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THE MORNING SERMON
BY THE
REV. A. MILNE JARVIE.

Hebeews vi. 12 ; — And we desire that ye he not slothful, hut
followers of them, who through faith and patience inherit
the 'promises.
Example is better than precept, because we can better understand
the one than the other. If we were travelling in a strange
country, of the roads and paths of which we were entirely
ignorant, it would be well to be furnished with maps and plans on
which we could trace our proper course, and it would be well also
to receive oral directions from others who had traversed through
the country before us. But it would be still better to have a
living guide to accompany us, whose past experience, and whose
intimate knowledge of the way would assure us of perfect safety
as we followed his footsteps.
The Bible, consequently, though it abounds with precepts,
abounds also with examples. It informs us not only in an
abstract manner as to what is our duty, but it points to its living
illustrations. For Christians the Great Example is Christ. The
Messiah who came to redeem Israel, he is no less the pattern
after which his redeemed people are to be conformed. He left
us an example that we should follow in his footsteps ; and oh, if
we were careful, as we ought to be, to study that example, we
should find it constantly and wondrously adapted to our circum
stances. It would tell us how we ought to act in all the varied
relations and circumstances of life. Children ! Where can you
have a better model for the guidance of your childhood's years
than that which is presented before yon in the case of God's holy
Child Jesus ; He who, though early about his Father's business,
and indeed, just because he was about it, went down to Nazareth
and was subject to Mary and Joseph ? Parents ! Where could
you find more wisdom that is profitable to direct you in your
relations to your children, or to your friends, or to the world, than
in the conduct of Jesus towards his mother, his brethren, his
friends or his enemies ? The example of Christ would afibrd us
direction in the most trying positions in life. In sorrow and
loneliness, it would cheer and uphold. In joy and gladness it
would moderate and purify. Indeed what is the great rule
of Christian duty ? Is it not to imitate Christ, and to bear his
resemblance, and to be in this world as he was in it ? And what

is the great end of Christian hope ? Is it not that when He
shall appear, we may be like him, for we shall see him as he is ?
Every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as
He is pure.
But, besides the blessed Master himself, there are also held
up to our imitation some of the Master's servants. The apostle
Paul, not in the spirit of egotism or self-conceit, but rather of
true humility, tells the Philippians to be " followers together of
me, and mark them which walk so far as ye have us for an en-
sample." Here again in the text, he points to the multitudes of
those Hebrew believers who had finished their course and had
gone to their reward, and holds them up for us to follow. It
would probably not be a very wise nor a very safe rule now, were
any Christian, whether an office-bearer in the church or otherwise,
to hold himself up to universal imitation. For alas, we are more
ready to imitate, the errors and mistakes of good men, than their
virtues and graces. In so far as a good man resembles Christ,
and in so far only, may we copy his example ; and we must be
careful lest our regard and affection for even the best and noblest
of our friends should so blind us to their failings as to recommend
those very failings to our adoption. This danger is greatly
lessened, however, if it be not entirely removed in the case of
departed saints. For it is one of the gracious results of death
that it throws a softening light on the life that is finished,
bringing out its good points, its substantial virtues, and its
heavenly graces, into greater prominence, and casting its errors
and weaknesses into the shade. And so, entrance upon the
Eternal World causes a halo to surround a saint whose life on
earth is before us, which renders that life safe for us to follow.
Such a finished life commends itself to our peculiar interest
and imitation, moreover, when it is that of a beloved personal
relative or friend. If the holy example of a departed saint is
attractive and powerful, how much more is it so when the
example is that of a mother, or a father, or a husband, or a wife,
or a sister, or a brother, or one with whom we stood on intimate
personal relations, or to whom we were indebted for great
spiritual blessings ! Are there not many of us here to-day to
whom these considerations are applicable ? Nay, are there any
of us to whom they are inapplicable ? Have not all of us some
loved friend now in the world of glory whose holy example is
endeared to us by the hallowed memories of past personal inter
course and of loving regard ? And particularly do we not now
recall the venerable appearance of that aged servant of the Lord
whose departure we are this day specially mourning, and who so
recently, by his instructions and his example, sought to lead

