^^^ OF PRlNcifo <^«>t BS 1315 .L427 Lawson, George Practical expositions of the whole books of Ruth ^^TL^^GsX&i^ %^XUjJ^ (^ ^ \ ■ f ~> f--"^ . '■>. J .. / ^ ff 1 VALUABLE BOOKS Published by y ^^yJ^.^E^'^OUL, Bookseller and Publisher; ^J^.t^U^^//^? ^fA Wili iii l -Street, Philadelphia. Eentoul's Library of Standard Bible Expositions.— The design is, to republish in this country a series of Eeligious works of the first class, consisting of Expository Discourses on separate Books of the Bible. These will be found invaluable to Ministers as aids for pulpit preparation; and will form the best quality of Sabbath-day reading for all evangelical Christians. None will be issued but standard works of approved excellence. The following are already published and are of uniform octavo size. Any of them can be obtained separately, by remitting- the price to the Publisher, on receipt of which they will be mailed: I. Wardlaw's (Ralph D.D.) Expository Lectures on the whole Book of Ecclesiastes : 432 pages.—" It is like the sword of Goliath, 'there is none like it.'"— Price $2.50 cloth; $3. in Library Sheep; and S3.50 in half Turkey Morocco. II. Stuart's (Rev. A. Moody) Exposition of the whole of the Song of Solomon: 544 pages.— Rev. Dr. Paxton of New York writes to the Publisher:— 'I am glad to hear that you are about to republish Rev. A. Moody Stuart's Commentary upon The Song of Solomon. I have been familiar with this work for a number of years and esteem it very highly. I have five or six other commentaries upon " The Song" in my library, but for all the practical purposes of the ministry I find this to be the best.'— Price $3 cloth; $3.50 in Library Sheep; and $4 in half Turkey Morocco. III. Lawson's (George, D.D.) Expositions of the whole Books of Ruth and Esther; with Three Sermons on the Duties of Parents, and a Memoir of the Author: 450 pages.— "There is a'peculiar charm in the writings of that sage-like, apostolic man, Prof. Lawson; in them most important, original, preo-- nant thoughts are continually occurring." Prof. John Brown of Edinburgh.— Price $2.50 cloth; $3 in Library Sheep; and $3.50 in half Turkey Morocco. W. S. R. also publishes : — Weekly Communion : or, The Duty of Believers to celebrate the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper on every Lord's Day. By the Author of God is Love/ &c. &c. — Price 75cts. Egypt's Prii«"Ces ; or, Mission- work on the Nile : by Eev. G. Lansing, D. D., American Missionary in Egypt. — Price reduced to $1.25. The Psalms of David in Metre, with Music adapted to each Psalm or portion of a Psalm ; by W. W. Keys. Price 80cts. plain, and 85cts. gilt lettered; and $9.00 and $9.50 per dozen. The Psalms of David in Metre (Rouse's or the Scottish version unaltered); an excellent edition for pews and families. 24mo. sheep, with a full Index of the first line of every vej^se, also a Table, showing the Subjects of each Psalm. — Price 40cts single copy: ($30 per hundred; $15 for fifty; or $7.50 for 25 copies, wei5, whe7i sent by express). A Catechism on the Sacraments of Baptism and the Lord's Supper. By Rev. G. Campbell, Pastor of West 44th Street United Presbyterian Church, New York. — Price 15cts. single copy; seven copies $1.00 ; fifteen copies $2.00. Autobiography and Reminiscences of Rev. john Gra- ham, formerly Pastor of the United Presbyterian Church of Bovina, N. Y: with Six of his Sermons; 216 pages 12mo. — Contains in an Appendix some interesting letters to the author, from Rev. Dr. Mc Crie the celebrated Church Historian, and other eminent Ministers of Scotland, touching on some important doctrinal points of difference between the Original Seceders and Camerouians (Covenanters). — Price $1.00, cloth. • W. S. R. Also keeps on hand a fine assortment of English Pocket Bibles with metre Psalms — sells all the publications of the United Presbyterian Board, the Presbyterian Board, Messrs. R. Carter & Brothers, &c., &c., — and fills orders generally for old and new Theological and Miscellaneous books, at the lowest cash terms. fi^^He will mail his general Catalogue free on application. Also his Catalogue of Sabbath-school Books: from which an order for a S. S. Library can be made up from all the best books of the various publishing societies without any trouble, all which will be forwarded by him at the lowest cash terms. f^^Any of the aboi^e books will be mailed post paid for thepriees. ^^^ Agents wanted to sell these Books every where in town and country. Liberal terms loill be given. Enclose a stamp for answer. PRACTICAL EXPOSITIONS OF THE WHOLE BOOKS OF RUTH AND ESTHER; WITH THREE SERMONS ON THE DUTIES OF PARENTS TO THEIR CHILDREN. BY GEORGE LAWSON, D. D. MINISTER OF THE ASSOCIATE CONGIIEGATIOX, SELKIRK; AND PRO- FESSOR OF THEOLOGY OF THE ASSOCIATE SYNOD OF SCOTLAND. WITH A MEMOIR OF HIS LIFE AND WRITINGS. PHILADELPHIA: WM. S. RENTOUL. 1870. RENTOUL'S LIBRARY OF STANDARD BIBLE EXPOSITIONS, Of this valuable series there are now published, in uniform ^vo. size, 1 vol. each: — I. Wardlaw's (Ealph, D.D.) Expository Lectures on the whole Book of Ecclesiastes: 432 pages.— "It is like the sword of Goliath, * there is none like it.' " II. Stuart's (Rev. A. Moody) Exposition of the whole of the So-NG OF Solomon: 544 pages. — Rev. Dr. Paxton of New York writes to the Publisher: — 'I am glad to hear that you are about to republish Rev. A. Moody Stuart's Commentary upon The Song of Solomon. I have been familiar with this work for a number of years and esteem it very highly. I have five or six other commentaries upon "The Song" in my library, but for all the practical purposes of the ministry I find this to be the best.' III. Lawson's (George, D.D.) Expository Lectures and Dis- courses ON the whole Books of Ruth and Esther; with Three Ser- mons on the Duties of Parents, and a Memoir of the Author: 450 pages. — "There is a peculiar charm in the writings of that sage-like, apostolic man, Prof. Lawson ; in them most important, original, pregnant thoughts are continually occurring." Prof. John Brown, of Edinburgh. PREFACE OF THE PUBLISHER OF THIS EDITION. The Writings of Dr. George Lawson have been suffered so long to fall out of print both in Great Britain and America, that their excellence is but little known to the new generation which has sprung up since he passed away. It is with diffi- culty that the diligent and indefatigable book hunter can now find a single copy of his charming Expositions of the Books of Kuth and Esther, or of his other most instructive works. The Publisher has considered, that no books could be se- lected by him as more suitable to form a part of his Library OF SPECIAL Expositions of Books of the Bible, than Dr. Lawson's Lectures and Discourses on Ruth and Esther. To these he has appended Dr. L's. three admirable Sermons on the Duties of Parents— to which a number of fresh Notes have been added applicable to the circumstances of our own time; and he has prefixed to the whole an interesting Memoir of the author and his Writings, by Dr. Henry Belfrage. The Me- moir will be found sufficiently full and minute to gratify the reader's natural desire of an intimate acquaintance with our author's blameless and amiable Christian life and character. ' The memory of the just is blessed '; and the Publisher feels iii IV happy to contribute, even in his humble sphere, to perpetu- ate the memory and blessed example of so eminently godly a man as Dr. Lawson ; and to re-produce, for the benefit of the present generation, some of the most instructive and useful of his writings. This is peculiarly a volume of precious reading for Chris- tian families. It is instinct with practical instruction both for parents and youth. The weight and, importance of the matter is only equalled by the elegant simplicity of the style. Philadelphia, 1869. CONTENTS. PAGE Memoir of Dr. Lawson and his Writings, , . ^ , ix LECTURES ON THE WHOLE BOOK OF RUTH. Introduction, . . . . . . .1 Lecture I. Chap i. 1-5. — Elimeleck and his family go to sojourn in the land ofMoab, 7 Lecture II, Chap. i. 6-10. — Naomi's return to her own country, . .19 Lecture III. Chap. i. 11-15. — The same subject continued, , , .29 Lecture IV. Chap. i. 16-18. — Ruth's steadfastness to her religious profession, . 40 Lecture V. Chap. i. 19-22. — Ruth's arrival with Naomi at Bethlehem, . 48 Lecture VI. Chap. ii. 1-4. — Ruth goes to glean, and meets with Boaz, . 59 Lecture VII. Chap. ii. 5-14. — Boaz speaks kindly to Ruth in the harvest field, 70 Lecture VIII. Chap. ii. 15-23. — Boaz' directions to his reapers to treat Ruth kindly — her success in gleaning, &c., . . . .84 V VI CONTENTS. Lecture IX. page Chap. iii. 1-9.— Kuth, at the instigation of Naomi, lays herself down at the feet of Boaz, and requests him to cast his skirt over her, 95 Lecture X. Chap. iii. 10-18. — Boaz promises to Ruth to marry her, if her hus- band's nearest kinsman did not insist upon his prior right. He dismisses her with a present to her mother-in-law, who ex- presses great satisfaction with her kind reception by Boaz, 107 Lecture XI. Chap. iv. 1-10. — Boaz, in the presence of ten elders of Bethlehem, procures the consent of Ruth's nearest kinsman to his marriage with her, . . . • . . .119 Lecture XII. Chap. iv. 10-22. — Ruth's marriage, and the birth of Obed, . 131 DISCOURSES ON THE WHOLE BOOK OF ESTHER. IXTRODUCTION, . . . . . . .149 Discourse I. Chap. i. 1-9. — Ahasuerus's feast, ..... 152 Discourse II. Chap. i. 10-22.— The disobedience and divorce of Vashti, . . 161 DiSCOURE III. Chap. ii. 1-11.— Extraordinary method used to supply the place of Vashti, .176 Discourse IV. Chap. ii. 12-23.— Esther made Queen of Persia— By her means Mordecai discovers to the king a conspiracy formed against hialife, 185 CONTENTS. VU DlSCOUP.SE V. P'^GE Chap. iii. 1-6.— The elevation of Haman— His pride, and resolution to revenge fancied indignities received from Mordecai upon the whole nation of the Jews, . . . • .196 Discourse VI. Chap. iii. 7-15.— Haman obtains from the king a decree for the destmction of the Jews, . . • • .205 Discourse VII. Chap. iv. 1-11.— The grief of Mordecai and the other Jews at hear- ing of the bloody edict— Mordecai solicits Esther to intercede with the king in their behalf, . . • • .218 Discourse VIII. Chap. iv. 12-17.— Mordecai insists on the charge to Esther to go in unto the king— She complies with his desire ; but requires him to procure for her the help of the solemn prayers of all the Jews in Shushan, ....••• — ^ Discourse IX. Chap. V. 1-14.— Esther goes in unto the king, and finds favour in his eyes— Haman, inflamed by revenge, prepares a gallows for Mordecai of fifty cubits high, . . • • .244 Discourse X. Chap. vi. 1-13.— Haman is compelled to confer a singular honour upon Mordecai, which he hoped to procure for himself, . 257 Discourse XL Chap. vi. 14-vii. 10.— Haman's fall and death, . . .268 Discourse XII. Chap. viii. 1-14.— Mordecai is advanced to great honours— Liberty is procured for the Jews to defend themselves against the in- tended Massacre, . • • • • .279 Discourse XIIL Chap. viii. 15-ix. 5.— Mordecai's greatness, with the happy change in the condition of the Jews, . . . • .291 Discourse XIV. Chap. ix. 6-19.— Numbers of the slain— A second battle at Shushan, 302 Viii CONTENTS, Discourse XV. page Chap. ix. 20-32.— Ordinance of Mordecai and Esther for observing the days of Purim, ...... 312 DiSCOUESE XVI. Chap. X.— Greatness of Ahasuerus— Character and grandeur of Mordecai, ....... 324 SERMONS ON THE DUTY OF PARENTS TO THEIR CHILDREN. Sermon I. Ephesians vi. 4, . . . . . 335 Sermon II. Same Text, 350 Sermon III. Same Text, 381 A MEMOIR OP DK. LAWSON AND HIS WRITINGS, BY HENRY BELFRAGE, D. D. De. Lawson was born in tlie parish of West Linton in the shire of Peebles, Scotland, in 1749, and by the care of very pious parents was trained up in the fear of God. It has often been remarked how many of our men of genius have sprung from the peasantry of Scotland, and that on the mountain's side they felt the first movements of that inspiration by which the world has been charmed; and men of God have delighted to look back to the still waters, where, in their early days, they mused on the Shepherd of Israel, and to the wood and the glen where they poured out their hearts to the Lord. From his earliest years his attention was en- gaged by religion, or subjects connected with it; and by the tuition of the venerable men at whose feet he sat in his course of study he improved rapidly in holy wisdom. He was uniformly characterized by that modesty which is at once the ornament and the guardian of youth, and by a rare union of quickness of apprehension, laborious and unremitted application, and a retentiveness of memory altogether uncommon. After completing his course of study he was licensed to preach the Gospel; and after a unanimous call by the people, was ordained minister of the Associate Congregation of Selkirk in 1771, and continued in that charge for the long period of forty-nine years. The comparative retire, ment of this situation furnished him with ample opportunities of study, and these he improved with the greatest eagerness. Few have enriched ix X MEMOIR OF DR. LAWSON their minds so amply with the best knowledge as he did. While some ministers have wasted their time in visiting and gossiping and have tried this expedient to gain popularity; while others from eagerness to be rich have engaged in secular business; and while others have devoted their best energies to literary pursuits; he felt that his people had a claim to all his efforts ; and that his time should be spent in doing them good, or in fitting himself for it. Accordingly, devoted as he was to study, he never felt reluctant to leave his library, at the call of duty ; but at the earliest or the latest hour went forth to admonish, or to console, as the providence of God called him. When reluctance to such duties rises in the minds of the studious, it would he well for them to reflect, how hearts may be bleeding in sorrow which they might be the means of comforting ; and how those may be sinking in destruction whom they might pluck as brands from the burning. The sacrifices thus made to duty God will compensate, by a light and vigour which will more than make amends for the efforts which arc remitted. The Scriptures were his daily study. For many years he made a point of committing to memory a portion of the Bible in the original. A friend once remarked to him, that he supposed if the Bible was lost he (Dr. L.) could furnish it exactly from memory. In reply he remarked that he believed he could, excepting perhaps some of the passages containing names merely. He could state the contents of the different chapters, the respective parts of which they consisted, and how many verses were oc- cupied with each. It was his nightly custom to read a passage of Scrip- ture before he retired to rest, as a subject of meditation while he was awake. Meditation, he used to say, was an important, but much neglected duty; and that it would be well for some, if they read less and reflected more. It is on the food digested that nourishment and health depend. This acquaintance with the Scriptures was not only most conducive to the furtherance of his own piety and comfort, but fitted him for giving the best counsel to others in every perplexity, and for improving with facility and in a manner truly happy, every topic and event to which lie was called to advert. His acquaintance with the best theological works, ancient and modern, was extensive and accurate. He greatly relished, and often read in the original Greek, the works of Chrysostom. The writings of Owen, and especially his practical works, he highly valued. There are few who have not heard with surprise and regret the harsh and contemptuous terms in which the works of Owen were spoken of by Hall. We must consider the opinion he expressed, so opposite to that of the wise and good for ages, as originating in the eccentricity of his genius; and are confident that, however high his authority, it will not in the least degree lessen the veneration felt for the memory of that truly great man. The sermons of Massillon and Saurin he read with pleasure, and in the original French. No translation which the world has yet seen has done them justice • and AND HIS WRITINGS. XI in reading those of Massillon especially, we search in vain, in sentences cold and tame, for the vivacity, and fire, and pathos of that eloquence by which kings were humbled, and courtiers devoted to dissipation, were awed into seriousness, or melted into tears. The writings of Jonathan Edwards he carefully studied, and Campbell on the Gospels, and other approved works of sacred criticism ; and it was pleasing to mark with what simplicity and perspicuity he could state the result of their most elaborate inquiries; make passages abstruse and dif- ficult intelligible to persons of ordinary capacity ; and point out the les- sons of wisdom which were thus set in a more striking light, or freed from difficulties which were felt to be perplexing. He devoted a portion of his time through the week to the perusal of works of practical piety; such as the writings of Trail, Boston, and Brown. For the works of Trail he had a peculiar relish. There is a holy unction and sweetness in them by which the devout mind is charmed. It was by such reading that he learned to apply with fidelity and wisdom the truths of the Gospel for the advancement of piety in his own soul, and to qualify himself for speaking to the hearts of others. He used to speak of prayer as the best guide in the search after truth ; besought the Father of lights to make him to know wisdom in the hidden part ; and felt this as the great object of his solicitude, that he might receive with meekness the engrafted word which was able to save his soul. But he did not neglect classical literature, philosophy, and history. Plutarch's lives was a favourite book of his, and from the incidents he details, and the maxims of wisdom with which they abound, he intro- duced into his discourses many very appropriate and useful quotations ; and from his lips they fell with a simplicity and gravity widely different from the levity and exaggeration of many such details. He was familiar with Homer and the lesser Greek poets, and occasionally quoted tliem with great readiness. The sages and the heroes of Greece and Rome he valued as monitors, to teach us the diligence with which we should t>eck for a higher wisdom, and strive for a brighter glory. The whole range of history, ancient and modern, was quite familiar to him. Works of taste and genius he delighted to peruse, and by them he felt his mind relieved after severe study ; but never did he devote to them aught of the time which was claimed by more serious engagements, or contract by them a disrelish for mental occupation of a graver cast. So admiiable was the intellectual discipline which he maintained, that lighter scenes and feelings were not suffered to distract his attention in serious enquiry, but were employed as stimulants in the ways of wisdom. It was a circumstance which beautifully characterized his spirit and manner as a scholar, that amidst his own acquirements he maintained uni- form modesty, and delighted to do justice to the talents and attainments of others. No jealousy or envy wrought in his breast, and so far from courting opportunities for displaying his research, his aim was mildly to Xll MEMOIR OF DR. LAWSON instruct or encourage others to be diligent. It is easy to see with what effect from the lips of such a man that counsel would come, which is so needful in associations of youth, — * Let us not be desirous of vain glory, provoking one another, en\7ing one another.' To excite emulation, and yet to maintain humility and brotherly kindness, requires the utmost skill of a religious instructor. As a minister of the Gospel, it was his great object to make his people stand complete in all the will of God, and for this purpose he expounded the Scriptures in a manner clear, lively, and attractive. He could avail himself of the stores of his mind with the greatest readiness, to illustrate and enforce their various lessons ; and places of the Bible which are some- times passed by as too abstruse for the comprehension of the people, or too barren for utility, he delighted to open up, and to bring forth the gold treasured in them. Eegarding * all Scripture as given by inspiration of God, and as profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction and for in- struction in righteousness,' he laboured so to expound it * that the man of God might be perfect, thoroughly furnished for all good works.' In his ministry he showed admirable skill in improving remarkable dispensations of Providence, whether of a public or a private character; he always selected some text appropriate to such occasions, and illustra- tions suited to console or to impress. In a congregation in the neigbour- liood, some confusion and alarm had been excited by the sliding of one of the beams of the gallery of the chapel, which was much crowded, it being the day of the dispensation of the Lord's Supper. Most happily, no lives were lost. Next day he preached on that text, ' And David w^as displeased because the Lord had made a breach upon Uzzah,' in which discourse he showed in a solemn and striking manner how much we owed to the Divine patience in these slighter tokens of his hand; how deserving we were of much severer blows ; and that, instead of murmurs, the voice of gratitude and praise became us, to Him who in wrath remembers mercy. On one occasion an alarm was excited during public worship, that his own chapel was falling ; and in the agitation and tumult produced by it there was great danger of serious injury, and even of the loss of life. Next Lord's day he preached on that text, 'Unless the Lord had been my help, my soul had almost dwelt in silence.' Incidents of this kind are some- times permitted to occur, to teach us to serve God with fear, and to wor- ship under the impi-essions of eternity. After the fall of a wall in Selkirk, by which several persons were se- verely hurt, he preached on the Sabbath following on 1 Kings xx. 30, — * But the rest fled to Aphek, into the city ; and there a wall fell upon twenty and seven thousand of the men that were left.' This passage of Scripture was admirably adapted to teach his hearers to feel what they owed to the patience of God in sending visitations of calamity so lenient in comparison of what he had sent, or could send; and to impress upon AND HIS WRITINGS. XIU them this truth —that in scenes where they may think they have found a refuge from His anger, he may make them monuments of his power to destroy. At the opening of a new church in Lauder, the subject of his discouri^e was Ploseaviii. 