves;" the neivous arm is unstrung; the brawny sinews are relaxed ; the limbs, not long ago the seats of vigour and activity, lie down motionless ; and the bones, which were as bars of iron, are crum- bled into dust. Here, the man of business forgets all his favorite schemes, and discontinues the pursuit of gain. Here, is a total stand to the circulation of merchandize, and the hurry of trade. In these solitary recesses, as in the building of Solomon's temple, is heard no sound of the ,ammer and ax. The winding-sheet, and the coffin, are the utmost bound of all earthly devices. " Hitherto may they go, but no farther." Here, the sons of pleasure, take a final farewel of their dear delights. No more is the sensualist anointed with oi'i, or crowned with rose-buds. He chaunts no more to the melody of the viol, nor re- vels any longer at the banquet of wine. Instead of sumptuous tables and delicious treats, the poor vo- luptuary is himself a feast for fattened insects ; the reptile riots in his flesh ; tlie worm feeds sivccthj on him. Here, also, beauty fails ; bright beauty drops her lustre here. O ! how her roses fade, and her lilies languish in this bleak soil ! How docs the 46 MEDItATIONi grand leveller pour contempt upon the charmer of our hearts ! How turn to deformity;, what capti- vated the world before ' Could the lover have a sight of his once enchant- ing- fair one ; what a startling astonishment would seize him ! " Is this the object, not long ago so passionately admired ! I said she was divinely fair ; and thought her somewhat more than mor- tal. Her form was symmetry itself; every ele- gance breathed in her air^ and all the graces wait- ed on her motions. 'Twas music when she spoke ; but when she spoke encouragement, 'twas little less than rapture. How my heart danced, to those charming accents ! And can that, which, some weeks ago, was to admiration lovely, be s\> insufferably loathsome ? Where are those blush- ing cheeks ? Where the coral lips ? Where that ivory neck, on which the curling jet, in such glossy rinfflets flowed ? With a thousand other beauties of person, and ten thousand delicacies of action ? Amazing alteration ! Delusory bliss ! Fondly I gazed upon the glittering meteor ! It shone brightly, and I mistook it for a star ; for a per- manent and a substantial good. But how is it fallen ! fallen from an orb, not its own ! And ail that I can trace on earth, is but a putrid mass." Lie, poor Florella ! lie deep, as thou dost, in obscure darkness. Let night, with her impene- trable shades, always conceal thee. May no pry- ing eye, be w^itness to thy disgrace, but let thy sur- vi\ing sisters think upon thy state, when they con- template the idol in the glass. When the pleasing image rises gracefuUy to view, surrounded with •* world of charms, and flushed with joy, at the consci- ousness of them all— then, in those minutes of temp- tation and danger, when vanity uses to steal into the Ihowffhts — then, let them remember, what a veil of AMOKG THE TOMBS. 47 horror is drawn over a face, which was once beau- tiful and brilliant, a? theirs. Such a seasonable re- Itection, might regulate the labours of the toilet, and create a more earnest solicitude to polish the jewel, than to varnish the casket. It might then be- come their highest ambition, to have the mind decked with divine virtues, and dressed after the amiable pattern of their. Redeemer's holiness. And would this prejudice their persons or depre- ciate their ciiarms ? Quite the reverse. It would spread a sort of heavenly glory over the finest set of features, and heighten the loveliness of every other engaging accomplishment. What is yet a more in- viting consideration ; these flowers would not wither with nature, nor be tarnished by time, but would open continually into richer beauties, and flourish even in the winter of age. But, the most incompa- rable recommendation of these noble qualities, is, tliat from their hallowed relics, as from the fragrant ashes of the Phcenix, w411 ere long arise an illustri- ous form ; bright, as the wings of of angels ; lasting, as the light of the new Jerusalem. For my part, the remembrance of this sad revolu- tion, shall make me ashamed to pay my devotion to a shrine of perishing flesh ; and afraid, to expect all my happiness from so brittle a joy. It shall teach me, not to think too highly of well-proportioned clay ; though formed in the most elegant mould, and animated with the sweetest soul. 'Tis heaven's last, best, and crowning gift ; to be received with gratitude, and cherished with love, as a most valu- able blessing ; not worshipped with the incense of flattery, and strains of fulsome adoration as a god- dess. It will cure, I trust, the dotage of iny eyes, and incline me always to prefer the substantial '''or- '" naments of a meek and virtuous spirit " before the transient decorations of white and red on the skin. Here, I called in my roving meditations fron» 48 MEDITATIOSS. tlieir long excursion on this tender subject. Fancy hstened awhile to the soliloquy of a lover. Now Tudgment resumes the reins^, and guides my thoughts 10 more near and self-mteresting enquiries. However, upon a review of the whole scene^ crowded with spectacles of mortality, and trophies of deaths I could not forbcLr smiting my breast, fetching a sigh, and lamenting over the noblest of all visible beings, laid prostrate under the feet of the pale horse, and his rider. I could not forbear repeating that pathetic exclamation. Oh ! thou Adam, what hast ihou done ? What desolation has thy disobedience wrought in the earth ! See the malignity, the ruin- ous malignity of sin ! Sin, has demolished so man} stately structures of flesh : sin has made such havock among the most excellent ranks of God's lower cre- ation : and sin (that deadly bane of our nature) v-ould have plunged our better part, into the execra- ble horrors of the nethermost hell, had not our mer- ciful Mediator interposed, and given himself for our ransom. Therefore, what grateful acknowledge- ments does the whole world of penitent sinners owe, what ardent returns of love will a whole heaven of glorified believers pay, to such a friend, benefactor, and deliverer ? Musing upon these melancholy objects, a faithful remembrancer suggests from within, " Must tkis " sad change succeed in me also ? Am I to draw *' my last gasp, to become a breathless corpse, and **■ be what I deplore ? Is there a time approaching, *' when this body shall be carried out upon the bier, '' and consigned to its clay cold bed ? While some " kind acquaintance, perhaps, may drop one parting '' tear ; and cry, alas ! my brother ! Is the time ap- '' proaching?" Nothing is more certain. A decree, much surer than the laws of the Medes and Persians, lias irrevocably determined the doom. . Should one of these ghastly fi^^ures buist frcin AMONG THE TOMBS. 49 Bis confinement ; and start up, in frightful deformity before me — should the haggard skeleton lift a clat- tering hand^ and point it full in my view — should it oj}en the stiffened jaws ; and^ with a hoarse tre- mendous muraiur^ break this profouiid silence — • should it accost me, as Saniuel's apparition ad- dressed the trembling king;, The Lard shall deli- ver thee also into the hands of dacith ; Yet a little Vihile, and thou sh alt be ivith me ; the solemn warn- ing, delivered in so striking a manner, must strongly impress my imagination. A message in thunder would scarce sink deeper ; yet there is abundantly greater reason to be alarmed by that express declaration of the Lord God Almighty, thou shah surely die. Well then, since sei'-tence is passed; since I am a, condemned man, and know not when the dead warrant may arrive, let rae die to sin, and die to the world, befl)re I die beneath the stroke of a righteous God. Let me employ the little uncertain interval of respite from execution, in preparing for a happier state, and a better life. That, when the fatal moment comes, and I am com- manded to shut my eyes upon all things here below, I may* open them again, to sec my Saviour in the mansions above. Since this body, which is so fearfully arid wonder- fully made, must fall to pieces in the grave ; since I must soon resign all my bodily powers to darkness, inactivity, and corruption ; let it be my constant care to use them well while I possess them ! Let my hands be stretched forth to relieve the needy, arwi always be more ready to give than to receive. l.iCt my knees bend in deepest humiliation before the throne of grace, while my eves are cast down to the earth in penitential confusion ; or devoutly looking up to heaven for pardonmg mccy. In every friendly interview^ let the ^'law ot kindnesi dwell on my lips ;" or rather i{ the seriousnessj of 50 MEDITATIONSf my acquaintance permits, let the gospel of peace flow from my tongue. Oh ! that I might be ert- abledj in every public concourse, to lift up my voice like atrumpet; and pour abroad a more joyful sound, than its most melodions accents, in proclaimhig the glad tidings of free salvation ! Be shut, my ears, resolutely shut, against the malevolent whispers of slander, and the contagious breath of filthy talking. But be swift to hear the instruments of wisdom ; be all attention, when your Redeemer speaks ; imbibe the precious truths ; and convey, them carefully to the heart. Carry me, my feet, to the temple of the Lord ; to the beds of the sick, and houses of the poor. May all my members, devoted intirely to my divine Master, be the willing instruments of promo- ting his glory ! Then, ye erabalmers, you may spare your pains. These works of faith, and labours of love ; these shall be my spices and perfumes. Enwrapped in these, 1 would lay me gently down, and sleep sweetly in the blessed Jesus ; hoping, that Goi* will " give commandment concerning my bones ;'* and one day fetch them up from the dust, ^s sil- ver from the furnace^ purified, '^ I say not, s» '■*' ven times, but seventy times seven." Here, my contemplation took wing ; and, in an instant, alighted in the garden, adjoining to mount Calvary. Having viewed the abode of my de- ceased fellow-creaturea; methought, I longed to gee the place, where our Lord lay. And, oh ! what a marvellous spectacle was once exhibited in this memorable sepulchre ! He '' who cloaths " himself with light, as with a garment ; and " walks upon the wings of the wind ;'* HE was pleased to wear the habiliment* of mortality, and dwell among the prostrate dead. Who can re- peat the wondrous truth too often ? Who can dwell « pon tlie transporting tli^me, too long ? He^. wfe<> AMONG THE TOMBS. 61 aits intlironed in glory, and diffuses bliss among all the heavenly hosts ; HE was once a pale and bloody corpse, and pressed this little spot. O death ! how great was thy triumph in that hour ! Never did thy g-loomy realms contain such a prisoner before. Prisoner, did I say ? No ; he was more than conqueror. He arose, far more mightily than Sampson, from a transient slumber ; broke down the gates, and demolished the strong- holds of those dark dominions. And this, O mor- tals, this is your only consolation and security ; Jesus has trod the dreadful path, and smoothed it for your passage ; Jesus, sleeping in the cham- bers of the tomb, has brightened the dismal man- sions ; and left an inviting odour, in those beds of dust. The dying Jesus ! (never let the comfort- ing truth depart from your minds) The dying' Jesus is your sure protection, your unquestion- able passport, through the territories of the grave. Relieve in him ; and they shall prove a " high " M'ay to Sion;" shall transmit you safe to pa- radise. Believe in him ; and you shall be no losers^ but unspeakable gainers, by your dissolu- tion. For, hear what the oracle of heaven says upon this important point, rchoso helievcth in me shall never die. What sublime, and emphatical language, is this! Thus much, at least, it must import ; '' The nature of that last change, shall be *' surprisingly altered for the better. It shall no " longer be inflicted as a punishment ; but rather ''' be vouciisafed as a blessing. To s«ich persons " it shall come attended with such a train of " benefits, as will render it a kind of happy im- " propriety to call it dying. Dying ! No ; 'tis *' then they truly begin to live. Their exit, is the " end of their frailty, and their entrance upon *' perfection. Their last groan^ is ths prelude to " life, and immortality.'* e2 12 WEDITATIOT'iS'. G }e timorous souls, that are terrified at the sound of tlic passing-bell ; that turn pale at the sight of an opening grave ; and can scarce behold a coffin or a scull without a shuddering horror ; ye that are in bondage to the grisly tyrant, and tremble at the shaking of his iron rod, cry mightily to the Father of your spirits, for faith in his dear Son. Faith will free you from your slavery. Faith will embolden you to tread on this fiercest of serpents. Old Simeon, clasping the child Je- sus hi the arms of the flesh, and the glorious Mediator in the arms of his faith, departs with txanquillity and peace. That bitter persecutor Saul, having won Christ, being found in Christ, longs to be dismissed from cumbrous clay, and kindles into rapture at the prospect of dissolution. Methinks, I see another of Imraanuel's followers trusting in his Saviour ; leaning on his beloved ; go down to the silent shades with composure and alacrity. In this powerful name, an innumera- ble company of sinful creatures have set up their banners ; and " overcome, through the blood of the Lamb." Authorised by the Captain of thy salvation, thou also mayest set thy feet upon the neck of this king of terrors. Furnished with this antidote, thou also mayest play around the hole of the asp, and put thy undaunted hand on this cockatrice den. Thou mayest feel the viper fasten- ing to thy mortal part, and fear no evil : thou shalt one day shake it oft' by a joyful resurrection, and suiter no harm. Resurrection ! That cheering word eases my mind of an envious thought, and solves a most momentous question. I was. going to ask ; ** Wherefare do all tliese corpses lie here, in this " abject condition ? Is this their final state ? Has " death canquered ? And will the tyrant hold ♦* captivity captive ? How long wilt thou for^ti AMONG THE TOMBS. , 53 " them, O Lord? for ever?" No^ saith the voice from licavon, the word of divine revelation ; " the " righteous are all prisoners of hope." There is an hour, (an awful secret that, and known only to all-foreseeing- wisdom) an appointed hour there is, when an act of grace will pass the great seal above, aiid give them an universal discharge ; a general delivery from the abodes of corruption. Then sliall the Lord Jesus descend from heaven, with the shout of the archangel, and the trump of God. Destruction itself shall hear his call, and the obedient grave give up her dead. In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, they shake off the sleep of ten thousand years ; and spring forth, like the bounding roc, to " meet their Lord in the air." And, O ! with what cordial congratulations, what transporting endearments, do the soul and body, those aflcctionate companions, re-unite ! But with how much greater demonstrations of kindness are they both received by their compassionate Redeemer ! The Antient ot days, who comes in the clouds of heaven, is their friend, their father, their bridegroom. He comes with irresistible power, and infinite glciy ; but they have nothing to fear from his majestic appearance. Those tre- mendous solemnities, which spread desolation and astonishment through the universe, serve only to inflame their love, and heighten their hopes. The Judge, the awful Judge, amidst all his magni- ficence and splendor, vouchsafes to confess their names ; vouchsafes to commemorate their fidelity, before all the inhabitants of the skies, and the whole assembled world. Hark ! the thunders are hushed. Sec ! tlie liffht- tungs cease their rage. The angelic armies stand 111 silent suspence. The whole race of Adair, is wiaD'jed in pleasing, or anxious expectatio;,x. 64 MEDITATION? And now^ that adorable person, whose favour is better than life; whose acceptance is a crown of glory; lifts up the light of his countenance upoii the righteous. He speaks ; and what ravishing words proceed from his lips ! What extacies of delight, they enkindle in the breasts of the faith- ful ! " I accept you, O my people ! Ye are they " that believed in my name. Ye are they, that *' renounced yourselves, and are complete in mc! '' I see no spot or blemish in you ; for ye are " washed in my blood, and clothed with my righ- '' teousness. Renewed by my Spirit, ye have glo- " rifled me on earthy and have been faithful unto " death. Come then, ye servants of holiness, en- " ter into the joy of your Lord. Come, ye chil- "^ dren of light; ye blessed of my Father; receive " the kingdom, that shall never be removed ; wear '' the crown, which fadeth not away ; and enjoy *' pleasures for evermore !" Then it will be one of the smallest privileges of the righteous, that they shall languish no more ; that sickness will never again shew her pale coun- tenance in their dwellings. Death itself will be *' swallowed up in victory." That fatal javelin, which has drank the blood of monarchs, and finds its way to the hearts of all the sons of Adam, shall be utterly broken. That enormous scythe, which has struck empires from the root, and swept ages and generations into oblivion, shall lie by in perpetual uselessness. Sin also, which filled thy quiver, thou insatiate archer ! Sin, which strung thy arm wath resistless vigour, which pointed all thy shafts with inevitable destruction. Sin, will then be done away. Whatever is frail or depraved, will be thrown off with our grave- cloaJhs. All to come is perfect holiness and con- summate happhicss ; the term of whose continuance i& eternity. AMONG THE TOMBS. 55 O Eternity ! Eternitj ! How are our boldiest, eur stroiip:est thoughts^ lost and overwhe^lnied ra thee ! Who can set landmarks to Iknit thy di- mensions, or find plmnbets to fathom thy depths ? Arithmeticians have figures to compute all the progressions of time. Astronomers have iustrii- ments, to calculate the distances of the planets. But what numbers can state, what lines can guage, the lengths and breadths of eternity J* " It is "^ higher than heaven ; what canst thou do ? decp- '' er than hell ; what canst thou know ? The mea- *' sure thereof is longer than the earth, broader " than tlie sea." Mysterious, mighty existence ! a sum, not to be lessened by the largest deductions ! An extent^ not to be contracted by all possible dimiiuitioiis ! None can truly say, after the most prodigious waste of ages, '' So much of eternity is goiie." For, when millions •>* cenf"jries are elapsed, it is but just commencing : and, when millions more have run their ample round, it will be no nearer ending. Yea, when ages, numerous as the bloo: • of spring ; increased by the herbage of summer ; both augmented by the leaves of autumn ; all multi- plied by the drops of rain, which drown the win- ter ; when these, and ten thousand times ten thou- sand more than can be represented by any si- militude, or imagined by any conception, when all these are revolved and finished ; eternity, vast, boundless, amazhig eternity, will only be beginn ng ! What a pleasing, yet awful thoug^ht is this I Full of delight, and full of dread. O ! mav it alarm our fears, quicken our hopes, and animate all our endeavours 1 Since we are soon to launch into this endless and inconceivable state, let us give all diligciice to secure our entrance into hliss. Now let us give all diligence, because iUere is jio alteration in the scenes of futurity > 56 MEDITATIONS Tlie wheel never turns . all is siedfast and im- moveable Ijreyoiid tiie grave. Whetlier we are then seated on the throne, or stretciied o!i the rack : a seal v^ill be set to our comlitioji, by the hand of everiastiiig' mercy, or ioliexibie justice. The Saints always rejoice amidst the smiles of heaven ; their iuirps are perpetually tuned ; tlieir triumphs admit of no interruption. The ruin of the wicked is irremediable. The fatal sentence, once passed, is never to be repealed. No hope of exchanging- their doleful habitations. But all things bear the same dismal aspect for ever and ever. The wicked — my mind recoils at the apprehen- sion of their misery. It has studiously waived thp fearful subject, aiid seems unwilling to pursue it, even now. But 'tis better to reflect upon it for a few ni'inutes, than to endure it to eternal ages. Perhaps the consideration of their aggravated mise- ry may be profitably terrible ; may teach me more liigl'.ly to prize the Sa ':'our who " delivers from " goirg down into the bottomless pit;" may drive me, like the avenger's sword, to this onlj city of refuge, for oh^ioxious sinners. The wicked seem to lie here, like malefactors, in a deep and strong dungeon, reserved against the day of trial. '* Their departure w*as with- out peace." Clouds of horror sat louring upon their closing eye-lids ; most sadly foreboding the "' blackness of darkness for ever.'