many to the Lord, and concerning whom it is our happiness to
believe that he too is among those who are now inheriting the
promises ?
Let us, therefore, now further consider some points in regard
to those departed saints as they are in this passage held up for
our imitation and example, and may the Holy Spirit direct and
bless our meditation !
I. In the first place, then, I remark, that those whom we a/re
called to imitate all belonged to the same race, and were men of like
passions with ourselves.
Christian Biography is at once one of the most interesting
and profitable kinds of reading either for young or old. That
which makes it so is because it describes the characters, trials,
difficulties, sins, and triumphs of individuals placed in circum
stances not unlike, but akin to those in which we ourselves are
placed. Who has not read some simple story of the life of
persons in various walks of life, with peculiar interest, just
because those persons were found manifesting Christian graces
in positions which, if not quite similar, were not entirely dissi
milar to our own, and which were certainly not removed from
these by reason of exalted rank or peculiar dignity of occupation ?
And the value of such biographies is quite equal to their inter
esting nature. A celebrated divine, who had himself published
many learned volumes, once declared that probably a simple trac
tate, containing the story of the conversion of a poor man, the
author of which was unknown, had been more honored and
blessed than all his learned volumes.
But in general very many biographical remains labour
under a radical error, and that error is that the writers over
draw the character of their originals. Sometimes highly colour
ing their excellencies, they throw into the shade altogether their
demerits — if indeed demerit be acknowledged at all — and the
result often is, that ordinary Christian people, contrasting their
own deficiencies and errors with the hiafhly wrought character of
such persons, are apt to be so discouraged as to think it needless
to attempt to emulate their graces or improve by a consideration
of their mistakes. Few biographies bring before us the indi
vidual just as he actually was in life, with all his failings and
sins, as well as his graces and virtues. On the contrary, the
portraiture is so highly drawn that we despair in our own com
mon-place lives, with all their trials and errors, of attaining to
the excellencies of a life so very far above us.
It is the peculiarity of the biographies of the Bible, how
ever, that it presents to our study the lives of men just as they
actually were. There is no attempt to set the life in a peculiar

and partial light, nor is there any straining after_ a faultless
character, but the men and women are represented just as they
actually were— true, perfectly true to nature, and consequently
in complete unison with our own minds and circumstances. Their
faults are stated most fully and clearly, as well as their virtues.
We see in them the workings of the common motives which affect
men. We see the love of money, the love of self, the workings
of pride, the seductions of worldly glory, and the host of low and
unworthy influences under which we all groan. We see this in
all, indeed, with one great exception ; and the very truthfulness
to nature of all others the more assures us of the distinct reality
and the wondrous greatness of this exception. The sins of
the Patriarchs,— the drunkenness of Noah, the deceitfulness of
Abraham and Jacob, the impurity of David, — are told as well
as the integrity and faithfulness and devotion, for which also
these men were distinguished. So also is it with the characters
of Gospel history. The denial of Peter, the unbelief of Thomas,
and the unexpected ebulitions of fiery temper on the part of
John, and the unbelief and stupidity which characterised all the
disciples together, are not less recorded than their attachment to
their Master. So much indeed is this the case, that we may
sometimes be found wondering at their errors, and cherishing a
state of mind in which we think it not possible that in similar
circumstances our own conduct could have been so stupid and
sinful. Now all this renders the biographies of the Bible of incom
parable value. Without in the slightest degree lowering the
hich standard of holiness set before us by our Master, they yet
present us with characters so lifelike, so possible as it were to
fallen human nature, that we are led to believe that we might
and may attain their excellencies and virtues, and that we might
and may avoid their sins. Was even Noah, he who fell so sadly
under the influence of strong drink, declared to be a worker of
righteousness ? Was Abraham, his deceptions and falsehoods
in the matter of his wife notwithstanding, declared to be the
friend of God? Was David, even although both a murderer and
adulterer, yet declared to be a man after God's own heart ?
Was Peter, even after such a fall as that of denying his Master
with oaths and curses in the presence of his enemies, reinstated
in his office and reassured of his Master's love ? Were these
men, guilty of such sins as these, cleansed and forgiven, and
accepted of God as His children ? And why may not I also,
though sinful and erring, find pardoning mercy and be brought
through to God's heavenly home ? Such is the almost involun
tary and necessary inference which an ordinary christian is led