14, first cLause,—' Israel hath forgotten his Maker and builded temples.' It is a most necessary caution which these words sug- gest to men in all ages, not to consider the zeal wdiich they manifest for the forms of religion, or the peculiarities of a party,-as a sure test of the love and the fear of God. It has been in the lowest decline of piety that the most magnificent edifices have been reared for its worship; audit was the hypocritical and rapacious Scribes and Pharisees who built the tombs of the prophets, and garnished the sepulchres of the righteous. • I shall only mention as another instance of the singular felicity with which he selected appropriate texts to particular occasions, and derived suitable and striking lesssons from passages which to many w^oukl have seemed to suggest nothing suited to their purpose, that at an election of elders his text was Prov. xxvi. 6,—* He that sendeth a message by the hand of a fool cutteth off the feet, and drinketh damage.' This is a passage which teaches very strikingly the mischiefs which may arise from entrusting duties of importance to the management of those whose indiscretion may divulge what ought to be kept secret; whose rashness may render useless the best plans for utility; and whose simplicity may be imposed on by every fair pretense. It should be mentioned as a peculiar character of his ministry, the amplitude, particularity, and earnestness with which he discoursed on relative duties. Some hearers of the Gospel are unwilling to have topics discussed which expose their negligence, or their severity; and would wish sermons occupied with subjects more general and soothing; but every wise and good man must feel that a just idea of the extent and value of relative duties is of the utmost necessity to the happiness of families, and to the maintenance of religion from age to age. Deficiencies in such duties he exposed and rebuked with no sparing hand ; and fidelity he encouraged by the examples of the holy men of old, and by the beauti- ful pictures which he drew of the filial piety by which a father was cheered in the decline of his days, and of the consolations and hopes which were mingled with the tears shed by it at a mother's grave. In the more private duties of the pastoral oflfice he was diligent and faithful. In such duties he whose delight is in popular applause and public display feels no interest, and either neglects them, or hurries over them in a cold and formal manner ; but a man of God feels that they call him to the most solemn intercourse he can have with his people, and that in the lowliest dwelling there is an eye which marks his feelings, and an ear which listens to his counsels, infinitely more important than the no- tice of the multitude. A good nian's heart is poured out in him, when he XIV MEMOIR OF DR. LAWSON thinks on his leading the orphan to the feet of Jesus, and making the widow's heart to sing for joy. It was his custom when visiting his congregation, to ask the head of each family, what was the chapter last read at family worship. What- ever was the chapter, he proceeded immediately, without asking for a Bible, to comment on it, and apply it to the circumstances of the family. A general descant on religion will excite little interest, but when the members of a family are addressed in a mode suited to their age, habits, employments, and prospects, it is felt that a word spoken in season is like apples of gold in pictures of silver. In his examinations, he paid particular attention to the instruction of the young; and in his manner there was a happy union of gravity and sweetness, fitted to excite love and awe. Gravity alone may terrify, but it will not win ; and petulance may be encouraged by an unwise familiarity. 'The young kept silence at his counsel, and the light of his countenance they cast not down.' He did what he could to establish meetings for social prayer through- out his congregation ; and in this pious labour he would encourage them by such assurances of holy advantage as these, — 'As ointment and per- fume rejoice the heart, so doth the sweetness of a man's friend by hearty counsel:' and 'If any two of you shall agree as to any thing that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father who is in heaven.' In visiting the sick he was regular and faithful ; and, whatever was the disease, he never shrunk from his duty. In a letter to a young friend who had asked his advice on the subject, he says, *I always felt it my duty to visit the sick although their diseases were infectious. There is little danger of infection in so short a visit as is proper in such cases, and precautions against danger may be used. We are always safest in the path of duty, and God is a powerful preserver.' While the kindness of his disposition made the task of consoling and encouraging delightful, he was fearful of saying peace when there was none, and judged it safest to urge immediate and penitential application to the grace of the Saviour; and to point out the strong consolation and the certain safety of those who 'flee for refuge to lay hold on the hope set before them.' It is more gratifying to witness in such scenes the tears of penitence than flights of rapture; and the soul longing for God's salvation, rather than exultation in its attainment. The dullness of hearing under which he laboured for a number of years kept him from receiving many communications from the sick and dying as to their religious experience; but there were some cases in which Providence made known to him what Christ had wrought by him, as an instrument of his grace, to make sinners obedient by heart and word and deed. He had the satisfaction of receiving from some of the sick and dying, testimonies to the power of his ministry in their con- version to God, their light in perplexity, their encouragement in duty, and their hope in aflliction. These are precious testimonies which do not AND HIS WRITINGS. XV flatter, but encourage; which do not puflf up, but solemnize; and the scene in which they are given, associates them with the day of judgment, when the seals of our ministry shall rise up and call us blessed ; and when Christ shall rejoice with us in the travail of his soul, and the efficacy of his grace. In other places where he occasionally ministered, God sometimes gave testimony to the word of his grace. I may mention an instance of this. A man in G who lived without even a profession of religion, hap- pened to hear him preach. A sentence to this effect, that ' persons in a Christian land who neglect the Gospel must be more guilty and wretched than heathens,' struck him to the heart: he regularly attended public worship ever after, connected himself with the church, and maintained to his death the character of a consistent and pious man. After the death of the eminently learned and pious Professor John Brown of Haddington, he was appointed his successor as Professor of Theology, by the Associate Synod in 1787. Institutions of this kind may seem to some to have their most proper seat in large cities, where stu- dents may have it in their power to attend to other branches of educa- tion, which may be necessary accomplishments in a public Teacher; but in such a sequestered situation as Selkirk their attention is concentrated on Theology, and there they are more intimately associated than they could be in a wider sphere. An intercourse is maintained highly friendly to improvement, and friendships are formed which become a blessing for life. Many of the young men once under his care, have looked back on the associations of their early days with delight, when 'as iron sharpeneth iron, so doth a man sharpen the countenance of his friend.' And though virtue should be guarded by the impression of the inspection of a brighter eye, and the account to be given to a higher tribunal than any Avhich men occupy, yet the idea of the strict attention paid in such a scene by all around to their movements, is friendly to the formation of those hab- its of caution, self-denial, and strict propriety of conduct, which are so necessary to the respectability and the influence of the clerical character. During the five sessions which were the appointed course of study. Dr. Lawson gave an exposition of the System of Theology, in lectures rich in sentiment, concise yet clear in language, and in arrangement most judicious. Deeply skilled though he was in divinity, he avoided all technicalities of expression, and elucidated the most abstruse points in a perspicuous manner. In his prelections, theology came not forth in the armour of the schools— dark, rusty, and cumbrous ; but in the armour of light— simple, easy, and pointed. His critical lectures presented illus- trations of the dark passages of Scripture, of the customs and manners of the East, of the peculiarities of the Sacred style, of the ancient versions of the Scriptures, of the figurative modes of speech occurring in the Bible, of the mode of illustrating types and explaining prophecies, of the Holy Land in its history and productions, and of the writers, the design, and xvi MEMOIR OF DR. LAWSON the periods of writing of the different parts of the sacred canon. It is easy to see what diligent and extensive research were necessary in the execution of such a plan, and how great its usefulness must have been. His examinations were so happily managed as to enable him to judge of the proficiency of his pupils ; and his remarks on their discourses so candid and judicious, as to commend themselves to the approbation of all who heard them. His manner was marked by mild solemnity, and his prayers and counsels by the unction of a heart full of the Holy Ghost. His demeanour to them exhibited the happy medium betwixt the in- dulgence which youth is so apt to abuse, and the reserve it feels so gall- ing. In him there was nothing of that inquisitorial jealousy which has led some to pry into every indiscretion ; or of that sluggishness which never follows the young beyond the precincts of their Seminary. He approved himself at once as their guardian and their father. He invited them to his house on suitable occasions, and made them welcome to the use of such books in his library as they wished to consult ; when any of them required his counsel, it was given in a manner the most friendly; and when any of them were sick, he watched over them with the solici- tude of a parent. When we think on the many young men who have been trained by him, and who are labouring in various places in Britain, in Ireland, and in America, we feel it impossible to estimate the results of his instructions, admonitions, and prayers. As a proof of his great prudence in the discharge of this office, it may be mentioned, that on one occasion a present was sent to the library of the students of some books, among which were six copies of Paine's Eights of Man. This was done at a period when the nation was agitated by political speculation ; and such a gift, to such a seminary, was fitted to poison the ardent minds of youth, and excite them to disseminate dis- affection over the land. When he heard of the arrival of such books, he stated to the students that he could not permit them to have a place in their library, or to be circulated among them. Though attached to lib- eral principles, he was unwilling that his students should engage as dis- putants or partisans in the political contests of the day. It was in meek- ness, truth, and righteousness, that he wished them to go forth as does the Captain of salvation. The selection made by the students of books for the library was submitted to him for his approval; and his opinion was given so wisely, and so mildly, that when unfavourable to any book it was never resisted. As a proof of his amiable modesty it may be men- tioned, that when any ministers venerable for age or wisdom visited the institution, he urged them to give, ere they went away, some counsels to his pupils. I have seen this done, at his entreaty, with much judgment, delicacy, and kindness. The interest felt by the wise and pious of other churches in the pros- perity of the institution under his care was sometimes intimated to him in a very gratifying manner. It is with pleasure I select, as a specimen AND HIS WRITINGS. XVU of this interest, a letter of the venerable Dr. Erskine, a man of primitive sanctity of character, and distinguished by a profound and extensive ac- quaintance with theological literature, a truly amiable humility, and a liberality of feeling which made him regard Christians of every party and of every country as his brethren: — Laurieston, 11th Sept. 1799. ' Eev. Sir, Mr. Ogle acquainted me two day ago, that my Ser- mons being out of print, he wished I could spare him two copies, and particularly one for your students who desired to have it in their library. I informed him I had only three copies, which are intended for friends at a distance. I have since happily got a copy in another shop, which I beg you will accept with best wislies to you and the young men under your care. I am, Eev. Sir, Your affectionate Brother and Servant, JOHN EKSKINE.' In this charge Dr. Lawson continued to officiate till his death, with the entire confidence of the church with which he was connected ; whose ministers and elders voted him, not long before he died, a present of one hundred pounds sterling, as an expression of their high estimation of his services. In the meeting of Synod in April 1820, when his death was announced, the Kev. Mr. Greig of Lochgelly, who had lived in the most intimate friendship with him for more than fifty years, proposed that the Synod should insert in their minutes an expression of their high estima- tion of his worth and services. It was left to Mr. Greig to prepare it, and after being read and approved it was engrossed in their records, and a copy of it follows: — 'In recording the decease of the Rev. Dr. Lawson, the Synod find them- selves called on to express in their minutes the peculiar and important obligations which they and the people of their charge are under to the Head of the church, for the prolonged and valuable services performed by this worthy and venerable member of their body as their Professor of Divinity; to whom under God most of the ministers of this Synod are much indebted for their knowledge of the Gospel of the blessed God, and their qualification for preaching it to their fellow men; and the impres- sion of whose amiable and venerable character for piety, for knowledge of the word of God, for sacred literature, and for every excellence which can adorn the man, the Christian, and the Professor of Divinity, they wish ever to retain, and to cherish as an excitement to the faithful dis- charge of the duties of their office.' How valuable is such a tribute from such a man ! and still more does it appear so when thus sanctioned. Of Mr. Greig it is but justice to say, that he was distinguished by uncommon vigour of intellect, commanding energy as a preacher, great probity of character, and by a close walk with God. B Xviii MEMOIR OF DR. LAWSON It will be felt as a very interesting part of this Memoir, to state what Dr. L. was in his family, and as a friend. It is most gratifying to his family to reflect how he 'counted the Sabbath a delight, the holy of the Lord and honourable.' He used to remark — that he would like to see the Jewish custom universal, of beginning the duties peculiar to the Sabbath at six o'clock on the Saturday evening; and in his own house he made it to be devoted to books or conversation of a serious cast. So different was his conduct from the common practice of indulging longer in sleep on the Sabbath morning than on others, that he rose earlier, and made his family do so; and his domestic instructions and prayers w^ere never hurried over, but discharged as a duty felt to be pleasing as well as solemn. Of Fisher^ s Cafechmn he had a very high opinion, made his young people read portions of it again and again with great care, and meditate on them, and he then examined them as to their conceptions of its meaning, and the impressions which it should produce. There was a circumstance in his family instruction which showed his admirable skill, and which rendered it most delightful to the young: with his questions and counsels he mingled appropriate anecdotes, exhibiting the pleasures of religion, God's care of his saints, the beauty of early piety, the hap- piness of the family whose God is the Lord, how the fear of God operates as a preservative from sin, w^hatGod has done in honour of his own day, and what consolations and hopes the promises of the Gospel have yielded in sickness and death. The daily reading of the Scriptures was one of his counsels, and also to commit a portion of them daily to memory. Texts of Scripture you will find your best wealth; and the judgment, the memory, and the heart should be their treasury. One of the schemes of doing good in our day has been, recommending the formation of societies, whose members are pledged to commit one verse of the Bible, or more, every day to memory. I*erhaps this is giving too much parade to an exercise of secret piety, but the practice itself is excellently calculated to enrich the mind, to improve conversation, and to guide the steps. The conversation which he maintained in his family was worthy of his character for wisdom and goodness. While some studious men have maintained a gravity before their children gloomy and reserved, as if they would degrade themselves by unbending; and while others have indulged in n playfulness and levity which lessened their authority, and produced disturbance in their serious moods, and dislike to their solemn counsels; he opened the minds and won the hearts of his children, by appropriate anecdotes, of which his store was inexhaustible, and his introduction most happy. His two sons whom he lived to see ordained to the holy ministry, were objects of his pious solicitude in th.eir studies and labours. Many were the prayers, counsels, and charges which he devoted to this great object, that they 'might show themselves approved unto God, workmen that AND Ills WRITINGS. XIX needed not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.' It is a striking fact, honourable to his memory, to the judgment and feeling of his congregation, and to the talents of his sons, that they were both called to succeed their father in his pastoral charge. He was repeatedly visited with bereavements in his family, and in such affecting circumstances his piety was manifested in a very interesting way. The death of the wife of his youth, and of one of his sons by his second marriage, a most accomplished young man, and whose future course of piety and utility was anticipated in many a fond hope, were felt by him very painfully ; and over the graves of other promising chil- dren he was likewise called to mourn. Some have supposed that on men devoted to study, such bereavements fall lightly ; but by them they are felt with peculiar keenness: while to other losses they may feel compara- tive indifference, at the death of friends their hearts bleed most profusely. Amidst the languor of study they are cheered by their sprightliness, or cherished by their care ; to them they cling with an affection which is never solicited by the world's gayeties, and which feels in their removal as if 'the light had become dark in their tabernacle/ and that they must follow them in the path to their long home. I shall give a few extracts from some of his letters after such trials, which will be useful to mourners, while they show how deeply these were felt, and how piously they were improved. 'The death of children puts a final period to all that we can do for them, but our grief on this occasion is effectually counterbalanced by the consciousness that we have earnestly endeavoured to do for them what lay in our power whilst they were with us; especially when we have good reason to hope that our prayers for them have not been rejected, and that Divine Mercy led them safe through life and death to a world from whence they would not for a thousand worlds return. I have lost for the rest of my time in this world some children whose faces I always beheld with pleasure; but I hope, young as they w^re, they were better fitted for leaving this world than I am. We are authorized by Scripture, without expecting a revelation from God respecting their state, to rejoice in the hope that they are sleeping in Jesus; and, living with Him, shall be brought with him at the great day of his appearance,' The following is an extract from a letter to one of his sons, in whose house, and at a distance, his sister was dying. When beloved friends in distress are at a distance, the heart is often agitated with fears, anxieties, and regrets which work more painfully than if we were near them. Fancy, strongly excited, paints the scene in darker colours than reality; and the heart is ready to repine that our hands can take no share in the minis- trations of kindness and sympathy, and that to us their last looks and to- kens of love are denied. In the quotation which follows, resignation hath its perfect work amidst nature's strongest feelings. 