^ "VVlieii the last sickness seized their frame, and the inevitable change advanced ; when they saw the fatal arrow, iittiiig to the strings ; saw the deadly archer, aim- ing at their heart ; and felt the envenom'd shaft, fiisiened in their vitals — Good God ! what fear- fulness came upon them ! What horrible dread everwliclmed them ! How did they stand shudder- ing- and aghast, upon the trcnicudcus precipice ! AMONG THE TOMBS. BT jexcessivcly afraid to plunge into the abyss of eternity, yet utterly unable to maintain their stand- jng on the >erge of life. O ! what pale reviews, what startling prospectg, conspire to augment their sorrows ! They look backward, and behold ! a most melancholy scene 1 Sins unrepented of; mercy slighted ; and the day of grace ending ! "They look forward, and no- thing presents itself but the righteous Judge ; the dreadful tribunal ; and a most solemn reckoning. They roll around their affrighted eyes on attends- ing friends. If accomplices in debauchery, it sharpens their anguish to consider this farther aggravation of their guilt, that they have not sfrned alone, but ^rawn others into the snare. If religious acquaintance, it strikes a fresh gash in- to their hearts, to think of never seeing them any more, but only at an unapproachable distance, separated by the unpassable gulf. At last, perhaps, they begin to pray. Find- ijig no other possible way of relief, they are con- strained to iipply unto the Almighty. With trem- bling lips, and a faultering tongjie, they cry un- to that sovereign Being, '' who kills and makes *' alive." But why have 4,hey deterred, so long deferred their addresses to God? Why ha\e they despised all his counsels, and stood incorrigible under his incessant reproofs ? How often have they been forewarned of these terrors ; and most importunately intreatcd, to seek the LORD while he inight be found? I wish they may obtani mer- cy at the eleventh, at the last hour. I wish they may be snatched from the jaws, the opeiicd, the gaping, the almost closing jaws of damnation. But, dlas ! who can tell whether aliVoiifed 5Ra- jesty will lend an ear to (heir complaint .? Whe- ther the holy One will work a miracle of grace in behalf of srch transgressors ? lie may, for hS MEDITATIONS suglit any mortal knows^ " laugli at their cala- " mity, and mock when their fear cometh." Tlius they lie^ groaning out the poor remains of life ; their limbs bathed in sweat ; their heart sth!2g:gling with convulsive throes ; pains ins!ip- portable throbbing in every pulse; and innumeia- fele darts of agony transfixing their conscience. In that dread moment, liow the frantic soul Raves round thu walls of her clay tenement ; llmis to each avenue, and shrieks for help; But shrieks in vain ! How wishfully she looks On all slie's leaving', now no longer hers! A little longer, yet a little longer, O ! might she stay, to wash away her crimes. And fit her for her passage ! Mournful sight ! Her very eyes we( p blood ; and every groan She heaves, is big with horror : but the foe, Like a staunch nuird'rer, steady to his purpose* Pursues her close thro'' ev'ry lane of lite. Not misses once the track ; but presses on ; Till forced at last to the tremendous verge At once she sinks. If t^iis be the end of the ungodl}', '^ my feoul." " come not thou into their secret ! Unto their as- sembly, mine honour;, be not thou united !'" liow awfully accomplished is that prediction of inspired Wisdom ! Sin^ though seemingly gweet in the ..oni' mission, yet at the last it biteth like a sckpent, and stingeth like an adder. Fly, therefore, from the tents, O ! fly from the ways of such wretched men. Happy dissolution ! were this the period of flieir woes. But, alas ! all these tribulations are only '^ the beginning of sorrows ;" a smail drop only from tliat "■ cup of trembling," whicl? is minsclcd for their future poi'tion. No sooner has the last pang dislodged their reluctant souls., bqt AMONG THE TOMBS. 59 jthey are hurried into the presence of an injured ^ngrv God. Not under the conducting care ot bciioficent angels, but exposed to the insults of ac- cursed spirits ; who lately tempted them, now up- braid them, and will for ever torment them. Who can imagine their confusion and distress, when they ^tand, guilty and inexcusable, before their incensed Creator .'' They are received with frowns, Tlie God that made them, has no " mercy on them." The Prince of peace rejects them with abhor- rence. He> consigns them over to chains of dark- ness, and receptacles of despair, against the seve- rer doom, and more public infamy, of the great day. Then all the vials of wrath will be emptied upon these wretched creatures. The law they have yiolated, and the gospel they have slighted ; the power they have defied, and the goodness they have abused, will all get themselves honour in their exemplary destruction. Then God, the God to whom vengeance belongeth, will draw the arrow to the very head, and set them as the mark ot his inexorable displeasure. Resurrection will be no privilege to them ; but immortality itself their everlasting curse. Would they not bless the grave, '' that land where all things are forgotten ; and wish to lie, eternally hid, in its deepest gloom ? But, the dust refuses to conceal theft* persons, or to draw a veil over their practices. They must also awake; must iarise ; must appear at the bar, and meet the Judge. A judge, before whom '' the pillars of heaven *' tremble, and the earth melts away." A judge, once long-suficring, and very compassionate: but BOW unalterably determined, to teach stubborn oOfenders what it is to provoke the omnipotent Godhead ; what it is to trample upon the blood of his Son, and offer despite to all' the gracioui 6»vertures of his Spirit. CO MEDITATIONS O ! the perplexity ! the distraction ! that must seize the impenitent rebels^, when they are sura- xnoned to the great tribunal ! What m ill they do in this day of severe visitation ? This day of fmal decision ? Where ? Hov^ ? Whence, can they find help ? To which of the saints will they turn ? Whither betake themselves for shelter or for suc- cour ? Alas ! 'tis all in vain ; 'tis all too late. Friends and acquaintance know them no more. Men and angels abandon them to their approaching doom. Even the Mediator, the Mediator himself, deserts them in tbis dreadful hour. To fly will be im- practicable ; to justify themselves, still more im- possible : and now, to make any supplications, utterly unavailable. Behold ! the books are opened. The secrets of all hearts are disclosed. The hidden things of darkness are brought to light. How empty, how inefi'ectual now, are all those . refined artifices, with which hypocrites imposed upon their fel- low-creatures, and preserved a character in the sight of men ! The jealous God, who has been about their path, and about their bed, and spied out all their ways, sets before them the things that ihey have done. They cannot answer him one in a thousand, nor stand in the awful judg- ment. The liearens reveal ilicir iniqjdties, and the earth rises up against them. They are speechless with guilt, and stigmatized with infamy, before all the armies of the sky, and all the nations of the redeemed. What a favour m ould they es- teem it ; to hide their ashamed heads, in the bottom of the ocean ; or even to be buried, beneath the ruins of the tottering world ! If the contempt, poured upon them, be thus insupportable ; how will their hearts endure, M'hea the sword of infinite indignation is unsheathed, and fiercely wavedj around their defenceless heads. AMONG THE TO\[BS. 61 or pomtcd directly at their naked breasts ? How must the wretches scream with Avild atiiazemerit, and rend the very heavens with their cries, wlien the right-aiming thunderbolts go abroad ! Go abroad with a dreadful commission to drive thenj from the kingdoms of glory, and plunge them, not into the sorrows of a moment, or the tortures of an hour, but into all the restless agonies of unquenchable fire, and everlasting despair. Misery of miseries ! too shocking for reflection to dwell upon. But if so dismal to foresee, and that at a distance, together with some comfortable expectation of escaping it ; O ! how bitter, iwcon^ ceivably bitter, to bear ; without any intermission, or any mitigation, through hopeless and eternal ages ! Who has any bowels of pity ? Who has any sen-* tmients of compassion ? Who has any tender con- cern for his fellow-creatures ? Who ? — in God's nanic and for Christ's sake, let him shew it ; by warn- ing every man, and beseeching every man, to seek the Lord while he may be found ; to throw down the arms of rebellion, before the act of indemnity ex- pires ; submissively to adore the Lamb, while he holds out the golden sceptre. Here, let us act the friendly part' to mankind. Here, let the whole force of our benevolence exert itself ; in exhorting relations, acquaintance, neighbours, whomsoever we may probably influence, to take the wings of faith unfeigned ; of repentance undelayed ; and flee away from the wrath to come. Upon the whole ; what stupendous discoveries are these ! Lay them up in a faithful remembrance, O my soul. Recollect them with the most serious attention, when thou layest down, and when thoa risest up. When thou walkest, receive them for thy companions ; when thou talkest, listen to them as thy prompters ; and whatever thou doest, consult 62 MEDITATIONS them as thj directors. Influenced by these cons!- derations^ thy views will greaten ; thy aftectious be exalted ; and thou thyself raised above the tanta- lizing power of perishing things. Duly mindful of these^ it will be the sum of thy desires^ and the scope of thy endeavours^ to gain the approbation of that sovereign Being, who will then fill the throne, and pronounce the decisive sentenccj Thou wilt see nothing worth a wish, in comparison of having higr will for thy rule, his glory for thy aim, and his Holy Spirit for thy ever actuating principle. Wonder, O man ! be lost in admiration, at tliose prodigious events, which are coming upon the uni- verse ; events^ the greatness of which, nothing finite can measure. Such as will cause whatever is con- siderable and momentous in the annals of all gene- rations, to sink into littleness and nothing. Events (Jesus prepare us for their approach, defend us when they take place ! ) big with the everlasting fates of all the living and all the dead, I must see the graves cleaving, the sea teeming, and swarms unsuspected, crowds unnumbered, yea, multitudes of throngmg nations rising from both. I must see the world in flames ; must stand at the dissolution of all terrestrial things, and be an attendant on the burial of nature. I must see the vast expanse of the sky wrapt up like a scroll, and the incarnate God, issuing forth from light inaccessible, with ten thousand times ten thousand angels, to judge both men and devils. I must see the curtain of time drop, see all eternity disclosed to view, and enter upon a state of being, that will never, never have an end. And ought I not ( let the vainest imagination de- termine ; ought I not) to try the sincerity of my faith, and take heed to my ways ? Is there an in- quiry ; is there a care, of greater, of equal, of com- parable importance ^ Is not tiiis an infinitely prcss' AMONG THE TOMBf?. 69 ing call, to see that my loins are girded about, my lamp trimmed, and mjseJf dressed for the bride- groom's appearance ? That washed in the fountain opened in my Saviour's side, and clad with the mar- riage garment wove by his obedience, I may be found in peace^ unblameable, and unreproveable. Otherwise, how shall I stand with boldness, when the stars of hearen fall from their orbs ? How shall I come forth erect and courageous, when the earth itself reels to and fro like a drunkard ? How shall I look up with joy, and see my salvation drawing nigh, when the hearts of millions and millions fail for fear ? Now, madam, lest my meditations set in a cloud, and leave any unpleasing gloom upon your mind ; let me once more turn to the brightening prospects of the righteous. A view of them, and their de- lightful expectations, may serve to exhilarate the thoughts which have been musing upon melancholy subjects, and hovering about the edges of infernal darkness. Just as a spacious field arrayed in cheer- ful green relieves and re-invigorates the eye, which has fatigued itself by poring upon some minute, or gazing upon some glaring object. The righteous seem to lie by in the bosom of the earth, as a wary pilot in some well-sheltered creek, till all the storms which infest this lower world are blown over. Hexe they enjoy safe anchorage ; are in no danger of foundering amidst the waves of prevailing iniquity ; or of being shipwrecked, on the rocks of any powerful temptation. But ere long, we shall behold them hoisting their flag of hope; riding before a sweet gale of atoning merit, and re- deeming love ; till they make, with all the sails of an assured faith, the blessed port of eternal life Then may the honoured friend to whom I ara vriting^ rich in good works, rich in heavenly tem- pers^ but inexpressibly richer in her Saviour's li^h- 64 MEDITATIONS. tcousncss — O ! may she enter the harbour^ like a gallant stately vessel, returned successful and vic- torious from some grand expedition, with acclama- tions, honour, and joy ; vv^hile my little bark, at- tendant on the solemnity, and a partaker of the triumph, glides humbly after ; and both rest toge- tiier in the haven, the >Yished for blissful h&ven^ of perfect security and everlasting repose. REFLECTIONS ON A FLOWER GARDEN. Ill a Letter to a L^nr. Madam, oOME time a^o my meditations took a turn among the toiubs ; they visited the awful and me- lancholy mansions of the dead, and you was pleased to favour them with your attention. May I nov beg the honour of your company, in a more inviting and delightful excursion : in a beautiful flower- garden, wliere I lately walked, and at once regaled the sense and indulged the fancy. It was early in a summer morning, when the air was cool, the earth moist, the whole face of the f.reation fresh and gay ; the noisy world was scarce awake : business had not quite shook off his sound sleep, and riot had but just reclined his giddy head. All was serene, all was still ; every tiling tended to inspire tranquillity of mind* and invite to se- rious thought. Only the wakeful lark had feft her nest, and waj mounting on high, to salute the opening day. Elc* vated in air. sha seemed to call the laborious h\i«- F 66 KEFLf.tTio;.3 as bandmaii to his toil, and all her Tt lloM-^ong^sters to tboir notes. Earliest of birds, said I, compa- nimi of the dawn, may I always rise at thv voice ! rise to offer the matin-song^ and adore that be- neiicent Being-, '^' who inaketli the out-goifigs of *' the morning- and evening to rejoice." How charming to rove abroad at this sweet hour of prime 1 To enjoy the calm of natuie, to tread the dewy lawns, and taste the unrifled fresh- ness of tlie air ! Sweet is the breath of morn, her rising sweet, With chaTin of earliest birds. What a pleasure do the sons of sloth lose ? Little, ah ! little is the sluggard sensible, how delicious an entertainment he foregoes, for the poorest of all animal gratifications. The grcyness of the dawn decays gradually. Abundance of ruddy streaks tinge the tlceces of the firmament. Till at leng-th, the dappled aspect of the east is lost, in one ardent and boundlesi blush. Is it the surmise of imagination, or do tlie skies really redden with shame ; to see so many supinely stretched, on their drowsy pillows ? Shall man be lost in luxurious ease ? Shall man waste these^ precious hours in idle slumbors ? While the vigorous sun is up, and going on his Maker's errand .? While all the feathered choir are hymn- ing the Creator, and paying their homage in harmony? No, Let him heighten the melody of tlie tuneful tribes, by adding the rational strains of devotion. Let him improve the fragrant ob- ligations of nature, by mingUiig wilh the rising odours, the more refined breath of praise. 'Tis natural for man to look upward ; to throw his first glance upon the objects that are above him. A FLOWER-GARDEV. 67 Strait towards lioav'n my wo lirriiiij ryes I turn'd, And <^azc*d awhile the ample Sxy. Prodigious theatre ! Where lightnings dart their fire, and thunders utter tlieir voice. Wliere tcni' pests spend their rage, and worlds unnumbered roil at large ! O the greatness of that mighty hand, which meteth out this amazing circumfe- rence with a span ! O the immensity of that wonder- ful Being, before whom this unmcasurable extent is no more than a point ! And O (thou pleasing thought ! ) the unsearchable riches of that mercy, which is greater than the heavens ! Is more en- larged and extensive, in its gracious exercise, than these inimitable tracts of air, and sea, and lirma- luent ! Which pardons crimes of the most enormous size, and the most horrid aggravations ; pardons them in consideration of the Redeemer's atonement, with perfect freeness, and the utmost readiness ! More readily, if it were possible, than this all- sivrrounding expanse admits, within its circuit, a ridge of mountains, or even a graia of sand. Come hither then, ye awakened, trembling sin- ners. Come, weary and heavy-laden with a sense of your iniquities. Condemn yourselves. Renounce all reliance on any thing of your own. Let your trust be in the tender mercy of Gop, for ever and ever. In them hath he set a tabernacle for the sun. Behold him coming forth from the chambers of the east. See ! the clouds, like floating curtains, are thrown back at his approach. With what refulgent majesty does he walk abroad ! How iraiiscendently bright is his countenance ; shedding day, and inexhaustible light, throiigh the universe ! Is there a scene, though finished by the most elaborate and costly refinements of art, " compa- '•' ruble to these illustrious solemnities of opeii'ip,^ 68 REILLCTIONS ON " sunshine ? Before tlicsc, all thr f>tudisd pagcan- '' trj of the theatre, the «li!(erinij^ crcoiiuuiv of " an assembl},, or e\ cii tlie heightened ornanietits of " a royal palace, hide tiicir diminished heads, and " shrink into nothing." I have read of a person, so struck with the splendors of this noble luminary, that he imagined himself made on purpose to con- template its glories. O ! that christians w^^uld adopt his persuasion, and transfer it to the sun of righteousness ! Thus applied, it would cease to be a chimerical notion, and become a most im- portant truth. For sure I am, it is the supreme happiness of the eternal state; and therefore may well be the ruling concern of this present life, " to "^ know the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom " he hath sent." Nor do I stand alone in this opinion. The very best judge of whatever is va- luable in science, or perfective of our nature ; a judge who formed his taste on the maxmis of pa radise, and received the finishingsj of his educa- tion in the third heavens ; this judge, determines *' to know nothing but Jesus Christ, and him cru- " cilied." He possessed, in his own person, the finest, tlie most admired accomplishments ; \ci pronounces them no better than dung, in com- parison of the super-eminent excellency of this sav- ing knowledge. Methink*, I discern a thousand admirable pro- perties in the sun. 