to draw from the circumstances of the case. In seeking to
consider then those who are now inheriting the promises, let it
be remembered that they did not belong to the angelic order of
creatures, but that they were men of like passions with ourselves.
IT. My second remark is, that they were called to a warfa/re
in, Ufe no less difficult than that to which we are called.
That Christians are called to a warfare in life is universally
acknowledged. If the Word of God did not tell them of this
truth by such statements and warnings as, — that the disciples
must take up their cross daily and follow their Master, and that
they must through much tribulation enter the Kingdom, the fact
would be sufficiently proved by the universal experience of
every day Christian life. The question with us is not, whether
when we become Christians, we shall wage a warfare at all ? —
that has already been settled in the counsels of eternity — but,
Of what nature and in what form our warfare shall be, and how
we shall conduct ourselves in it ?
Now, there is this peculiarity' in regard to most Christians.
Each one is apt to suppose that his own warfare is harder than
that of his neighbour. The cowardice of each heart is ready to
say, come, behold and see if there be any sorrow like unto my
sorrow which is done unto me, wherewith the Lord hath afflicted
me in the day of his fierce anger. The trial which I have to
bear, the duty which I am called to discharge, the temptation by
which I am assailed, each one is ready to say — are much more
difficult than those of others. Such a supposition is very
natural, for we are all ready to believe that our religious character
would be more perfect if our circumstances were different from
what they are, and only like those of others.
In this, however, I think it probable we may all be so far
mistaken. That there are varieties of trial, some sharper than
others, is undoubted. But equally undoubted is it, that there are
varieties of natural temperament to bear these. What is a sore
trial to one individual may be regarded with perfect indifference
by another. Have we not often been surprised that afflictions
which we think would have been exceedingly bitter, had we been
called to bear them, have never apparently made much impression
on those in whose lot they were found ? And as the counterpart
of this, have we not been surprised that many persons have been
distressed beyond measure at troubles which seemed to us, if not
utterly incomprehensible, to have existence only in the imagina
tion ? Be it so. God has ways of reaching each one of us and
trying us even as silver is tried, which are as mysterious as they
are searching. And when His hand, in whatever manner, is laid
upon one of His children, it will be at our peril if we make light

of it because we cannot quite comprehend its nature, or under
stand by personal experience, its weight. It is very possible,
therefore, that the warfare of all God's people is wonderfully
alike, regard being had to natural temperament and other matters.
Bat what I wish at present to enforce upon your consideration is
that those held up to us in the text for imitation had trials to
encounter, and duties to perform, and difficulties to meet, which
were not less difficult than those to which any of us may be
called. Those who inherit the promises ! And who are they ?
Lo, these are they who came out of great tribulation and have
washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the
Lamb !
It is an exceedingly interesting and pleasing thought, and one
which I think we are quite warranted to entertain, that the par
ticular warfare of each of us would probably find its very
complete counterpart in the case of some of those who are now
in glory. In other words there are now there some whose lot
very nearly resembled our own. You could, did you know all,
trace a remarkable resemblance between their natural life and
your own. The manner of their conversion would not be dis
similar, nor their natural tendencies, their peculiar hardships,
their special duties, and dangers and difficulties. Certain, at
least, am I of this, that there is not one peculiarity as we may
regard it in our lot which is indeed peculiar, for that same pecu
liarity has not only been marked on some one who is now above,
but has left its own indelible impress on him which he will ever
retain. Take if you choose one or two cases for illustration. Are
there any persons here mourning over the desolation which death
has made in our hearts and in our homes ? Are there no parents
here weeping over the dust of their children ? No children
grieving at the departure of their parents ? No friend who feels
that his joy and his hopes have gone down to the tomb ? And are
we not all mourners in one form or another this day ? Now the
feelings of distress and dismay, the agonized parting from the
object of affection, the mournful sinking of the heart, the amazed
and bewildered state of mind, at God's strange dispensation in
sending death so near to you, all this is by no means, my friends,
peculiar to you. Multitudes have passed through it all before,
and from the very same cause, and among these are found tens
of thousands of those who now inherit the promises.
Are there any persons who think they stand alone in God's
cause, who mourn over labours for their Master which are not
only unrequited bnt unrecognised ? Any who find' their motives
misunderstood, their conduct misrepresented, their efforts unre-

