UDNV-SOV^ "fr/HBAwa-flfc E-IWIVER%. ^ios-ANGEift> f DC i . I or LW OCCASIONED BY THE DEATH HER LATE ROYAL HIGHNESS PREACHED AT HARVEY-LANE, LEICESTER, NOVEMBER 16, 1817. ROBERT HALL, M. A. NINTH EDITION. LEICESTER: PRINTED BF THOMAS COMBE. SOLD BY BUTTON AND SON, PATER NOSTER ROW, LONDON ; | DEIGHTON & SONS, CAMBRIDGE; JAMES, BRISTOL, AND COMBE, LEICESTER. 1818. Stack Annex 5 A SERMON, &c. I JEREMIAH xv. 9. SHE HATH GIVEN UP THE GHOST: HER SUN HATH GONE DOWN WHILE IT WAS YET DAY. IT has been the approved practice of the most enlightened teachers of religion,, to watch for favorable occasions to impress the mind with the lessons of wisdom and piety ; with a view to which they have been wont to advert to recent events of an interesting- order, that by striking in with a train of reflection already commenced., they might the more easily and for- cibly insinuate the instruction, it was their wish to convey. A sound discretion, it must be ac- knowledged, is requisite to make the selection. To descend to the details and occurrences of private life, would seldom consist with the dig- nified decorum suited to religious assemblies : the events to which the attention is directed on such occasions., should be of a nature some- what extraordinary, and calculated to pro- duce a deep and permanent impression. Ad- monition imparted under such circumstances., is styled in scripture a word in season, or as it is more emphatically expressed in the original,, a word on the wheels, denoting the peculiar facility with which it makes its way to the heart. In such a situation the greatest difficulty a speaker has to surmount., is already obviated ; attention is awake, an interest is excited, and all that remains, is to lead the mind, already sufficiently susceptible, to objects of permanent utility. He originates nothing ; it is not so much he that speaks, as the events which speak for themselves ; he only presumes to interpret their language, and to guide the confused emotions of a sorrowful and swollen heart into the channels of piety. You are aware, my Brethren, how strongly these observations apply to that most affecting occurrence which has recently spread such consternation through this great empire ; an event which combines so many circumstances 5 adapted to excite commiseration and concern, that not to survey it with attention, not to permit it to settle on the heart, would betray the utmost insensibility. Devout attention to the dealings of Provi- dence is equally consonant to the dictates of reason and of scripture. He who believes in the superintendance of an eternal mind over the affairs of the universe, is equally irrational and indevout in neglecting to make the course of events the subject of frequent meditation ; since the knowledge of God is incomparably more important than the most intimate ac- quaintance with our fellow creatures; and as the latter is chiefly acquired by an attentive observation of their conduct, so must the former be obtained in the same way. The operations of Providence are marked with a character as expressive of their great Author, as the productions of human agency ; and the same Being who speaks like himself in his word, acts like himself in the moral economy of the universe. However inferior in precision and extent the knowledge derived from the last of these sources, compared to the copious and satis- factory information afforded by the scriptures, 6 it will appear too important to be neglected,, when it is considered that it is antecedent, and that supposing 1 it not sufficient of itself to evince the existence of a Deity, it is impossible for revelation to supply that defect. The word of God assumes the certainty of his being and attributes, as a truth already sufficiently ascer- tained by the light of nature, while it proceeds to inform us on a multitude of subjects which elude the researches of finite reason. To us who have access to both these sources of in- formation, they serve to illustrate eacli other; the obscurities of Providence are elucidated by scripture ; the declaration's of scripture are verified by Providence. One unfolds, as far as it is suitable to our state, the character and designs of the mysterious Agent ; the other displays his works ; and the admirable har- mony which is found to subsist between them, strengthens and invigorates our confidence in both. Hence a disregard to the operations of the Deity in his providential dispensations, is fre- quently stigmatised in scripture as an unequi- vocal symptom of impiety. " Woe unto them," says Isaiah, " that rise up early in the morn- ing, that they may follow strong drink, that continue until night till wine inflame them : 7 and the harp and the viol, the tabret and the pipe, and wine are in their feasts, but they regard not the work of the Lord, neither consider the operation of his hands. There- fore my people are gone into captivity., because they have no knowledge."* The striking analogy which the course of nature and providence bears to the peculiar discoveries of revelation, has been traced by an eminent Prelate with a depth and precision,, which reflect honor on human nature. b It is not my intention to enter on this topic : let me only be permitted to remark., that the analogy extends not only to the discoveries themselves, but to the manner in which they are conveyed. In both, a constant appeal is made to facts. A large portion of the Bible is devoted to history, where the grand truths which are taught, are intimately incorporated with the nar- rative, and mingled with the character and trans- actions of living agents; by which they are rendered far more impressive than if they had remained in an abstract and didactic form. How languid the impression produced by a bare statement of the doctrine of a particular Isaiah iii. 12, 13. b Bishop Butler. 8 providence,, for example., compared to that which we derive from the history of Abraham, whom we see conducted from kingdom to kingdom by a divine hand, and instructed where to pitch his tent, and where to erect his altars. The wonderful evolutions in the story of Joseph also illustrate the conduct of him whose " ways are in the deep, and his paths past finding out" in a manner far more powerful than the clearest instruction conveyed in general propositions. When the Almighty was pleased to intro- duce, by the advent of the Messiah, a more perfect and permanent economy of religion, he founded it entirely on facts, attested by the most unexceptionable evidence, and the most splendid miracles. The Apostles were wit- nesses, who by the signs and wonders they wrought, made that appeal to the senses of men, which had been previously made to their own ; and the doctrines which they taught in their writings, were little more than natural consequences resulting from the un- doubted truth of their testimony. If they wish to inculcate the doctrine of a resurrection and future judgment, they deem it sufficient to appeal to the fact of Christ's resurrection, and session at the right hand of God ; they pre- sent no evidence of a future state, except what ultimately terminates in the person of the Saviour as the first begotten from the dead ; and most anxiously warn us against resting our hope of salvation on any other basis, than that of a sensible sacrifice, "the offering of the body of Christ once for all." Tims whatever is sublime and consolatory in the Chris- tian religion, originates in facts and events which appealed to the senses, and passed in this visible theatre ; though their ultimate result is commensurate with eternity. In order to rescue us from the idolatry of the creature, and the dominion of the senses, he who is intimately acquainted with our frame, makes use of sensible appearances, and causes his Son to become flesh, and to pitch his tent amongst us, that by faith in his crucified hu- manity, we may ascend as by a mystic ladder, to the abode of the Eternal. Providence, it has already been remarked, conveys its most impressive lessons in the same shape ; and by clothing the abstractions of religion in the realities of life, renders them o * in a manner palpable. While they remain in the form of general truths, and are the objects of speculation, they ailed, us but little ; they preserve us from the shallow sophistry of im- piety, and conduct us to just conclusions on 10 subjects of the last moment ; but their control over the heart and conduct is scarcely felt. In order to be deeply impressed, we re- quire some object to be presented,, more in unison with the sensitive part of our nature something more precise and limited, something which the mind may more distinctly realize, and the imagination more firmly grasp. The process of feeling widely differs in this respect from that of reasoning, and is regulated by opposite laws. In reasoning, we recede as far as possible from sensible impressions ; and the more general and comprehensive our conclu- sions, and the larger our abstractions, provided they are sustained by sufficient evidence, the more knowledge is extended, and the intellect improved. Sensibility is excited, the affections are awakened, on the contrary, on those oc- casions, in which we tread back our steps, and descending from generalities, direct the attention to individual objects and particular events. We all acknowledge, for example, our constant exposure to death ; but it is seldom we experience the practical impression of that weighty truth, except