'Tis certainly the be«t mater iui emblem of the creator. There n more of God in its lustre, energy, and usefulness, than in any other visible being. To worship it as a deity, was the least inexcusable of all the heathen idolatries. One scarce can wonder, that fallen reason should mis- t;ike so fair a copy for the adorable original. No comparison, in the whole book of sacred wisdom pleases me more, than that which resembles the i»les!or is it the only merit of this liquid ele- ment, to maintkin the finny nations, it also carries cleanliness, and dispenses fruitfulness, wherever, it rolls the chrystal current. The pastures with their verdant mounds chequer the prospect, and prepare a standing repast for our cattle. There, " our oxen are made strong to " labour, and our sheep bring forth thousands and " ten thousands." There the horse acquires vigour for the dispatch of our business, and speed, to ex- pedite our journeys. From thence, the kme bring home their udders, distended w ith one of the richest and healthiest liquors in the world. On several spots, a grove of trees, like some grand colonnade, erects its tow'ring head. Every one projects a friendly shape, for the beasts ; and create* an hospitable lodging for the birds. .Every one stands ready to furnish timber for a palace, masts for a navy, or with a more condescending courtesy, fuel for our hearths. One of them seems skirted with a wild uncultivated heath ; which, like well disposed shades in painting, throws an additional lustre on the more ornamented parts of the land- scape. Nor is its usefulness like that of a foil, relative only, but real. There, several valuable creatures are produced, and accommodated without any expence, or care of ours. There, likewise, spring abundance of those herbs, which assuage the smart of our wounds, and allay the fiery tumults of the fever. Which impart floridity to our cir- culating fluids ; add a more vigorous tone to our active solids ; and, thereby, repair the decays of our eflfcebled constitutions. A FLOWER-GARDEN 79 Nearor the houses, wc perceive an ample spread of branches, not so stately us the oaks, but more amiable for their annual ser\ices. A little while ago, I beheld them, and all was one beauteous, boundless waste of blossoms. The eye marvelled at the lovely sight, and the heart rejoiced hi the pros- pect of autumnal plenty. Rut now the blooming maid is resigned for the useful matron. The flow- er is fallen, and the fruit swells out on every twig- Breath soft, ye wmds 'i O, spare the tende^r fruitage, ye surly blasts ! htt the pear-tree suckle her juicy progeny, till they drop mto our hzyids and dissolve in our mouths. Let the plumb hang un- molested upon her boughs, till she fatten her de- licious flesh, and cloud her polished skin with blue. And as for the apples, that staple commodity of our orchards, let no injurious shocks precipitate them immaturely to tlie ground^ till revolving suns have tinged them with a ruddy complexion, and concoct- ed them into an exquisite flavour. Then what copious hoards, what burnished rinds, arni what delightful relishes will replenish the store-room ! Some, to present us with an early entertainment, and refresh our palates amidst the sultry heats. Some, to borrow ripeness from the falling snows, and car- ry autumn into the depths of winter. Some, to adorn the salver, make a part of the dessert, and give an agreeable close to our feast*. Others, to find our Tats with a foaming flood, which, mellowed by age, may sparkle in the glass, with a liveliness and delicacy little inferior to the blood of the grape. I observe .several small inclosures, which seem to be apprehensive of some hostile visit from the north, and therefore are defended on that quarter by a tliick wood, or a lofty wall. At the same time, they cultivate an uninterrupted correspondence with the south ; and throw open their whole dimensions, to its frieodlv warmth. One in particular, lies within 50 REFLECTIONS ON the reach of a distinguishing view; and proves io be a kitchen-garden. It looks, methinks, like a plain and frugal re:;ub!ic. Whatever may resemble the pomp of court, or the ensigns of royalty, is ba- nished from this humble community. None of the productions of the olitory affect finery, but all are habited with the very perfection of decency. Here, those celebrated qualitif s are eminently united, the utmost simplicity with the exactest neatness A skilful hand has parcelled out the whole grounds into narrow beds, and intervening alleys. The same discreet management has assigned to each verdant family, a peculiar and distinct abode. So that there is no confusion, amidst the greatest multiplicity ; because every individual knows its proper home, and all the tribes are ranged with perfect regularity. If it be pleasing to behold their orderly situation, and. their modest beauties ; how much more delight- ful, to consider the advantages they yield ! What a fund of choice accommodatioirs is here ! What a source of wholesome dainties ! And all, for the enjoyment of man. Why does the parsley, with her frizzled locks, shag the border ; or why the celery, with her whitened arms, perforate the mould ; but to render his soups savoury } The asparagus shoots its tapering stems, to offer him the first-fruits of the season ; and the artichoke spreads its turgid top, to give him a treat of vegetable marrow. The tendrils of the cucumber* creep into the sun; and, though basking in its hottest rays, they secrete for their master, and barrel up for his use, the most cooling juices of the soil. The beans stand fir industry may draw her implements, to plough the sorij to reap the grain, and procure every neces- sary convenience. From thence, art may fetch her matprials to rear the dome, to swell the organ, and and form the noblest ornaments of politer iife. ^^.^ On another side the great deep terKiinates tjb,^ view. There go the ships : tlicre is that leviathan : and th( re, in that world of waters, an inconceivable number of animals have their habit:itIon — Tliis is the capacious cistern of the universe, which admits, as into a receptacle, and distributes, as from a re- servoir, whatever waters the whole globe. There's not a fountain that gushes in the unfrequented de- sart, nor a rivulet (hat flows in the remotest conti- nent, nor a cloud that swims in the highest region? ot)-.the'»iiimamcnt, but is fed by this all-replenishing G 82 REFLECTIONS 0-N source. Tbc ccean is the grand vehicle of trade, and ihc- uniter of distant nations. To us it is pecu- liarly kindj not only as it \vafts into our ports, the harvest of every climate^ and renders our island the centre of traffic^ but also as it .secures us from foreign iiivasi(j)ns^ by a sort of impregnable entrench- ment. Methinks, the view of this profuse munificence inspires a secret delight^, and kindles a disinterested good-will. While the " little hills clap their *' hands," and the luxuriant *' valleys laugh and " sing ;" who can forbear catching the general joy ? Who is not touched, with lively sensations of plea- sure ? While the everlasting Father, is scattering blessings through his whole family, and crowning the j^ear with his goodness ,* who does not feel his breast overflowing with a diffusive benevolence ? My heart, I must confess, beats high with satisfac- tion, and breathes out congratulatory wishes, upon all the tenants of these rui al abodes : " peace be *' within your walls, as well as plenteousness around " your dwellings." Live, ye highly favoured ; live •ensible of your benefits, and thankful to your bene- factor. Look round upon these prodigiously large incomes of the fruitful soil, and call them (for you have free leave ) all your own. Only let me remind you of one very important truth. Let me suggest, and may you never forget ; that you are obliged io Christ Jesus, for every one of these accommodations, which spring from the teeming earth,and the smiliiij^ skies. L Christ made them, when they were not. He fetched tliem up from utter darkness ; and gfcve them both their being and their beauty. He created the materials of which they are composed, and moulded them into this t^ndless multiplicity of anii- fible fanv.f, and useful substances. He arrayed the heavti'.s with a vtjitore of the mildest blue, aod A FLO\y^ER-GARDEN. •W clothed the earth, in a livcr^f of the g:ayest green. His pencil streaked, and his breath perfumed, what- ever is l>cautiful or fragrant in the universe. Hit strength set fast the mountains ; his goodness gar = nished the vales ; and the same touch which healed the leper, wrought the vt^hole visible system into this complete perfection. 2. Christ recovered them, wheii they were for- feited. By . Adam's sin, we lost our right to the comforts of life, and fruits of the ground. His disobedience was the mo&t impious and horrid treason, agamst the King of kings. Consequently, his whole patrimony became confiscated : as well the portion of temporal good things, settled upon the human race during their minority ; as that everlasting heritage reserved for their enjoyment, when they should come to full age. But the *' seed of the woman," instantly interposing, took off the attainder, and redeemed the alienated inhe- ritance. The first Adam being disinherited, the second Adam was appowted heir of all thiup;s visible as well as invisible. And as we hold our pos.session of the former, we expect an instatement in the latter, purely by virtue of our alliance to him, and our union with him. 3. Christ upholds them, which would otherM'ise tumble into ruin. By him, says the oracle of in- spiration, all things co?isist. His finger rolls the seasons round, and presides* over all the celestial re- volutions. His finger winds up the wheels, and impels every spring of vegetative nature. In a word, the whole weight of the creation rests upon his mighty nrm, and receives the whole harmony 4)f its motion from his \merring eve. This Iv'ibi- table globe, v iCh all its rich appendages and line naachinery, could no more contiiuie than tbcv could A-rente themselves. Shirt thoy would into instant Goufusion, or drop into their primitive nothing;, did g2 84 nEFLECTIONS OW not his power support^ and his wisdom regulate them every moment. In conformity to his will, they subsist stedfast and invariable in their orders^ and wait only for his sovereign nod, to '* fall awaj " like water, that runneth apace." 4. Christ actuates them, which would other- wise be lifeless and insignificant. Pensioners they are, constant pensioners on his bounty, and bw- row their all from his fulness. He only has life, and whatever operates, operates by an emanation from his ail-suiliciency. Does the grape refresh you, with its enlivening juices ? It is by a war- rant received, and virtue derived, from the Redeem- er. Does bread strengthen your heart, and prove the staff of your life ? Remember, that it is hy the Saviour's appointment, and through the efficacy of his operation. You are charmed with his me- lody, when the " time of the singing of birds is *' come, and the voice of the nightingale is heard *' in your land." You taste his goodness in the lus- cious fig, the melting peach, and the musky fla- vour of the apricot. You smell his sweetness in the opening honeysuckle, and every odoriferous shrub. Could these creatures speak for themselves, they would, doubtless, disclaim all sufficiency of their own, and ascribe the whole honour to theii ma- ker. " We are servants," would they say, " of " Him, who died for you." Cisterns only, dry cis- terns in ourselves, we " transmit to mortals no more, " than the uncreated fountain transfuses into us. " Think not, that, from any ability of our own, we " furnish you with assistance, or administer to your " comfort. 'Tis the divine energy, the divine " energy alone, that works in us, and does you " good. We serve you, O ye sons of men, that *' you may love him who placed us in these sta- *' tions. O ! love the Lord, therefore, all ye who '* arc supported by our ministry, or else we shall A FLOWER-GARDEN. 85 • groan, witli indignation and regret, at jour " abuse of our services. Use us, and welcome, for " we are yours, if ye are Christ's. Crop our " choicest beauties, rifle all our treasures, accom- " niodatc yourselves with our most valuable qiiali- " ties, only let us be incentives to your gratitude, " and motives to your obedience. *' Ha\ ing surveyed the spacious sky, and sent a glance round the inferior creation, 'tis time to de- scend from this eminence, and confine my atten- tion to the beautiful spot below. Heved at a sumptuous banquet ; but this ])lcasure never loses its poignancy, never palls the appetite. Here, luxury it^self ii jniiocent ; or rather, in this case, indulgence 'is 88 REFLECTIONS ON incapable of excess. This balmy entertainment, not only regales the sense, but cheers the very soul; and, instead of clogging, elates its powers. It puts me in mind of that ever memorable sacri^ fice, which was once made in behalf of offending mortals. I mean the sacrifice of the blessed Jesus, when he offered up himself to God, *' for a sweet- " smelling savour." Such the Holy Spirit stiles that wonderful oblation : as if no image, in the whole sensible creation, was so proper to give us an idea of the ineffable satisfaction ; which the Fa- ther of mercies conceived, from that uuparallelled atonement .; as the pleasing sensations, which such rich perfumes are capable of raising. " Thou- " sands of rams, and ten thousands of rivers of *' oil," from an apostate world ; the most submissive acknowledgments, added to the most costly offer- ings, from men of defiled hands, and unclean lips^ what could they have effected ? A prophet repre- sents the " high and lofty One, that inhabiteth '' eternity," turniiif^ himself away from such filthy rags ; turning himself away, with a disdainful abhorrence, as from the noisome steams of a dung- hill. But in Christ's immaculate holiness ; in Christ's consummate obedience ; in Christ's most precious blood-shedding ; with what unimaginable complacency, does justice rest satisfied, and ven- geance acquiesce ! All thy works, O thou Surety for ruined sinners ! all thy sufferings, O thou slaughtered Lamb of God ! as well as all thy gar- ments, O thou bridegroom of thy church ! smell of mijvili, aU',£s, and cassa ! They are infinitely more grateful to the eternal Godhead, than the choicest exhalations of the garden, than all the odours of the spicy East, can be to the human nostrils. As the altar of old sanctified the g»ift ; so this is the great propitiation, which recommcndg the A FLOWER-GARDEN. 89 obnoxious persons, and unpiofitable services of the unbelieving* world. In tliis, may my soul be interested ! By this, may it be reconciled to the Father ! Tliere is such a leprous depravity cleav- ing to my nature, as pollutes whatever 1 perform My most profound adorations, and sinceres* acts of religion, must not presinne to challenge a re- ward, but liunibly implore forgiveness. Renouncing, therefore, myself in every instance of duty ; dis- claiming all shadow of confidence in any deeds of my own ; may I now, and evermore, be accepted through the beloved ! What colours, what charming colours, are here ! these, so nobly bold ; and those, so delicately languid. What a glow is enkindled in some ! •what a gloss shiiicb upon others ! In one methinks, I see the ruby with her bleeding radiance : in another, the sapphire vvitli her sky-tinctured blue ; in all, such an exquisite richness of dyes, as no other set of paintings in the universe can boast. With what a masterly skill, is every one of the varying tints disposed ! Here they seem to be thrown on with an easy dasli of security and freedom ; there, they are adjusted by the nicest touches of art and accuracy. Those which form the ground, are always so judiciously chosen, as to heighten the lustre of the superadded figures ; while the verdure of the impalement, or the shadings of the foliage, impart new liveliness to the whole. Indeed ; whe- ther they are blended, or arranged ; softened, or contracted ; they are manifestly under the conduct of a taste, that never mistakes ; a felicity, that never falls short of the very perfection of ele-^ gance. Fine, inimitably fine, is the texture of the web, on which these shining treasures' are dis-r played. What are tlie labours of the Persian looms, or the boasted commodities of Brussels, compared with these curious manufactures of na- 90 REFLECTIONS ON ture > Compared Vfiih tliese^ the most admired chmtses lose their reputation ; even superfine cambrics^ appear coarse as cairvass in their pre- sence. What a Hieeriiig- argument docs oui* Saviour derive from hejice^ to strengihcij our afliancc in God! He directs us to learn a lesion of heaven- depending faith, from every bird;, that wings the air ; and from every tlower, (l-at blossoms in the field. If providence^ v, iili uiucmittcd care^ sup- ports those inferior creatures^ and arrays tlicse insensible beings, with so much splendour ; sure- }y, he will in no-wise wilh-hold from hJs elect children, '' bread to eat, and raiment io put on." Ye faithful followers of tlie Lamb, dismiss everj low anxietv, relating to the needful sustenance ojf life. He that feeds the ravens, from an inexhausti- ble magazine ; he that paints the plants, with such surpassing elegance ; in short, he that provides so liberallv, both for the animal and vegetable part^ of his creation ; will not, cannot, neglect his own people. Fear not, little flock, ye peculiar, ob- jects of almighty love ! it is youv Father's good pleasure, to give ijoii a kingdom. And, if he freely gives you, an everlasting kingdom hereafter ; is it possible to suppose, that he will deny you any necessary conveniences here ? One cannot forbear reflecting in this place, on the too prevailing humour of being fond and ostentatious of dress. Wliat an abject and mis- taken ambition is this ! Hovv^ unworthy the dig- nity of immortal, and the wisdom of rational beings ! Es]iecial]y, since these little productions of the earth, have indisputably the pre-eminence, in such outward embellisliments. Go, clothe thy- self with purple, and fine linen ; trick thyself up in all the gay attire, which the shuttle or the needle can furnish. Yet know, to the mortifica- A FLOWER-GARDEX. 9t fion of Ihv vanity, that the native elegance of a common daisy, eclipses all this elaborate finery. Nayj wert thou decked like some illustrious prin- cess, on her coronation day, in all the splendor of royal apparel ; couldst thou equal even Solo- mon, in the heii^ht of his mascnificence and glory ; yet would the meanest amonii; the flowery populace outshiiie thee. Every discerning eye, would give the preference to these beauties of the ground. Scorn then to borrow thy recommendations, lirom a neat disposition of threads, and a curious ar- rangement of colours. Assume a becoming great- ness of temper. Let thy endowments be of the immortal kind. Study to be all-glorious within. Be clothed with humility. Wear the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit. To say all in a word ; f)ut on the Lord Jesus Christ : let his blood be sprinkled upon thy conscience, and it shall be whiter than the virgin snows. Let his righteous- ness, like a spotless robe, adorn thy inner man ; and thou shalt be amiable, even in the most dis- tinguishing eye of Gob. Let his blessed Spirit dwell in thy heart ; and under his sanctifying operations, thou shalt be made partaker of a divine nature. These are real excellencies ; truly noble accom- plishments these. In this manner be arrayed, bo beautified ; and thou wilt not flp.d a rival in the feathers of a peacock, or ihn foliation of a tulip. These will exalt thee, far above the low preten- sions of lace and embroidery. These will prepare thee to stand in the beatific presejice, and to take thy seat among the angels of light. What an inchanting situation is this ! One can icarce be melancholy within the atmosphere of flowers. Such lively hues and delicious odours, not only address themselves agreeably to tlie senses, 92 n El LECTIONS om but touch, with a surprising delicacy, the s^veetest movements of the mind. -To the heart inspiring Vernal delight and joy. MlLTOlf, How often have I felt them dissipate the gloom of thought, and transfuse a sudden gaiety thro' the dejected spirit ! I cannot wonder, that kiiigg descend from their thrones to walk amidst bloom- ing ivory and gold, or retire from the most sump- tuous feast, to be recreated with the more refined sweets of the garden. I cannot wonder that queens forego, for a while, tlie compliments of a nation, to receive the tribute of the parterre ; or withdraw from all the glitter of a court, to be attended with the more splendid equipage of a bed of flowers. But, if this be so pleasing, what trans- porting pleasure must arise from the fruition of uncreated excellency i O ! what unknown delight, to enter into thy immediate presence, most blessed Lord God ! To see thee, thou King of heaven, and Lord of glory, no longer '^ through a glass darkly, but face to face !" To have all thy good- ness, all thy greatness, shine before us ; and be made glad for ever with the brightest discovery of thy perfections, the ineflfable joy of thy coun- tenance ! This we cannot bear in our present imperfect state. The effulgence of unveiled divinity would dazzle a mortal sight. Our feeble faculties would be overwhelmed with such a fulness of super-abun- dant bliss, and must lie oppressed, under such an exceeding greats eternal weight of glory. But, "when this corruptible liath put on incorruption, the powers of the 30ul will be greatly invigorated ; A FLOWrn-GARDEN. 93 arid tliese eartlily tabernacles will be transformed iiito the likeness of Christ's glorious body. Then, though " the moon shall be confounded^ and the '^ eiin ashamed/' when the Lord of Hosts is re- vealed from heaven, yet shall his faithful people be enabled to see him as he is. Here then, my wishes, here be fixed. Be this your determined and invariable aim. Here, my af- fections, here give a loose to your whole ardor. Cry out in the language of inspiration. This one thmg have I desired of the Lord, -which, with in- cessant earnestness, / ivill require ; that I may dnell in the celestial house of the Lord, all the days of my future life, to behold the fair beauty of the Lord, and to contemplate with wonder and ado- ration^ with unspeakable and everlasting rapture, all the attributes of the incomprehensible God- head. Solomon, a most penetrating judge of human nature, knowing how highly mankind is charmed with the fine qualities of flowers, has figured out the blessed Jesus, that *' fairest among ten thou- " sand," by these lovely representatives. He stile* him The Rose of Sharon, and The Lily of the val- hys ; like the first, full of deliglits and communi- cable graces ; like the last, exalted in majesty and complete in beauty. In that sacred pastoral he ranges the creation ; borrows its nio?t finished forms ; and dips his peccil in its choicest dyes, to present us with a sketch of tlie ;uniableness of his person. His ami;ibleness, who is tlie light of ihe world, the glory of hi^ church, the only h^pc, the sovereign consolation of shniers ; and exalted, ii.'