'My heart is grieved because you have not been able to give a more XX MEMOIR OF DR. LAAYSON favourable account of my beloved daughter's health; but I have better reason if possible than Eli to say, 'It is the Lord, let him do what seem- eth him good.' In the threatened destruction of his two wicked sons, he trembled at the thought of their awful condition under the wrath of God. I have reason to hope that our dear J. is. suffering under the hand of a gracious Father, to make her a partaker of his holiness, and to prepare her for eternal happiness. It must give you great pain to witness the sufferings of a sister so justly dear to you, but it will give you pleasure many days hence to remember that you had the opportunity, and did not suffer it to pass unimproved, of consoling her mind, and suggesting useful directions to her. May God bless all your endeavours to tranquilize her, and to prepare her for the event!' After her death he thus writes : ' My beloved J. is gone from the world, but she will never be forgotten by me if I should live a thousand years twice told. I have no cause for the least reflection on any part of her behaviour to me. I wish I had no cause for reflection on the omission of what I might have done to her. Yet I am conscious that I have en- deavoured to train her up in the way that she should go, and I trust that my endeavours have not been in vain in the Lord.' How different is such a spirit and such language from that of the an- cient heathen sages under such trials, in whom we often see an affected sturdiness and indifference; or a grief, wild, audacious, and despairing. The following passage from the Christian Observer beautifully illustrates this statement: — ' Quinctilian's letter upon the death of his two sons, one of whom was a youth highly accomplished, and of great promise, is beautiful and touching. But in it he boasts of his impatience ; thinks it necessary to excuse himself for having survived the stroke; denies the doctrine of a Divine superintendence over the affairs of men; accuses the gods of spite and injustice; and says his tolerance, not his love of life, will revenge his son for the rest of his days. This was all that his ethics could do to calm his mind. What will an infidel say to such a scene as contrasted with the faith and patience of the saints? Will he say that their meek en- durance is the fruit of advanced philosophy? Quinctilian lived in an age enlightened by literature ; but Rome was far behind Jerusalem in the sublimities of moral precept, because the true light had not radiated its horizon. And then see how Job acted, though in a ruder age, and surrounded by idolatry. Revelation cast a bright hue of heaven over all his sorrows.' We can only find a place for a few sentences from some of his other letters on such occasions. ' God is righteous in taking from us. He is merciful in sparing to us what he has not taken. If it had pleased God to cut off" the half of our families, it would have been our duty to have given him thanks that the other half was left, I bless God for the hope of seeing those whom I have lost, with greater pleasure than ever ; but AND nrS WRITINGS. XXI [ have still more reason to bless him for the gift of his own Son to such unworthy creatures as I am, that through faith in Him I may liave ever- lasting life. J. M. has been for some time in a state of derangement. This must give great distress to his wife ; and yet to be the wife of a pious man under this sore affliction is a less evil than to be placed in a like rchition to a man who wants the fear of God, whatever other recommen- dations he may possess. Insanity will not, like unregeneracy, exclude from the kingdom of God.' AVhile he cherished kindly feelings to all the ministers of the church with which he was connected, there were some of them with whom he cultivated a special friendship. With Mr. Greig of Lochgelly he main- tained a frequent correspondence by letters, from their first acquaintance while studying divinity, till his death. Such correspondence would be deemed very valuable by all that knew the men, from the views it would give of many important topics, of the signs of the times, and of the state of religion at home and abroad. In writing to one of his sons he says, * Our chief pleasure as ministers should be in doing good, and in the conscientious use of the means of doing good. It can give little pleasure to any man of consideration to be valued more than he deserves, and it need not give us great pain to be despised. Or to incur the displeasure of men, if we are conscious of en- deavouring to perform the duties which we owe them. I have no hope of ever seeing you or your brethren at K. I have had my time in which I was happy to visit distant friends, but every thing in this world has its end. Let your brethren know that I am glad to hear of their prosperity, and of their endeavours to perform faithful service to Christ and to their people. I am sorry that I have not been able to do more than I have done to prepare them for usefulness, but to supply my defects I hope that they will be daily learners at the school of Paul, or rather of Christ; and that they will treasure up in their minds the epistles of Timothy and Titus, which are epistles from Christ to all ministers who are called to labour in His service.' With some ministers of the Established church in his neighbourhood he lived on terms of friendly intimacy. • By Dr. Douglas, who was Min- ister of Galashiels for more than fifty years, a man of great good sense and public spirit, and by Dr. Hardie, Minister of Ashkirk, an accom- plished scholar, and an amiable man, he was beloved and respected. On various occasions, and particularly when the degree of Doctor in Divinity was conferred on him by the Marischal College of Aberdeen, they bore the most ample testimony to the piety of his character, and to the un- common extent of his attainments in literature. It is while merit is as- sociated with modesty that its claims are most readily admitted ; and it is when it is vain-glorious and overbearing that it is decried and opposed. Living in the neighbourhood of Sir AValter Scott, Dr. Lawson was no stranger to the benevolence and kindness of his disposition, the stores of XXU MEMOIR OF DR. LAWSON his mind, and tlie power of his fancy; yet amidst the admiration which he felt for a genius which has shed such lustre over the literature of his country, and given to the place of his abode attractions which will exist to the latest age, he showed no solicitude to engage his notice. The only time he ever was in his company was when Prince Leopold was passing through Selkirk, on which occasion Sir Walter was the person who intro- duced him to the Prince, and mentioned to a friend afterwards that the interview was a very affecting one. The hospitalities of Abbotsford would neither have accorded wdth the state of his health, nor his habits of seclusion ; and he would have considered it as a waste of time, and an act of injustice, to have frequented scenes where he could neither give, nor receive enjoyment. He admired Sir Walter Scott's works, and had read with interest all that he had published previous to the first series of 'Tales of my Landlord.' Before he had an opportunity of examining that book, Dr. M'Crie's review came in his way, which influenced him so much that he would not read it. Some of the members of his family thought that he had imbibed a worse opinion of the book from the pas- sages quoted, than he would if he had read the whole. So keenly did he feel the injustice which he thought had been done to the Covenanters, and so strongly was he impressed with the dishonour brought on the spirit of piety by the ludicrous manner in which its feelings and language were portrayed, that not all the beauty and wit by which the work is charac- terized could keep him from thinking of it with horror. There were various circumstances in his situation which led him to feel a peculiar regard for the memory of these worthies. The writings of the puritanical divines, which he regarded as stores of wisdom, were his favourite study; in the religious body with which he was connected, high importance is attached to the Covenants and to the struggles connected with them ; their Testimonyhrenthes an ardent zeal against all violence to principle and conscience ; and the vicinity of Philiphaugh, w4iere Montrose was de- feated by Leslie, to the place of his residence, and the traditions current in the neighbourhood as to the battle and its results, were all adapted to strengthen his interest in the faithful of the land at that period, and his displeasure at every attempt to degrade them. Feeling, as we do, a very high veneration for the memory of the Cove- nanters, we have regretted that Sir Walter Scott should have degraded his genihs, by representations calculated to bring ridicule and odium on some of them, as coarse in their manners, sticklers for trifles, and de- lighting in tumult; but it was by his political prejudices that his judg- ment was warped. The time is gone when the flatteries of monarchs had power to charm ; the exposure of their follies is more agreeable to the taste of the day ; the vail which charity would draw is torn in pieces by the rude hand of vulgar abuse; and the attempt to deck the characters of Charles and Claverhouse with qualities to which they had no claim, has tended to sharpen the exposure of their wickedness. But it ought AND HIS WRITINGS. Xxiii to be remembered what justice Sir Walter has done to the Covenanters in his subsequent volumes; how he has exhibited some of them as rising to the highest attainments in moral worth ; distinguished by all that is amiable in female character; exemplifying a generosity of the noblest or- der; and maintaining their integrity unshaken amidst the severest trials of human virtue. The power of moral principle manifested by him in the sacrifices and the exertions which he made for the payment of debt, contracted by becoming responsible for others, entitle him to a high place in the memory of the just. While genius and patriotism strike their harps at his tomb, let not piety hang hers on the willows ; but let it touch it to the praise of the Father of lights — of Him in whose hand it is to make great — of the righteous Lord who loves righteousness, and whose mercy endureth for ever. There were circumstances in the conduct of his friends in which ad- monition seemed to Dr. L. necessary, and the following letter written to a lady of his acquaintance who had married a French Officer, a Catholic, shows with what fidelity and delicacy he could give it: — ' I wished to call upon you before you left Selkirk for a foreign coun- try. Indisposition was one of the causes that hindered me ; now I be- lieve it is too late, I therefore bid you farewell by a few lines. 'You know the reason for which I was dissatisfied with your marriage, but I heartily approve of your following the husband you have chosen, were he to go to the end of the world. The difference of your religion from his is so far from being a reason why you should not fulfil every duty as a wife, that it furnishes a strong argument for endeavouring to fulfil them in perfection, that you may adorn your profession. * Your husband, I hope, is too generous and too reasonable to wish you to change your religion unless you are convinced of its being false. He v/ould certainly rather wish you to be honest in the profession of a religion which he may esteem erroneous, than a hypocrite in the profession of a religion which he esteems to be true. 'You will, however, meet with temptations to the change of that good religion which you learned from your worthy father ; but I hope you will attend to the Bible, and pray daily for the enlightening and establishing grace of the Holy Spirit, that you may be kept from falling. You know the sentence pronounced against all who are ashamed of Christ and of his words; and against all who love any earthly friends, or even their own life, more than Christ. Mark viii. 88. Luke xiv. 25-27. *I pray that you may always enjoy the pleasure of a good conscience; that, whether present or absent, you may be accepted of God; and that He may make you the delight of your husband and friends while you are in the world.' The humility this letter manifests is truly amiable. It discovers not the least working of that irritation which many would have shown at the disregard of their opinion as to the impropriety of the connection; and XXIV MEMOIR OF DR. LAWSOX while it brings forward the highest motives to stability in her profession, it points to the lessons of a father's piety, as what might counteract the influence of her new connexion in recommending an opposite creed. If the husband was a man- of a liberal spirit, the generous and enlightened character of this letter would give him a favourable impression of the candour and Christian charity of the writer. In a letter written to a nephew who had engaged in a sea-faring life, there are many excellent counsels. Our limits permit us to give only a few extracts ; the whole letter discovers a great knowledge of human nature and character, and it is employed to give effect to the most whole- some admonitions: — 'I hear that you have made choice of a sea-faring life. I hope you will find that our God is the God of the sea as well as of the dry land. Those who go down to the sea, and do business in the great waters, see his works and his wonders in the deep ; and often find reason to thank him for signal deliverances from perils of great waters. It was surpris- ing, that Jonah should ever think of fleeing away in a ship from the presence of the Lord ; but his eyes were soon opened, and he received a chastisement which brought him down to the belly of hell, and got an unexpected deliverance which made him an eminent type of our great Redeemer. ' Your life may sometimes be exposed to alarming danger, but the knowledge that this may often be the case will, I hope, be useful to you. Boast not of to-morrow, for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth. This may be said of us who remain on the dry land as well as you ; yet seamen are still more inexcusable than other men, if they do not remem- ber a lesson so loudly proclaimed by the raging waves, and the roaring wind ; and I do not see how they can enjoy peace in their minds, unless they endeavour so to behave in the course of their lives as they would have wished to have done, when they see themselves carried up by one wave to the clouds of heaven, and ready to be plunged into the bosom of the ocean by the next. ' I hope the grace of God will preserve you from imitating any of the bad examples that may be set before you by your companions. It has been the unhappiness of many of them, that they have not received an education fitted to preserve them from yielding to the temptations to which they may be exposed; but you have been taught the fear of the Lord, and in you it will be more criminal to practise wicked deeds with them that work iniquity.' He then warns him against being influenced by the fear of ridicule, to yield to the solicitations of sinners, or to neglect religious duties ; and against that brutish folly into which sea-faring men are so apt to rush in scenes of relaxation after a long period of restraint and toil. He sug- gests this as one of the best maxims for the regulation of the conduct, not to do what may please us for the moment, but what may please us AND HIS WRITINGS. XXV afterwards; and inculcates dependence on divine grace, and frequent prayer for it, as the best means of comfort and of moral security. There is another letter which amply deserves a place in this sketch on account of its wisdom and amiable sympathy, and the peculiar circum- stances of the worthy man to whom it was addressed. Mr. Young had been a fellow student, and was called to minister at Newtown in his neighbourhood. While going through his trials for ordination he fell into such a state of nervous agitation and despondence, that when the day for that service arrived, he could not be induced to submit to be or- dained. I have heard him speak with much feeling of the considerate mildness and pity with which he was treated by the venerable Mr. Brown of Haddington on that occasion ; of the zeal with which he defended him from the harsh remarks of some disposed to judge him with severity; and of the solemn admonitions addressed by him in a sermon he was requested to preach to the congregation ere they were dismissed. Mr. Young was soon after ordained at Kincardine, and led there for a long period a holy, useful, and contented life. In old age his mind again became clouded; he resigned his charge, retired with his ftimily to Edinburgh, and after labouring for some time under the dark impressions of a disordered in- tellect, he entered into peace. It would be most foolish and unjust to charge this gloom on religion; it arose from a constitutional tendency; and in marking his condition there is far more reason for wonder that his long course in the ministry was so steady and cheerful, amidst difficulties which might have shaken firmer minds, than that its close should have been darkened by morbid anxiety and gloomy forebodings. The letter was written to him when Dr. L. had heard of the disturbed state of his mind, and its tone of pity and friendship is very soothing. Such a state of mind is too often treated roughly by the vigorous, the tranquil, and the gay: and often are its aberrations and tremours made the subject of ridicule: but Dr. L. felt, that while the spirit of a man un- broken may sustain his infirmity, a v»'ounded spirit who can bear? He expostulated with him in holy kindness, laboured to restore his soul by wise counsel, and left him to the mercy of Him who will not break the bruised reed, nor quench the smoking flax: — 'As I have seldom had the opportunity of seeing you for many years back, I take this opportunity of putting you in mind, that by the long- suflfering of God I still continue in the world, and may derive much benefit from your prayers, I am not what I once was, yet through God's mercy I possess many comforts, and that cheerfulness of spirit which be- comes creatures to whom He is so indulgent. 'It gives me pain to hear that a man of your good sense, and one with whom the credit of religion is materially concerned, from the good opin- ion entertained of you as a Christian and a minister, should groan under disquieting thoughts concerning your future allotment from the hand of XXVI MEMOIR OF DR. LAWSON God. Do you not remember the pleasant doctrine that you have taught from your youth up. You surely would not for the whole world have it thought that you call in question the exceeding riches of the grace of God, who sent his Son to die that we might live. I hope you will follow the example of David, who did what he could to dispel all gloomy thoughts from the mind, by turning his thoughts to the excellency of the mercy of God; the wonderful works which he did in the days of old; and the sure word of God. Your Bible is much larger than his, and brighter and iweeter is the light which flows from Him who came to heal the broken hearted. *I would be much dejected were my thoughts always to dwell on my- self, but, through the righteousness of Christ, grace reigns to eternal life, and in Him it finds all that justice can demand from the believing sin- ner. I will therefore hope in Christ ; and as a penitent malefactor once said, — No man ever perished with his face turned to the cross of Jesus. The God of all comfort will, I hope, In due time drive away every gloomy thought from your mind. For your friends' sake, for your own sake, for Christ's sake, look in humble hope to the Saviour, and may you be en- abled to glorify God by a cheerful reliance on his rich mercy in Christ Jesus.' In looking over a number of his letters to his correspondents, it was delightful to mark with what simplicity and beauty the amiable quali- ties of his character are manifested, without the least solicitude or art. In some of them he expresses his gratitude for any attention or kindness shown to himself or to any of his family. Some good men have thought it testified their piety to keep earthly benefiictors out of view, and to say that they looked not in gratitude to them, but to the Father of mercies. To him undoubtedly our eyes should be first and constantly directed, but the instruments of his bounty deserve our regard. And while some have acknowledged kindnesses in a manner savouring too much of the spirit of the world, his thanks were given in simplicity and in godly sincerity, and in a mode which evinced that he felt in their complacency, that God was lifting on him the light of his countenance, and that their favours were put by Him into their hands to bestow. In some of them we find him pleading the cause of the blind, the dis- eased, or the infirm, with those who were able to assist them. He docs this in a tone which shows that he remembered them that suffered ad- versity as being himself also in the body ; and the allusions which he makes to the cross, and to the grace of Jesus, show that his compassion was excited by a divine impulse. He makes, in his letters, some beautiful allusions to the friends and the scenes of his youth ; and though many years had elapsed since some of them had gone down to the grave, his heart kindles on the remem- brance of their kindness, their genius, and their piety. Fancy brings back to the tender heart friends long since gone, in smiles sweeter than AND HIS WRITINGS. XXVll any the face ever wore, and in acquirements brightening as they rise from the darkness of the grave:—* Never was any man blessed with friend- ships more delightful or moro useful than myself. David himself had not more reason to rejoice in his pleasant brother Jonathan, than you and I have to rejoice in our beloved A. S.