when we witness the stroke of mortality actually inflicted. We uni- versally acknowledge the uncertainty of human prospects, and the instability of earthly distinc- tions ; but it is when we behold them signally 11 destroyed and confounded, that we feel our presumption checked, and our hearts appalled. For this reason, he who spake as never man spake, was wont to convey his instructions by sensible images and in familiar apologues, that by concentrating the attention within the sphere of particular occurrences, and individual objects, the impression of his lessons might become more vivid and more profound. It is thus that Providence is addressing us at the present moment ; and if we are wise, we shall convert the melancholy event before us, not to the purposes of political specula- tion, fruitless conjecture, or anxious foreboding, but (what is infinitely better) to a profound consideration of the hand of God ; and then though we may be at a loss to explore the reason of his conduct, we shall be at none how to improve it. Criminal as it is always not to mark the footsteps of Deity, the guilt of such neglect is greatly aggravated, when he comes forth from his place to execute his judgments, and display his wrath : when he is pleased, as at present, to extinguish in an instant the hopes of a nation, to clothe the throne in sackcloth, 12 and involve a kingdom in mourning 1 . The greatness, the suddenness of this calamity., accompanied with circumstances of the most tender and affecting interest, speaks to the heart in accents which nothing but the ut- most obduration can resist ; so that were it the sole intention of him who has inflicted it, to awaken the careless, and alarm the secure, among the higher orders especially, we are at a loss to perceive what could have been done more than has been accomplished. Whatever imagination can combine in an example of the uncertainty of life, the frailty of youth, the evanescence of beauty, and the nothing- ness of worldly greatness, in its highest state of elevation, is exhibited in this awful event in its full dimensions. The first particular which strikes the atten- tion in this solemn visitation, is the rank of the illustrious personage, who appears to have been placed on the pinnacle of society for the express purpose of rendering her fall the more conspicuous, and of convincing as many as are susceptible of conviction that " man at his best estate is altogether vanity." The Deity himself adorned the victim with his own hands, accumulating upon her all the decorations and ornaments best adapted to render her the object 13 of universal admiration. He permitted her to touch whatever this sublunary scene presents that is most attractive and alluring, but to grasp nothing ; and after conducting her to an eminence whence she could survey all the glories of empire as her destined possession., closed her eyes in death. That such an event should affect us in a manner very superior to similar calamities which occur in private life,, is agreeable to the order of nature,, and the will of God ; nor is the pro- found sensation it has produced,, to be considered as the symbol of courtly adulation. The catas- trophe itself, it is true, apart from its pecu- liar circumstances, is not a rare occurrence. Mothers often expire in the ineffectual effort to give birth to their offspring : both are con- signed to the same tomb, and the survivor, after witnessing the wreck of so many hopes and joys, is left to mourn alone, " refusing to be comforted, because they are not." There is no sorrow which imagination can picture, no sign of anguish which nature agonised and oppressed can exhibit, no accent of woe, but what is already familiar to the ear of fallen afflicted humanity ; and the roll which Ezekiel beheld, Hying through the Heavens, inscribed within and without, " with sorrow if lamentation and woe," enters sooner or later., into every house, and discharges its contents in every bosom. But in the private depart- ments of life, the distressing incidents which occur, are confined to a narrow circle. The hope of an individual is crushed ; the happi- ness of a family is destroyed ; but the social system is unimpaired, and its movements ex- perience no impediment, and sustain no sensible injury. The arrow passes through the air, which soon closes upon it, and all is tran- quil. But when the great lights and orna- ments of the world, placed aloft to conduct its inferior movements., are extinguished, such an event resembles the apocalyptic vial poured into that element which changes its whole temperature, and is the presage of fearful com- motions, of thunders, lightnings, and tempests. Independently of the political consequences which may result from an event which, by changing the order of succession, involves the prospects of the nation in obscurity, we are formed to be peculiarly affected by the spectacle of prostrate majesty, and fallen greatness. We are naturally prone to associate with the con- templation of exalted rank, the idea of supe- rior felicity. We perceive in persons of that station, a command over the sources of enjoy- 15 ment, a power of gratifying their inclinations in a multitude of forms from which others are precluded : and as they appear to possess the means of supplying every want, of obviating every inconvenience, and of alleviating, to a considerable extent, every sorrow incident to humanity, it is not to be wondered at that we regard them as the darlings of nature, and tlie favorites of fortune. The share they possess of the bounties and indulgencies of Providence, is so much beyond the ordinary measure of allotment, and so large a portion of human art and industry is exerted in smoothing their passage, and strewing flowers in their path, that we almost necessarily associate ideas of superior enjoyment with a description of per- sons, for whose gratification the inferior classes seem born to toil. We are so constituted also, that the sight of felicity, when it is not mixed with envy, is always connected with pleasing emotions, whether it is considered as possessed by our- selves or by others ; not excepting even the animal creation. For who can behold their harmless pleasures, the wild gambols of their young, rioting in their superabundance of life and excess of pleasure, without experiencing a momentary exhilaration ? As their enjoy- 16 ments are considered too scanty and limited to excite a feeling- of envy ; so from an op- posite cause, the privileges attached to an elevated station seldom produce it. Happily for mankind, the corrosions of that baleful passion are almost entirely confined to equals, or to those between whom there exists some pre- tensions to equality ; who having started from nearly the same level, have recently distanced each other, in the chace of distinction, or of glory. But when the superiority we con- template has been long possessed, when it is such as renders competition hopeless, and com- parison absurd, the feelings of rivalry are su- perseded by an emotion of respect, and the spectacle presented of superior felicity, pro- duces its primary and natural effect. We dwell with complacency on a system of arrange- ments so exquisitely adapted apparently to the production of happiness ; and yield a sort of involuntary homage to the person in whom it centres, without appearing to disturb our pretensions, or interfere with our pursuits. Hence of all factitious distinctions, that of birth is least exposed to envy ; the thought of aspiring to an equality in that respect, being instantly checked by the idea of impossibility. When we turn our eyes towards the possessors of distinguished opulence and power, so many 1? glittering- appendages crowd on the imagi- nation., productive of agreeable emotion, that we lose sight of the essential equality of the species, and think less of the persons them- selves,, than of the artificial splendor which surrounds them. That there is some illusion in these senti- ments., that the balance in respect of real en- joyment is far from being so decidedly in favor of the opulent and the great, as they prompt us to imagine, is an indubitable fact. Never- theless., the disposition they create to regard the external appearances of opulence and power., with respect unmingled with envy,, and to ac- quiesce with pleasure in the visible superiority they confer, is productive of incalculable benefit. But for this, the distinctions of rank, and the privileges and immunities attached to each, on which much of the tranquillity, and all the improvements of society depend, would fall a prey to an unfeeling rapacity ; the many would hasten to seize on the exclusive advantages of the few, and the selfish passions, uncontrolled by a more refined order of feeling, would break forth with a fury that would quickly over- whelm the mounds and fences of legal autho- rity. By means of the sentiments to which we have adverted, society exerts a sort of plastic c 18 power over its members, which forms their habits and inclinations to a cheerful acquies- cence in the allotments of Providence,, and bestows on the positive institutions of man, the stability of nature. As the necessary consequence of these sen- timents,, when great reverses befal the higher orders, the mind experiences a kind of re- vulsion; the contrast of their present with their past situation, produces a deeper sym- pathy than is experienced on other occa- sions. We measure the height