- finitely exalted, not only above the sublime^t com- parison, but even " above all blessing and' praise. * May I also make the same heavenly use of all sublunary enjoyments ! Whatever is pleasurable QT charming below, let it raise ray desire to those 94 REFLECTIONS ON delectable objects ^vhich are above ; which 'vfll yield, not partial^ but perfect feiieitj ; not tr«.n- siewtj but never euding satisfaction and joy. Yes, my soul^ let these beauties in miniature, always remind thee of that glorious person, in whom " dwells all the fuhicss of the Godhead bodily." Let these little enianatious teach thee to thirst aft«r the eternal fountain. O ! may the creatures be thy constant clue to the Creator ! for this is a cer- tain truth, and deserves thy frequent recollection, demands thy most attentive consideration ; that the whole compass of finite perfection, is only a faint ray shot from that immense source, is only a small drop, derived from that inexhaustible ocean — of all good. What a surprising variety is observable among the flowery tribes ! How has the bountiful hand of providence diversified these nicest pieces of his work- manship, added the charms of an endless novelty to all their other perfections ! A constant uniformity would soon render the entertainment tiresome or in- sipid ; therefore, every species is formed on a sepa- rate plan, and exhibits something entirely new. The fashion spreads not from family to family, but every one has a mode of its own, which is truly original. The most cursory glance, perceives an apparent diiference, as well as a peculiar delicacy, in the airs and habits, the attitude and lineaments, of every distinct class. Some rear their heads with a majestic mien, and overlook, like sovereigns or nobles, the whole par- terre. Others seem more moderate in tlieir aims, and advance only to the middle stations ; a genius turned for heraldry, might term them the gentry ©f the border ; while others, free from all aspiring Tiews, creep unambitiously on the ground, and look like the commonalty of the kind. Some are inter- sected with elegant stripes, or studded with radiant A FLOw'En-rTAiibiiN. 95 tpcts. Some ailVct to he s^cntcelly powdered, cr neatlv iVingHl ; while otiicrs are plain in their as- pect, iiiuiilected in their i]rcHS, and content to pleaee with a naked simplicity. Some assume the mo- narch V? purple ; some look most hecoming; in llie virgin's white ; but black, doleful black, has no ad- mittance iuto the wardrobe of spring. The weeds of mourning- would be a manifest indecorum, when nature holds an universal festival. She would, new*, inspire none but delightful ideas, and therefore al- ways makes her appearance in some amiable suit. Here stands a warrior clad wilh crimson ; there sits a magistrate robed in scarlet ; and yonder struts a pretty fellow, that seems to have dipped his plumes in the rainbow, and glitters in all the gay colours of that resplendent arch. Some rise into a curious cup, or fall in.io a set of beaut iful bells. Sonie spread themselves in a swelling tuft, or crowd into a de- licious cluster. In sonje, the predominant stain softens by th« gentlest diminutions, till it has even fetole away frcpa itself. The eye is anni.scd at the agreeable delusion, and wo wonder to find ourselves insensibly decoyed into quite a 'diftierent lustfc; Tii others, you would think, t!»e fine tinges were emulous of pre-eminence. Disdaining to mingle, they con-- front one another w ith the resolution of rivals, de- termined to dispute the prize of beauty ; while each k improved by the opposition, iuto the hio'hest viva*;; dty of complexion, ur>;| 'ii-i.;-"-; ^.li '<.'Hi)w manifold are thrj xcorks, O' Lord ! 'Mtiltf- plfod even to a prodigy. Yet in wisdom, consum- mate wisdom, hast thou made the in all. How I admice the vaslness of the contrivance, and the ex- aciiicj^ of the execution ! Man, feeble man, with difikuhy aefom]»lishes a single work. Hardly, and aftei: muiu f(ibii?i, does he arrive at a tolerable iihitat»i(i«;;of <»(»m«' one production of nature. But, the ahnig-htv Artist .spoke millions of substances 96 EEFLECTIONS ON into instantaneous being ; the wliolc collection wonderfully various, and each individual cora- fletely perfect. Repeated experiments generally, might sayv, always discover errors or defects, in our happiest inventions. Nay, what wins our approbation at the present hour, or in this parti* cular place, is very probably in some remote pe- riod or some distant clime, treated with contempt* Whereas, these fine structures have pleased every taste in every country, for almost six thousand years. Nor has any fault been detected in the ori- ginal plan, nor any room left for the least im- provement upon the first model. All our perfor- mances, the more minutely they are scanned, the more imperfect they appear. With regard to these delicate objects, the more we search into their properties, the more we are ravished with their graces. They are sure io disclose fresh strokes of the most masterly skill, in proportion to the iittention with which the}- are examined. Nor is the simplicity of the operation less asto- nishing, than the accuracy of the workmanship o-r the infinitude of the eflfects. Should you ask, " where, and what are the materials which beau- " tify the blooming world ? What rich tints ; " what splendid dyes ; what stores of shinitkg " crayons stand by the heavenly limner, when he " pamts the robe of nature?" 'Tis answered^ Iiis powerful pencil needs no such costly apparatus. A single ])rinciple under his conducting hand, branches out into an immensity of the most varied and most finished forms. The moisture of the earth, and the circumambient air, passed through proper strainers, and disposed in a range of pel- lucid tubes ; this performs all the wonders, and produces all the beauties of vegciatiou. This creeps along the fibres of the low-spread moss, and climbs to the very tops of the lofty waving cedars. This^ A I LOWER-GARDEN. 97 attracted by the root, and circulating through in- visible canals ; this bursts into gems ; expands it- self into leaves, and clothes the forest with all its verdant honours. This one plain and simple cause, gives birth to all the charms, Avhich deck the youth and maturity of the yeai. This blushes in the early hepatica, and flames in the late advancing poppy. This reddens into blood in the veins of the mulberry, and attenuates itself into leafen gold, to create a covering for the quince. This breathes in all the fragrant gales of our garden, and weeps odorous gum in the groves of Arabia. So Tiwidcrfiil is our Creator in counsel, and so excellent in uorking. In a grove of tulips or a knot of plnks> one perceives a difference in almost every individual. Scarce any two are turned and tinctured exactly like. Each allows himself a little particularity in his dress, though all belong to one family ; so that they are various, and yet the same. A pretty emblem this, of the smaller diiferences be- tween protestant cliristians. There are modes in religion which admit of variation, without preju- dice to sound faith or real boliness : just as the drapery on these pictures of the spring, may be formed after a variety of patterns, without blem- ishing their beauty or altering their nature. Be it so then, tliat, in some points of inconsiderable consequence, .several of our brethren dissent ; yet, let us all live amicably and sociably together, for w» harmonize in priiiciples, though we vary in punc- tilios. Let us join in conversation, and intermingle interests ; discover no estrangement of behaviour, and cherish no alienation of affection. If any strife subsists, let it be to follow our divine Mas- ter most closely, in humility of heart and unblame- ableness of life. Let it be to serve «ne another most readily, in »11 the kind offices of a cordial li 98 REFLECTIONS ON friendship. Thus shall we be united, though dis- tinguished ; united in the same grand fuiTdameri- tals, though distinguished by some small eircuin- stantials ; united in one important bond of bro- therly love, though distinguished by some slighter peculiarities of sentiment. Between christians, whose judgments disagree only about a form of prayer or manner of worship, I apprehend there is no more essential difference, than between flow'ers which bloom from the same, kind of seed, but happen to be somewhat diver- sified in the mixture of their colours. Whereas, if one denies the divinity of our Lord Jesus Christ, and degrades the incarnate God to the meanness of a mere creature ; if another cries up the worthi- ness of human works, and depreciates the alone meritorious righteousness of the glorious Mediator ; if a tliird addresses the incommunicable honours to a finite being, and bows to the image or prays to the saint — these are errors extremely derogatory to the Redeemer's dignity, and not a little preju- dicial to tlie comfort of his people. Against these to remonstrate ; against these to urge every argu- ment, and use every dissuasive, bespeaks not the censorious bigot, but the friend of truth, and the lover of mankind. Whereas to stand neuter and silent, while such principles are propagated, would be an instance of criminal remissness, rather than of christian moderation. For the persons, we will not fail to maintain a tender compassion ; we will notecase to put up earnest intercessions; we will also acknowledge and love whatever is excellent and amiable in their character. Yet we dare not subscribe their creed ; we cannot remit our assiduous but kind endeavours, if by any means we may reconcile them to a more scriptural belief, and a purer worship. Another ciEGumstance recommending and en- •^♦^ A FLOWER-GARDEN. 99 dearin-o" the flowery creation, is their rcii^iilar suc- cession. They make not their appearance all at once, but in an orderly rotation. While a proper number of these obligint^ retainers arc in waiting, the others abscond ; but hold themselves in a posture of service^ ready to take their turn, and fill each his respective station the instant it be- comes vacant. The snowdrop, foremost of the lovely train, breaks her way through the frozen soil, in order to present her early compliments to her Lord. Dressed in the robe of innocency slie steps forth, fearless of danger ; long before the trees have ventured to unfold their leaves, even while the icicles are pendant on our houses. Next,, peeps out the crocus, but cautiously, and with an air of timidity. She hears the howling blasts, and skulks close to her low situation. Afraid, sheseemfe, to make large excursions from her root, while so many ruffian winds are abroad, and scour ing along the cether. Nor is the violet last in this shining embassy of the year ; which, with all the embellishments that would grace a royal garden, condescends to line our hedges, and grow at the feet of briars. Freely, and without any solicitation, she distributes the bounty of her emissive sweets ; while herself, with an exemplary humility, re- tires from sight, seeking rather to administer pleasure, than to win admiration. Emblem, ex- pressive emblem, of those modest virtues which delight to bloom in obscurity ; which extend a cheering influence to multitudes, who are scarce acquainted with the source of their comforts ! Motive, engaging motive to that ever-active be- neficence, which stays not for the importunity of the distressed, but anticipates their suit, and pre- vents them with the blessings of its goodness ! The poor polyanthus that lately adorned the bor- der with her sparkling beauties, and transplanted H 2 100 REFLECTIONS ON mto our windows, gave us a fresh eiitertaininentj is now no more. I saw her complexion fade ; I perceived her breath decay ; till at l<«ngth slic expired, and dropt into her grave. Scarce have we sustained this loss, but in comes the auricula, and more than retrieves it. Arrayed she comes in a splendid variety' of amiable forms ; with an eye of crystal, and garments of the most glossy sattin, exhaling perfume, and powdered with sil- ver. A very distinguished procession this ! The favourite care of the florist. Scarce one among them, but is dignified with a character of re- nown, or has the honour to represent some cele- brated toast. But these also, notwithstanding tlicir illustrious titles, have exhausted their whole stock of fragrance, and are mingled with the mean- est dust. Who could forbear grieving at their departur ;, did not the tulips begin to raise them- solve? on their fine wands, or stately stalks ? They flush the parterre with one of the gayest dresses that blooming nature wears. Did ever beau or belle make so gaudy an appearance in a birth-night suit ? Here, one may behold tl>e innocent wantonness of beauty. Here, she indulges a thousand freaks, and sports herself in the most cliarming diversity of colours. Yet I should wrong her were I to call her a coquet, because she plays her lovely changes, not to enkindle dis- solute affections, but to display her Creator's glory. Soon arises the anemone, incirclcd at the bottom with a spreading robe, and rounded at the top itito a beautiful dome. In its loosely flowing mantle, you may observe a noble negligetice ; in its gently bending tufts, the nicest symmetry. I would term it the fine gentleman of the garden, liccause it seems to have learnt the singular ad- fircf.s of uniting simplicity with refinement, of reconciling art and ease. The same month bus A FLOWEU-GAHDEN. 101 the merit of producing the ranunculus. All bold and g:raceful> it expands the riches of its foliage, and acquires by degrees the loveliest enamel in the world. As persons of intrinsic Avorth, disdain the superticial arts of recommendation practised by fops, so this lordly flower scorns to borrow any of its excellence from powders and essences. It needs no such attractives, to render it the darling of the curious, being sutiiciently engaging from the ele- gance of its figuVe, the radiant variety of its tinges, and a certain superior dignity of aspect. Methinks nature improves in her operations. Her latest strokes are most masterly. To crovsn Uie collection, she introduces the carnation ; which captivates every eye with a noble spread of graces, and charms another sense with a profusion of exquisite odours. This single flower has centefeise, with healing under thy wings, and transfuse thy gentle but penetrating ray through all our intel- lectual powers. Enlarge everj narrow disposition, and till us with a diffusive benevolence. Make room in our breasts for the whole human race, and teach us to love all our fellow-creatures for their amiable Creator's sake. May we be pleased with their excellencies, and rejoice in their happi- ness ; but feel their miseries as our own, and with a brother's sympathy, hasten to relieve them ! Disposed at proper distances^ I observe a range of strong and stately stalks. I'hey stand like towers along the walls of a fortified city, or rise like lofty spires amidst the group of houses. They part at the top, into several pensile spiky pods, from each of which, we shall soon see a fine figure displaying itself ; rounded into a form, which constitutes a perfect circle ; spread wide open, into the most frank and communica- tive air ; and tinged with the colour which is so peculiarly captivating to the miser's eye. But the property I chiefly admire, is its passion- ate fondness for the sun. AVhen the evening shades take place, the poor flower droops and folds up its leaves. It mourns all the long night and pines amidst the gloom, like some forlorn lover banish- ed from the object of his affections. No soorcr 115 REFLECTIONS ON does providence open " the eyelids of the morning/' but it meets and welcomes the returning light, courts and caresses it all the day, nor e\cr loses sight of the refulgent charmer, so long as he con- tinues above tlie horizon. In the morniug, you may perceive it presenting a golden bosom to the east ; at noon^ it points upward to the middle sky ; in the evenings follows the same attractive influence to the west. Surely nature is a book, and every page rich with sacred hints. To an attentive miud, the garden turns preacher ; and its bloomiug tenants, are .so many lively sermons. What an engaging pattern, and Vvhat an excellent lesson have we here ! So let the redeemed of the Lord look unto Jesus, and be conformed to their beloved. Let us all be heliotrophes (if I may use the expression) to the sun of righteousness. Let our passions rise and fall ; take this course or that ; as his word deter- mines, as h^s holy example guides. Let us be so accommodated both to his commanding and pro- vidential will, as the wax is turned to tlie im- printed seal ; or as the aspect of this eiianioured flovv^cr to the splendid star, which creates* our day. In every enjoyment, O thou watchful christian, look unto Jesus ; receive it as proceeding from his love, and purchased by his agonies. In every tribulation look unto Jesus ; mark his gracious hand, managing tlie scourge or mingling the bit- ter cup ; attempering it to a proper degree of severity ; adjusting the time of its continuance : and ready to make these seeming disasters pro- ductive of real good. lit every inhrmity and fail- ing, look unto Jesus thy merciful high-priest, pleading his atoning blood, and making interces- sion for transgressors. In every prayer look unto Jesus thy prei'siling advocate, recommending tliy A FLOWER-SARDETI. 117 devotions, ai-d •* bearing the iniquity of thy lioly " things." In every temptation look unto Josus, the authrti ofthv strength and captain of thy sal- vation ; who alone is abte to lift up the hands wliich hang down^ to invigorate the enfeebled knees, and make thee more than conqueror over all thy enemies. But especially when the hour of thy departure approaches ; when '' thy (lesh and thy heart fail ;" when ai- the springs of life are irreparably break- ing ; then look unto Jesns with a believing eye. Like expiring Stephen, behold him standing at ther right Iiand of God, on purpose to succour his people in this their last extremity. Yes, my chris- tian friend, when thy journey through life is finish- ed, and thou art arrived on the very verge of mor- tality ; when thou art just launching out into the invisible world, and all before thee is vast eternity ; then, O then, be sure to look stedfastly unto Jesus ! " See by faith the Lord's Christ." View him as the only way to the everlasting mansions, as the only door to the abodes of bliss. Yonder tree which faces the south, has some- thing too remarkable to pass without observation. Like the fruitful, though feeble vine, she brings forth a large family of branches ; but unable to support them herself, commits them to the tuition of a sunny wall. As yet, the tender twigs have scarce gemmed their future blossoms. However, I may anticipate the well-known productions, and picture to myself the passion-flower ; which will, in due time, with a long and copious succession, adorn the boughs. I have read in a Latin author, of flowers inscrib- ed with the names of kings ; but here is one em- blazoned with the marks of the bleeding prince of life. I read in the inspired writings, of apos- tolic men, who bore about in their biddies the dying of the Lord Jesus : but heie is a blooming reiigioso^ 118 REFLECTIONS ON that carries apparent n^emorials of the same ire* nieiidous and fatal catastroplie. Who would have expected to find such a tragedy of woe^ exhibited in a collection of the most delicate delights ? Or to see Calvary's horrid scene^ pourtrayed on the softest ornaments of the garden ? Is nature then ^.ctuated by tlic noble ambition of payhig com- memorative honours to her agonizing sovereign J* Is she kindly officious to remind forgcrtful mortals of that miracle of mercy, which it is their duty to contemplate, and their happiness to believe ? Or is a sportive imagination my interpreter, and all the supposed resemblance no more than the pre- carious gloss of fancy ? Be it so, yet even fancy has her merit, when she sets forth in such pleasing imagery, the crucified Jesus. Nor shall I refuse a willing regard to imagination herself, when she employs her creative powers, to revive the sense of such unparallelled love^ and prompt my gra- titude to so divine a friend. That spiral tendril, arising from the bottom of the stalk ; is it a representation of the scourge "which lashed the Redeemer's unspotted flesh, and inflicted those»stripes by which our souls are heal- ed ? Or is it twisted for the cord, which bound his hands in painful and ignominious eonfinement ? Those beneficent hands, which were incessantly stretched out to unloose the heavy burdens, and to impart blessings of every choice kind. Behold the nails which were drenched in his sacred veins, and riveted his feet to the accursed tree ; those beautiful feet, which always went about doing g:ood, and travelled far and near to spread the glad tidings of everlasting salvation. See the ham- mer, ponderous and massy, which drove the rugged irons through the shivering nerves, and forced a passage for those dreadful wedges, between the dis- located bones. View the t]|^orns which incircle4 A FLOWER-GARDEN, 119 Oiir royal Master's brow, aiid shot their keen af- flictive points into his blesj-ed head. O the smart! the racking smart ! when instead of the triumphal laurel or the odoriferous garland, that pungent and ragged wreath, was planted on the meek Mes- siah's forehead ! When violent and barbarous blows of the strong eastern cane, struck the prickly crown, and fixed every thorn deep in his throbbing temples ! There stand the disciplea, ranged in the green impalement, and forming a circle round the instruments of their great commander's death. They appear like so many faithful adherents, who breathe a gallant resolution, either of defending their Lord to the last extremity, or of dropping honourably by his sitle. But did they give such proofs of zeal and fidelity in their conduct, as their steady posture, and determined aspect seemed to promise ? Alas ! what is all human firmness when destitute of succours from above, but an expiriiig vapour ? What is every saint if unsupported by powerful grace, but an abandoned traitor ? Ob- serve the glory delineated in double rays, grand with imperial ipurp'le, and rich with ethereal