* But I hope death has not imposed an everlasting termination on our friendship.' The happy use made of the Bible in all his letters, is a proof of the delight which he had in the law of the Lord, and that in Plis law he meditated day and night. There is no small measure of wisdom neces- sary in introducing with propriety the language of Scripture, either in conversation or in letters. This is sometimes done in a manner too easy, and in circumstances too familiar; but the texts to which he refers ap- pear as words in season, and as the voice of God elevating the views and solemnizing the feelings of men. These letters abound with reflections and maxims important and in- teresting, and of these we shall give a few as specimens, regretting that our limits admit not of further indulgence: — *The Gospel gives us its strongest consolations under those afflictions which press heaviest upon us. 'Never was friend more loved by me than he whom God has taken from me, but we will never be happy unless we can say with some de- gree of sincerity, " Whom have I in heaven but thee, and there is none in all the earth whom I desire beside thee." At the same time I have reason to rejoice that all my lovers and friends are not put far from me, and that the departed are not for ever removed. Oh that we possessed a large measure of that faith which is the substance of things hoped for! ' When children are removed out of the world before their parents, it is happy when they leave such a pleasant memorial behind them, that the sorrows of the mourner are mingled with joy and thanksgiving. ' I dislike to hear Christ's lamentation on the cross, " My God ! My God! why hast thou forsaken me?" called his complaint This seems not to accord with his resignation and patience, the voluntary character of his sufferings, nor the words which follow in the Psalm from which the language is quoted : " But thou are holy, thou that inhabitest the praises of Israel." * He that is animated throughout a discourse, is not animated at all. ^ Probably, by these initials is indicated the Rev. Andrew Swanson, who died eady in life, after a brief but gifted ministry. -His published Sermons are still extant and highly esteemed. Although reared with Lawson under Professor John Brown of Haddington in the Secession Church, he made several changes in his Ecclesiastical relations. With a delicate allusion to this, his pious and excellent old Professor, on being informed of his death, said; * Ay, ay, is Andrew dead? Weel, he has found a Kirk to suit him noo !' It is highly creditable also to Dr. Law- son, that the changes made by his friend and fellow-student made no change in the warmth of their friendship throughout life. — Ed. XXVIU MEMOIR OF DR. LAWSON It is absurd to seem as earnest in announcing a method, as in recom- mending Jesus Christ. ' Mr. Bell of Wooller is gone. He has I believe left few equal and none superior among us, in those qualities which command esteem and engage love. I am persuaded that he is now with Christ. Is it not material for us to consider whether we are as likely as he to make a happy exchange when we are called from this world? ' 1 do not think it difficult to bear reproach as a stoic, but to bear it as becometh saints, we need the grace and the spirit of love and meekness. How can we find in our hearts to pray for pardon if we do not forgive? * Many of our anxieties are superfluous, and those most of all which respect futurity. Many who are now in health will die this year, and many who are now looking daily for the message of departure will be preserved alive for years to come. * A turn is given to the mind by the companions of our youth, which for the most part, has an influence on the remainder of life. * Unliappy must the happiest of those men be, whose happiness rests on any thing so precarious as that which is but a vapour. ' I wish if possible to have every reproach cast on me to die a natural death. Boerhaave never troubled himself to confute calumnies ; they were sparks, he used to say, which if you blow them, will kindle into a flame : if you let them alone they will expire. 'The present state of affairs confirms the words of Elihu, "Great men are not always wise." May they learn this, that they may show indul- gence to those who differ from their present way of thinking ! ' We have great reason to bless God for sound understandings ; but they cannot well be called sound, if their powers are not employed in His service. 'It will be known at the great dsLjwhen long life turned out a blessing; and who have, by their own folly, made it a curse to themselves.' ANECDOTES OF DR. LAWSON. Ere I come to the concluding part of this sketch, a few anecdotes may be introduced with good effect illustrative of his character as a minister, as a man, and as a teacher of theology. Though he lived in a Burgh, which like other towns of that class, was frequently agitated by electioneering politics, he never took part in such contests, but gave ftiithful warning when he felt it necessary, against the evil tempers and the violence which they so often excite. On one oc- casion when the town was much inflamed, he exhorted his people not to lose sight of their Christian character amidst the contests of party ; and to strive to enter in at the strait gate. His heart was so affected with the importance of eternity, and with solicitude for the spiritual welfare of his people, that he was overpowered even unto tears. Though his audience was in general an attentive one, he observed, on AND HIS WRITINGS. XXIX one occasion, that many of them were asleep while he was preaching. He made a pause, at which they all lifted up their lieads with evident anxiety. On observing this, he said, 'How strange is your conduct! You gave yourselves up to sleep while I was preaching the Gospel of Salvation ; and now, when I am silent, you seem all anxious to hear!' Of his skill in introducing local allusions, the following incident is a striking illustration. A few years before he died, he preached at Stitchel, on the Monday after the dispensation of the Lord's Supper. The text was John xxi. 18, 19. 'Verily, verily, I say unto thee, When thou wast young thou girdedst thyself, and walkcdst whither thou wouldst: but when thou shalt be old, thou shalt stretch forth thy hands, and another shall gird thee, and carry thee whither thou wouldest not. This spake he, signifying by what death he should glorify God. And when he had spoken this he saith unto him, Follow me.' And it was with these words he commenced his sermon: 'Forty years ago I preached at the communion in this place. Your holy and beloved pastor discoursed on that occasion on these words, ' This beginning of miracles did Jesus in Cana of Galilee, and manifested forth his glory ; and his disciples believed on him.' That was a sermon on the Jirst of Christ's miracles and its blessed results, and I am now to discourse lo you on some of his last words, and oh may it be with such happy effects ! There are few in this assembly who were pres- ent at the service to which I refer, and forty years hence the greater part of us will be in eternity, and an eternity either of happiness or misery. Oh that we were wise, that we understood this, that we would consider our latter end !' This preface made the deepest impression on all present, and the whole discourse was heard with uncommon interest. I shall give one instance out of many of his happy quotation of texts of Scripture ; and in it we see the delicate kindness with which he could apologize for omissions, and, the dexterity with which he could check censorious remarks. At the close of a Sacramental solemnity in Selkirk, the minister who officiated last pronounced the benediction at the end of his prayer. The people remained in the yard, and Dr. L. suggested to him to give out a psalm. Though labouring under pain, he arose and did so; and Dr. L. when the psalm was ended, addressed the people in various excellent counsels, calling them to value more highly that re- demption which would be the perpetual song of heaven, and to cultivate and exercise those devout affections which should be expressed in an eternity of praise. He then said that it was usual to make the benediction the close of the service; but that the apostle Paul after having expressed the holy wishes implied in it for the Eomans, felt some new matter oc- curring to his mind which he states to them, and then repeats it. Let us now repeat it, and may it be doubly felt in the piety it breathes, and doubly experienced in the grace and peace which it contains. It deserves to be noticed that he lectured through the whole Bible, a task which few have been able to accomplish. For some time after his XXX MEMOIR OF DR. LAWSON ordination lie did not write his lectures, but the thought struck him that he ought to have dons so, and that this portion of olficial duty required as much careful preparation as was bestowed on sermons. From that time he wrote them regularly. He left behind him no less than eighty considerable volumes in manuscript; and it is to be regretted that so few of them have been given to the public. If a man so gifted in memory and a ready elocution wrote with such care; and if Paul with his ex- traordinary endowments had his parchments containing, we may believe, suggestions for preaching, the fruits of study, and the records of experi- ence; most inexcusable are they who lay up no stores of knowledge, and who degrade sacred subjects by the flimsiness and incoherence of their attempted illustrations. A circumstance may "be mentioned as evincing the power which God sometimes gives to moral admonition from the pulpit. Dr. L. when preaching on the eighth commandment, insisted strongly on the duty of restitution. Next morning a family from whose house a pair of shoes had been stolen some years before, found the price of them lying on the sole of the window, placed there by the unknown offender. Ministers draw the bow at a venture, but God directs the arrow to the heart. The anecdotes illustrative of his character as a man and a Christian will exhibit niS HUMILITY. In a discourse on the Sovereignty of Grace in the conversion of sinners, he made the following declaration : — ' For my part I am firmly persuaded that all my hope must rest upon the richness and sovereignty of the mercy of God in Christ Jesus. I am persuaded that millions already in hell were far less criminal when they left the world than I have been. I am sensible that I can never make myself a fitter subject of mercy than I am at this moment; and that therefore I must follow to tlie pit those miserable wretches that are groaning under the WTath of God, unless I am plucked as a brand out of the burning. A doctrine so necessary to my hope and peace as the sovereignty of divine mercy I hope never to renounce.' In travelling with a young friend, the conversation turned on the cor- ruption of the human heart. The youth, who had the highest sense of his v/isdom and sanctity, said to him, M do not think you would need to fear much though your thoughts were laid open.' Dr. L. replied, ' I could not bear that the course of my thoughts even for one hour should be ex- posed.' Most needful is the prayer, 'Cleanse thou me from secret faults; keep back thy servant also from presumptuous sins !' Soon after he commenced his course as Professor, a very unpopular preaclier v/.as sent to supply his pulpit for three Sabbaths in succession. lie felt the appointment as unkind, and had some reason to suspect that it proceeded from no friendly feeling. Thinking it, as he said, better to prevent complaints than to answer them, he preached a discourse to his AND HIS WRITINGS. XXXl people on each of these sabbaths. And after the preacher had left him he made the following statement: 'I never heard him preach a sermon but he told me more of my duty than I practised all my life ; and while this was the case, whatever reason I had to find fault with myself, I had none to find fault with him.' HIS MEEKNESS AND rOIlEEARANCE. When in London he was asked to dine with a family wliere he wa? to meet with a minister who was at that time in high popularity. From the simplicity of his appearance and manners, Dr. H. thought him a fi': subject for his wit, and treated him with rude freedom. Dr. L. felt his indignation kindled, and thought not only of repelling his insolence, but of exposing him to shame on account of the spirit lie liad manifested, and the claims he had advanced. But this reflection made him let him alone; — 'London is the scene of his duties, what I say may injure his usefulness. His reflections can do me no harm. It will be far better for me to gain a victory over myself than over him.' He was called to preach at the dispensation of the Lord's Supper in Glasgow at a time when the controversy in the Secession church about toleration had raised malignant feelings in the minds of many against him. He was to ofiiciate on the Friday evening, and so tempestuous was the weather that the attendance was very small. Some person in the vestry, afraid lest he should consider that as an indication of public feel- ing which arose merely from the storminess of the night, kindly suggested what reason he had to disregard the slanders of ignorance and malice; upon which he repeated a sentence in Latin in which there wa^ a double allusion to the storm and to the prejudice which had been excited; — 'It is but a little cloud and it will soon blow over.' Some one expressed his sur- prise that he had not repelled the attacks which had been made on him, and he replied in the words of a heathen philosopher; — 'Why should I kick an ass because an ass has kicked me?' When it was suggested that the epithet would be applied to the most abusive and the most despicable of his assailants, he replied, that he Vv'ould be sorry if it were, and that ii he thought so, he would never use the language again. HIS DELIGHT IN THE ACCEPTABILITY OF OTHEKS. On one occasion, when two preachers had officiated in his place and that of a friend, and had been highly popular, he remarked, that 'it was not very easy to ascertain from their appearances at the hall, what measure of popularity young men will attain. If Christ be magnified, all is gained.' Envy was a feeling he despised for its meanness, and abhorred for its malignity. He spoke of it as directly opposed to the temper of the Gos- pel, and remarked that the passage in James condemnatory of it should be read as a question ;— ' Doth the Spirit that dwelleth in us lust to envy V The phrase, 'The spirit that dwelleth in us,' is never used in Scripture for our own spirit, but for the Spirit of God. XXxii MEMOIR OF DE. LAWSON HIS CANDOUR. I never saw a man, said one who knew liim well, who was more ready- to acknowledgo the force of an argument, though it had not occurred to himself. As an evidence of this it may be stated, that when a young friend had given it as his opinion that Melchizedec was only a king in Canaan ; and that, as Paul was reasoning with the Jews from the Old Testament Scriptures, no man reading only the passages in Genesis and in the 110th psalm was likely to suppose him to be any thing else; he admitted the force of the suggestion, and said it would not be easily an- swered by those who wished to assign to him a higher character. On one occasion while he was travelling in a stage coach, one of the passengers, supposing him to be a clergyman, expressed his surprise that a tenet so horrible as the perdition of heathens should have a place in the creed of Christians; and that any man should think that one so en- lightened and so virtuous as Socrates should not be saved. To this tirade Dr. L. replied ;— ' God is the judge of all, and it is not for us to pronounce a sentence on any. If you and I meet Socrates in heaven, we will be happy to find him there. If he is not, sufficient reasons \n\l be given for his absence.' HIS SCRUPULOUS REGARD TO ENGAGEMENTS. "SVhen at Glasgow he accepted of an invitation to dine at a friend's house, but having gone to Paisley, he met with a party there with whom he saw much that was interesting, and with whom he was solicited to spend the afternoon. The son of his friend who was with him urged him to do so, as there were persons in the party v/hom he might not again meet, and with whom this unexpected intercourse might be mutually agreeable; and said that his parents would be glad to see him any other day, and would be satisfied if he was happy. His reply was, 'I will keep my en- gagement, for you have no authority from them to release me from it; and I will not hurt any one's feelings, even though by doing so, I might gratify my own.' HIS DELIGHT IN HIS CHILDREN. I have heard various anecdotes which illustrate this, and which show the pleasure he took in opening their minds and engaging their affections. Let not this be thought too minute and familiar for mention. Who does not think with more interest of the heart and the character of IMelancthon when he finds him relating this little circumstance; — ' I was liolding my little daughter in my arms in the morning, when she had only her night gown on. She observed tears stealing down my cheeks, and took up her skirt and wiped them away. This little act of hers has made a lasting impression on my memory and heart, and I could not but think it sig- nificant.' HIS EXCELLENT QUALITIES AS A FRIEND. He delighted much in the visits of his friends, though he rarely suf- AND HIS WRITINGS. XXXlll fered intercourse witli them to encroach on the time claimed by other duties ; and those that knew his habits felt it would be wrong to inter- fere with that which was to be so well spent. A friend mentioned to me that he had travelled some miles to see him, and meant to go to Stitchel in the evening. He urged him to tarry all night, but finding him de- termined and the evening advancing, he said ; — 'If you are determined to go to Stitchel, it would be unkind to detain you, as the road is neither short nor easy.' It was mid-summer, and he added, — ' but there is hardly any night at this time of the year. I often think of heaven at this sea- son, and of the statement of the apostle John, — "And there shall be no night there." ' With his neighbour, Mr. Kidston of Stow, he maintained a very close friendship, and respected him much for his piety and holy skill in the things of God. On one occasion he had been selected as umpire in a dispute betwixt that minister and some members of his congregation, and Mr. K., irritated at what he thought his intention of deciding against him, broke out into some harsh reflections, which he ended by saying, — 'but still I believe that you are a saint of God.' 