from which they fell, and calculate the extent of their loss on a scale proportioned to the value we have been accustomed to attach to the immunities and enjoyments, of which it deprives them. The sight of such elaborate preparations for happiness rendered abortive, of a majestic fabric so proudly seated and exquisitely adorned, sud- denly overturned, disturbs the imagination like a convulsion of nature, and diffuses a feeling of insecurity and terror, as though nothing re- mained on which we could repose with con- fidence. Hence the misfortunes of princes who have survived their greatness, and terminated a brilliant career by captivity and death, have been selected by poets in every age, as the 19 basis of those fictions which are invented for the purpose of producing commiseration. To guard against these feelings being car- ried to excess., so as to induce an oblivion of moral distinction, a sacrifice of principle, a mean and pusillanimous prostration before the profligate and the vicious ; to urge the necessity of correcting their aberrations by the dictates of reason and religion., is foreign to our purpose. The utility of a class of feel- ings is not the less certain, for their being- liable to abuse. Let me rather avail myself of the awful dispensation before us, to suggest a warning to the possessors of these envied distinctions, not to overrate their value, nor con- fide in their continuance, which at most are but " the flower of the field" as much distin- guished by its superior frailty, as by its beauty. They belong to the "fashion of that world which passeth away :" they contribute much to embellish and beautify this transitory abode, to the ornament of which, the Supreme Being has shewn himself not inattentive. As the God of order, whatever tends to secure and perpetuate it, is the object of his approba- tion ; nor can we doubt that he regards with complacency that distribution of men into distinct orders, which assimilates the social 20 system, to that variety which pervades the economy of nature. Let their possessors remember., however, that they must shortly be divested of the brilliant ap- pendages and splendid ornaments of rank and station, and enter into a world where they are unknown ; where they will carry nothing- but the essential elements of their being-, impressed with those indelible characters which must sus- tain the scrutiny of Omniscience. These arti- ficial decorations, be it remembered, are not, properly speaking, their own : the elevation to which they belong is momentary; and as the merit of an actor is not estimated by the part which he performs, but solely by the truth and propriety of his representation, and the peasant is often applauded where the monarch is hissed ; so when the great drama of life is concluded, he who allots its scenes, and de- termines its period, will take an account of his servants, and assign to each his punish- ment or reward, in his proper character. The existence of a perfect and eternal mind, renders such an order of things necessary ; for with whatever skill society may be organised, still it will make but a faint approximation to our limited conceptions of justice ; and since there is an original mind in which these ideas sub- 1st in their utmost perfection, whence the finite conception of justice is transcribed, they must at some period or other be realised. That they are not so at present is obvious. Merit is often depressed, vice exalted ; and with the best regulations of human wisdom, executed with the utmost impartiality, malevolence will ever be armed with the power of inflicting" a thousand nameless indignities and oppressions, with perfect impunity. Though the efficacy of human laws is far more conspicuous in re- straining and punishing than in rewarding,, in which their resources are extremely limited, it is only those flagrant offences that disturb the public tranquillity to which they extend ; while the silent stream of misery issuing from pri- vate vice, which is incessantly impairing the foundations of public and individual happiness, by a secret and invisible sap, remains un- checked. The gradations even of rank, which are partly the cause, and partly the effect of the highest social improvements, are accom- panied with so many incidental evils, that nothing but an enlarged contemplation of their ultimate tendency and effect, could reconcile us to the monstrous incongruities and defor- mities they display ; in wealth which ruins its possessor, titles which dignify . the base, and influence exerted to none but the most mis- m chievous purposes. Tlie enlightened observer of human aifairs is often struck with horror at the consequences incidentally resulting from laws and institutions which, on account of their general utility, command his unfeigned vene- ration. These are the unequivocal indications of a fallen state ; but since it is also a state of probation, the irregularities by which it is distinguished, in the frequent exaltation of the wicked, and the humiliation and depression of the righteous, are such as furnish the fittest materials for trial. What state, let me ask, is better calculated than the present, to put it to the test, whether we will suffer ourselves to be swayed by the dictates of reason, or the fascinations of pleasure ; whether we will allow the future to predominate over the present, the things that are invisible over those that are seen, and preferring an eternal recompense with God, to the transitory objects of concupiscence, submit to be controlled by his will, and led by his Spirit. Whatever reception these views may meet with, one thing is certain, that it is inva- riably the most necessary they should be inculcated where they are most unwelcome ; and that if there be any one description of persons more in danger than another of being 23 lulled into a forgetfulness of future prospects, it is to them especially the warning voice should be directed, the eternal world un- veiled. And who but will acknowledge., that this danger is especially incident to such as bask in the smiles of fortune, and possessing an unlimited command over the sources of enjoyment, are bound to the world by the most vivid associations of pleasure and of hope. " Give me neither poverty nor riches," said one of the wisest of men, " lest 1 be full and deny thee, and say, Who is the Lord ? or lest I be poor, and steal, and take the name of God in vain." While riches exempt their possessors from the temptation of meaner vices, his observation taught him, their peculiar ex- posure to practical impiety, and to that forget- fulness of God, which is the root and core of all our disorders. Let them turn their eyes then for a moment to this illustrious Princess, who while she lived, concentred in herself whatever distin- guishes the higher orders of society, and may now be considered as addressing them from the tomb. Born to inherit the most illustrious monarchy in the world, and united at an early period 24 to the object of her choice., whose virtues amply justified her preference., she enjoyed (what is not always the privilege of that rank) the hi^.iest connubial felicity,, and had the prospect of combining- all the tranquil enjoy- ments of private life, with the splendor of a royal station. Placed on the summit of so- ciety, to her every eye was turned, in her every hope was centred, and nothing was want- ing 1 to complete her felicity, except perpetuity. To a grandeur of mind, suited to her illustrious birth, and lofty destination, she joined an exquisite taste for the beauties of nature, and the charms of retirement ; where far from the gaze of the multitude, and the frivolous agi- tations of fashionable life, she employed her hours in visiting, with her illustrious consort, the cottages of the poor, in improving her virtues, in perfecting her reason, and acquiring the knowledge best adapted to qualify her for the possession of power, and the cares of empire. One thing only was wanting to render our satisfaction complete, in the pros- pect of the accession of such a Princess : it was that she might become the living mother of children. The long wished for moment at length arrived, but alas ! the event anticipated with 25 such eagerness will form the most melancholy page in our History. It is no reflection on this amiable Princess to suppose, that in her early dawn, with the "dew of her youth" so fresh upon her., she anticipated a long series of years., and ex- pected to be led through successive scenes of enchantment, rising above each other in fas- cination and beauty. It is natural to sup- pose she identified herself with this great na- tion which she was born to govern ; and that while she contemplated its pre-eminent lustre in arts and in arms, its commerce en- circling the globe, its colonies diffused through both hemispheres, and the beneficial effects of its institutions extending to the whole earth ; she considered them as so many component parts of her grandeur. Her heart, we may well conceive, would often be ruffled with emotions of trembling extacy, when she re- flected that it was her province to live en- tirely for others, to compose the felicity of a great people, to move in a sphere which would afford scope for the exercise of philanthrophy the most enlarged, of wisdom the most en- lightened ; and that while others are doomed to pass through the world in obscurity, she was to supply the materials of history, and 26 to impart that impulse to society., which was to decide the destiny of future generations. Fired with the ambition of equalling, or sur- passing 1 , the most distinguished of her pre- decessors, she probably did not despair of reviving the remembrance of the brightest parts of their story, and of once more attaching the epocli of British glory to the annals of a female reign. It is needless to add that the nation went with her, and probably outstripped her in these delightful anticipations. We fondly hoped, that a life so inestimable, would be protracted to a distant period, and that after diffusing the blessings of a just and enlightened administration, and being surrounded by a nu- merous progeny, she would gradually, in a good old age, sink under the horizon, amidst the embraces of her family, and the bene- dictions of her country. But alas ! these delightful visions are fled, and what do we be- hold in their room, but the funereal pall and shroud, a palace in mourning, a nation in tears, and the shadow of death settled over both like a cloud! O the unspeakable vanity of human hopes! the incurable blindness of man to futurity ! ever doomed to grasp at shadows, to seize with avidity what turns to dust and ashes in his hand, "to sow the wind, and reap the whirlwind." 