blue. But ah ! how incapable are threads, though spun by summer's finest hand ; though dyed in snows, or dipped in heaven ; to display the immaetilate excellency of his human, or the ineffable majesty of his divine nature ! Compared with ihcse sub- lime perfections, the most vivid assemblage of co- lours fades into an unmeaning flatness ; the most charming effects of light and shade, are not only mere danbings, but an absolute blank. Among all the beauties which shine in sunny robes, and sip the silver dews ; this, I thii.k, has the noblest import if not the finest presence. Were they all to pass in review, and expect the award cf superiority from my decision ; I should not hesi- tate a, moment. Be the prize assigi:cd to this aini- 120 EEFLECTIONS OH able candidate ; >vhicli has so eminently distinguish- ed, and so highly dignified herself by bearing such a remarkable resemblance to '" the righteous branch ; ^' the plant of renown." While others appoint it a place in the parterre ; I would transplant the passion-flower^ or rather transfer its sacred s.ig- nificancy to my heart. There let it bloom both in summer and in winter : bloom in the most impres- sive characters, and with an undecaying lustre. That I may also wear — wear on my very soul, the traces of Immanuel, pierced for my sins and bruised for my transgressions. That I also may be crucified with Christ, at least in penitential remorse and af- fectionate sympathy. That I may know the fel- lowship of his sufferings, and ieel all my evil affections wounded by his agonies, mortified by his death. There is another gubject of the verdant kingdom, v.liich, on account of its very uncommon qualities, (demands mv particular notice. One, so extremely diffident in her disposition, and delicate in her con- stitution, that she dares not venture herself abroad in the open air ; but is nursed up in the warmth of a hot bed, and lives cloistered in the cells of a green^ house. But the most curious pecularity is, that of all her kindred species, slie alone partakes of perceptive life ; at least advances nearest to this more exalted state of being, and may be looked upon as the link which connects the animal and the vegetable world. A stranger observing her mo- tions, would almost be induced to suspect that she is endued with some inferior degrees of conscious- ness and caution : for if you offer to handle this sensitive plant, she immediately takes an alarm ; hastily contracts her fibres ; and like a person apprehensive of violence, witlidraws from your finger in a kind of precipitate disorder. Perhaps the beauty of her aspect might be sullied, or the A FLOWER-GARDEN. J2l nicefless of hex texiure discomposed bv the human touch Therefore like a cc-y \irgiii> she recedes from all unbecoming faviiiiiaritics, and wiii admit no such improper^, if not pernicious freedoms Whatever be the cause of this unusual effect, it suggests an instructive admonition to the chris- tian. Such should be our apprehensive timorous care with regard to sin, and all, even the most dis- tant, approaches of vice. So should we avoid the very appearance of evil, and stand aloof from every occasion of fiilling. If sinners entice ; if for- bidden pleasures tempt ; or if opportunity beckoa with the gain of injustice in her hand ; O ! turn from the gilded snare ; touch net the beauteous banc ; but fly, fly with haste, fly without any de- lay from the bewitching ruin. Does anger draw near with her lighted torch, to kindle the flame of resentment in our breasts ? Does flattery ply our ears with her enchanting and intoxicating whispers ? Would discontent lay her leaden hand upon our temper, ai;d mould into our minds her sour leven, in order to make us a burden to our- selves, and unamiable to otliers ? Instantly let us divert our attention from tlie dangerous objects, and not so much endeavour to antidote, as to shun ed "with verdure, or finely smoothed and coated v' ith gravel. The alleys, arched with shades, to em- bower our noon-tide repose, or thrown open for the free accession of air to invite us to our eveiiing recreation.. The decent edgings of box, which enclose like a plain selvage, each beautiful com- partment, and its splendid figures. The shapely evergreens and flowery shrubs, which strike the eye, and appear with peculiar dignity in this dis- tant situation. The bason, with its crystal foinit floating in the centre, and diftusing an agreeable freshness through the whole ; the waters, falling from a remote cascade, and t,ently murmuring a^ they How along the pebbles : — these, added to the rest, and also disposed, that each recommends and endears each ; render the whole a most sweet ra- vishing scene of order and variety, of elegance and magnificence. From so many lovely prospects clustering upon flie sight, it is impossible not to be reminded of heaven. That world of bliss ; those regions of light ; where trxe Lamb that was slain manifests his beatific presence, and his saints live for ever- more. But O ! what jjencil can sketch out a draught of that goodly land ! What colours or what style, can express the splendors of Immanuel's kingdom ! Would some celestial ^uiud draw aside the veil but for one moment, and permit us to throw a single gla-j^c^ oh those divine abodes ; how would all sublunar}' possessions become tarrished in our eves, and grow flat upon our taste ! A glimpse, a transient glimpse of th'jse unutterable beatiUules, would captivate our souls, and en- gross all tbeir faculties. Eden itself, after such a vision, would app-ear a cheerless desart ; and all earthly chamis, intoleralile deformity. Very excellent things are spoken of thee, thou ciiy of God. Volumes have been written, and those by inspired men, to display the wonders of thy perfections. All that is rich and resplendent in the visible creation, has been called hi to aid our conceptions, and elevate our ideas. But in- deed, no tongue can utter ; no pen can describe ; no fancy can imagine ; what God of his un- bounded munificence, has prepared for them that love him. • Seeing then that all terrestrial things must come to a speedy end, and there remaineth a rest, a blissful and everlasthig rest for the people of God ; let me never be too fondly attached to any present satisfactions. Weaned from whatever is temporal, may I maintain a superior indifference for such transitory enjoyments ; but long, long e-arnestly, for the mansions that are above, the paradise " which the Lord hath planted, and " not man," Thither may I transmit the chief of my conversation, and from thence expect the whole of my happiness. Be that the sacred, pow- erful maii,net, which ever influences my heart, ever attracts my affections. ITiere, are such tran- scendent glories as eye has not seen : there, are such transporting pleasures as ear has not heard : tli< re is such a fulness of joys as the thought oi man cannot conceive. Into that consummate felicity, those eternal (Vuitions, permit me Madam, to wi'^h you in due ^ime, an abundant entrance ; and to assure jo a 134 EEFLECTIONS Q^ i that this wish is breathed with the same sii^- " cerity and ardor, for my honoured correspondent;, ^1 it is, MadanOj for Ygur most ohedientt ^c. J. Hsm^HY* DESCANT UPON CREATION. 1 O know the love of Christ ; io have such a deep apprehension of his unspeakable kindness, a§ , may produce in our hearts an adoring gratitude, and an unfeigned faith ; this, according io St^ Paul's estimate, is the highest and happiest attain- ment in the sacred science of Christianity. What follows, is an attempt to assist the attentive mind, in learning a line or two of that best and greateit lesson. It introduces the most conspicuous partg of the visible system, as so many prompters to our dull aifections, each suggesting a hint adapted to the important occasion, and suited to its respec* tive character. Can there be a more powerful incentive to devout gratitude, than to consider the magnificent and delicate scenes of the universe, with a particular reference to Christ as the Creator ? Every object viewed in this light, will surely administer iuces- •ant recruits, to the janguishing lamp of divine 136 A DESCANT ; ■'■■ . , * love. Every production m nature v>\\\ strike $ bpark into the soul, and the whole creation ^cncul to raise the smoking flax into a flame. Can any thing impart a stronger joy to the be- liever, or more effectually confirm his faith m the crucified Jesus ; than to behold the heavens de- claring his glory, and the firmament shewing his handy work ? Surely it must be matter of inex- pressible consolation to the poor sinner, to observe the honours of his Redeemer, written with sun- beams, over all the face of the w^orld. We delight to read an account of our incarnate Jehovah, as he is revealed in the books of Mo- ses and the prophets, as he is displayed in the "writings of the evangelists and apostles. Let us also endeavour to see a sketch of his perfections, as they stand delineated in that stately volume, ■where every leaf is a spacious plain ; every line a flowing brook ; every period a lofty mountain. Should any of my readers be unexercised in such speculations, I beg leave (in pursuance of my promise) to present them with a specimen ; or to offer a clue, which may possibly lead their minds into this most improving and delightful train of thinking. Should any be inclined to suspect the solidity of the following; observations, or to condemn them as the voice of rant, and the lawless flight of fancy ; I must jntreat such persons to recollect, that the grand doctrine, the hinge on which they all turn, is warranted and estaljlished by the unanimous tes- timoiiy of the inspired penmen, who frequently ce- lebrate Iramanuel> or Christ Jesus, as the great almighty cause of all ; assurmg us, thai, all things -:;icere created bij him, audfor him ; ind that in him all things consist. On such a subject^ what is wonderful is far from being extravagant. To be "vyonderful, is the in- fl^ON CREATION. ^ 13? separable cliaracteristic of God and his works, especially of that most distinguished and glorious even of the divine works, Redemption. So glo- rious^ that " all the miracles in Egypt, and the *' marvellous acts in the field of Zoan ;" all that the Jewish annals have recorded, or the human ear has heard ; all dwindle into trivial events, are iscarce worthy to be remembered, in comparisoai of this infinitely grand and infinitely gracious transaction. Kindled, therefore, into pleasing as- tonishment, by such a survey, let me give full scope to my meditations. Let me pour out my whole soul on the boundless subject, not much re- garding the limits, which cold criticism, or colder unbelief, might prescribe. O ye angels that surround the throne ; ye princes of heaven, '" that excel in strength" and are clothed with transcendent brightness ; he who placed vou in those stations of exalted honour, and dignified your nature with sucli illustrious endowments ; he whom you all obey and all adore : he took not on him the angelic form, but was made flesh, and found in fashion as a man. Like us wretched mor- tals, he was subject to weariness, pain, and every infirmity, sin only excepted ; that we miglit one day, be raised to your sublime abodes ; be adopted into your blissful society ; and join with your transported choir, in giving glory to Him that sitteth upon the throne, and to the Lamb for ever and ever. O ye heavens, whose azure arches rise immense- ly high, and stretch unmeasurably wide. Stupen- dous amphitheatre ! amidst whose vast expansive circuit, orbs of the most dreadful grandeur are perpetually running their amazing races. Un- fathomable depths of aether ! where worlds unnum- bered float ; and to our limited sight, worlds un- numbered are lost. He who adjusted your dimen- 138 A DESCANT slons with his span, and formed the magiiiJBcent structure with Lis word ; he was once wrapt in swaddling clothes, and laid in a manger ; that the benefits accruing to his people through his most meritorious humiliation, might have no other mea- sure of their value than immensity ; might run parallel, in their duration with eternity. Ye stars ; that beam with inextinguishable brilliancy, through the midnight sky. Oceans of flame, and ctitres of worlds, through seemingly little points of light ! He who shone with essential effulgence innumerable ages, before your twinkling tapers were kindled, and will shine v/ith everlasting majesty and beauty, when your places in the fir- mament shall be known no more. He was invol- ved for many, in the deepest obscurity ; lay con- cealed in the contemptible city Nazareth ; lay disguised under the mean habit of a carpenter's son ; that he might plant the heavens as it were with new constellations, and array these clods of earth, these houses of clay, with a radiancy far superior to yours ; a radiancy which will adorn the very heaven of heavens, when you shall vanish away like smoke ; or ex^pire as momentary sparks from the smitten steel. Comets that sometimes shoot into the illimitable tracts of ffither, farther than the discernment of our eye is able to follow ; sometimes return from the long, long excursion, and sweep our affrighted hemisphere with your enormous fiery train, that sometimes make near approaches to the sun, and burn almost in his imiiiediate beams ; sometimes retire to the remotest distance, and freeze for ages, in the excessive rigours of winter. He, who at his sovereign pleasure withdraws the blazijig won- der, or leads forth the portentous stranger io shake terror over guilty kingdoms ; he was overwhehnexl with the most shocking amazement) and plunged UPON CREATION 13^9 Into the deepest anxictv ; Mas chilled with* appre- hensions of fear, and scorched by the flames of avenging wrath ; that I, and other depraved re- bellious creatures, might not be eternally agitated with the extremes of jarring passions ; opposite, 3et on either side tormenting ; far more torment- ing to the soul, than the severest degrees of your lieat and cold to the human sense Ye planets, that winged with unimaginable speed, traverse the regions of the sky ; sometimes elimbing millions and millions of miles above, sometimes descending as far below the great axle of vour motions. Ye that are so minutely faith- ful to the vicissitudes of day and night; so ex- actly punctual in bringing on the changes of your respective seasons. He who launched you at first from his mighty arm ; who continually impels you with such wonderful rapidity, and guides you with such perfect regularity ; who fixes " the ha- bitation of his holiness juid his glory," infinite heights above your scanty rounds. He once be- came a helpless infant ; sojourned in our inferior world ; fled from the persecutor's sword ; and wandered as a vagabond in a foreign land, that he might lead our feet into the way of peace, that he might bring us aliens near to God, bring us exiles home to heaven. Thou Sim, inexhausted source of light, and heat, and comfort; who without the assistance of any other fire, sheddcst day through a thousand realms, and not confining thy munificence to realms only, exfendcst thy enlightening influences to surround- ing worlds. Prime cheerer of the animal, and great enlivener of the vegetable tribes ! So beau- tiful in thyself, so beneficial in thy eflects, that errmg heathens addressed thee wiih adorations, and mistook thee for thy Maker ! lie who filled thy orb with a profusion of lustre ; before whom 140 A BESCANT Iby mrridiiin splendors are but a shade : he divest- ed himself of his all-traiiseendiiig distinctions, and drew a veil over the effulgence of his divinity ; that by speaking to us face to face, as a mair speak- eth unto his friend, he might dispel our intellectual ciarkiicss. His " visage was marred/' and he be- eame the scorn of men, the outcast of the people ; that by this Irani festation of his unutterably tendti" regard for our welfare, he might diffuse* many a gleam of joy through our dejected minds ; that in another state of things, he might clothe even our fallen liature, with the honours of that magnifi- cent luminary ; and give all the righteous to shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Thou moon, that walkest among the host of stars, and in thy lucid appearance art superior to them all. Fair ruler of the night ! Sometimes half- restoring the di^y, with thy waxing brightness ; sometimes waniig into dimness, and scarcely scat- tering. the nocturnal gloom; sometimes covered "with sackcloth^ and alarming ihe gazing natioiis. He who dresses thy opaque globe, in beaming, but borrow, ed silver ; he whose dignity is unchangeable, under ived, and all his own ; he vouchsafed to wear a body of clay; he was content to appear as in a bloody eclipse, shorn of his resplendent beams, and surrounded with a night of horror, which knew not one reviving ray. Thus has he im pow- ered his church and all believers, to tread the moon uiider their feet. Hence inspired with the hope of brighter glory^ and of moie enduring bliss, are they enabled to triumph over all the vain anxieties, and vainer arausemtnts of this sub- lunary, precarious, mutual world. Ye thunders, that awfully grumbling in the dis- tant clouds, seem to meditate indignation, aird form the first essays of a far more frightful peal ; or suddenly bursting over our heads, rend the vault UPON CREATION. 141 above, and shake the ground below, with the hi- deous, honid crack. Ye that send jour tremen- dous vollies from pole to pole^ slartlhig tiie sa- vage he-rds, and astonishing the liuman race. He who permits terror to sound her trumpet in your deep, prolonged, enlarging, aggravated roar : he uttered a feeble infantile cry in the stable, anfl strong expiring groans on the accursed tree; that he niiglit in the gentlest accents^ whisper peace to our souls, and at length tune our voices to the melody of heaven. O ye lightnings, that brood and lie couchant in the sulphureous vapours ; that glance with fork- ed fury from the angry gloom, swifter and fiercer than the lion rushes from his den ; or open into vast expansive sheets of flame, sublimely waved over the prostrate world, and fearfully lingering in the affrighted skies. Ye that formerly laid i?i ashes the licentious abodes of lust and violence ; that will, ere long, set on fire the elements, ai\d co-operate in the conflagration of the globe. He who kindles your flash, and directs you when to sally and where to strike ; he who commissions your whirling bolts, whom to kill and whom to si)are : he resigned his sacred person to the most barbarous indignities ; submitted his beneficent hands to the ponderous hammer and the piercing nail ; yea,with-held not his heart, his very heart, from the stab of the executioner's spear. And in-: stead of flashing confusion on his outrageous tor- mentors ; instead of plunging them to the depths of hell with his frown, lie cried — in his hist mo- ments and with his agonizing lips, he cried. Father forgive them, fur thcij know not what they do. O ! what a pattern of patience for his saints ! What an object of admiration for angels ! What a con- stellation of every mild, amiable, and benign vir- tue ; shilling in this hour of darkness, with inefl'a- 143 A DESCANt ble splendor and beauty ! Hence, hence it is, ihsii we are not trembling under the lightnings of mount Sinai ; that we are not blasted by the flames of divine vengeance, or doomed to dwell with ever- lasting burnings. Ye frowning wintry clouds ; oceans pendent in the air, and burdening the winds. He in whose hand yo-u are an overflowing scourge, or by whose appointment an arsenal of warlike stores. He who opens your sluices, and a flood gushes forth, to destroy the fruits of the earth, and drown the hus- bandman's hopes ; who moulds you into frozen balls, and you are shot linked with death, on the troops of his enemies. He, instead of discharging the furiousness of his vv^rath upon this guilty head, poured out his prayers, poured out his sighg^ poured out his very soul, for me and my fellow- transgressors ; that by virtue of his inestimable propitiation, the overflowings of divine good-will might be extended to sinful men ; that the skiei might pour down righteousness, and peace on her downy wings, peace with her balmy blessings, de-* scend to dwell on earth. Ye vernal clouds ; furls of finer air ; folds of softer moisture. He who draws vou in copious ex-^ halations from the briny deep, bids you leave every distasteful quality behind, and become floating fountains of sweetest waters. He who dissolves jou into gentle rain, and dismisses you in fruitful showers ; who kindly commissions you to drop down fatness as you fall, and to scatter fios?ver^ over the field. He, in the unutterable bitterness of his spirit, was without any comfovtmg sense of his almighty Father's presence. He, when his bones were burnt up like a firebiand, had not one drop of that sacred consolation, which, on many of his afliicted servants, has been distilled as the evening dews, and has " given songs iu the night'* UPON CREATION 143 of distress ; that from this unallajed and incon- aolable anf injurious treatment. Thus, are we deliViered from the unutterable fiercer storms of incensed and inexorable justice^ from the " fire, tlie brimstone*, *' and the horrible tempest, which will be the final " portion of the ungodly." Thou pestilence, that scatterest ten thousand poisons from_ thy baleful wings ; tainting the air^ and infecting the nations. Under whose malignant influence, joy is blasted, and nature sickens ; mighty regions are depopulated, and once crowded cities are left without inhabitants. He who arms thee with inevitable destruction, and bids thee? march before his angry countenance, to spread desolation among the tents of the wicked, and be the forerunner of far more fearful indignation. He, in his holy humanity, was arraigned as a criminal ; and though innocence itself, yea, the very pattern of perfection, was condemned to die, like the most execrable miscreant, as a nuisance to society, and the very bane of public happiness ; he was hurried away to execution, and hammered to the gibbet, that by his blood he might prepare a sovereign medicine, to cure us of a more fatal distemper than the pestilence which wal'keth iii darlviiess, or the sickness which destroyeth at noon- day ; that he, might himself say to our last enemy, ^*" () death. I will be thy plague ; O grave, I will "be thy destruction." Heat, whose burning influence parches the li- hyan wilds ; tans into soot the Ethiopian's complex- ion ; and makes every species of life pant, and droop, and languish. Cold, whose icy breath glazes yearly the Russian seas ; often glues the fro- zen sailor to the cordage ; and stiifens the traveller into a statue of rigid flesh. He, who sometimes blends you both, and produces the most agreeable temperature; sometimes sufiers you to act sepa- rately, and rage with intolerable se\erity. That UPON OREATIOM. 