'If you think me so,' was the meek reply, 'you cannot think ill of me.' When Mr. K. died he went to his funeral, and as the coffin was kept open till near the time of interment that his more intimate friends might take a last view of his countenance if they chose, Dr. L. went into the death-chamber, and stood and looked earnestly at the corpse. When it was necessary to retire, he lifted up his arm to brush away his tears, and, saying, 'I will see him again,' turned about and went away. Next day he preached the funeral Sermon from these words, — 'Moses my servant is dead;' in which he bore ample testimony to the gifts, graces, and la- bours of his departed brother; and addressed many solemn and suitable admonitions to the people. AS A PROFESSOR OF THEOLOGY. I may relate a few anecdotes illustrative of his wisdom, fidelity, and paternal kindness in this capacity ; only premising that the substance of his counsels will be found in the Christian Eepository for March and April 1821, under the title of 'Faults into which Ministers may fall as to the matter and the manner of their preaching.' Though he discharged his duties in this character to the high satisfaction of the generality of his brethren, there were some who, irritated at the part which he had taken in the controversy respecting toleration, wrote him a letter, in which it was insinuated that he did not attend with the necessary strict- ness to the religious principles of his students. To it he sent no reply, but in speaking of it to a friend said, that he felt peculiarly hurt at see- ing appended to it the name of one who should have known him better. He added: 'His simplicity has been imposed on by specious pretenses. Another letter of that kind will make me resign my office.' C XXxiv ' MEMOIR OF DPw. LAWSON It was seldom that he was called to reprove any of his students; and when lie did so, it was done with such solemnity as secured its effect. To two students who were whispering to each other during his lecture, he said,—' If your conversation is considered by you as more important than what I am stating, and you cannot defer it, you may proceed ; but if not, you will wait till I be done.' Mention has been made in a former sketch of the reproof which he gave to a young man for levity. I am happy I can add to the account a circumstance worthy of notice in regard to both. The youth came to make the apology which was expected ; but Dr. L. who had been in- formed that the levity manifested was occasioned by a circumstance which rendered it excusable, stopped him while entering on his apology; ex- pressed the confidence which he had as to his demeanour in future ; and conversed with him on other subjects in the most friendly manner. How beautifully did this exhibit the spirit of the father to the prodigal son, a spirit whose exercise cherishes most sweetly the feelings of contrition, and secures most effectually steadiness in virtue. He often urged on his students to treasure the word of God in their memories ; and it deserves to be mentioned that, while himself a student, he had committed to memory so accurately the numerous texts of Scrip- ture at the close of the various paragraphs of Mr. Brown's System of Di- vinity, that that excellent man used to say, that he never found a student who could repeat them so exactly ; and that he never run him out but once. In his counsels respecting prayer he recommended simplicity, earnest- ness, and brevity; and remarked, — *It was the saying of some man, that the devil was served by long sermons (as they led the hearers to worldly thoughts, fretfulness, weariness, and slumber) ; and he might have ad- ded, and by long prayers too.' Respect and deference to elder ministers was one of his counsels: — 'At- tached as I am to Presbyterian parity, yet such modesty and deference is amiable in youth, and to it age has a claim.' In a conversation with some of his students be remarked, that 'a good voice would go far with some to gain popularity ; but rest assured, it will take something else to maintain it.' The subject of mimickry was introduced: he said, where young men could bear it, it might be useful to correct improprieties. On one occa- sion he heard an imitation of his own manner, and said, 'Had I been early aware of its defects, I might have been able to correct them.' His parting with his students was solemn and tender. When they went to his dwelling to take leave of him, he gave a freer vent to his feelings than he did in the public hall. A friend has mentioned to me, that in his last call on him along with two of his companions, he said, * You do not return to your place as Joshua sent away the children of Reuben and the children of Gad, with much riches of silver and gold ; AND HIS WRITINGS. XXXV but I hope you go away with your minds stored with divine truth, and your hearts with holy affections, a treasure far better.' To one of them, then in delicate health, he said; 'You are not so well in body as your friends would wish you, but we are in the hands of a good God who knows what is to be the issue of our afflictions, and the best issue ;' and his voice faultered while he said farewell. He felt a very deep interest in the settlement, the lot, and the labours of his students when they w^ere ordained to the ministry. As an instance of this it may be mentioned, that one morning when about to partake of some refreshment with a friend, he requested him to ask a blessing, and to supplicate, while thus engaged, God's blessing on the ordination of one of his students which was to take place that day. He said, ' I have en- deavoured to remember it before the Lord in private, and if my prayers are granted, God will bless him, and make him a blessing.' To one of his students, an intimate companion of one of his sons, he wrote a very affecting letter in peculiar circumstances. That young man, who was himself very unwell, wrote to his friend at Selkirk a letter of affectionate enquiry as to his indisposition, of which he had heard. Ere his letter reached Selkirk, John Lawson was no more; and his father re- plied to it as if from his departed son. The answer is written in a strain uncommonly solemn and affecting, and indicates in a very striking man- ner how much his mind had been conversant with things heavenly and eternal. It breathes not the language of terror and despair, like the spirit that assumed the figure, the voice, and the mouth of the departed prophet; but that of holy love and hope, like the words of Moses and Elias when they appeared in glory on the mount, and spake of the de- cease which Christ should accomplish at Jerusalem : — ' Dear Sir, 'Your hope that I am in a better state of health than formerly is now more than realized. God has, in his infinite mercy, been pleased to receive me into those happy abodes, where there is no more sorrow, nor death, nor sin. I now hear and see things which it is impossible to utter ; and would not give one hour of the felicity which I now enjoy, for a lifetime, or for a thousand years, of the greatest felicity which I enjoyed on earth. 'I still love you, and the other friends whom I left on earth, but my affection for them is very different from what it was ; I value them not for the love which they bear to me, or the amiable qualities which are most generally esteemed by men, unless they love my Lord and Saviour, through whose blood I have found admission to heaven. The happiness that I wish for you is not advancement in the world, or a rich enjoyment of its pleasures; but the light of God's countenance, the grace of his Spirit, and a share, when a few years have passed, of those things which eye has not seen nor ear heard, and which it has not entered into the heart of man to conceive. XXXvi MEMOIR OF DR. LAWSON 'It is not permitted to us who dwell on high to appear to our former friends, and to inform them of our present feelings; and, ardently as I desire to have you a participant of my felicity, I do not wish to approach you in a visible form, to tell you of the riches of the glory of that inher- itance which I possess. Abraham tells me that the writings of the pro- phets and apostles are better fitted to awaken sinners to a sense of ever- lastino- things, and to excite good men to holiness, than apparitions and admonitions of their departed friends would be, and what he says is felt to be true by all of us. I do not now read the Bible. I thank God I often read it from beginning to end, when it was necessary for me to learn from it the knowledge of my beloved Saviour; and yet, if I could now feel uneasiness, I would regret that I made it so little the subject of my meditation. You would be glad to know whether, though unseen, I may not be often present with you, rejoicing in your prosperity, and still more in every good work performed by you ; in every expression of love to my God; and care for the welfare of your own soul. But I am permitted to tell you no more on this subject than God has thought fit to tell you in his word, that there is joy in heaven over one sinner that repenteth ; that angels are present in Christian assemblies, observing with pleasure or indignation the good or the bad behaviour of the worshippers ; and that we welcome with great joy our friends from earth, when they are received into our everlasting habitations. 'Farewell! my dear friend, farewell! but not for ever. What are all the days you have before you on earth, but a moment? I hope that the grace which hath brought me so early in my existence to heaven, will bring you all to the same happy place, after sparing you some time longer in the lower world to serve your generation, by his will, and to do more than I had an opportunity to do, for exciting your neighbour to choose the path of life. Much good may be done by the attractive example ; by the prayers; and (at proper times,) by the religious converse of Christians engaged in this world. 'Farewell! again, till we meet never to be separated. 'I am your friend, more sincerely than ever, J. L.' To his students when fixed in scenes of pastoral duty he was always ready to give his best advice; and their applications for his counsel were received with pleasure, and answered promptly and kindly. And to those of them who did not obtain any fixed charge, he was most anxious to do justice; and when opportunity was afforded him, to excite them to labour to show themselves approved to God; and to maintain that meekness of wisdom, that patience of hope, those kindly feelings to their more suc- cessful brethren, and that diligence in study and in doing good, so diffi- cult to be kept alive amidst the bitterness of disappointment, and strong temptations to envy. AND HIS WRITINGS. XXXVU It has happened that in two or three instances, students left iiis tuition, and connected themselves with other religious parties ; but in none of these cases did he discover any irritation, or the slightest solicitude either about the good report or the bad report which they carried away. His wish was that the Lord might lead them in his truth, and teach them ; the counsel he would suggest from it to others was, * Prove all things, hold fast that which is good;' and the influence it should have upon himself and others he would state in allusion to the words of the apostle Paul, * Nevertheless, whereto we have already attained, let us walk by the same rule, let us mind the same thing.' In a sphere so retired, and in a life so studious, it may easily be sup- posed there would be few incidents of general interest. There were, how- ever, some incidents the statement of which will illustrate the moral as well as the intellectual qualities of his character. When the question of toleration was agitated in the religious society to which he belonged, — a topic on which it is so truly astonishing that men should have been so slow in receiving the light of mercy, — he felt himself called upon to recommend the great duty of forbearance, in a pamphlet of which it is only justice to say, that it is characterized by good sense, candour, and mildness. A superstitious veneration for the views of our ancestors, who, notwithstanding their struggles for freedom, civil and religious, and their sufferings by the arrogance and cruelty of their persecutors, still maintained the power of the magistrate to suppress error and heresies, (that is, every opinion which the ruling power in church or state might call so,) led many to oppose any indulgence to the senti- ments of those that pleaded for statements more accordant with the genius of the New Testament, and with liberty of conscience. His pamphlet was attacked with great virulence, and his name coupled with many an odious epithet; but he committed himself to Him that judgeth right- eously, and nothing could provoke him to render railing for railing. In a letter to a friend he says, in allusion to this abuse; 'I have more than once heard of things said in my name that were very remote from the truth; but I paid no regard to them, because I was persuaded they would make no impression, or very short lived, on any person whose good opinion I wished to cultivate. I had read a story when I was a boy, in an old author called Valerius Maximus, which I sliall never forget, and which I consider as a rule for my conduct. Plato, hearing that one of his friends had asporsed his character, replied, 'I will endeavour to live so as that nobody will believe him.' There is no part of my character about which I am less solicitous than my reputation for integrity. I am pretty certain from my own consciousness, joined with the testimony of my father con- cerning my years of childhood, that since I could use my tongue I have never polluted it with a wilful lie.' When the plan of enlarging the Psalmody was in agitation, he argued for it in the church courts in a very persuasive manner. Among other XXXviii MEMOIR OF DR. LAWSON statements which lie made, it is recollected how he mentioned the pas- sages which, it was predicted, should be sung in New Testament times ; and held these up as an intimation from heaven, that the praises of the Gospel church should not be limited to the Psalms of David. It is a very inter- esting fact, that some of the Paraphrases then adopted were made the means of cheering him in his last hour; and that in singing lines which exhibit the blessedness of the saints in death, and at the resurrection, and which occurred in the usual course of domestic worship, his family joined with him, in some of his last acts of worship on earth.* When Prince Leopold, a man in whom the country felt so deep an in- terest, on account of that mournful event which blasted a nation's hopes, and left his house to him desolate,! was on a tour through Scotland, and passed through Selkirk, the Magistrates and the neighbouring gentry went out to meet him, attended by Dr. Lawson's students, headed by Dr. L. as their Professor. Dr. L. was happy in having an opportunity of paying his respects to a person- descended from ancestors who had sacrificed so much in the cause of Protestantism, and expressed these feelings on being presented to the Prince by Sir Walter Scott, in very appropriate language. The Prince felt highly gratified, and remarked to Sir Walter Scott after- ward, that he had received many compliments on account of the Princess, but this was the first he had received on his own account, or that of his ancestors. In a letter to a friend who wished to hear from himself an account of what passed betwixt the Prince and him. Dr. L. writes, — 'I entertain a high respect for Prince Leopold, as the descendant of Princes to whom the Protestant part of the world is much indebted. He appears to pos- sess a degree of condescension and afiability not very common in his high rank. Besides what you saw in the Papers, he asked me my age ; when I told him what it was, he complimented me on the health which I seemed * We do not consider it necessary, or incumbent on us, to enter on an editorial criticism or confutation of Dr. Lawson's views on the subject of Psalmody; which is so vexed a subject among Presbyterians in the United States. We shall only say, that we do not indorse Dr. L's views on that subject, as above stated. 'Still, we may remark, that the 'Para- phrases,' so far as they are faithful 'translations' of God's word, must be allowed to be well suited for worship, by those who consider that 'the praises of the gospel church should not be limited to the Psalms of Da- vid.' We arc not one of such as hold that sentiment. Yet, happy were it for the unity of the churches of Christ to-day, if they would agree to limit themselves in their Psalmody, to the inspired Word of God, faith- fully translated, as contained in the Old and New Testaments, chanted or sung, cither in prose or verse. It does not appear that Dr. Lawson's sentiments went beyond this. — Ed. t Referring to the lamented death of the Princess Charlotte of Wales, the wife of the Prince, daughter of George IV., and heir of the British crown; a princess who was held in the highest esteem and love by the nation. Her death plunged the nation into universal mourning. — Ed. AND HIS WRITINGS. XXXIX to enjoy. Part of my answer was, that one may enjoy as much comfort in old age as in youth, if he is a fearer of God. But my dullness of hear- ing unfitted me for much conversation with him. "We esteem ourselves honoured' when we are admitted to the converse of earthly princes, who are creatures of the dust like ourselves ; why have we not a profounder sense of our obligations to the everlasting God who allows us to come to Him, even to his mercy seat? Oh that we could approach to Him at all times with the reverence and the confidence which are due to his great- ness and his mercy !' Compared with the idle and fulsome flatteries so common in the pres- ence of the great, his address appears dignified and becoming; indicating, not the spirit or the policy of the sycophant, but the holy kindness and the due respect of a man of God. At a time when disaffection to government was supposed to be preva- lent in some districts, and when Dissenters were regarded by some alarmists with jealousy and suspicion. Dr. Lawson approved himself the friend of order, loyalty, and peace. In answer to a very gratifying communication from the Lord Lieutenant of the County of Selkirk, he sent him the letter which follows, which is highly honourable to his political principles, and to his Christian conduct and faithfulness : — 'My Lord, ' I was highly flattered by the letter with which your Lordship honoured me, expressing the Lieutenancy's approbation of my poor endeavours to serve my king and country. I will certainly endeav- our to spread the address which you was pleased to commit to me. I can assure your Lordship that whatever distinctions may be found among either denomination of Seceders, they will all be found loyal subjects. Drunkards may have their reasons for calling themselves Christians, and profane swearers for ranking themselves with gentlemen, but no man who does not wish to be a faithful subject can have any temptation to associate himself with either of the societies of Seceders. It is well known that upon any discovery of his principles, he would be turned out of either of them with disgrace. I am far from saying that they will be found more loyal than other subjects. Every honest man in the Island will contribute his support to the government that protects him. I pray God that the Nobility and Gentry may be as unanimous in support of our holy religion, as I am persuaded ministers of every denomination will be in the support of the State; I should then entertain little fears of any in- vader, in the assurance that God Himself would be our salvation in the time of trouble. 'I am. My Lord, ' Your Lordship's and Gentlemen of the Lieutenancy's humble servant, GEOKGE LAWSON.' xl MEMOIR OF DR. LAWSON Living so near Melrose Abbey, he often examined with delight and wonder this much admired remnant of ancient magnificence and beauty. I allude to it only for the purpose of showing the devout tendency of his mind. While tracing the various parts of its exquisite workmanship, he would contrast, as I have heard him say, what he saw with Ezekiel's temple, so minutely described in the last part of his prophecy, and made the one aid his conceptions of the other. While the antiquary marks in it only its memorials of the olden time, its roof sculptured with sacred history, the remarkable events of which it has been the scene, and the interesting pilgrims that have resorted to it; and while the poet has brought before the fancy its priests in their vestments, its choir resounding with grave sweet melody, warriors consecrating their swords at its shrine, nobles uttering their vows at its altars, the dead interred with sacred pomp within its precincts, the moon gleaming on its arches and its pillars, and the rushing of the waters by its side when 'the deep uttered its voice, and lifted up its hands on high;' to the pious it will suggest contemplations more solemn and important, and point them to that fabric which shall endure for ever, 'which is built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, and of which Jesus Christ himself is the chief corner stone.' During the latter years of his life he laboured under various infirmities. His habits during his whole life had been remarkably abstemious. He probably felt this necessary for his health, but he did not put the fami- lies where he was a guest to trouble in preparing what was nice and deli- cate for his use, for the simplest fare was that of which he would alone partake ; nor was his abstemiousness marked by ought like cynical mo- roseness, or Pharisaic sanctimony, for he delighted to see his friends eat their bread wdth joy, and by his rich fund of anecdotes made the conver- sation pleasant and improving. In a letter to one of his friends written by him when far advanced in life, he gives a view of the state of his mind and feelings deeply interesting. '1 certainly am become very feeble, but I have reason to thank God that I am free from sickness, and mostly from pain. I could walk but a small part of the way to the meeting house without extreme fiitigue, (he was now regularly carried in a sedan chair to the church on Sabbath,) and yet I can preach for a decent length of time without much fatigue, and I believe I am as well heard as in my younger days. I am now past my seventieth year, and I cannot expect to recover the strength which I once had, but 1 am in the hand of a good God who has preserved me hitherto, and sometimes delivered me from very alarming sicknesses. I complain not that I share in the common lot of the old, but I bless God that 1 still live when so many of my acquaintances are gone down to the grave, that I still enjoy many comforts, and that I can still perform the chiefest part of my ministerial work. I might have been happier in heaven than on earth, but alas! I need all the time that has been given me to prepare to meet God in another world. May He grant that I may AND HIS WRITINGS. xli not after all be found unprepared, when the day comes on which I shall go whence I shall not return! It gives me pleasure to hear that the brethren in your neighbourhood interest themselves deeply in my welfare. I hope if they live to old age, they will meet with that respect from their juniors wliich they now pay to their senior brethren. ' We must look forward to changes in this world, but we have reason to be thankful not only for our present circumstances, but likewise