27 How must the heart of the royal parent be torn with anguish on this occasion : deprived of a daughter, who combined every quality suited to engage his affection., and elevate his hopes ; an only child, the heir of his throne ; and doomed, apparently, to behold the sceptre pass from hi.-; posterity into other hands ; his sorrow must be such as words are inadequate to pourtray. Nor is it possible to withhold our tender sym- pathy from the unhappy mother, who in ad- dition to the wounds she has received by the loss of her nearest relations, and by still more trying vicissitudes, has witnessed the extinction of her last hope, in the sudden removal of one in whose bosom she might naturally hope to depose her griefs, and find a peaceful haven from the storms of life, and the tossings of the ocean. But above all, the illustrious Consort of this lamented Princess, is entitled to the deepest commiseration. How myste- rious are the ways of Providence, in ren- dering; the virtues of this distinguished per- sonage, the source of his greatest trials. By these he merited the distinction to which monarchs aspired in vain, and by these he exposed himself to a reverse of fortune, the severity of which can only be adequately esti- mated by this illustrious mourner. These virtues, however, will not be permitted to i 28 their reward. They will find it in the grateful attachment of the British Nation., in the re- membrance of his having contributed the prin- cipal share to the happiness of the most amiable and exalted of women ; and above all, we humbly hope, when the agitations of time shall cease, in a reunion with the object of his attachment, before the presence of Him who will " wipe evert/ tear from the eye" When Jehovah was pleased to command Isaiah the prophet to make a public proclamation in the ears of the people, what was it, would you suppose, he was ordered to announce? Was it some profound secret of nature which had baffled the inquiries of philosophers, or some great political convulsion which was to change the destiny of empires ? No, these are not the sort of communications most suited to the gran- deur of his nature, or the exigencies of ours. " The voice said cry ; and he said, What shall I cry. All flesh is grass, and all the goodliness thereof is as the flower of the field : the grass withereth, the flower fadeth ; because the Spirit of the Lord bloweth upon it : surely the people is grass. The grass withereth., the flower fadeth : but the word of our God shall stand for ever." c Instead of c Isaiah xl. 6, 7, 8. 29 presenting to our eyes the mutations of power, and the revolutions of States and Kingdoms ; he exhibits a more awful and affecting spec- tacle, the human race itself withering under the breath of his mouth, perishing under his rebuke ; while he plants his eternal word, which subsists from generation to generation, in undecaying vigor, to console our wretched- ness, and impregnate the dying mass with the seed of immortality. As the frailty of man, and the perpetuity of his promises, are the greatest contrast the universe presents, so the practical impression of this truth, however obvious, is the beginning of wisdom, nor is there a degree of moral elevation to which it will not infallibly conduct us. The annunciation of life and immortality by the gospel, did it contain no other truth, were sufficient to cast all the discoveries of science into shade, and to reduce the highest improvements of reason to the comparative nothingness which the flight of a moment bears to eternity. By this discovery, the prospects of human nature are infinitely widened, the creature of yesterday becomes the child of eternity, and as felicity is not less valuable in the eye of 30 reason because it is remote,, nor the misery which is certain, less to be deprecated, because it is not immediately felt, the care of our fu- ture interests becomes our chief, and properly speaking, our only concern. All besides will shortly be nothing-, and therefore whenever it comes into competition with these, it is as the small dust of the balance. Is it now any subject of regret, think you, to this amiable . Princess so suddenly removed, " that her sun went down while it was yet day," or that prematurely snatched from prospects the most brilliant and en- chanting, she was compelled to close her eyes so soon on a world, of whose grandeur she formed so conspicuous a part. No, other objects occupy her mind, other thoughts en- gage her attention, and will continue to en- gage it for ever. All things with her are changed, and viewed from that pure and ineffable light, for which, we humbly hope, religion prepared her, the lustre of a diadem is scarcely visible, majesty emits a feeble and sickly ray, and all ranks and conditions of men appear but so many troops of pilgrims in different garbs, toiling through the same vale of tears, distinguished only by different de- grees of wretchedness. 31 In the full fruition of eternal joys, she is so far from looking back with lingering regret on what she has quitted, that she is surprised it had the power of affecting her so much ; that she took so deep an interest in the scenes of this shadowy state of being, while so near to an " eternal weight of glory ;" and as far as memory may be supposed to contribute to her happiness, by associating the present with the past, it is not the re- collection of her illustrious birth, and elevated prospects, but that she visited the abodes of the poor, and learned to weep with those that weep, that surrounded with the fascinations of pleasure, she was not inebriated by its charms, that she resisted the strongest temptations to pride, preserved her ears open to truth, was impatient of the voice of flattery ; in a word, that she sought and cherished the inspirations of piety, and "walked, humbly with her God." A This is fruit which survives, when the flower withers the only ornaments and treasures we can carry into eternity. d From the obscurity of the Author's situation, he must be supposed incapable of authenticating these traits in her charac- ter, from his personal knowledge; but from the respectable pub- lications in which they are related, he entertains no doubt of their truth. 32 While we look at this event with the eyes of flesh, and survey it in the aspect it bears towards our national prospects, it appears a most singular and affecting- catastrophe. But con- sidered in itself, or more properly in its re- lation to a certain., though invisible futurity., its consequences are but commensurate to those which result from the removal of the meanest individual. He whose death is as little regarded as the fall of a leaf in the forest, and he whose departure involves a nation in despair, are in this view of the subject (by far the most important one,) upon a level. Before the presence of the great I AM, into which they both immediately enter, these dis- tinctions vanish, and the true statement of the fact on either supposition is, that an im- mortal spirit has finished its earthly career ; has passed the barriers of the invisible world, to appear before its Maker, in order to re- ceive that sentence which will fix its irrevo- cable doom, "according to the deeds done in the body?' On either supposition an event has taken place,, which has no parallel in the revolutions of time,, the consequences of which have not room to expand themselves within a narrower sphere, than an endless duration. An event has occurred, the issues of which must ever baffle and elude all finite compre- 33 hension, by concealing themselves in the depths of that abyss, of that eternity., which is the dwelling-place of Deity, where there is suf- ficient space for the destiny of each among the innumerable millions of the human race to develope itself, and without interference or confusion, to sustain and carry forwards its separate infinity of interest. That there is nothing- hyperbolic or extra- vagant in these conceptions., but that they are the " true sayings of God" you may learn from almost every page of the sacred oracles. For what are they in fact,, but a different mode of announcing the doctrine taught us in the following words, " What shall it