145 King of heaven^ and controller of universal na- ture, when dwelling in a tabernacle of clay, was exposed to chilling damps^ and smitten with sul- try beams The stars in their midnight watches, heard him pray ; and the sun in his meridian fer- vours saw him toil. Hence are our frozen hearts dissolved into a mingled flow of wonder, love, and Joy, being conscious of a deliverance from those insutferable flames, which kindled by divine indig- nation, burn to the lowest hell. Thou ocean, vast world of waters ! He who sunk that capacious bed for tliy reception, and pour- ed the liquid element into unfathomable channels ; before whom, all thy foaming billows and floating mountains, are as the small drop of a bucket ; who by the least intimation of his will, swells thy fluid kk'.gdoms in wild confusion, to mingle with the tiouds, or reduces them in calm composure, to slumber on the shores. He who once gave thee a warrant to overwhelm the whole earth, and bury all its degenerate inhabitants in a watery grave, but has now laid an everlasting embargo on thy boisterous waves, and bound thee all fierce and madding as thou art, in chains stronger than ada- mant, yet formed of despicable sand. All the waves of vengeance and wrath, of tribulation and anguish, passed over His crucified body and His agonizing soul ; that we might emerge from those dcptlis of misery ; from that abjss of guilt, into which we were plunged by Adam's fall, and more irretrievably sunk by our own transgressions ; that at the last wc might be restored to that happy world, which is represented in the vision of GOd, as having *' no sea" to devote its perpetual stability, and undisturbed serenity. Ye mountains, that overlook the clouds, and project a shade into distant provinces. Everlasting pyramids of nature, not to be shaken by conflicting I. 146 A DESCANT elements ; not to be shattered by the bolts of thun- der ; not impaired even by the ravages of time. He who bid your ridges rise so high, and your foun- dations stand 60 fast. He in whose scale you are lighter than dust, in whose eye you are less than nothing ; he sunk beneath a load of woes, w oea insupportable, but not his own; when he took our hiiquitiea upon himself, and heaved the more than mountainous burden from a guilty w^orld. Ye verdant woods, that crown onr hills, and are crowned yourselves with leafy honours. Ye hum- ble shrubs, adorned in spring with opening blos- soms, and fanned in summer^, by gentle' gales. Ye, that in distant climes, or in cultivated gardens, breathe out spicy odours, and embalm the air with delightful perfumes. Your all-glorious and ever- blessed Creator's head, was incircled w ith the thor- ny wrath ; his face was defiled with contumelious spitting, and his body bathed in a bloody sweat ; that we might wear the crown, the crown of glory which fad-eth not away ; and live for evermore sur- rounded with delights as much surpassing yours, as yours exceed the rugged desolations of win- ter. Thou mantling vine ; he who hangs on thy slen- der shoots, the rich, transparent, weighty cluster. Who, under thy unornamented foliage, and amidst the pores of thy otherwise worthless bough, pre-^ pares the liquor, the refined and exalted liquor, "which cheers the nations, and fills the cup of joy. Trees, whose branches are elevated and waving in air, or diffused in easy confinement along a sunny ■wall. He who bends you with a lovely burden of delicious fruits, whose genial warmth beautiiics their rind, and mellows their taste : — he, when vo- luntarily subject to our wants, instead of being re- freshed with your generous juices, or regaled with y©ur luscious pulp j had a loathsome potion of iUPON CREATION. 147 vinegar mingled with galL addressed to his lips ; that we might sit under the shadow of his merits,, with great tranquillity and the utmost complacency ;; that ere long being admitted into the paradise of GoiT, we might eat of the tree of life, and drink new wine with him in his Father's kingdom. Ye luxuriant meadows ; he who without the seedsman's industry replenishes your irriguous lap with never-failing crops of herbage, and enamels their cheerful green with flowers of every hue. Ye fertile fields ; he who blesses the labours of the husbandman, enriches your well-tilled plains with waving harvests, and calls forth the staff of life from- your furrows. He who causes both meadows and fields to laugh and sing for the abundance of plenty : — he was no stranger to corroding hun- ger and parching thirst. He, alas ! eat the bitter bread of woe. and had " plenteousness of tears " to drink ;" that we might partake of ticher dain- ties than those which are produced by the dew of lieaven, and proceed from the fatness of the earth ; that we might feed on " the hidden manna," and eat the bread which giveth life, eternal life, unto the world. Ye mines, rich in yellow ore, or bright with veins of silver ; that distribute your shining treasures as far as winds can waft the vessel of commerce; that bestow your alms on monarchs, and have princes for your pensioners. Ye beds of gems, toy-shops of nature ! which form, in dark retire- ment, the glittering stone. Diamonds that sparkle with a brilliant water ; rubies that glow with a crimson flame ; emeralds dipped in the freshest verdure of spring ; sapphires decked with the fairest drapery of the sky ; topaz emblazed with a golden gleam ; amethyst impurpled with the blushes of the mornhig. He who tinctures the inel«iUc dust, and consolidates tlie lucid drop.7 L 2 148 A DESCANT He, when sojournuig on earth, had no riches, but the riches of disinterested benevolence ; had no or- nament, but the ornament of unspotted purity. Poor he was in bis circumstances, and mean in all liis accommodations, that we might be rich in grace, and " obtaiu salvation with eternal glory ;" that we might inhabit the new Jerusalem, that splendid city, whose streets are paved with gold ; whose gates arc formed of pearl ; and the walls garnished with all manner of precious stones. Ye gushing fouAtains that trickle portable sil- ver through the matted grass. Ye fine transparent streams, that glide in crystal waves along your fringed banks. Ye deep and stately rivers, that wind and wander in your course, to spread your favours wider ; that gladden kingdoms in your progress, and augment the sea with your tribute. He, who supplies all your currents from his own everflowing and inexhaustible liberality ; he, when his nerves were racked with exquisite pain, and his blood inflamed by a raging fever, cried, I tliirst, and was denied ( unparallelled hardship ! ) in this his great extremity, was denied the poor refre§h- ment of a single drop of water ; that we having all-sufficiency in all things, might abound to every good work ; might be filled with the fulness of spiritual blessings here, and hereafter be satisfied with that fulness of joy, which is at God's right- hand for evermore. Ye birds, cheerful tenants of the bough, gaily dressed in glossy plumage ; wfio wake the morn and solace the groves with your artless lays. In- imitable architects ! who, without rule or line, build your pensile structures with all the nicety of .proportion. You have each his commodious nest^ roofed with shades and lined with warmth, to pro- tect and cherish the callow brood. But he who timed your throats to harmony, and taught you that UPON CREATION. 149 curious skill ; he was a man of sorrows, and bad not where to lay his head. Had not where to lay his head, till he felt the pangs of dissolution^ and was laid in the silent grave : that we, dwelling under the wings of omnipotence, and resting in the bosom of infinite love, might spend an harmonious eternity, in " singing the song of Moses and of " the Lamb." Bees, industrious workmen ! that sweep with busy wing the flowery garden, and search the bloom- ing heath, and sip the mellifluous dews. Strangers to idleness ! that ply with incessant assiduity your pleasing ^task, and sufibr no opening blossom to pass unexplored, no sunny gleam to slip away un- improved. Most ingenious artificers ! that cling to tlie fragrant buds ; drain them of their treasured sweets ; and extract ( if I may so speak ) even the odoriferous souls of herbs, and plants, and flowers. You, when you have completed your work ; haye collected, refined, and securely lodged the ambro- sial stores : when you might reasonably expect the peaceful fruition of your acquisitions, you, alas ! are barbarously destroyed, and leave your hoarded delicacies to others; leave them to be enjoyed by your very murderers. I cannot but pity your hard destiny ! How then should my bowels melt with sympathy, and my eyes flow with tears ; when I remember that thus, thus it fared with your and our incarnate Maker ! After a life of the most exemplary and exalted piety ; a life filled with of- fices of beneficence and labours of love ; he was by wicked hands crucified and slain. He left the honey of his toil, the balm of his blood, and the riches of his obedience, to be sbared among others ; to be shared even among those who too often cru- cify him afresh, and put him to open shame. Shall I mention the animal which spins her soft, her shining, her exquisitely fine tiikcn thread J I50 A DESCANT 'whose matchless njaniifacfurcs lend an ornament io grandeur^ and make royalty itself mere magnificent. Shall I take notice of the celL in which; when the ffaiety and business of life are over^ the little recluse immures herself, and spends the remainder of her days in retirement ? Shall I rather ohserve the se- pulchre, which, when cloyed with pleasure, and Veary of the world, she prepares for her own in- terment ? Or how, when a stated period is elapsed, she wakes from a death-like inactivity ; breaks the inclosure of her tomb ; throws off the dusky shroud ; iassumes a new form ; puts on a more sumptuous array; and from an insect creeping on the ground, becomes a winged inhabitant of the air ? No ; this is a poor reptile, and therefore unworthy to serve as an illustration, when any character of the Son of God comes under consideration. But let me eorrect myself. Was not Christ (to use the language of his own blessed Spirit) a worm, and no^man ? in appearance such, apd treated as such. Did he not also bequeath the fine linen of his own most perfect righteousness, to compose the mar- riage garment for our disarrayed and defiled souls ? Did he not before his flesh saw corruption, emerge triumphant from the grave, and not only mount the lower firmament, but ascend the heaven of heavens, taking possession of those sublime abodes, in our name, and as our forerunner ? Ye cattle that rest in your inclosed pastures ; yc beasts that range the unliir.ited forest ; yc fish that rove through trackless paths of the sea. Sheep, clad in garments, which when left by you are worn by kings. Kine, who feed on verdure, which trans- muted in your bodies and strained from udders, furnishes a repast for queens. Lions, roarhig after your prey. Leviathan, taking your pastime in the great deep ; with all that wing the firmament, or irc^d the soil, or swim the wave. He who spread^ UPON CREATION. 151 his ever hospitable board ; ^vho admits you all to be his continual guests ; and suffers you to want no manner of thing; that is good. — -He was destitute, afflicted, tormented ; he endured ull that was miserable and reproachful, in order to exalt a degenerate race, who had debased themselves to a level with the beasts that perish, unto feats of dis- tinguished and immortal honour ; in order to in- troduce the slaves of sin and heirs of hell, into man- sions of consummate and everlasting bliss. Surely the contemplation of such a subject, and the distant anticipation of such a hope^ may al- most turn earth into heaven, and make even inani- mate nature vocal with praise. Let it then break forth from every creature. Let the meanest feel the inspiring impulse ; let the greatest acknowledge themselves unable worthily to express the stupen- dous goodness. Praise IIiM ye insects that crawl on the ground, who, though high abov« all height, humbled him- «elfto dwell in dust. Birds of the air, waft on your wings, and warble in your notes His praise ; who, though Lord of the celestial abodes, while sojourning on earth, wanted a shelter commodious as your nests. Ye rougher world of brutes, join with the gentle songsters of the shade, and howl to Him your hoarse applause ; who breaks the jaw-bones of the infernal lion ; who softens irtto mildness the savage disposition ; and bids the wolf lie down in amicable agreement with the lamb. Bleat out ye hills, let broader lows be responsive from the vales ; ye forests catch, and ye rocks re- tain the inarticulate hymn, because Messiah the Prince feeds his flock like a shepherd ; }ie gathers the lamhs -with his arm ; he carries them in Jtis ho- som ; and gently leads those that arc xvith young Wave, ye stately cedars in sign of worship, wave your branching beads to Him, who meekly boweti 152 A. DESCANT his own on the accursed tree. Pleasing prospects, scenes of beauty, wljore nicest art conspires ^^itli lavish nature to. form a paradise below ; lay forth all your charms, and in all your charms confess yourselves a mere blank compared with his ami- ablenesSj who is " fairest among ten thousand, and ^' altogether lovely." Drop down ye showers, and testify as you fall ; testify of His grace, which de- scends more copiously than the rain, distils more sweetly than the dew. Let sighing gales ])reathe, and murmuring rivulets flow ; breathe and flow in harmonious consonance to Him, whose Spirit is far more reviving, than the cooling breeze ; who is himself the fountain of living waters. Ye lightnings blaze His honour ; ye thunders, sound His praise ; Vr'hile reverberating clouds re- turn the roar, and bellowing oceans propagate the tremendous anthem. Mutest of creatures, add your silent oratory, and display the triumphs of His meek- ness ; who, though he maketh the clouds his cha- riot, a.:d treadeth upon the waves of the sea ; though the thunder is his voice, and tlie lightning his sword of justice; yet amidst the most abusive and cruel injuries, was submissive and lifted not his hand, " was dumb and opened not his mouth." Great source of day, address thy radiant homage to a far sublimer sun. Write in all thy ample round, with every lucid beam, O ! write a testimo- ny to Him, who is the brightness of his Father's glory ; who is the Sun of righteousness to a sinful world ; and is risen never to go down ; is risen to be our everlasting light. Shine clear, ye skies ; look gay, thou earth ; let the floods clap their hands, and let every creature wear a smile ; for he Cometh, iho. Creator himself cometh, to be mani- fested in the flesh ; and with him comes pardon, peace, and joy; every virtue and all felicity comes in his train. Angels and archangels, let your songs UPON CllEATION 153 be of Jesus/ and teach the very heavens to cclio with his adored and majestic name. Ye beheld him with greater transports of admiration, when you attended his agony in the garden, and saw him prostrate on the ground ; than when you be- held universal nature rising at his call, and saw the wonders of his creating might. Tune to loftiest notes your golden harps, and waken raptures, un- known before even in heavenly breasts ; while all that has breath, swells the concert of harmony, and all that has being, unites in the tribute of praise. Chiefly let man exalt his voice ; let man with distinguished hosannas, hail the Redeemer. Fdr man, he was str> tched on the racking cross; for man, he was consigned to the gloomy sepulchre ; for man, he procured grace unmeasurable, and bliss inconceivable. However different, therefore, in your age, or more different in your circumstances ; be un- animous, O men, in magnifying a Saviour, who is no respecter of persons, who gave himself a ransom for all. Bend, ye kings, from your thrones of ivo- ry and gold ; in your robes of imperial purple, fall prostrate at His feet, who forsook a nobler throne, and laid aside more illustrious ensigns of majesty ; that you might reign with God for ever and ever. Children of poverty, meanest of mortals (if any can be called poor, who are thus enriched ; if any can be accounted mean, who are thus ennobled;) re- joice, greatly rejoice, in God your Saviour ; who chose to be indigent ; was willing to be contemned ; that you might be intitled to the treasures, and be numbered with the princes of 'heaven. Sons of affliction, though harassed with pain, and inured to anguish, O ! change your groan* into songs of gratitude. Let no complaining voice, no jarring string be heard in the universal sympho- ny ; but glorify the Lamb even m the frcb', who biraself bore greater torment than you feci; and 154 A DESCANT has promised you a share in the joy which he in* herits ; who has made your suflerings short, and •will make your rest eternal. Men of hoary locks, bending heneath a weight of years^, and tottering on the brink of the grave ! let Christ be your sup- port under all infirmities ; lean upon Christ as the rock of your salvation. Let his name, his precious . jiame^ form the last accents which quiver on your ' pale expiring lips. And let this be the first that lisps on your tongues, ye tender infants. Remem- ber your Redeemer in your earliest moments. De- vote the choice of your hours to the learning of his will ; and the chief of your strength to the glori- fying of His name ; who, in the perfection of health and the very prime of manhood, was content to be- come a motionless and ghastly corpse ; that you might be girt with the vigour, and clothed with the bloom of eternal youth. Ye spirits of just men made perfect who are re- leased from the burden of the flesh ; and freed from all the vexatious solicitations of corruption in your- selves ; delivered from all tlie injurious effects of iniquity in others. Who sojourn no longer in the tents of strife, or territories of disorder ; but are received into that pure, harmonious, holy society, where every one acts up to his amiable and exalt- ed character ; where God himself is pleased gra- ciously and immediately to preside. You find, not •without pleasing astonishment, your hopes improv- ed into actual enjoyment, and your faith super- seded by the beatific vision. You feel all your former shyness of behaviour, happily, lost in the overflowings of unbounded love ; and all your little differences of opinion, intirely borne down by tides of inv-ariable truth. Bless, therefore, with all your enlarged powers, bless his infinitely larger goodness ; who, when he had overcome the sharp- ness of death, opened the gates of paradise, opened UPON CREATIOT* 155 the kingdom of heaven to all generations, and to every denomination of the faithful. Ye men of holy conversation and humble tempers, think of Him who loved you, and washed you from your sins in his own blood. Think of him on your silent couch, talk of him in every social interview. Glory in his excellencies ; make your boast of his obedience ; and add, still coiitinue to add, the in- cense of a dutiful life, to all the oblations of a grateful tongue. Weakest of believers, who go mourning under a sense of guilt, and conflicting "with the ceaseless assaults of temptation ; put off your sackcloth, and be girdee Lamb " that was " slain, but is alive for evermore." Teach every sacred roof to resound with his fame, and every hu- man heart to glow with his love. Declare, as far as the force of words will go, declare the inex- haustible fulness of that great atonement, whose pierits are commensurate with the glories of the Divinity. Tell the sinful wretch, what pity yearns in Immanuel's /bowels; what blo&d he has apilt^ 156 A DESCANT vliat agonies he has endured/ what wonders he has wrought^ for the salvation of his enemi<3s. Iii- Tite the indigent to become rich ; intreat the guiity to accept of pardon ; because with the criicitied Jesus is plenteous redemption^ and all-sufliciency to save. While jou, placed in conspicuous sta- tions^ pour the joyful sound ; may I, as I steal