for our ignorance of what is before us. I know that I must die, and that soon, but I by no means wish to know when I am to be called out of the world, or what I may be called to suffer before I leave it. My desire is to be found ready to go when called by Him, to whose sovereign pleasure it belongs to order every thing that concerns us. I often wonder that men should think so much on a world in wliich they are to dwell but for a moment, and so little upon that world in which they are to dwell for ever and ever. On this moment depends eternity.' It has been felt by some ministers as a very painful circumstance, that in their old age, their debility of mind or body became such that they were debarred from the public duties of their ministry ; and it has re- quired all the power of resignation to check repining, and to bear the languor of such a period. Happy is their lot who are enabled to labour to the last in the work of Christ, and to bear the testimony of their old age to Him to whom they have devoted the kindness of their youth. Such public services cheer their spirits, and while engaged in them the Redeemer's strength is made perfect in their weakness. It has sometimes happened that the debility of aged ministers has been such, that these services have been painful to themselves, and also to others ; when the voice which was to them as a lovely song is feeble and inarticulate, and the memory, once rich in the stores of wisdom, is so decayed as to make their attempts to instruct tiresome by repetitions, embarrassed and de- sultory ; but in the case of Dr. Lawson his public appearances to the last were characterized by the variety, self-possession and readiness of his best days. He felt that they were listening to a fiither's voice, and his dis- courses had much of the tenderness and solemnity of a father's par'iing counsels. It was in the advanced period of his life that a testimony of the love and veneration of his students was given him, which could not but gratify him. He was requested by them to sit for his picture, and this picture executed at full length by an artist of merit, and elegantly framed, was placed in the hall of meeting, as a mark of their affection and gratitude. His likeness has been thought by some coarse ; to me the face seems to want the benignity which it still wears in my remembrance, and the pa- ternal blandness which made his prayers and counsels to be felt by his students as the dew of their youth. The old have frequently complained of the neglect, nay, of the insolence of the young. It is not from them that fallen greatness, or the infirm in body or mind, receive much commis- xlii MEMOIR OF DR. LAWSON eration. This was tlie complaint of Job, 'upon my right hand rise the youth, they push away my feet, and they raise up against me the ways of their destruction.' To them the kind attention of the young is peculiarly pleasing, and here it was felt by the good man as a great blessing of his lot. His pupils felt his infirmities, adding tenderness to their respect, and solicitude to their eflbrts to please him. The evident nearness of the account he was to give to God, and in which their conduct must occupy a place, was an idea deeply solemnizing; and the prayer put up by his pupils in rotation attested how they felt this memento. There was not one of them who had the heart to treat any symptom of his weakness with levity; nor one of them who would not have counted it his honour and delight to have adjusted his mantle, and to have felt him leaning on his arm. He preached till within a fortnight of his death, and his last text was Psalm Ixxxii. 6, 7: 'I said. Ye are gods, and all of you are children of the Most High; but ye shall die like men, and fall like one of the princes.' It was a funeral sermon on account of the death of George the Third. It was not, like too many sermons on such occasions, a fulsome panegyric on departed greatness, but a solemn admonition to the living. While eloquence, not content with decking the throne, garnishes the sepulchre, piety feels itself impelled by the death of kings, to give effect to those lessons on the vanity of man, which are too often forgotten amidst the pomp of the world. He read out a portion of the ninetieth Psalm to be sung by the congregation, and piously applied it to himself. He felt that he had arrived at the limits of life, and that his strength was sinking to the dust ; but in him it was seen, that for an old age of piety and wisdom religion has provided her sweet consolations and her reviving hope; like nature reserving its mildest lustre and its softest calm for the setting sun. During his last illness, though unable to lie in bed during a great part of it, he was uniformly patient, and full of prayer. He bade adieu to all his family one by one, and expressed his hope that they should meet again in heaven. How delightful is such a hope to a dying parent! It has sometimes been the sorest pang felt in death by the good, that they were leaving some of their family in the gall of bitterness; that their ef- forts for their salvation had been fruitless; nay, that had they been less indulgent and more faithful, the result might have been different; and that this might be the last time in which they should look on them with affectionate solicitude. Such reflections are sometimes alleviated by hope that they may yet be converted from the error of their ways ; but still anxieties and fears will return ; but to leave them with the consciousness that they are heirs of the grace of life, and in the way of salvation, renders the last ftirewell comparatively easy, and makes them bless God that they can carry them with them in their hearts to heaven. Most precious to them was his last blessing, 'God be with you all!' He had felt the presence of God as the greatest blessing of his life ; in it AND HIS WRITINGS. xHli he had found guidance in all his difficulties, encouragement in all his fears, and help in all his duties; and his persuasion was that in that pres- ence they should enjoy direction far beyond all that a father's counsel could suggest, and care beyond all that could be exercised by a father's hand. God with us, is the highest privilege of earth ; being with God, is the haj)piness of heaven. As to his own state, he had the firm hope of being with Christ. When the assurance of the apostle, 'I am persuaded that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor dej^th, nor any other creature shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord,' was repeated, he replied in language expressive of his high estimation of such an assurance, and of the blessed hope with which he was cleaving to the Lord. The manner in which he expressed it evinced the holy modesty of his spirit; and it was evident from what followed, that he wished that his Lord's translating hand should find him kneeling at the footstool of his mercy. The last words which he uttered were these, 'Take me to paradise!' a petition beautifully expressive of his faith in the Redeemer's power and grace, and how his mind was dwelling on the cross of his Lord, and on the mercy to the penitent sufierer by his side which blessed that scene. He trusted in that power and grace which had raised him from death to life, for his translation to glory ; and in that merciful hand by which nature was supported, while sinking into dust, for the conveyance of his spirit to everlasting rest. To that Saviour he would look for life in death, and for felicity in heaven. How similar were his feelings at a moment so solemn, to those of Mr. Greig, the most intimate of his friends, at such a crisis some years after! who, with a voice faultering in death, said, 'I will soon be in heaven.' Not long after, while one of his brethren was employed in prayer, and presenting that petition, 'that an abundant entrance might be ministered to him into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour,' he entered into the joy of his Lord. A very appropriate discourse was delivered after his funeral by the Rev. Adam Thomson of Coldstream, on devout men carrying Stephen to his grave, and making great lamentation over him. In this discourse, after a very interesting delineation of the character of Stephen, and the regrets called forth by the departure of good men, the character of Dr. Lawson is sketched with skill, fidelity, and affection. DR. LAWSON'S WRITINGS. With regard to the writings of Dr. Lawson, it is not necessary to say much, as the favourable reception they have met with from the public attests how their merit has been appreciated. The chief of them are xliv MEMOIR OF DR. LAWSON Lectures on the books of Esther and Ruth, on the History of Joseph, and on the Proverbs of Solomon, and Discourses on the History of David. No person qualified to judge can read these volumes without being struck with the ingenuity and fertility of the exposition which he gives; the deep insight into the human heart and character they discover; the en- gaging simplicity of the style, and their practical cast. There is not the least affectation of critical skill, by which many far inferior to him in scholarship have sought to astonish the vulgar: nor does he give any countenance to the practice of converting every incident into a typical exhibition of evangelical truth. Some have indulged in this practice under the influence of an ill regulated zeal for the Gospel ; and others have done so, contrary to their better judgment, from an undue deference to popular prejudice; and it requires no small courage to risk the offense which may be given by avoiding such allusions, and the imputation of the motives to which it may be ascribed. An enlightened friend of the Gospel will never aid in perverting it, or betray it to the scoffer by any low fancies. At the same time, he eagerly embraces every fit opportunity of adverting to the doctrines of grace, and to the excellencies of the Sa- viour ; and his acquaintance with history, ancient and modern, has enabled him to enliven these lectures with many happy illustrations from inci- dents or characters. It is to be regretted that some preachers have de- graded this practice by the low and frivolous cast of the anecdotes they have introduced, and others destroy its efiect by their frequency; but in the hands of a man of taste and wisdom, an incident may be exhibited from books or from real life with the happiest results. It arrests attention, gives force to the lesson, impresses it on the memory and the heart, and is never thought or talked of without recalling the object it was intended to gain. His Sermons to the Aged are remarkably appropriate, and written in a strain plain, faithful, and earnest. The aged are a class of persons who require peculiar attention from the ministers of the Gospel. If still careless, it is a most difficult task to rouse them to serious feeling; if awakened to see their guilt and danger, the consciousness of a life of sin is apt to drive them to despair; while their many infirmities, and the ne- glect with which they are treated, they are apt to consider as justifying or excusing their fretfulness. To stir up the slumbering conscience, to give hope to those agitated by remorse, and to call murmurers to con- tentment and praise, seem to have been his object in these sermons, and they are admirably adapted to accomplish it. To some of these volumes Dr. L. appended Sermons, chiefly on relative Duties, which are marked by the peculiarities of his manner. He thought that such topics were less attended to in published sermons than others. To carry religion in its light, benignity, and consolation to the bed of lan- guishing, to the house of mourning, to the fire-side, and to the scene of lowly toil, requires a skill in the word of truth and in the human heart, AND HIS WRITINGS. xlv a kindliness of spirit, a minuteness and fidelity in admonition, and a judi- ciousness and delicacy in counsel, not frequently associated; but in him they were happily united, and by them God has glorified himself in the dwellings of Jacob. He cheerfully complied with the requests which were made to him to write Essays for several of the religious Magazines of the day, and to some of them he was a frequent contributor. He sometimes selected topics which he handled in several Numbers in succession. I refer to a series of Essays in the Christian Repository, on Predestination, in which the objections to this doctrine are repelled in a most satisfactory manner, and with uncommon perspicuity for so dark a subject. I refer also to another series on what he calls the Popery of Protestants, in which he shows how much of the superstition, false doctrine, and evil spirit of the church of Rome are to be found among those who boast of their hostility to the man of sin. This difficult topic he has managed with great candour, fidelity, and judgment. Those false impressions which he exposes are not con- fined to the vulgar, who in ignorance or prejudice build wood, hay, and stubble on the foundation laid in Zion; but may be found in Masters and Eulers in Israel, who have daubed its walls with untempered m.ortar, and fenced it round with the restrictions of worldly policy, and the claims of secular domination. Christianity in the purity of its worship, the hu- mility of its spirit, and the brightness of its charity, is the scheme by which its author will be glorified, its enemies put to shame, and the nations blessed. In a Number of the Religious Monitor, there is a paper written by him under the title of ' ileflections of an Aged Sinner on his Birth-day,' breath- ing the deepest contrition of a tender conscience on reviewing the past years of a long life; that humble hope of mercy which the atoning sacri- fice of the Lamb of God inspires; the most solemn dedication of the days which may be yet allotted to him by the will of Him who had fed him all his life long to that day ; and a firm trust in the Angel who had redeemed him from all evil, for strength in the infirmities, courage in the fears, and light in the darkness of age. He was led into a short controversy with the Editor of the Quarterly Magazine by an attack made on a Sermon of his, bearing the title of 'The Joy of Parents in Wise Children ;' in which he was represented as teaching undisguised Arminianism, by ascribing an undue influence to parental culture in particular, and to the means of salvation in general. His reply was very able, and exposed in the clearest manner the misconceptions of his opponent, and the gracious character of the connexion which God has established betwixt the means and the end. The controversy was soon terminated, and had been prompted by the spirit of sectarian jeal- ousy and censoriousuess, or by the hope of adding to the circulation of that periodical. LEOTXJRES ON THE WHOLE BOOK OF KUTH. INTRODUCTION TO LECTUKES ON RUTH. The design of this book, say some, is to give us the gene- alogy of David. This certainly could not be the chief design either of Samuel, who is generally supposed to be the writer of it, or of the Spirit of God, in giving us this history. The genealogy of David from Judah is contained in very few verses, and we find it in several other parts of Scripture. Every part of the book affords rich entertainment and useful instruction. What would we give for a piece of family history, equally ancient and authentic, of any of our own nation, or rather that nation, whatever it was, from whence we have derived our ori- gin? The holy Bible was not written to gratify our curiosity, and yet what book was ever written that can equally gratify laudable curiosity about the occurrences and manners of former ages? This book is one of those which were written by inspiration of God, and must therefore be exceedingly profitable to us, if we read it with a due attention of those instructions which it is designed to impress on our minds. It is not one of those books in which we are to look for new instructions. The re- ligion recommended in it is that which had been already taught by Moses ; but it impresses deeply upon the mind of the atten- tive reader many truths highly conducive to holiness, and to the happiness even of the present life. We find in this book, that private families are as much the objects of divine regard as the houses of princes. The sacred writers that give us the history of Saul and David, give us likewise the history of Naomi and E/Uth. What are the rich 1 2 INTRODUCTION TO and great more than the mean and indigent, before God? The greater part of the kings and princes that reigned three thousand years ago are now utterly forgotten; but the names of Boaz and Ruth shall live whilst the world lasts. It is to be hoped that many other precious saints lived in these ancient times, whose names are now not heard of in this world. But the same God who caused the names of some to be recorded in that Book of Life which he hath given us for our instruction, hath recorded the names of all of them in another Book of Life, to be opened and read, at the consummation of all things, in the ears of all mankind. That in this life we must expect changes, is another of the truths of which this book reminds us. ^Changes and war are against me,' said one of the best men of ancient times. Naomi, one of the best of women, met with such vicissitudes, that she wished to have her name changed into Marah. We all know that we are constantly exposed to changes, and yet we all need to be put in mind of it. One great part of our unhappiness is, that we forget the mutability of our present condition ; and therefore, when trouble comes upon us, we behave as if some strange thing happened to us. But a lesson more useful and more pleasant is impressed upon our minds by this book — that God does not forsake those who trust in Him at the time when they are visited with the bitterest afflictions. ^I will be with him in trouble, to deliver him.' The history before us is a comment on this promise. Many were the afflictions of Ruth and Naomi; but the Lord delivered them out of them all, and, 'according to the days wherein he had afflicted them, he made them glad.' But what distinguishes this book from other sacred books is, the charming picture it gives us of domestic felicity in the lowest rank of life, and in persons deprived of those friends to whom men or women use to look for felicity. Naomi was bereaved, by the king of terrors, of her husband and of all her children. Ruth was bereaved of the husband of her youth, and was left childless. They both felt their griefs like women of tender sensibility ; yet they were neither discontented nor unhappy. There were three things which contributed to pre- LECTURES ON RUTH. 3 serve them from sinking into despondency, and that rendered them happier under their afflictions than many other persons find themselves in tlie most prosperous circumstances. Firsty Their piety. They trusted in God. Naomi doubt- less had taught Ruth the knowledge of the God of Israel be- fore she brought her into the land of Israel; for ^she came,' as Boaz says, ' to trust under his wings,' Ruth ii. 12. In the low circumstances of both these women, they hoped in God, they submitted to his providence; and they could not be mis- erable in any situation in which his providence placed them. Secondly J They loved one another with a fond affection; and where there is true love there will be pleasure, where there is mutual love there will be happiness. Thirdly, Their behaviour towards one another was a con- tinual expression of their mutual love. There were none of those brawlings, unkind reflections, and fits of sullenness, between them that often embitter domestic life. Naomi never complained of too little respect from Ruth, never exercised her authority with bitterness, never distressed her daughter- in-law with peevish complaints of the afflictions of her former life, or of neglect from her kinsmen, or of her other friends. ^The law of kindness was in her mouth,' and it was evident, from every part of her conduct, that she set as high a value on Ruth's happiness as on her own. Ruth, on her side, con- sidered the desires of her mother-in-law as commands which she was happy to obey, and did every thing in her power to compensate to her the loss of her husband and her sons. So wise and affectionate was fter behaviour, that the townsmen thought her better to Naomi than seven sons. Our natural tempers will have much influence to make our lives happy or miserable. If they are happy, they will dis- pose us to be cheerful, and to promote cheerfulness in others. If they are unhappy, the bad effect of them will be felt by our neighbours, especially by those who are under tlie same roof with us. But we are rational creatures, capable of instruction and of reflection. We are all desirous of happiness ; and, if we find any thing in ourselves that makes it impossible to at- tain happiness, is it not our wisdom to put it far from us? 4 INTRODUCllON TO Why should a disease be suffered to embitter our days and endanger our lives, if a remedy can be found? And does not the Scripture furnish us with remedies for every distemper of our hearts? The words of God are heal- ing words. The entrance of them gives light to the under- standing, peace and purity to the heart. The naturally bad tempers of men must be changed where they produce their proper effect. The wolf and the lamb, the lion and the cow, are made to feed together where the gospel is received by faith. It must be confessed, that vestiges of our corrupt dis- positions will still continue to blemish our conduct till the body of sin be destroyed; but, beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, we