profit a man if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul ; or what shall he give in exchange for his soul." When it is considered that the doctrine of a life to come, is ascertained by the advent of the Messiah, with a degree of evidence so superior to that which attaches to any other futurity, that he who refuses to believe it, on his testimony, would not be persuaded al- though one rose from the dead, the propensity to disregard it, however general, is the most astonishing phenomenon in nature. Man is 34 naturally a prospective creature, endowed not only \vith a capacity of comparing the present with the past, but also of anticipating- the future, and dwelling with anxious rumi- nation on scenes which are yet remote. He is capable of carrying his views, of attaching his anxieties, to a period much more distant than that which measures the limits of his present existence ; capable, we distinctly per- ceive, of plunging into the depths of future duration, of identifying himself with the sen- timents and opinions of a distant age, and of enjoying by anticipation, the fame of which he is aware he shall never be conscious,, and the praises he shall never hear. So strongly is he disposed to link his feelings with fu- turity, that shadows become realities when contemplated as subsisting there ; and the phantom of posthumous celebrity, the faint image of his being, impressed on future gene- rations, is often preferred to the w^hole of his present existence, with all its warm and vivid realities. The complexion of the day that is passing over him, is determined by the an- ticipations of the morrow ; the present borrows its brightness and its gloom from the future, which presenting itself to his contemplation as in a mirror, incessantly agitates him with ap- paritions of terror or delight. In the calcula- 35 tions of interest., the mind is affected in the same manner : it is perpetuity which stamps its value on whatever we possess, so that the lowest epicure would prefer a small acces- sion to his property, to the most exquisite re- past ; and none are found so careless of fu- turity as not to prefer the inheritance he may bequeath, to one of equal value, the title to which expires with his life. How is it then that we find it so difficult to prevail upon men to fix their attention firmly on another world, that real future existence which reason assures us is probable, which revelation teaches us is certain, which is sepa- rated from us by so narrow a boundary, and into which thousands of our fellow-creatures are passing- every moment? How is it that the professed followers of Him especially, who de- scended from Heaven, who came forth from the Father to conduct us thither, are so indisposed to turn their thoughts and contemplations to that unchanging state of being-, into which they are so shortly to enter? It is not, we perceive, that to move forward is not congenial with our mental constitution : it is not because we- are so enchanted with the present scene, as to be incapable of diverting our attention from it ; for we are continually disquieted by a restless 36 desire of something- future : it is not because we are seldom warned or reminded of another state of existence ; for every funeral bell, every opening- grave, every symptom of decay within,, and of change without us, is a separate warn- ing ; to say nothing of the present most af- fecting dispensation which has filled this nation with such consternation and distress. Were any other event of far inferior moment, ascertained by evidence, which made but a distant approach to that which attests the cer- tainty of a life to come ; had we equal assu- rance that after a very limited, though uncer- tain period, we should be called to migrate into a distant land, whence we were never to return., the intelligence would fill every breast with solicitude ; it w r ould become the theme of every tongu6; and we should avail ourselves with the utmost eagerness of all the means of in- formation respecting the prospects which awaited us in that unknown country. Much of our attention would be occupied in preparing for our departure ; we should cease to consider the place we now inhabit as our home, and nothing would be considered as of moment, but as it bore upon our future destination. How strange is it then, that with the certainty 91 we all possess of shortly entering into another world, we avert our eyes as much as possible from the prospect ; that we seldom permit it to penetrate us ; and that the moment the recol- lection recurs, we hasten to dismiss it, as an unwelcome intrusion ? Is it not surprising that the volume we profess to recognise as the re- cord of immortality, and the sole depository of whatever information it is possible to ob- tain respecting the portion which awaits us, should be consigned to neglect, and rarely, if ever, consulted with the serious intention of ascertaining our future condition ? That a creature formed for an endless du- ration should be disposed to turn his attention from that object, and to contract his views and prospects within a circle which, compared to eternity, is but a mathematical point, is truly astonishing ; and as it is impossible to account for it from the natural constitution of the mind, it must originate in some great moral cause. It shews that some strange catastrophe has befallen the species ; that some deep and radical malady is inherent in the moral system. Though philosophers of a certain description may attempt to explain and justify it on some ingenious hypothesis ; yet in spite of metaphysical subtleties, the alarming enquiry 38 will still return How is it that the dispo- sition of mankind is so much at variance with their prospects ; that no train of reflections is more unwelcome than that which is con- nected with their eternal home ? If the change ~ is considered as a happy one ; if the final abode to which we are hastening 1 ., is supposed to be an improvement on the present,, why shrink back from it with aversion ? If it is contem- plated as a state of suffering, it is natural to enquire what it is, that has invested it with so dark and sombre a character ? What is it which has enveloped that species of futurities in a gloom which pervades no other? If the indisposition to realize a life to come, arises in any measure from a vague presentiment that it will bring us, so to speak, into a closer contact with the Deity, by presenting clearer manifestations of his character and perfections, (and who can doubt that this is a principal cause) the proof it affords of a great dete- rioration in our moral condition is complete. For who will suppose it possible, a disposition to hide himself from his Creator should be an original part of the constitution of a reasonable creature ? or what more portentous and un- natural than for him that is formed, to shun the presence of his Maker, and to place his felicity in the forgetfulness of him "in whom 39 he lives, and moves, and has his being ?" If he is "pained and disquieted whenever he is forcibly reminded of Him., whose power sus- tains, and whose bounty replenishes the uni- verse with whatever is good and fair ; if the source of being and of happiness is the object of terror, instead of confidence and love, it is not easy to conceive what can afford a stronger conviction of guilt, or a more certain presage of danger. The conclusion to which we are conducted,, is confirmed by inspiration, which assures us that a great revolution has actually befallen the species, and that in consequence of the entrance of sin into the world, we have in- curred the forfeiture of the divine favor, and the loss of the divine image. In this situation it is not difficult to perceive, that the economy adapted to our relief, must include two things, the means of expiating guilt, and the means of moral renovation ; in other words, an atoning sacrifice, and a sanctifying spirit. Both these objects are accomplished in the advent of the Saviour, who by presenting himself as a sin-offering, has made ample satisfaction to offended justice, and purchased by his merits the renovating Spirit, which is freely offered to as many as sincerely seek it. By the 40 former/ the obstructions to our happiness arising- from the divine nature are removed ; by the latter., the disqualification spring-ing* front our own. By providing a sacrifice of infinite value in the person of the Only Begotten,, he has consulted his majesty as the righteous governor of the world, and has reconciled the seemingly incompatible claims of justice and of mercy. By bestowing the Spirit as the fruit of his mediation and intercession, whose " soul was made an offering for sin," pollution is purged, and that image of God restored to sinful creatures, which capacitates them for the enjoyment of pure and perfect felicity. Thus every requisite which we can conceive ne- cessary in a restorative dispensation, is found in the gospel, exhibited with a perspicuity level to the meanest capacity, combined with such a depth in the contrivance, and such an exquisite adaptation to our state and con- dition, as surpasses finite comprehension. This is the substance of those glad tidings which constitute the gospel; to the cordial reception of which, must all the difference be ascribed, which will shortly be found between the con- dition of the saved and the lost. Be assured, my Christian brethren, it is by a profound submission of the soul to