through the vale of humble life, catch the pleas- ing accents ! For me the Author of all blessings became a curse : for me, his bones were dislocat • ed, and his flesh was torn : he hung with stream- ing veins and aa agonising soul, on the cross for nxe. , O ! may I, in my little sphere, and amidst the scanty circle of my acquaintance, at least whis- per these glad transporting tidings ; whisper them from my own heart, that they may surely reach, and sweetly penetrate theirs. But when men and angels raise the grand hymn ; when all worlds and all beings, add their collective acclamations ; this full, fervent, and universal cho- rus, will be so inferior to the riches of the Redeem- er's grace, so disproportionate to the magnificence of his glory ; that it will seem but to debase the unutterable subject it attempts to exalt. The loud hallelujah will die away in the solemn men- tal eloquence of prostrate, rapturous, silent ado- ration. O goodness infinite ! Goodness immense ! And love that passetli knowledge ! — Words are vain ; • Language is lost in wonders so divine. ** Come then, expressive Silence, muse his praise." CONTEMPLATIONS ON THE NIGHT. Night is fair virtue's immemorial friend ; The conscious moon, through every distant age, Has held a lamp to wisdom. NjgitT'Tjiouguts, iVb. r. TO PAUL ORCHARD, ESQ. OF Stohe-Abbejj in Devonshire. Dear Sir, As your honoured father was pleased to make choice of me to answer in your name at the font, and to exercise a sort of guardianship over your spiritual interests ; permit me, by putting these lit- tle treatises into your hand, to fulfil some part of that solemn obligation. Gratitude for many signal favours, and a con- scientious regard to my sacrci engagement, hiye long ago inspired my breast with the warmest wish- es both for your true dignity and real happiness. Nor can I think of a more endearing or a more effectual way of advancing either the one or the other, than to set before you a sketch of your excellent father's character. Illustrious examples are the most winning incitements to virtue ; and none can come attended with such particular re- commendations to You, Sir, as the pattern of that worthy person, from whom you derive your very being. Jl 'most cordial and reverential esteem for the Clx DEDICATION. divine word, was one of his remarkable qualities. Those oracles of heaven were his principal delight, and his inseparable companions. Your gardens^ your solitarj walksj and the hedges of your fields can witness, with what a,n unwearied assiduity he exercised himself in the law of the Lord. From hence he fetched his maxims of wisdom, and form- ed his judgment of things. The sacred precepts were the model of his temper, and the guide of his life ; while the precious promises were the joy of his heart, and his portion for ever. Improving company was another of his most relishing pleasures. Few gentlemen were better furnished, either with richness of fancy or copious- ness of expression, to hear a shining part in xr.on- versation. With these talents he always endea- voured to give some useful, generally some religious turn to the discourse. Nor did he ever reflect with greater complacency on his social hours, thaa when they tended to glorify the Eternal Majesty, and to awaken in himself and others a more lively spirit of devotion. To project for the good of others was his fre- quent study, and to carry those benevolent contri- vancei into Execution his favourite employ. When visited by the young persons of the neighbourhood, far from taking an ungraceful pride to initiate them in a debauchery, or confirm them in a riotous ha- bit ; it was his incessant aim, by finely adapted persuasives, to encourage them in industry, and es- tablish them in a course of sobriety ; to guard them against the allurements of vice, and animate them with the principles of piety. A noble kind of hospitality this ! which will probably transmit its beneficial influence to their eairthly possessions, to their future families, and even to their everlasting state. A conviction of human indigence^ and a thorough I>£DICATIOI«. Cizi persuasion of the divine all-sufficiency, induced him to be frequent in praver. To prostrate himself in profound adoration, before that infinitely exalted Being;, who dwells in light inaccessible, was his glorv : to implore the continuance of the almighty favour, and the increase of all chribtiau graces, was hii gain. In those moments, no doubt, he remembered You, Sir, with a particular earnest- ness ; and lodged many an ardent petition in the court of heaven for his infant son. Cease not to second them with your own devout supplications, that they may descend upon your head, " in the " fulness of the blessings of the gospel of peace." To give their genuine lustre to all his other en dowTnentfl, he was careful to maintain an humble mind. Though his friends might admire his su- perior abilities, or his acquaintance applaud his exemplary behaviour ; he saw how far he fell short of the mark of his high calling ; saw, and lamented his defects ; saw, and renounced himself: relying for final acceptance and endless felicitv, on a bet- ter righteousness than his own,, even on f he transcer.- dently perfect righteousness and inconceivably pre- cious death of Jesus the Redeemer. This w as the rock of his hope, and the very crown of his re- joicing. These, Sir, are some of the distinguishing cha- racteristics of your deceased parent. As you had the misfortune to lose so valuable a relative before you was capable of forming any acquaintance with his person, I flatter myself you will the more at- tentively observe his picture ; this his moral pic- ture, designed not to be set in gold, or sparkle in enamel ; but to breathe in your spirit, and to live in all your conduct : — which though it be entirely your own, calculated purely for yourself; may possibly (like family pieces in your parlour, that glance an eye upon as many as enter the room) M dxil DEDICATION. make some pieasing and useful impression on everj beholder. May ererj one, charmed with the beaur tiful image, catch its resemblance 5 and each in his respective sphere, '* go and do likewise." But You, Si^, are peculiarly concerned to copy the amiable original. As the order of an indulgent providence, has made you heir of the affluent cir- cumstances ; let not a gay and thoughtless inad- vertence, cut you off from the richer inheritance of these noble qualifications. These will be your security amidst all the glittering dangers which are inseparable from blooming years, and an elevated situation in life. These are your path, your sure and only path, to true greatness and solid happiness. Tread in these steps, and you cannot fail to be the 'darling of your friends, and the favourite of heaven. Tread in these steps, and you will give inexpres- •ible joy to one of the best of mothers ; you will become an extensive blessing io your fellow-crea- tures ; and which, after such most engaging mo- tives, is scarce worthy to be mentioned, you wiU be the delight, the honour, and the boast of Dear Sir, Your very affectionate godfather, and most faithful humble sei^ant, ^ James HsnvMV, Wtttm^Faxelly near Northampton, Jvly 14, 1747. PREFACE. VVEliave already exercised our speculations on the toml)s and flowers ; surveying nature covered with the deepest horrors, and arrayed in the ricl>est beauties. Allegory taught many of the objects to speak the language of virtue, while imagination lent her colouring to give the lessons an engaging air. And this with a view of imitating that divine instructor, who commissioned the lily in her silver suit, to remonstrate in the ear of unbelieving rea- son ; v/ho sent his disciples ( men ordained to teach the universe) to learn maxims of the last impor- tance from the roost insignificant birds, that wan- der through the naths of the air : from the very meanrgt herbs, tliax 3re scattered over the face of the ground. Emboldened by the kind acceptance of the pre- ceding sketches^, I beg leave to confide in the same l)enevolence of taste, for the protection and sup- Dort of the two remaining essays, which exhibit a prospect of still life, and grand operation ; which mor;ilizc on the most composed, and most magni- i\vvnt appearances of things ; in which fancy is again suffered to introduce her imagery, but only as the handmaid of truth, in order to dress her per- son and display her charms ; to engage the atten- tion and win the love, even of the gay and of the fashionable ; which is more likely to be effected, by forming agreeable pictures of nature, and deriv- ing instructive observatioiis ; than by the laborious method of long deduced arguments, or close-con- Clxiy - PREFACE. nected reasonings. The contemplation of the hc/v- Tcns and the earth ; of their admirable proper- ties and beneficial changes, has always afforded the most exalted gratification to the human mind. In compliance with this prevailing taste, I have drawn my serious admonitions from the stupendous theatre, and variegated scenery of the universe. That the reader may learn his duty from his very pleasures ; may gather wisdom mingled with vir- tue from the most refined entertainments, and no- blest delights. The evening drawing her sables over the world, and gently darkening into night, is a season pecu- liarly proper for sedate consideration. All circum- stances concur to hush our passions and sooth our cares ; to tempt our steps abroad, and prompt our thoughts to serious reflection. Then is (lie time, For those, whom wisdom, and whom mature charm, To steal thcmsolvTs from (he degcn'ratc crowd, And soar above this little scene of thicigs ; To tread low-thoughtcd vice beneath t heir feet ; To sooth the throbbing passions into peace, And woo lone quiet in her silent walks. The faveur I would solicit for the first of the fol- lowing compositions, is, that it may be permitted to attend, in such retired a'jd contemplative excur- eions. To attend, if not under the character of a friend ; at least, in the humble capacity of a servant or a page : as a servant, to open the door of medi- tation, and remove every impediment to those best exercises of the mind, which blend advantage witl? amusement, and improi e while they delight : as a page, to gather up the unstable fluctuating train of fancy ; and collect hei- fickle powers, into a con- sistent, regiiJair, and use ful habit of thinking. Tlic otiier, convcrsasit among tho starry regions. PREFACE. c\\y would lead the imag-ination ituough those beau- tiful tracts of unclouded azure, and point out to the judgment some of those astonishing particu- lars, which so eminently signalize the celestial worlds. A prospect this, to which curiosity at- tracts our eyes, and to which scripture itself often directs our study. A prospect beyond all others most excellently calculated to enlarge the soul, and ennoble its conceptions ; to give the grandest ap- prehensions of the everlasting God, and create sentiments of becoming superiority, with relation to all transitory interest ; in a word, to furnish faith with the surest foundation, for a steady af- fiance, and true magnanimity of spirit ; to afford piety the strongest motives, both for a lirely gra- titude and profound veneration. While GallilsEO lifts his tube, and discovers the prodigious magnitude of those radiant orbs :— while Newton measures their amazing distances^ and unites the whole system in harmonious order oy the subtle influences of attraction : — I would only, like the herald before that illustrious Hebrew, proclaim at every turn. Bow the knee, and adora the almighty Maker, magnify his eternal name, and make his praise like all his works to be glorious CONTEMPLATIONS ON THE NIGHT 1 HE business of the day dispatched, ajid the sultry hi'ats abated, invited me to the recreation of a \valk. A walk, in one of tlie tinest recesses of the country, and m one of the most pleasant eve- nin2:s which the summer-season produced. The limes and ehn3 uniting their branches over my head, formed a verdant canopy, and cast a most refreshing shade. Under my feet lay a carpet ©f nature's velvet ; grass intermingled with moss, and embroidered with flowers. Jessamines, in con- junction with woodbines, twined around the trees, displaying their artless beauties to the eye, and ditliising their delicious sweets through the air On either side, the boughs rounded into a set of regular arches, opened a view into the di'stant fields, and presented me with a prospect of the bonding skies. The little birds, all joyous anfl grateful for the favours of the light, were paying their acknowledp^ments in a tribute of harmony, aiwi soothing themselves to rest with songs. WInle 168 CONTLMFLATSOKS a Ficnt Ii-liorn from a 'iieiglibouriug scat, sent its? melodiaus accents, solitcncd by the length of their passage, to complete the concert of the grove. Roving in this agreeable manner, my thoughts were exercised on a subject still more agreeable than the season or the scene. I mean, our late signal victory over the united farces of intestine treason and foreign invasion. A victory which pours joy through the present age, and will transmit its influence to generations yet unborn. Are not all the blessings which can endear society, or render life itself desirable, centered in our present happy constitution, and auspicious government ? Were they not all struck at by that impious and horrid blow meditated at Rome, levelled by France, and seconded by factious spirits at liome ? Who then can be sufficiently thankful for the grac^pus inter- position of providence, which has not only avcried the impending ruin ; but turned it with aggravated confusion, on the authors of our troubles ? Methinka every thing valuable which I possess ; every thing charming which I behold ; conspire to enhance this ever-memorable event. To this is owing, that I can ramble unmolested along the vale of private life, and taste all the innocent satisfac- tions of a contemplative retirement. Had rebellion succeeded in her detestable designs ; instead of walking with security and complacence in these tlovverv paths, I might have met the assassin with his dagger ; or have been obliged to abandon my habitation, and " embrace the rock for a shelter." Farewel then, ye fragrant shades, seats of medita- tion and calm repose ! I should have been driven from your loved retreats, to make way for some barbarous, some insulting victor. Farewel then, ye pleasing toils, and wholesome amusements of my rural hours ! I should no more have reared the teiidcr flower to the siin ; no more have taught ON THE NIGHT. 169 the espalier to expand her boughs ; nor have fetch- ed any lojiger from the kitchen-garden, tlie purest supplies of health. H»d rebellion succeeded in her detestable de- signs ; instead of being regaled with the music ot the woods, I might have been alarmed with the sound of the trumpet, and all the thunder of war. Instead of being entertained with this beautiful landscape, I might have beheld our houses ransack- ed, and our^villages plundered ; I might have be- held our fenced cities encompassed with armies, and our fruitful fields " clothed with desolation ;'* or have been shocked with the more frightful images of garments rolled iii blood, and of a ruffian's blade reeking from a brother's heart. Instead of peace, with her cheering olives, sheltering our abodes ; instead of justice with her impartial sciale, securing our goods ; persecution had brandished her sword, and slavery clanked her chains. Nor are these miseries imaginary only, or the creatures of a groundless panic. They are in a neighbouring kingdom, who very lately experien- ced them in all their rigour. And if the malignant spirit of popery had forced itself into our church ; if an abjured pretender had cut his way to our throne ; we could have no reason to expect a miti- gatioii of their severity on our behalf. I$ut sup- posing the tender mercies of a bigotted usurper to have been somewhat less cruel ; where, alas ! would have been the encouragement to cultivate our little portion ; or what pleasure could arise from an im- proved spot, if both the one and the other lay, every moment, at the mercy of lawless power ? This imbittering circumstance svould spoil the re- lish ; and by rendering them a precarious, would render them a joyless acquisitioJi. In vain might the vine spread her purple clusters ; in vain be lavish of her generous juices, if tyranny like a 170 CONTEMPLATIONS ravenous harpy, should be always hovering over the bowl, and ready to snatch it from the lip of in- dustry, or to wrest it fronni the hand of liberty. Liberty, that dearest of names, and property that host of charters, give an additional, an inex- pressible charm to every delightful object. See how the declining sun has beautified the western clouds ; has arrayed them in crimson, and skirted them with gold. Such a refinement of our do- mestic bliss, is property,; such an improvement of our publie privileges, is liberty. When the lamp of day shall withdraw his beams, there will still remain the same collection of floating vapours ; but O ! how changed, how gloomy ! The tar- nation streaks are faded ; the golden edgings are worn away ; and all the lovely tinges are lost in a leaden coloured louring sadness. Such would be the aspect of all these scenes of beauty, and all. these abodes of pleasure ; if exposed continually to the caprice of arbitrary sway, or held in a state of abject and cringing dependence. ' The sun has almost finished his daily race, and hastens to the goal. He descends lower and iovv^er, till his chariot- wheels seem to hover on the uimost verge of the sky. What is somewhat remarkable, the orb of light upon the point of setting, grows considerably broader. The shadows of objects, just before they become blended in unextinguish- able darkness, are exceedingly lengthened. Like blessings little prized while possessed, but highly esteemed the very instant tH'ey are preparing for their flight ; bitterly regretted when once they are gone, and to be seen no more. The radiant globe is now half immersed beneath the dusky earth ; or, as the ancient poets speak, is shooting into the ocean and sinks in the western sea. And could I view the sea at this juncture, it would yield a most amusing: and curious spectacle. The ON THE NIGHT. lf\ i-Ajn Striking liorizontally on the liquid element, gi\e it tlie appearance of floating gla«s ; or, reflect- ed in man) a dillcrent direction, form a beautiful multiplicity of colours. A stranger as he walks aloi-g the sandy beach, and lost in pensive atten- tion, Iiiiteus to the murmurings of the restless flood ; is agreeably alarmed hy the gay decorations of the surfiuii. With entertainment and with wonder, he sees the curliiig waves, here glistering vt'ith white, there glowing with purple; in one place wearing an azure tincture, in another glancing a cast of un- dulating green ; in the whole exhibiting a piece of fluid scenery, that may vie with yonder pencil tapestries, though wrought in the loom, and tinged with the dyes of heaven. While I am transported by fancy to the shores of the ocean, the great luminary is sunk beneath the horizon, and totally' disappears. The whole face of the ground is overspread with shades, or with what one of the finest pauiters of nature calls, a dun obscurity. Only a few very superior emi- nences are tipt uith streaming silver. The tops of f roves, and lofty towers, catch the last smiles of ay ; are still irradiated by the departing beams. But 0\ how transient is the distinction ! how mo- mentary the gift ! like all the blessings which mor- tals enjoy below ; it is gone almost as soon as grant- ed. See ! how languishingly it trembles on the leafy spire, and ghmnveri with a dying faintness on tne mountain's brow. The little \ivacity that remains, decays every moment. It can no longer hold its station. While I speak, it expires, and resigns the world to the gradual approaches of night. -Now twiH nor covet any happiness but to enjoy him. How sublime is the description, and how striking the sentiment, in that noble passage of the psalms ! Whither shall I go from thy Spirit, or whither shall ffice from thy presence ? If I climb up into the heights of heaven, thou art there enthroned in light. If I go down to the depths of the grave, thou art there also in thy pavilion of darkness. If I retire to the remotest eastern climes, where the morning first takes wing : if, swifter than the darting ray, I pass to the opposite regions of the west, and re- main in the uttermost parts of the sea ; shall I in that distant situation be beyond thy teach ; or by this sudden transition escape thy notice ? So far from it, that could I with one glance of thought transport myself beyond all the bounds of creation ; 1 should still be encircled with the immensity of its employ. Let us then refer ourselves to the decision of the ancient. Ask some venerable old person who is just marching- off die mortal stage, Hoio mamj liavc been the da/js of the years of thij life? It was a monarch's question, and therefore can want no recommendation to the fashionable world. Observe how he shakes his hoary locks, and from a deep-felt conviction replies ; *' Fourscore years have finished their rounds, to *' furrow these cheeks, and clothe this head with *' snow. Such a term may seem long and large " to inconsiderate youth. But O ! how short, " how scanty, to one that has made the experiment ! " Short, as a gleam of transient sunshine ; scanty, *' as the shadow that departeth. Methiaks it was *' but yesterday, that I exchanged my childish " sports for manly exercises ; and now I am re- " signing them both for the sleep of death. As *' soon as we are born, we begin to draw to Our *' end ; and how small is the interval between the " cradle and the tomb !" O ! may we believe this testimony of mature age ! ]\lav every evening bring it, with clearer evidence to our mriid:> ' and may we form such an estimate of the little pittance while it is upon the advancing hand, as we shall certainly make when the sands are all run down ! Let me add one reflection on the work t«) be done, while this shuttle is fiying through the loom ; a work of no small difficulty, yet of the utmost consequence. Hast thou not seen^ hast thou not w 2 180 CONTEMPLATIONS known the excellent of the earth, ^ho were living images of their Maker ? His divine likeness Avaa transfused into their hearts, and beamed forth in all their conduct; beamed forth in meekness of wisdom, and purity of atfection ; in all the tender otlices of love, and all the noble elForts of zeal. To be stamped with the same beautiful signature, and to be followers of them, as they were of Christ ; this, this is thy business. On the accomplishment of this, thy eternal all depends. And, will an affair of such unspeakable weight admit of a moment's delay, or consist with the least remissness ? espe- cially, since much of thy appointed time is already elapsed ; and the remainder is all uncertainty, save only that it is in the very act to fly. Or suppose thou hast made a covetiant with the grave, and "Wast assured of reaching the age of Methuselah ; how soon would even such a lease expire ! Ex- tend it, if you please, still farther, and let it be co-existent with nature itself. How inconsidera- ble is the addition ! for yet a very little while, and the commissioned archangel lifts up his hand to heaven, and swears by the Almighty Name, That, time shall be no longer. Tlien abused opportunities will never return, and new opportunities will never more be offered. Then, should negligent mortals wish, wish ever so passionately, for a few hours, & few moments only, to be thrown back from the opening eternity ; thousands of worlds would not be able to procure the grant. Shall I, now, be industrious to shorten what is no longer than a span, or to quicken the pace of what is ever on the wing ? Shall I squander away what is unutterably important, while it lasts ; and when once departed, is altogether irrevocable ? O ! my soul, forbear the folly : forbear the des- perate extravagance. Wilt thou chide as a loiterer, the arrow that boundeth from the string ; or sweep «\ TUK NIGHT. 