are changed into the same image from glory to glory. Nor are the virtues of the ancient saints with- out their effect upon the attentive reader of the Bible. Al- though Paul never ceases to call upon us to ^look to Jesus as the author and finisher of our faith,' yet he frequently puts us in mind likewise of the advantage we may derive from a due at- tention to the virtues and graces which appeared in those that have gone before us to heaven. As we all ought to walk in the steps of the faith of our father Abraham, all women, as the apostle Peter tells us, are bound to imitate Sarah in obedience to their husbands, and in meekness and goodness of spirit. Kaomi and Ruth were two of those holy women, who, he says, ^adorned themselves,' as all women ought to do, Svith that ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which is, in the sight of God, of great price.' You are charmed with the lovely beauties of domestic har- mony and affection which adorned these good women. You praise them. You would be glad to see mothers and daughters by blood or affinity, husbands and wives, mistresses and maid- servants, living together in amity, and contributing, as they did, to one another's felicity. Why then do you not imitate them? Are your tempers so incurable, that there is no possi- bility of persuading you to prefer the glory of God and your own happiness, to the gratification of humours and passions which appear to yourselves detestable? Read this history, not to gratify your curiosity, but to im- LECTURES ON RUTH. 6 prove your hearts. Remember that you are bound, by the authority of God, to imitate the meekness and gentleness of Christ and of his saints. The grace revealed in the gospel teaches us to deny every lust of the flesh and of the mind, and to practise every lovely virtue. The power of the Holy Spirit can subdue our rough tempers, and beautify us with those graces of holiness by which the gospel of Christ is adorned; and his own Word is the great mean which he uses for ful- filling in us the good pleasure of the divine goodness. Not only faith, but every fruit of the Spirit, love, joy, peace, long- suffering, gentleness, goodness, meekness, temperance, are pro- duced through the word of truth; and the short history of Ruth is as really a part of the word of truth, as those books which give us the history of our Lord's life and death. The female sex may likewise learn from this book a lesson of great use to them — how they may preserve their beauty, and make themselves am.iable in old age. It is the glory of those ^ trees of righteousness which are planted in the house of the Lord, to bring forth fruit in old age.' It is the privilege of those women who are adorned with the beauties of holiness, that old age does not wither, but improves their beauties. Sarah's face was so lovely at ninety years of age, that her chastity was brought into danger at the court of Gerar. The daughters of Sarah, in the most advanced period of their lives, possess beauties more charming, and less dangerous. Naomi was not less lovely than Ruth, and, had Elimelech been alive, she would have been as dear to him when she was approaching to the grave, as in the day when he first received her into his arms. The male sex, as well as the female, may derive useful in- struction from this book. Consider Boaz as a master, as a friend, as a neighbour, as a man of consequence and wealth, as an honest man. In all these respects, you will find him worthy of esteem and imitation. If young and old, rich and poor, masters and servants, do not find useful instruction in this book, the fault is their own. It is easily understood, and scarcely needs a comment for ex- plication. But it may be useful to have some of those prac- 6 INTEODTJCTION TO LECTURES ON RUTH. tical instructions which it contains set before us, that we may be assisted in meditating upon this part of the Word of God. It was, doubtless, one of those books of Scripture in which David found such delightful and nourishing food to his soul. O that the holy Spirit, who wrought so powerfully in the heart of that blessed man, would work in us the same tem- per! Then we would find a feast for our souls in every por- tion of Scripture. Our days would be a continual festival, because we could always find food ready at hand, more de- lightful to our taste than honey from the comb. THE HISTORY OF RUTH LECTURE I. ELIMELECK AND HIS FAMIIiY GO TO SOJOURN IN THE LAND OF MOAU. CHAPTER I. 1-5. The intention of this history, according to some, is, to trace the genealogy of David from Salmon, the son of Nahshou, prince of the children of Judah at the death of Moses. But this part of the genealogy of David and of Christ, could have been given us without writing a whole book. It is given us in not more than two verses by the writer of the first book of Chronicles, 1 Chron. ii. 11, 12, 15, and in little more than one by Matthew, chap. i. 5, 6. The reading of the book is sufficient to convince us, that it was written to furnish us with the most useful instructions in righteousness. It gives us a beautiful picture of female vir- tue, first shining in the midst of poverty, and then crowned with felicity. Let all women read this book, and learn those virtues which will adorn them with honor and beauty. Let poor and afflicted women read this book, and learn to bear their troubles with a becoming sense of the divine agency in their trials, with patience, with meekness, with all those gracious tempers which will endear them to their friends, and furnish them with agreeable reflections at the end of their dis- tresses. But why should we speak at present of all these precious 8 THE HISTORY LECT. T. advantages which may be gained from this book ? Every part of it is rich in instruction, and the instruction is conveyed to us in a story, which never failed to interest any reader who was not utterly destitute of human sensibilities. Verse 1. — Now it came to pass, in the days when the judges ruled, that there was a famine in the land: and a certain man oj Bethlehem.- Judah loent to sojourn hi the country of Moab, he, and his icife, and his two sons. AVe are not told the precise time of the story recorded in this book. And why should we be solicitous to know what God has not put it in our power to know? One thing appears certain, that Ruth became the wife of a son of Rahab the har- lot, who was famous for her faith and her works in the time of Joshua. But we have reason likewise to believe that Boaz, the son of Rahab, was a very old man when he married Ruth, for he was the grandfather of Jesse, the father of David. Be- tween the entrance of Joshua into Canaan, and the birth of David, there intervened three hundred and sixty-six years, which are to be divided amongst four progenitors of that il- lustrious prince. Now it came to joass in the days of the judges who ruled Israel, that is, in the time when Israel was not under regal govern- ment, but after the days of Joshua. The expression does not necessarily imply that a judge ruled at the time when Elime- lech went into the country of Moab. It was a famine that drove him from his own country; and famines, with other public calamities, were most frequent in the intervals of the government of the judges. There was a famine in the land. The land of Israel was a land of milk and honey, the pleasant land which God had chosen for his people Israel ; and yet we often read of famines in this land. Think not that the fertility of a land is able to secure its inhabitants against famine, or that any earthly ad- vantage is sufficient to secure us against any calamity what- soever. All things are in the hand of God, and his creatures change their qualities or effects at his pleasure. Without him, we should die of hunger amidst plenty, we should be miserable amidst all possible means of happiness. But, through the CHAP. I. 1-5. OF RUTH. 9 kindness of his providence, many have been well satisfied in the days of famine, or in a waste liowling wilderness. But why does God send a famine on the land whicli he had chosen for his own people; upon the seed of Abraham, whom God had called out of the land of the Chaldees, to give this fertile land to his seed? There is no reason to doubt that this famine was well deserved by the sins of the people; for the Lord had promised, that as long as they walked in his law, they should enjoy his blessing on their land, on their basket, and on their store. But he had threatened famine, and many other calamities, as the just reward of their deeds if they should apostatize from him. We have never felt famine, although we have well deserved it. We have indeed felt scarcity, and stood in fear of famine. But the Lord hath hitherto dealt wondrously with us, in sup- plying us with the necessaries, and many of us with the com- forts of life. Let us bless God who hath hitherto preserved us from this terrible judgment. Let us be deeply sensible that, whatever we may want of the good things of this life, we have much more than we deserve. In days of scarcity, let us call to mind those famines in which the sufferers would have thought themselves happy as kings, if they could have been supplied but once in two or three days with that bread which we eat e\ ery day of our life. And a certain man of Bethlehem- Judah tvent to sojourn in the country of Moah. The Jews often gave names to persons, or places, expressive of something that was true concerning them. Bethlehem, which signifies the Hiouse of bread,' seems to have been a place famous, even in the pleasant land, for its fertility. Yet even in this fruitful district of a fruitful country, famine prevailed to such a degree, that one of its proprietors was com- pelled, by the want of bread, to leave it, and seek food in a foreign country. We may reasonably conjecture, from the behaviour of Naomi, that her husband was a fearer of God. And yet he is forced to seek bread in the land of Moab, where his God was unknown. Men are commonly attached to their native soil ; but none among us is so much attached to his native country, as the ancient Israelites were to theirs; those of 10 THE HISTORY LECT. I. them especially who were lovers of the religion of the God of their fathers. There is a great difference between a Scotsman going to America, and an Israelite going to dwell in the land of Moab. In many places of America, our God and our Sa- viour is as well known as amongst ourselves. Should you want bread at home, you would not account it a very great hardship to go to a strange land, where you might find bread to your bodies, and at the same time find provision for your souls. But you would almost perish with hunger rather than go to live among the Turks; and yet the Turks are not so great enemies to the name of Christ, as the Moabites were to the name of the God of Israel. Some blame this Ephrathite for going to sojourn in the land of Moab. Why (say they) did he not rather bear all the hard- ships of famine, as well as his neighbors, rather than go to dwell amongst heathens, — amongst such heathens as the Mo- abites, of whom the Lord had said, ^ Even to their tenth gen- eration, they shall not enter into the congregation of the Lord for ever; thou shalt not seek their peace nor their prosperity all thy days for ever?' It is not necessary to enquire, nor is it perhaps possible to determine with certainty, whether this Bethlehemite did right or wrong in going to sojourn in the land of Moab. Yet no man ought to be condemned, whether dead or alive, without proofs of guilt; and no certain proofs of guilt appear in the present case. Undoubtedly, the people of God were com- manded not to mingle themselves with the heathens, lest they should learn their ways; but they were not absolutely pro- hibited to sojourn in a strange land. When imperious ne- cessity forced David to dwell in the tents of Kedar, or in the city of Gath, or Ziklag, he was to be pitied rather than blamed. The children of Israel were forbidden to do any servile work on the Sabbath day ; and yet when the disciples were accused for rubbing the cars of corn to prepare them for food on that day, our Lord justified their conduct on the ground of necessity, and silenced his enemies by producing the example of David ; whom these hypocrites themselves did not blame for eating, when hunger compelled him, that show-bread which it was CHAP. I. 1-5. OP RUTH. 11 lawful for the priests only, in ordinary cases, to eat. And have we not read what David did in another case, how he sent his father and mother to the king of Moab, to dwell with him, till he knew what God would do for him? It is not certain that none but this Bethlehemite went at this time to sojourn in Moab. We read of Israelites that dwelt in Moab, and attained high stations in it, although we cannot tell at what period, 1 Chron. iv. 22, 23. Nor can we tell what connections might be formed amongst individuals of Israel and of Moab, when both nations w^ere under one lord. Judges iii. 14. If Naomi's family were like herself, they could not but conciliate the regard and love of all that knew them, whether Moabites or Israelites. A sweet temper disarms the fierceness of savages. It seems probable that this family lived under, or near the time of Ehud^s administration, although we cannot certainly tell why they chose rather to go to the land of Moab than to any other country. One thing is evident, that there was plenty of bread, and to spare, in the land of Moab, when little was to be had in the land of Israel. What shall we say to this? Were the Israelites greater sinners than the Moabites? or were they less favored by that God who causeth the corn to grow up out of the earth? Neither of these conclusions would be just. The Moabites were great sinners, for they were apos- tates from the religion of their father Lot, and worshippers of Chemosh. But God then suffered all nations to walk in their own way, except his chosen people. *Them only he knew of all the families of the earth, therefore he punished them for their iniquities.' Because God was gracious to them, he would not suffer them to walk in their own ways, that he might turn them again to himself Many times was Israel afiQicted by various calamities, but ' Moab was at ease from his youth.' Was Moab, then, happier than Israel? No, in no wise. He was miserable. ^He was at ease from his youth, and he settled on his lees, neither did he go into captivity , therefore his taste remained in him, and his scent was not changed. Therefore, behold the days came at last, that the Lord sent wanderers that caused him to wan- 12 THE HISTORY LECT. I. der, and emptied his vessels, and brake his bottles.' Elimelech went to sojourn in the country of Moab; not to dwell there longer than necessity compelled him. He chose rather to dwell in the Lord's land than any where else; but who can endure the rage of hunger ? We cannot always dwell where we wish, but if at any time we are forced to sojourn at a dis- tance from the place where God's name is known and preached, our hearts ought to be left in the sanctuary. David was some- times compelled to sojourn in the tents of Kedar, but he ever loved the habitation of God's house, and his heart was poured out within him when he thought of the pleasures of the sanc- tuary. He, and his wife, and his two sons. It is possible that if he had wanted a family, he might have been able to live at home. In times of extreme scarcity, a family may be as a heavy bur- den upon the minds of the poor, whoknownot how to satisfy the appetites of their little ones, and cannot open their under- standings to make them sensible of the necessity of wanting what cannot be had. Our Lord speaks of times when it is miserable to be with child or to give suck; and Paul tells married persons, that they ought, in times of distress, to look for troubles in the flesh. Beware, however, of dissatisfaction with the providence of God, which has given you families. Amidst all the anxiety that you feel about the means of their subsistence, would you be willing to lose any of them ? Would you not rather rise early and sit up late, and eat the bread of sorrow, in laboring for their subsistence ? The man's wife, with his two sons, went with him. We are not told whether Naomi was willing to go to a strange land, but we have reason to believe that she was willingly obedient to her husband. She was one of those wives whose law is their husband's will in all things wherein the laws of God leave them at liberty. These are the women who are qualified to give and to receive happiness in the married state. But those men are brutes, rather than husbands, who put the temper of such wives to a severe trial, when irresistible ne- cessity does not compel them. It was necessity that com- pelled the Bethlehemite to remove his family to the land of CHAP. I. 1-5. OF RUTH. . 13 ]\foab. His wife saw the necessity of the case, and therefore she did not think of returning, when she was become her own mistress, till the necessity was removed. Verse 2. — And the name of the man was Elimelech, and the name of his %mfe Naomi y and. the names of his two sons Mahlon and Chillony Ephrathites of Bethlehem- Judah. And they came into the country of Moab, and continued there. The mention of the names of the father, mother, and sons, gives an air of truth to the narration, and tends to interest us in their fortunes. When we know the names of persons, we seem to ourselves to be in some degree acquainted with them, and therefore when we hear of any remarkable event befalling any person, we wish to know his name, although we can have no opportunity of ever seeing him. We are not told of what lineage this family was, but we learn afterwards that they were nearly related to the noblest of the families of Judah. Chilion and Mahlon were almost the nearest of the kinsmen of Boaz, who was the son of Sal- mon, the son of Nahshon, prince of the tribe of Judah in the days of Moses. Greatness will secure no families from poverty and want. Many who once rode in their own chariots, have been compelled to subsist on the bounty of others. The family were Ephrathites of Bethlehem- Judah. ' Bethle- hem was not the least among the cities of Judah.' It was the city of Boaz, the city of David, the city ^ out of which came forth to God that Ruler of Israel, whose goings forth were of old from everlasting.' What city ever deserved so well to be renowned, except Jerusalem, where God long dwelt; where Jesus himself preached; and from whence his word of grace went forth to the nations? And they came into the country of 3foab, and continued there. In the former verse, we are told that they went to sojourn in the country ofMoah. They set out from their own country with a design to sojourn in the land of Moab. Here we learn that they actually accomplished their purpose of going into the country of Moab, and there they continued longer perhaps than they wished or intended. They hoped that in a year or two they might find it convenient to return to the land of 14 THE HISTORY LECT. I. Israel. When we go from home, it depends entirely on the will of God whether we shall arrive at the place of our desti- nation. When we are in it, it depends no less on the divine pleasure whether we shall ever again see the place from which we went out. ^ A man's heart deviseth his way, but the Lord directeth his steps.' Beware of bringing upon yourselves the punishment that came upon the proud king of Babylon, be- cause he did not glorify that God in whose hand his breath was, and whose were all his ways. Do you say, that to-morrow you will go into such a city, and buy, and sell, and get gain? Say rather. If the Lord will, we shall live, and go into that city. In Him you live, in Him you move, in Him you have your being. Verse 3. — And Ellmelech, Naomi's husband, died, and she was left and her two sons. 