this 41 doctrine, offensive as it may be to the , pride of human virtue, repugnant, as it undoubtedly is, to the dictates of philosophy, falsely so called, that we must "acquaint ourselves with God, and be at peace." When we mention peace, however, we mean not the stupid se- curity of a mind that refuses to reflect : we mean a tranquillity which rests upon an un- shaken basis, which no anticipations however remote, no power of reflection however pierc- ing 1 or profound, no evolutions which time may disclose or eternity conceal, are capable of impairing ; a peace Avhich is founded on the oath and promise of him who cannot lie, which springing from the consciousness of an ineffable alliance with the Father of Spirits, makes us to share in his fulness, to become a partner with him in his eternity ; a repose pure and serene as the unruffled w r ave, which reflects the heavens from its bosom, while it is accompanied with a feeling of exultation and triumph, natural to such as are conscious that ere long, having- overcome, they shall possess all things. While the prize is so transcendently great, no unparallelled efforts, no incredible exertions, are requisite to obtain it : it is placed within the grasp of every hand. If the great sacrifice 42 had not been presented, if the succours of Heaven had not been offered, if the glad tidings had not been proclaimed., nor life and immor- tality brought to light, our condition would indeed have been deplorable ; and little encou- ragement should we have had, to engage in the great work of seeking salvation. But now " all things are ready," and the chief, or rather the only pre-requisite, is a child-like docility, a disposition to derive wisdom from the fountain of light, strength from the strong, together with a fixed and immoveable con- viction, that the care of our eternal interests is the grand concern. Some events by the established course of nature are rendered so certain, that however important in their consequences, they are not the proper subjects of deliberation. Their certainty assumed as a basis in all our cal- culations and reasonings, is entitled to great weight in adjusting the plan of future ope- ration ; but it is with a view to other objects that our schemes are formed, and our anxiety exerted. Other events are precluded from de- liberation, by an opposite reason, the perfect conviction that they will never arrive. Both these are regarded by wise men as fixed, im- moveable points, which supply motives for sub- mission,, but no incentives to exertion. 43 There is another class of futurities, whose existence is not ascertained by immutable., in- dependent causes ; they are placed in some measure within our reach., are subjected in a degree to our control ; and are neither so certain as to produce security., nor so im- possible or improbable as to occasion des- pair. These form the motives to human ac- tivity., and the objects of rational pursuit ; in the proper selection of which, and the ap- plication of means best adapted to their at- tainment., consists the whole wisdom of man. The hopes and fears associated with the con- templation of events of this nature,, are the springs which set mankind in motion ; and while the frivolous and the dissipated, fix their at- tention on such as are productive of transient and momentary impressions, the wise in their generation select those which are the basis of permanent interests, such as wealth, power and reputation ; which, whoever acquires by a course of strenuous exertion, is applauded, and extolled as a pattern for universal imi- tation. Yet what extreme short sightedness characterises the most prosperous votary of the world, compared to the humblest can- didate for immortality ! " This their way is their folly, though their posterity approve their sayings." Of the great prizes in human 14 lite, it h not often the lot of the most en- terprising to obtain many : they are placed on opposite sides of the path, so that it is im- possible to approach one of them without proportionably receding 1 from, another ; whence it arises that the wisest plans are founded on a compromise between good and evil,, where much that is the object of desire is finally re- linquished and abandoned, in order to secure superior advantages. The candidate for im- mortality is reduced to no such alternative : the possession of his object comprehends all ; it combines in itself, without imperfec- tion, and without alloy, all the scattered por- tions of good, for which the votaries of the world are accustomed to contend. Such also is our constitution, and so little is this sub- lunary state adapted to be our rest, that we are usually more alive to the good we want, than to that which we possess ; that ren- dered delicate by indulgence, rather than sati- ated by enjoyment, the slightest check in the career of our desires, inflicts a wound which their gratification in every other par- ticular, is incapable of healing. Thus the .wretched Haman, in the highest plenitude of effluence and power, exclaimed " all this availeth me nothing, while Mordecai sits in the gate" Such is toe capricious fastidiousness of the human heart, chiefly in those who are most pampered with the gifts of fortune, that the person whom nothing- has the power of gratifying 1 long, the merest trifle is sufficient to displease, and that he is often extremely chagrined and disquieted, by the absence of that, whose presence would scarcely be felt. The fruition of religious objects calms and purifies, as much as it delights ; it strengthens, instead of enervating the mind, which it fills without agitating, and by settling it on its proper basis, diffuses an unspeakable repose through a!4 its powers. As the connection between means and ends, is not so indissolubly fixed as to preclude the possibility of disappointment, and " the battle is not always to the strong, nor the race to the swift, nor riches to men of understanding,'- the votary of the world is never secure of his object, which frequently mocks his pursuit, by vanishing at the moment when he is just on the point of seizing it. He often possesses not even the privilege of failing with impunity, and has no medium left between complete success and infallible destruction. In the struggles of ambition, in violent competitions for power or for glory, how slender the partition betwixt the widest extremes of fortune, and how few 46 the steps, and apparently slight the circum- stances which sever the throne from the prison, the palace from the tomb. " So Tibni died" says the sacred historian with inimitable sim- plicity, " and Omri reigned." He who makes the care of his eternal interests his chief pursuit, is exposed to no such perils and vicissitudes. His hopes will be infallibly crowned with success. The soil on which he bestows his labor will infinitely more than recompense his care ; and however disproportioned the extent and du- ration of his efforts to the magnitude of their object, however insufficient to secure it by their intrinsic vigor, the faithfulness of God is pledged to bring them to a prosperous issue. " Ask" said our Lord, " and ye shall receive, seek and ye shall find, knock and it shall be opened unto you. For ivhosoever asketh re- ceiveth, and whosoever seeketh jindeth, and whosoever knocketh, to him it shall be opened." The pursuit of salvation is the only enterprise, in which no one fails from weakness, none from an invincible ignorance of futurity, none from the sudden vicissitudes of fortune, against which there exists no effectual security, none from those occasional eclipses of knowledge and fits of inadvertence, to which the most acute and wakeful intellect is exposed. How suitable is it to the character of the Being who reveals 47 himself by the name of Love, to render the object which is alone worthy of being aspired to with ardor, the only one to which all may, without presumption aspire ; and while he con- ceals thrones and sceptres in the shadow of his hand, and bestows them where he pleases, with a mysterious and uncontrolable sovereignty, on opening the springs of eternal felicity, to proclaim to the utmost bounds of the earth, ff Let him that is athirst come ; and whosoever 'will let him partake of the water of life freely." But the impotence of the world never ap- pears more conspicuous than when it has ex- hausted its powers in the gratification of its votaries,, by placing them in a situation, which leaves them nothing further to hope. It frus- trates the sanguine expectations of its admi- rers as much by what it bestows, as by what it withholds, and reserves its severest dis- appointment for the season of possession. The agitation, the uncertainty, the varied emo- tions of hope and fear which accompany the pursuit of worldly objects, create a powerful interest, and maintain a brisk and wholesome circulation ; but when the pursuit is over, unless some other is substituted in its place^ satiety succeeds to enjoyment, and pleasures cease to please. Tired of treading the same circle, of beholding the same spectacles, of frequenting the same amusements, and repeating the same follies, with nothing to awaken sen- sibility, or to stimulate to action, the minion of fortune is exposed to an insuperable languor; he sinks under an insupportable weight of ease, and falls a victim to incurable dejection and despondency. Religion, by presenting ob- jects ever interesting and ever new., by be- stowing much, by