181 away diamonds as the r&fusc of ihy house ? Throw time away ! Astonishin*i^, ruinous, irreparable profuseness ! Throw empires away and be blame- less. But O ! be parsimonious of thy days ; hus- band thy precious hours. They go connected, in- di-ssolubly connected, with \ieavcn or hell. Im- proved, they are a sure pledge of everlasting glory ; wasted, they are a sad preface to never-ending con- fusion and anguish. What a profound silence has composed the world ! So profound is the silence, that my very breath seems a noise : the ticking of my watch is distinctly heard ; if I do but stir, it creates » disturbance. There is, now, none of that confused din from the tumultuous city ; no voice of jovial rustics from the neighbouriug meadow ; no chirp- ing melody from the shady thicket. Every lip is sealed. Not the least whisper invades the air, nor the least motion rustles among tlie boughs. Echo herself sleeps unmolested. The expanded car, though all attention, catches no sound but the li^ quid lapse of a distant murmuring stream. All things are hush'd, as nature's self lay dead. If, in the midst of this deep and universal com* posure, ten thousand bellowing thunders should Durst over my head, and rend the skies with their united vojlies ; how should I bear so unexpected a shock ? It would stun my senses, and confound ray thoughts. I should shudder in every limb ; perhaps, sink to the earth with terror. Consider then, O mortals ! consider the much more prodi- gious and amazing call* which will, erelong, alarm your sK^eping bones. When the tenants of the tomb have slumbered in the most undisturbed repose for a multitude of ages ; what an inconceivable consternation must the shout of the archangel, mi 182 COHTCMPLATIOMf the IrAimp of God occasion ! Will it not wound the ear of the ungodly, and affright, even to dis- traction, the impenitent sinner ? The stupendout peal will sound through the vast of heaven ; will shake the foundations of nature ; and pierce even the deepest recesses of the grave. And how — O ! how will the prisoners of divine justice he able to endure that tremendous summons, to a far more tremendous tribunal ? Do thou, my soul, listen to the still voice of the gospel. Attend, in this thy day, to the gracious invitations of thy Saviour. Then shall that great midnight cry lose its horror, and be music in thy ears. It shall be welcome to thy reviving clay, as the tidings of liberty to the duiigeon captive ; as the year of jubilee to the harassed slave. This, this shall be its charming import ; Awake and sing, ye that dwell in dust. VYhat a general cessation of affairs, has this dusky hour introduced ! A little while ago, all was hurry, hurry. Life and activity exerted theniselves in a thousand busy forms. The city swarmed with passiug and repassing multitudes. All the country was sweat and dust. The air floated in perpetual agitation, by the flitting birds and humming bees. Aft sat prying with her piercing eyes, while indus- try plied her restless hands. But see, how all this fervent and impetuous bustle, is fled with the setting sun. The beasts are slunk to theif grassy couch, and the winged people are retired to their downy Jiests. The hammer has resigned its sounding task, and the file ceases to repeat its flymg touches; Shut is the well-frequented shop, and its threshold no longer worn by the feet of nunicrous customers. The village svyain lies drowned in shinibers ; and eyen his trusty dog, who, for a considerable time stood centry at the door, is extended at his ease, and snores with his master. In evt^ry place toil reclines her headj and a implication folds her arms. ON THE NIGHT. 183 All interests seem to be forgot ; all pursuits are suspended ; all cmpU^yment is sunk away ; sunk away with those llutterhig myriads, which lately sported in the sun's departing rays. 'Tis like the sabbath of universal nature, or as though the pulse of life stood still. Thus will it be with our 'mfinifi»ly momentous concerns ; when once the shadows of the evening, (that long eveuu.g which follows the footsteps of death ! ) are stretched over us. The dead cannot seek unto God ; the living, the living alone, are possessed of this inestimable opportunity. " There ** is no work or device," no repentance or amend- *' ment in the grave, whither we are all hasting/* When once that closing sc^neis advanced, we shall have no other part to act on this earthly theatre. Then the sluggard, who has slumbered away life in a criminal inactivity, must lie down in hopeless distress, and everlasting sorrow. Then that awful (doom will take place, " He that is holy, let him be " holy still ; and he that is filthy, let him be filthy " for ever." Is it so my soul ? Is this the only, only time al- lotted for obtaining the great reward, and making thy salvation sure ? And art thou lulled in a vaiu security:, or dreaming in a supine inadvertency ? Start, O ! start from thy trance. Gird up the loins of thy mind, and work while it is day. Im- prove the present seed-time, that eternity may yield a joyful harvest. We especially, who are watch- men in Israel, and ministers of the glorious gospel ; may we be awakened by this consideration, to all assiduity in our holy ofiice. Some or other of our people, are ever and anon departing into the invisi- ble state ; all our friends are making incessant ap- proaches to their long home, and ourselves shall very shortly be transmitted to the confinement of I84i CONTEMPLATIONS the tomb. This is the favourable juncture, wherein alone we can contribute to their endless welfare. This is the crisis, the all-impo**tant crisis, of their final felicity. Instantly, therefore, let us pour in Ojir wholesome instructions ; instantl;), let us ply them with our earnest exhortations. A moment's lieiay may be an irreparable loss, may he irretriev- able ruin. While we procrastinate, a fatal stroke Inay intervene ; and place us beyond the power of Administering, or place them beyond all possibility of receiving any spiritual good. How frequently is the face of nature changed ! and, by changing, made more agreeable ! The long continued glitter of the day, renders the sooth- ing shades of the evening doubly welcome. Nor does the morn ever purple the east with so en- gaging a lustre, as after the gloom pf a dark and dismal night. At present, a calm of tranquillity is spread through the universe. The weary winds have forgot to blow. The gentle gales have fan- lied themselves asleep. Not so much as a single leaf nods. Even the quivering aspin rests ; and not one breath eurls o'er the stream. Sometimes, On the contiary, tlie tempest summons all the forces of the air ; and pours itself wiih resistless fury from the angry north. The whole atmosphere is tossed into tumultuous confusion, and the watery world is heaved to the clouds. The astonished mariner and his straining vessel, now scale the rolling mountain, and hang dreadfully visible on the broken surge ; now shoot with headlong im- petuosity into the yawning gulf ; and neither hulk, nor mast is seen. The storm sweeps over the con- tinent : raves along the city streets ; stiuggles through the forest boughs ; and terrifies the savage nations with a howl, more wildly horrid than their o\v». The knotty oaks bend before the blast ; their ON THE NIGHT. 185 iron trunks groan ; and tlieir stubborn limbs are dashed to tlie ground. The lofty doom rocks, ^d even the solid tower totters on its basis. Such variations are kindly contrived, and with an evident condescension to the fickleness of our taste ; because a perpetual repetition of the same objects, would create satietj and disgust ; therefore the indulgent Father of our race, has diversified the universal scene, and bid every appearance bring with it the charm of novelty. This circumstance is beneficial as well as entertaining. Providence, ever gracious to mortals ; ever intent upon pro- moting our felicity ; has taken care to mingle in the constitution of things, what is pleasing to our imagination, with what is serviceable to our in- terests. The piercing winds and rugged aspect ^f winter, render the balmy gales and flowery scenes ^ spring peculiarly delightful : at the same time, ilie keen frosts mellow the soil, and prepare it for the hand of industry. The rushing rains impreg- nate the glebe, and fit it to become a magazine of plenty. The earth is a great laboratory ; and De- cember's cold collects the gross materials, which arc sublimated by the refining warmth of May. The «ir is a pure elastic fluid ; and were it always to remain in this motionless serenity, it would lose much of its active spring : was it never agitated by those wholesome concussions, it would contract a noisome, perhaps a pestilential taint. In v hich cases, our respiration, instead of purifying, would corrupt the vital juices ; instead of supplying us with refreshment, would be a source of diseases ; or every gasp we draw, might be unavoidable death. How then sh(»u1d we admire, how should we adore, that happy union of benignity and wisdom ; which, from a variety of dispensations, produces an uni- formity of goot a disjointed huddle of absurd ideas ; instead of Meli- digested principles, nothing but a disorderly jum- ble of crude conceptions. The most palpable de- lusions impose upon his imagination. The whole night passes, and he frequently mistakes it lor a single minute ; is not sensible of the transition, hardly sensible of any duration. Yet no sooner does the morning dawn, and day- light enter the room, but this strange inchantiuent •vanishes. The man awakes, and finds himself pos- sessed of all the valuable endowments, which, lor several hours were suspended, or lest. His smews are braced and fit for action. His senses are alert q2 196 CONTEMPI.ATIOMS and keen. The romantic visionary brightens into the naaster of reason. The frozen or benumbed affections, melt with tenderness and glow with bene- volence ; and what is bejond measure surprising, the intoxicated mind works itself sober, not by slow degrees, but in the twinkling cf an eye recovera from its perturbation. Why does not the stupor which deadens all the nice operations of the animal powers, hold fast its possession ? When the thoughts are once disadjusted, why are they not always in confusion ? How is it that they are rallied in a moment ; and from the wildest irre- gularity, reduced to the most orderly array ? From an inactivity, resembling death ; how is the bodj so suddenly restored to vigour and agility ? From extravagancies bordering upon madness ; how is the understanding instantaneously re-established in se- dateness and harmony ? Surely, " this is the *' Lord's doing, and it should be marvellous in our " eyes ;" should awaken our gratitude, and inspirit our praise. This is the time in which ghosts are supposed to make their appearance. Now the timorous imagination teems with phantoms, and creates num- berless terrors to itself. Now dreary forms in sul- len state stalk along the gloom, or swifter than lightning glide across the shades. Now voices more than mortal are heard from the echoing vaults, and groans issue from the hollow tombs. Now melancholy spectres visit the ruins of ancient mo- nasteries, and frequent the solitary dwellings of the dead. They pass and repass in unsubstanti-al ima>>e3, along the forsaken galleries ; or take their determined stand over some lamented grave. How often has the school-boy fetched a long circuit, aiid trudged many a needless step, in order to avoid the naunted church-yard ? or if necessity, sad ne ■ cessity, has obliged him to cross the spot Mslicrt VS THE NIGHf. I9T human skulls are lodged below, and tlie baleful yews shed supernumerary horrors above ; a thou- sand hideous stories rush into his memory ; fear adds wings to his feet ; he scarce touches the ground ; dares not once look behind him ; and bles- ses his good fortune, if no frightful sound purred at his heels, if no ghastly shape bolted upon hia *ight. 'Tis strange to observe the excessive timidity, which possesses many peoples' minds on this fanciful occasion ; while they are void of all concern, on others of the raosl tremendous import. Those who are startled in any dark and lonely walk, at the very apprehension of a single spectre ; are nevertheless unimpressed at the sure prospect, of entering into a "whole world of disembodied beings. Nay, are with- out any emotions of awe, though they know them- selves to be hastening into the presence of the great, infinite, and eternal Spirit. Should some pale mes- senger from the regions of the dead, draw back our curtains at the hour of midnight ; and appoint- ing some particular place, say, as the horrid appa- rition to Brutus, ''I'll meet ithee there:" I believe the boldest heart would feel something like a panic ; would seriously think upon the adventure, and be in pain for the event. But when a voice from heaven cries in the awakening language of the pro- phet. Prepare to meet thy God, O Israel ; how little is the warning resrardcd ! I low soon is it forgot ! Preposterous stupidity ! to be utterly un- concerned, where it is the truest wisdom to take the alarm ; and to be all trepidation, where there is nothing really terrible ! Do thou, my soul, re- member thy Saviour's admonition ; '' I will fore- " warn you whom you shall fear. Fear I'.ot these *■ imaginary horrors of the night ; but fear that •' awful Being, whose revelation of himself, thoujj;fi " with expressions of peculiar mercy, ujade Mo&es i9S CONTEMPLATIO-NS *^f his tavountsi servant, tremble exceedingly. Vl hose ** flia.iifesiatioii, when he appears with purposes *' of laexofabie vengeance, wiii make mighty cor- " querors ; who were familiar with dangers, and *' estranged to dismay ; call upon the mountains " to fail on them, and the rocks to cover them. " The menace of whose majestic eye, when he " comes attended with thousand thousands of his " immortal hosts, will make the very heavens '* cleave asunder and the earth flee away O ! " dread His displeasure ; secure His favour ; and '' then thou mayest commit all thy other anxie- " ties to the wind. Thou mayest laugh at every " other fear." This brings to my mind a memorable and ama* zing occurrence recorded in the book of Job ; which is, I think, no inconsiderable proof of the real existence of apparitions, on some very extra- ordinary emergencies ; w hile it discountenances those legions of idle talcs, whick superstition has raised and credulity received. Since it teaches us, that if at any lime those visitants from the unknown world, render themselves perceivable by mortals, it is not upon any errand of frivolous consequence, but to convey intelligences of the utmost moment^ or to work impressions of the highest advan- tage. 'Twas in the dead of night. All nature lay shrouded in darkness. Every creature was buried in sleep. The most profound silence reigned through the universe. In these solemn moments, Eiiphaz alone, all w^akeful and solitary, was musing upon sublime and heavenly subjects. — When, lo ! an awful being from the invisible realms, burst into his apartment. A spirit passed before his face. Astonishment seized the beholder. His bones shiv- ered within him; his flesh trembled all over him ; cud the hair of ids head stood erect with horror. I ON THK NIGHT 199 Sudden and unexpected was the appearance of the phantom ; not sueh its departure. It stood still, to present itself more fiilly to bis view. It made a solemn pause, to prepare his mind for some mo- mentous message. — After which, a voice was heard. A voice, for the importance of its meaning, wor- thy to be had in everlasting remembrance ; for the solemnity of its delivery, enough to alarm a heart of stone. It spoke ; and this was the pur- port of its words ; " Shall man, frail mai», be just " before the mighty God ? Shall even the most " accomplished of mortals be pure in the sight of *' his Maker ? Behold, and consider it Attentively. " He put no such trust in his most exalted ser- *' vants, as should bespeak them incapable of de- ** feet. And his very aingels he charged with folly ; " as sinking, even in the highest perfection of " tlieir holiness, infinitely beneath his transcendent *' glories ; as falling, even in all the fidelity of their " obedience, inexpressibly short of the homage " due to his adorab.le Majesty. If angelic natures " must not presume to justify, either themselves, " or their services, before uncreated purity ; how " much more absurd is such a notion ; how much ** more impious such an attempt, in them that '^ dwell in houses of clay, whose original is from " the dust, and whose state is all impe.rfection !" I would observe from hence, the very singular necessity of that poverty of spirit, which intirely renounces its own attainments, and most tliankfuUy submits to the righteousness of the incarnate God. To inculcate this lesson, the Son of the Blessed came down from heaven, and ] reused no other principle with so repeated an importunitv on his hearers. To instil the same doctrine, the Holy Ghost touch- ed the lips of the apostles with sacred eloquence ; and made it an eminent part of their commission, " to demolish every high imagination," That »o 200 COKTEMPLATIOKS expedient might be wanting, to give it a deep and lasting efficacy on the human mind ; a phantom wises from the valley of the shadow of death, or a teacher descends from the habitation of spirits. Whatever then we neglect, let us not neglect to cultivate this grace, which has been so variously taught, so powerfully enforced. Hark ! a doleful voice — with sridden starts, and hideous screams, it disturbs the silence of the peace- ful night. 'Tis the screech-owl, sometime? in fran- tic, sometimes in disconsolate accents, uttering her woes. She flies the vocal grove, and shuns the so- ciety of ail the feathered choir. The blooming gardens and flowery meads have no charms for her. Obscene shades, ragged ruins, and walls overgrown with ivy, are her favourite haunts. Above, the mouldering precipice nods, and threatens a fall; below, the toad crawls, or the poisonous adder hisses. The sprightly morning, which awakeni other animals into joy, administers no pleasure to this gloomy recluse. Even the smiling face of day is her aversion, and all its lovely scenes create no- thing but uneasiness. So, just so, would it fare with the ungodly, w ere it possible to suppose their admission into the chaste and bl-ight abodes of endless felicity. They would find nothing but disappointment and shame, even at the fountain-head of happiness and honour. — For how could the tongue, habituated to profaneness, taste any delight in the harmonious adorations of heaven ? How could the lips cankered with slan- der, relisli the raptures of everlasting praise ? Where v, ould be the satisfaction of the vain beauty, \ould flash confusi