'What is our life? It is a vapour which appeareth only for a little while, and then vanisheth away.' Elimelech went only to sojourn in the country of Moab; but the same reasons which compelled him to go to that land, compelled him to continue in it, till a stronger necessity compelled him to go the way whence he was never to return. Amidst all your trials, remember that the greatest of all trials is approaching, and perhaps nearer than you imagine. Do you fear that you shall want bread in times of scarcity? Perhaps before they are at an end your lives may end. Are you obliged to leave your native fields? The time is fast approaching when you must leave the world. Why should dying creatures be per- plexed about things that they may never need, and at most cannot enjoy long? Death will soon level the distinction be- tween the most affluent and the most indigent of the sons of men ; and, therefore, let the rich enjoy their portion in this world without abusing it, or placing their confidence in what must be theirs but a very short time. And let not the poor be greatly dejected by the want of what they cannot long need. If we can procure but ' food and raiment, let us therewith be content ; for we brought nothing into the world with us, and it is certain that we can carry nothing hence.' And she was left, and her two sons. It was, no doubt, a grief CHAP. I. 1-5. OF EUTH. 15 to Elimelech, if he felt the approaches of death, to leave his wife, and his two young sons, in a strange land, in a land of heathens, poor, and, for aught we know, almost friendless. When you choose your place of abode, if you have families, or may have families, let this be one principal consideration, where you will leave them if God should call you out of the world. What cheerless prospects must present themselves to the view of a good man leaving a young family in the midst of neighbors that have never heard of the grace of God, or never paid any regard to what they have heard ! She was left of her husband with two sons. How much was this good woman to be pitied ! She was left in a state of indigence. Her sons, very probably, were come to that time of life in which they might be of some use to her; but she had lost that friend in whom her hope rested for the support and government of her family in its distressed and dangerous con- dition. I call its condition dangerous, not because they were in a country of enemies to their nation, although the Moabites were seldom the friends of Israel, but because they dwelt in a land devoted to the worship of Chemosh. Without the com- forts of religion, Naomi's heart must have died within her; yet in a short time afterwards, the Lord added new affliction to her former griefs. Verse 4. — AtuI they took them wives of the women of Iloah ; the name oj the one was Orpah, and the name of the other Ruth: and they dwelt there about ten years. Many blame these young men for marrying wives of the daughters of Moab; and certainly they were much to be blamed for marrying them, if they had not credible evidence that these young women were convinced of the folly of worshiping Che- mosh, and cordially disposed to join with their husbands in the worship of the God of Israel. When Ezra was informed that the holy seed had mingled themselves with the Moabites, and with other idolatrous nations, by marrying their daughters, he was filled with almost inconsolable grief. Nothing but the expulsion of the strange wives could dispel his anxious appre- hensions of the wrath of God, merited by the conjunction of the men of Israel with the people of these abominations. 16 THE HISTORY LECT. I. If Mahlon and Chilion had good reason to think that their intended wives were sincere proselytes to their religion, they deserve no blame, but rather praise. But whether they were justifiable or excusable, or neither the one nor the other, it is perhaps impossible for any man to determine, because we have not sufficient knowledge of the circumstances of the case. Cer- tain it is, that Salmon did well in marrying Kahab, who be- longed to a worse race of people than the Moabites, for she renounced the idols and abominations of her country, and showed her faith in the God of Israel by her works. Perhaps the example of Salmon, to whom this family was related, in- duced them to venture upon this alliance with strangers. But why should we pronounce a sentence against any man, when we are neither called to be his judges, nor furnished with means forjudging? This we know with certainty, that whether Elimelech did right or wrong in going with his family into the land of Moab, which led the way to their marriages, and whether the sons ot Elimelech did right or wrong in contracting these marriages, the providence of God, by what it did, was accomplishing its own gracious purposes. Ruth was one of God's elect She was to be brought to the knowledge and love of the truth by her connection with the family of Elimelech. The happiness which she gained, was a good compensation for all the dis- tresses which this family had endured — for all that the land of Israel had suffered by a ten years' famine. Little did the pious remnant in Israel know, when they were deploring the miseries of the poor, that the famine was to be subservient to the salvation of a precious soul in the land of Moab. They dwelt about ten years in the land of Moab. It seems that Naomi could not return sooner on account of the famine. What a dreadful scourge was this famine of ten years ! We need not think it strange that Elisha sent away his friend the Shunamite to sojourn in a strange land, when there were to be seven years of famine. Every year in the course of this famine must have made a very great accession to the miseries of the poor, or rather of the whole people. We find that a second year of dearth is likely to be worse than the firsts al- CHAP. I. 1-5. OF RUTH. 17 though the price of provisions is not so high, because money is more scarce. What would seven or ten years of scarcity be, although they should not amount to a famine? Blessed be God, who has not year after year turned the rain of our land into powder and dust ! Verse 5. — And Mahlon and Chilion died also, both of them; and the tcoman was left of her two sons and her husband. Poor woman! what will she now do, bereaved of both her sons, after her husband ? Might not one of them at leastf have been spared for her comfort? Let us not speak in this man- ner, lest we should seem to charge God with folly. God's thoughts are not as our thoughts. If God loved this woman, we think that he would have left her one or another, at least, of her family, if not all of them. Yet all of them die, and leave her desolate in the land of Moab, far from all their re- lations that were yet left in Bethlehem! The love or hatred of God is not to be estimated by our feelings, or by our reason- ings, unsupported by the Bible. Naomi might probably think that she was one of the most unhappy women in the land, when necessity compelled her to leave the land of Israel. When she afterwards lost her hus- band, she might think that then only she began to be miser- able, and that she greatly erred when she thought herself un- happy before this calamity befel her. But when she after- wards lost first one and then another of her sons, new thoughts would come into her mind. Then she might suppose that she had complained too heavily of the loss of her husband, and was not duly thankful to God for sparing her sons. Now at last, and not before, she might think that the Lord dealt bitter- ly with her, and had made desolate all her company. When heavy calamities befal you, beware of speaking unadvisedly with your lips. Beware of gloomy and impatient thoughts. Say not that God has bereaved you of all earthly comforts, when he has reduced you to poverty, if your friends are pre- served alive. If some of your nearest friends are cut off by a stroke, still you must not say that nothing is left to sweeten life, when others are left whom you love. It is presumptuous 2 18 THE HISTORY LECT. I. in mortals, in sinful mortals, to think or talk as if the Lord had forgotten to be merciful. Naomi's thoughts of God's dealings with her upon earth are now very different from what they were when these two things came upon her, the loss of children and widowhood. All these things appeared then to be against her. But now she knows and sees that all these things were fruits of the love of God. Amidst your perplexing thoughts about the occurrences of life, it will be profitable to consider what you will think an hundred years hence of these adversities which now spread such a dismal gloom upon your spirits. Blessed are the men who firmly believe that God is wiser than themselves, and who act according to that belief by a patient resignation to God under every trial. They will see at last, and they believe at present, that 'all the paths of the Lord are mercy and truth to such as keep his covenant and his testimonies.' At last it will be found, that we could not, without great loss, have wanted any of those trials of faith which once were ready to overwhelm our spirits. CHAP. I. 6-10. OP KUTH. 19 LECTURE II. NAOMI'S RETURN TO HER OWN COUNTRY. CHAPTER I. 6-10. Verse. 6. — Then she arose with her daughter s-in-laxCy that she might return from the country of Moah: for she had heard in the country of Moah, how that the Lord had visited his people in giving them bread. Naomi would, no doubt, often say within herself. Woe is me that I dwell so long in the country of Moab ; that I sojourn year after year amongst the worshipers of Chemosh ! Yet she found herself under the unhappy necessity of continuing among them till she could entertain the prospect of being able to live in her own country. It was David^s most earnest desire, that he might dwell all the days of his life in the house of the Lord ; yet, more than once, he found it absolutely necessary to dwell amongst heathens. But as soon as God opened to him the way to return to the Lord's land, he gladly and thankfully improved the opportunity. Naomi justly thought that the Lord called her back to Beth- lehem, when she heard that he had visited his people in giving them bread. She might now entertain rational hopes of find- ing the needful supports of life in her own land. She could not hope to make the figure at Bethlehem which she did in the days when the candle of the Lord shined upon her head, when her husband was yet with her, when her children were about her, when the family estate supplied it with the means of keeping a plentiful table; but she might hope, by the labor of her hands, and the kindness of her friends, to live in a man- ner suited to the circumstances in which divine providence 20 THE HISTORY LECT. II. had now placed her. It is not pleasant to flesh and blood to be reduced to a dependent condition. But humbling dispen- sations of providence ought always to be attended with a cor- respondent humility of spirit, unless we desire misery as our portion, and, what is still worse, to be found fighting against the Almighty. His will must be done; and, if our will stand in opposition to his, it must bend or break. She had heard in the country of Moah, that the Lord had visited his people. In the land of strangers, she was always anxious to hear what was passing in the land of Israel. She still took an interest in that country for her own sake, for her friend^s and brethren's sakes, for the Lord's sake. Although she was dwelling in a land well supplied with bread and wine, (Isa. xvi. 9, 10.) yet she felt deeply for the poor Israelites in their own land who were punished with hunger. She mourned for the long continuance of the famine, and was filled with joy in the midst of her sorrows, when she heard that the Lord had visited his people in mercy. Thus Nehemiah, at the court of Shushan, was ever careful to be informed of what was passing in the land of Judah. He was rich and great, and enjoyed the favor of the greatest prince in the world ; but his happi- ness could not be complete unless he heard that his people were happy. The Lord visited his people in giving them bread. 'Thou visitest the earth, and waterest it,' says David, 'thou greatly enrichest it with the river of God which is full of water, thou preparest them corn, when thou hast so provided for it.' The Psalmist teaches us to consider every fertilizing shower from heaven, as a kind of visitation from that God who keeps the clouds in his hand, and 'turns them about by his counsels, to do whatsoever he commands them upon the face of the world, in the earth.' When Naomi heard that plenty was restored in the land of Israel, she saw that the Lord had visited his people, and brought with him a rich present of suitable sup- plies for their necessity. She had seen, that even the land flowing with milk and honey could not supply its inhabitants with the necessaries of life, unless God were pleased to 'hear the heavens, that the heavens might hear the earth, and the CHAP. I. 6-10. OP RUTH. 21 earth hear the corn and the wine and the oil, that they might hear his people.' If God after nine years of scarcity, should return to us in mercy, and give us abundance of bread to eat, would we not confess that we could never be sufficiently thankful to God for his undeserved bounty? But have we not still greater reason to be thankful, when scarcity^ is hardly felt in one year out often? Why should we need cleanness of teeth to make us sensible of that bounty by which we are fed every day of our lives? If you were in a dependent condition, and one of your friends should supply you once in a week with provisions for your table, would you not reckon yourselves highly indebted to his goodness? But would it not be esteemed by you an higher act of kindness to make a settled provision for your subsistence, that you might never want what is needful? If rare mercies from God are acknowledged with thankfulness, (and who can be unthankful for them?) what praises are due to him for mercies showered down upon us every day in our lives ! Then she arose with her daughters-in-law, that she might return from the country of Moah. — Verse 7. — Wherefore, she went forth out of the place wh^-e she loas, and her two daughters-in-law ivith her; and they loent on the way to return unto the land of Judah, One of these young widows, we have reason to think, was still a heathen. And yet (let many Christians blush!) she, as well as her religious sister-in-law, behaves in a dutiful and respectful manner to her husband's mother. May we not say, that the daughter who behaves undutifully to her mother, and even the daughter-in-law who is an adversary to her mother- in-law, hath denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel? If your parents, by nature or marriage, were rich, you would treat them with respect, because you would hope to share in their prosperity; but Naomi was poor, and a stranger in the land of Moab, and yet her daughters-in-law treated her with kindness while she lived near them, and would not suffer her to leave the country without accompanying her in the way, and doing her all the service they could. Their husbands 22 THE HISTOKY LECT. II. were dead. Their relation to Naomi might seem to some to be utterly dissolved ; but their love was strengthened rather than abated. And why should it not? Are we to withdraw our affections from our friends because the Lord hath afflicted them ? The death of husbands or wives will not put an end to the friendship of those who are allied by marriage, unless there has been bad behaviour on the one side, or an ungenerous spirit on the other. That which loudly calls for sympathy, can never be a good reason for coldness. Verse. 8. — And Naomi said unto her two daughters-in-law, Go^ return each to her mother^ s house; the Lord deal kindly with you, as ye have dealt with the dead, and with me. Orpah and Ruth were greatly attached to their mother-in- law, although their own mothers were still alive. They did not stand in need of Naomi's friendship, but she needed theirs. Her afflictions and desolate condition endeared her so much to them, that they seemed to pay more attention to her than to their own mothers; and, on some accounts, she was better en- titled to their sympathy. She seems to have travailed in birth with them, that the promised Christ might be formed in them, and probably she was in truth the spiritual mother of Ruth. Go, return each to her mother's house. Whether their fathers were still alive, or whether their mother's house is mentioned because their intercourse in the house of their parents would chiefly be with their mothers, we cannot tell. The Lord deal kindly with you ! She blesses them when she sends them away, not in the name of Chemosh, but in the name of Jehovah the God of Israel ; and thereby insinuates, at a time which they could never forget, and in words which were likely to be often present to their minds, that not the gods of Moab, but the God of Israel, was the eternal fountain of blessings, from ^vhom every good and perfect gift was to be expected. Our speech ought to be always seasoned with salt, but there are particular seasons when our words ought to be ordered in consummate wisdom. The words of parting friends, who are likely never again to meet, make an impres- sion never to be erased. Who knows what good may be done by such words, when they breathe at once the fervour of piety CHAP. I. 6-10. OF RUTH. 23 and of charity ? They are like dying words, for our friends are then dead to us when we see them no more. The Lord deal kindly loith yoUy as ye have dealt with the dead, and with me. It seems these two women had been good wives to tlieir husbands, although their husbands were poor men and strangers. If they had assumed more power over their hus- bands than they ought, they would probably have been sup- ported by their relations and countrymen. But they always dealt kindly with them, and endeavored to render their con- dition in a land of strangers comfortable and pleasant. Nature itself, you see, teaches wives to deal kindly with their husbands, for Moabitesses were taught by it to deal kindly with those that married them. Beware, ye who call yourselves Christians, of behaving worse than women that never heard the duties of wives enforced by such powerful motives. ^ Submit yourselves unto your husbands as unto the Lord ; for the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church, and he is the Saviour of the body. Therefore, as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in every thing.' You know not, husbands and wives, how long you may dwell together. Death may soon come, and will doubtless, sooner or later, come and tear away the one of you from the other. When that event shall take place, how will you wish to have behaved ? Behave at present as you would then wish to have behaved, for then you will not be able to bring back the present time. Many great miracles have been wrought by the power of God, but it never did, nor ever will, recal the time that is past. How comfortable was it to Orpah and Ruth to hear Naomi say. Ye have dealt kindly with the dead ! And how comfortable was the reflection to them through life, that she had reason to give them this commendation! As ye have dealt with the dead, and with me. These amiable women extended their kindness from their husbands to their mother-in-law, the only friend of their husbands to whom they could shew kindness. It is commonly supposed, that a widow may hope to live amongst us more comfortably with a son-in- law, than with one of her own married sons. This observation 24 THE HISTORY LECT. II. often holds good, but not to our honor. Why should not dauo^hters-in-law behave like dau2:hters ? If husband and wife are one flesh, your husband's father is ^our father, your hus- band's mother is your mother. Why should Moabitesses be- have better than many Christian wives, and merit commenda- tions which cannot, without flattery, be given to those who have such superior advantages for knowing and for practising their duty? I say not this to shame you. I know that there are some to whom no reproof of this kind is due. But are there not others who behave less aifectionately to their own mothers than did Orpah and Ruth to the mother of their husbands? And with me. When I speak of the unkind behaviour of some wives to the mothers of their husbands, let me give to every one her portion of reproof. The blame of unkind ness does not always lie on one side. If there were more Naomis, there might be more Orpahs and Ruths. Naomi was disposed to take in good part the conduct of her daughters-in-law, and to express a grateful sense of the attentions that were paid to her. Some old women look upon every instance of kindness from their daughters, or their daughters-in-law, as a debt for which they owe them no thanks. Others are so sullen, so suspicious, so fretful, that there is no possibility of pleasing them. They turn the duty of their children into a hard task, which they find it impossible to perform with satisfaction to themselves, because it gives so little satisfaction to those whom they wish to serve. True, your children are bound to honor you, but they are not bound to comply with all your humours. They are bound to be the comforters of your old age ; but how can they comfort you, if you refuse to take comfort in all that they can do to please you? They do no more than their duty when they endeavor to gild the evening of your days by their dutiful behaviour ; but are you not bound to show a grateful sense of their care to perform their duty? You see that Naomi thanked and blessed her daughters-in-law for the kindnesses which they had showed to herself, as well as for their endeav- ors to contribute to the happiness of her sous. Verse 9. — The Lord grant you that ye may find resty each of CHAP. I. 6-10. OF RUTH. 25 you in the house of her husband! Then she hissed them^ and tliey lifted up their voice and wept Naomi did not wish her daughters-in-law to continue through the remaining part of their lives unmarried. She was far from thinking that tlieir entrance a second time into the bond of marriage, would be in any degree inconsistent with all due respect for the memory of their first husbands. If ever they should again enter into this state of life, as she hoped they would do, she wished them all that happiness which they might have expected to enjoy if the Lord had been pleased to spare the lives of her sons. There are seasons, in which unmarried persons and widows will act wisely if they continue as they are ; but there are other times, in. which it is in general better for the younger widows, as well as unmarried women, to marry. We cannot, indeed, fix a rule which will include all without exception, because that may be good for one which is not good for another, whose dispositions or circumstances require a diiferent conduct. There are some who err by marrying when they ought not, or whom they ought not to marry; and there are others who sin when they do not marry, as we learn from the different advices given on this subject by the apostle Paul, 1 Cor. vii. 1 Tim. v. But whenever men or women marry, if they are Avise for themselves, they will take proper measures to find satisfaction in that new state of life; and one of the chief means to be used for this purpose is prayer to God. The Lord grant you th