promising more, and dila- ting the heart with the expectation of a cer- tain indefinite good, clearly ascertained, though indistinctly seen ; the pledge and earnest of which is far more delightful than all that irre- ligious men possess, is the only effectual anti- dote to this evil. " He that drinketh of this water shall never thirst." The vanity which adheres to the world in every form, when its pleasures and occupations are regarded as ultimate objects, is at once corrected when they are viewed in connection with a boundless futurity ; and whatever may be their intrinsic value, they rise into dignity and importance when considered as the seed of a future harvest, as the path which, however- obscure, leads to honor and immortality, as the province of labor allotted us, in order to " work out cur salvation with fear and trembling." No- thing is little which is related to such a 49 system ; nothing- vain or frivolous which has the remotest influence on such prospects. Con- sidered as a state of probation, our present condition loses all its inherent meanness; it derives a moral grandeur even from the short- ness of its duration, when viewed as a contest for an immortal crown., in which the candidates are exhibited on a theatre, a spectacle to beings of the highest order, who- conscious of the tremendous importance of the issue, of the magnitude of the interest at stake, survey the combatants from on high, with benevolent and trembling solicitude. 'S Finally, we are made for the enjoyment of eternal blessedness ; it is our high calling and destination ; and not to pursue it with diligence, is to be guilty of the blackest ingra- titude to the Author of our being, as well as the greatest cruelty to ourselves. To fail of such an object, to defeat the end of our ex- istence, and in consequence of neglecting the great salvation, to sink at last under the frown of the Almighty, is a calamity winch words were not invented to express, nor finite mind* formed to grasp. Eternity, it is surely not necessary to remind you, invests .every state, whether of bliss or of suffering, with a mysterious and awful importance entirely its own, and G 50 is the only property in the creation which gives that weight and moment to whatever it attaches, compared to which all sublunary joys and sorrows, all interests which know a period., fade into the most contemptible insig- nificance. In appreciating every other object., it is easy to exceed the proper estimate ; and even of the distressing event which has so re- cently occurred,, the feeling which many of us possess, is probably adequate to the occasion. The nation has certainly not been wanting in the proper expression of its poignant regret at the sudden removal of this most lamented princess, nor of their sympathy with the royal family, deprived by this visitation of its bright- est ornament. Sorrow is painted in every coun- tenance, the pursuits of business and of pleasure have been suspended, and the kingdom is co- vered with the signals of distress. But what, rny brethren, if it be lawful to indulge such a thought, what would be the funeral obsequies of a lost soul ? Where shall we find the tears fit to be wept at such a spectacle? or could we realize the calamity in all its extent, what tokens of commiseration and concern would be deemed equal to the occasion ? Would it suffice for the sun to veil his light, and the moon her brightness ; to cover the ocean with mourning, and the heavens with sackcloth ? 51 or were the whole fabric of nature to become animated and vocal., would it be possible for her to utter a groan too dee]*, or a cry too piercing-, to express the magnitude and extent of such a catastrophe ? But it is time to draw the veil over this heart- withering- prospect, remembering- only " what manner of persons we ought to be" who are walking on the brink of such an eternity, and possess no assurance but that the next moment will convey us to the regions of happiness or of despair. Impressed habitually with this solemn recollection., we shall " rejoice as those who rejoice not, we shall weep as those who weep not, we shall use the world as not abusing it, remembering that the end of all things is at hand." It is scarcely to be supposed that so re- markable an example of the frailty and un- certainty of life, as the recent providence hag displayed, has failed of impressing serious re- flection on the minds of multitudes : it is difficult to conceive of that degree of insensi- bility which would totally resist such a warn- ing. But there is reason to fear that in a great majority of instances, it has produced no salutary fruit, and will leave them after a very short period, as careless and unconcerned about a preparation for an hereafter as before ; like the unthinking feathered tribe, who when one of the number falls by the hand of the fowler, are scared for a moment, and fly from the fatal spot with screams of horror, but quickly recovering* their confidence, alight again on the same place, and expose themselves to the same danger Thus many whose gaiety has been eclipsed, and whose thoughtless career of irreligion and dissipation has experienced a momentary check, will doubtless soon return with eager impetuosity, to the same course, as " the horse rusheth into the battle." The same amusements will enchant, the same society corrupt, and the same temptations ensnare them ; with this very important difference, that the effort necessary to surmount the present impression, will superinduce a fresh degree of obduration, by which they will become more completely accoutred in the panoply of darkness. The next visitation, though it may be in some respects more affecting, because more near, will probably impress them less ; and as death has penetrated the palace in vain, though it should even come up into their chamber and take away the delight of their eyes at a stroke, they will be less reli- giously moved. 53 What may we suppose is the reason of this ; why are so many impressed, and so few pro- fited ? It is unquestionably because they are not obedient to the first suggestion of con- science. What that suggestion is., it may not be easy precisely to determine ; but it cer- tainly is not to make haste to efface the im- pression by frivolous amusement., by gay so- ciety, by entertaining reading., or even by secular employment : it is probably to medi- tate and prny. Let the first whisper, be it what it may, of the internal monitor, be listened to as an oracle, as the still small voice which Elijah heard, when he wrapped his face in a mantle, recognising it to be the voice of God. Be assured it will not mislead you ; it will conduct you one step at least towards happi- ness and truth, and by a prompt and punctual compliance with it, you will be prepared to receive ampler communications and superior light. If after a serious retrospect of your past lives, of the objects you have pursued, and the principles which have determined your con- duct, they appear to be such as will ill sustain the scrutiny of a dying hour, dare to be faith- ful to yourselves, and shun with horror tiiat cruel treachery to your best interests, which would impel you to sacrifice the happiness of eternity, to the quiet of a moment. Let the 54 light of truth,, which is the light of Heaven,, however painful for the present, be admitted in its full force ; and whatever secrets it may discover ff in the chambers of imagery," while it unveils " still greater and greater abomi- nations," shrink not from the view,, but intreat rather the assistance of him whose prerogative it is to search the heart and to try the reins, to render the investigation more profound and impartial. The sight of a penitent on his knees, is a spectacle which moves Heaven ; and the compassionate Redeemer, who when he beheld Saul in that situation, exclaimed, " Behold he prayeth," will not be slow or reluctant to strengthen you by his might, and console you by his Spirit. When a " new and living way" is opened " into the holiest of all," by the blood of Jesus, not to avail ourselves of it, not to arise and go to our Father, but to prefer remaining at a guilty distance, encompassed with famine, to the rich and everlasting pro- visions of his house, will be a source of insupportable anguish when we shall see Abra- ham, Isaac, and Jacob, enter into the kingdom God, and ourselves shut out. You are probably not aware of what importance it is to improve these sacred visitations ; have not considered that they form a crisis, which if often neglected will never return. It is im- 55 possible too often to inculcate the momentous truth, that the diameter is not formed by pas- sive impressions., but by voluntary actions,, and that we shall be judged hereafter, not by what we have felt, but by what we have done. You will perceive, my brethren, that I have confined my attention in this discourse to such reflections as we would wish every in- dividual to indulge, in the contemplation of this great national calamity, without advert- ing to its aspect, on the political prospects and interests of the country. The discus- sion of the subject in that view of it, is equally unsuited to my province, and to my talents. I leave it to politicians to inves- jgate the effects it is likely to produce on the osperity of the British Empire ; esteeming myself sufficiently happy, if I may be the humble instrument of fixing your attention on subjects best fitted to prepare you for "a kingdom which cannot be. moved;" being convinced, as you may infer from my con- stant practice, that x this is neither the place nor the season for political discussion., and that the teachers of religion are called to .8 J nobler occupation, than to subserve the in- terests of party, or fan the flames of public dissension. In perfect consistence with this 56 observation,, permit me to remark that it ap- pears to me highly presumptuous to attempt to scan the secret purpose of the Deity, in this dispensation,, by assigning it to specific moral causes. " His ways are in t/ie great deep ; his paths past finding out." That it ought to be considered as a signal rebuke and chastisement,, designed to bring our sins to re- membrance, there is no doubt ; but to at- tempt to specify the particular crimes and de- linquencies which have drawn down this visi- tation, is inconsistent with the modesty which ought to accompany all inquiries into the mys- teries of Providence : and especially repug- nant to the spirit., which this most solemn and affecting event should inspire. At a time when every creature ought to tremble under the judgments of God., it ill becomes us to indulge in reciprocal recrimination ; and when " t/ie whole head is sick, and the whole heart is faint" it is not for the members to usurp the seat of judgment,, by hurling mutual accusations and reproaches against each other. Are there not sufficient provocations to be found in all ranks and classes., from the lowest to the highest, to justify and account for these and still greater severities ; or is it necessary to look farther for a vindication of the equity of the divine proceeding, than in the open impiety 57 and profaneness, the perjury and injustice,, the profanation of the sabbath, and contempt of sacred thing's, the profligacy of the lower, and the irreligion and impurity of the higher orders, which, notwithstanding the multitude of splendid exceptions, still form the national diameter. That we are a people severely scourged and corrected, none will deny ; but that we have " turned to him that smiteth us," it would be presumption to assert. Yet if any people were ever more forcibly reminded of the interposition of Providence than another, it is certain we are that people ; having been conducted through the most intricate and mysterious paths, in such a manner as totally to confound the wisdom of the wise, and the understanding of the prudent, both in our adverse and pros- perous fortunes. Preserved amidst the wreck of nations, and the hurricane of revolution, which swept for twenty years over the face of Europe, with ruin and desolation in its train, we have not only been permitted to maintain, our soil unviolated, and our independence unimpaired, but have come forth from a con- test of unparallelled difficulty and extent, with a more splendid reputation, and in a more commanding attitude, than we possessed at any ii 58 former period. Our successes, both by sea and land, have been so brilliant and deci- sive, that it is not easy to determine whether we have acquired most glory as a military, or a maritime power ; while our achieve- ments,, on each element, have been such, as to distance all competition. A profound peace has at length succeeded to a scene of hos- tilities, which for the fourth part of a century covered the earth with armies, shook every kingdom to its basis, and ravaged and depopu- lated the fairest portion of the globe. But what has been the issue? We have retired from the combat, successful indeed beyond our most sanguine expectations, but bleeding, breath- less, exhausted ; with symptoms of internal weakness and decay, from which if we ever entirely recover, it must be when the present generation has disappeared from the earth. When was it ever known before, that peace was more destructive than war, that a people were more impoverished by their victories than their defeats, and that the epoch of their glory was the epoch of their sufferings ? Peace, instead of being the nurse of industry, and the harbinger of plenty, as the experience of ages had taught us to expect, has brought poverty, discontent, and distress in her train ; inflicting all the privations of a state of hostility, without 59 its hopes ; and all the miseries of war, without its splendor? What but an Omnipotent hand could have infused such venom into the greatest of blessings, as utterly to transform its nature, and cause it to produce some of the worst effects of a curse. While we \vere engaged in the fearful struggle which has at length been so success- fully terminated, it pleased the great Ruler of nations to visit our aged, beloved, and revered Monarch., with one of the most dreadful ca- lamities incident to human nature ; the pressure of which still continues, we fear, with unabated severity. While we are deeply moved at the awful spectacle of majesty laboring under a permanent and hopeless eclipse, we are con- soled with the reflection that he walked in the light, while he possessed the light ; that as long as the exercise of reason was continued, he communed with eternal truth ; and that from the shades which now envelope him, he will at no very distant period emerge into the brightness of celestial vision. Though it may be difficult to conceive of a series of events more likely to awe the mind to a sense of the power and presence of the Deity, than those we have witnessed, he has 60 thought fit to address us once more, if not in louder, yet in more solemn and affecting accents. An unexampled depopulation of the species by the sword, had indeed already ren- dered death the most familiar of all spec- tacles, and left few families unbereaved ; but neither the narrative of battles, nor the sight of carnage,, arc best suited to inculcate the lessons of mortality ; nor are the moral fea- tures of that last enemy ever less distinctly discerned, than in the moments when he is most busy ; nor on those fields of slaughter, where lie appears the principal agent. The " pomp and circumstance of war," the tumul- tuous emotions of the combatants, and the eager anxiety of the contending parties, attentive to the important political consequences attached to victory and defeat, absorb every other im- pression, and obstruct the entrance of serious and pensive reflection. How different the example of mortality pre- sented on the present occasion ! Without the .slightest warning, without the opportunity of a moment's immediate preparation, in the midst of the deepest tranquillity, at midnight, a voice was heard in the palace, not of singing men and singing women, not of revelry and mirth., but the cry, " Behold, the Bridegroom cometh." 61 The mother, in the bloom of youth, spared just long 1 enough to hear the tidings of her infant's death, almost immediately,, as if sum- moned by his spirit, follows him into eternity. C( It is a night much to be remembered" Who foretold this event, who conjectnred it, who detected at a distance the faintest pre- sage of its approach, which when it arrived, mocked the efforts of human skill, as much by their incapacity to prevent as their inability to foresee it? Unmoved by the tears of con- jugal affection, unavved by the presence of grandeur, and the prerogatives of power, in- exorable death hastened to execute his stern commission, leaving nothing to royalty itself, but to retire and weep. Who can fail to dis- cern on this awful occasion, the hand of him who " bringeth princes to nothing, who maketh the judges of the earth as vanity ; who says, they shall not be planted; yea, they shall not be sown ; yea, their stock shall not take root in the earth ; and he shall blow upon them, and they shall wither, and the whirl- wind shall take them away as stubble." " It is better," says Solomon, " to go to the house of mourning, than to the house cf feasting, for that is the end of all men, and 62 the living will lay it to heart" While there are few who are not,, at some season or other, conducted to that house., a nation enters it on the present visitation, there to learn, in the sudden extinction of the heiress of her mo- narchy, the vanity of all but what relates to eternity, and the absolute necessity of having our " loins girt, our lamps burning, and our- selves as those who are looking for the coming of the Bridegroom." We presume there are none who can sur- vey this signal interposition of Providence with indifference, or refrain from " laying it to heart." No, illustrious Princess, it will be long ere the name of Charlotte Augusta is mentioned by Britons without tears : remote posterity also, which shall peruse thy melancholy story, will "lay it to heart," and will be tempted to ask, why no milder expedient could suffice to correct our levity, and make us mindful of our latter end ; while they look back with tender pity on the amiable victim, who seems to have been destined by the inscrutable wisdom of Providence to warn and edify that people by her death, which she was not per- mitted to the extent of her ambition, to be- nefit by her life ! 63 Should her lamented and untimely end, be the means of giving 1 that religious impulse to the public mind, which shall turn us to righteousness, the benefits she will have con- ferred upon her country,, in both worlds, will more than equal the glories of the most pros- perous and extended reign. THE END. COMBE, PRINTER, LEICESTER. BY THE SAME AUTHOR. 1. 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