corded, and their reward reproach and neglect ? Why all this
was experienced thousands of years ago, and has been experienced
since in every age of the world and every generation of men.
Indeed the very deepest significance of the text has reference
to such persons ; that is, to persons who, having regard to the
future, were prepared to sacrifice the present Like Moses they
esteem the reproach of Christ at present greater riches than all
the treasures of Egypt, because they have respect to the recom
pense of the reward, which is yet future.
Or are there any in deepest poverty and pining sickness ?
Any in great and long-continued bodily suffering and distress ?
And who is this that presents himself very prominently indeed,
as now inheriting the promises, for he appears in Abraham's
bosom ? Why it is Lazarus, the sick beggar, who was glad to be
fed with crumbs, and to have his sores licked by dogs. Ah ! yes,
there is no warfare to which any one is now called that is harder,
bitterer, more dreadful, than the warfare which multitudes now
around the throne have passed through, and the text only asks
us to be followers of them.
III. My third remark is, that however difficult their warfare
they overcame at last. They now inherit the promises.
To inherit the promises was an expression of very peculiar
meaning to a Hebrew, for the Hebrews regarded themselves as
alone the heirs of the promises. Beginning with Abraham, and
proceeding through Isaac and Jacob and the Patriarchs, all the
revelations which God made of Himself to their fathers, all the
covenants which he established with them, and all the promises
which he gave to them, were dwelt upon with peculiar compla
cency as their own proper heritage. That these promises had
respect to temporal blessings is true; but they were by no means
limited to these, nor indeed was their chief reference to them at
all. They extended to, and embraced spiritual and heavenly
blessings. The earthly Canaan, with all its attractions, was but
a type of the heavenly ; and those who truly and fully inherited
the promises only began to do so when their earthly course
closed. Otherwise the words would have no meaning, for dead
men could inherit no merely temporal promises. And our God
is not the God of the dead, He is the God of the living.
But though originally confined to the Hebrews, these pro
mises extended to all God's people of every race, and of every
clime, and of every generation. The promise, says Peter, is to
you and to your children, and to them that are afar off, and to
as many as the Lord our God shall call. The words include all
who have died in the faith and hope of the Saviour, and they are
now represented as in the enjoyment of all those blessings in the

heavenly state which they looked for when they were upon earth.
They are now with the Lord, and enjoy their completed redemp
tion from sin and guilt and danger and sorrow. The point to
which our minds are directed is, that whatever their previous
warfare, that warfare has ended in triumph ; whatever their pre
vious struggle, that struggle has ended in victory.
And what is the character of that victory ? It is victory
after long-continued, sometimes apparently doubtful struggling,
and it is victory of the most complete and glorious nature. Oh
how hard was the struggle, how difficult was the warfare, how
long-deferred the hope, how weary the heart, how heavy the
sighing, how almost despairing the feelings of many of those who
now inherit the promises ! David, the sweet singer of Israel, is
there ; but instead of now tuning his harp to such pensive
strains as he sometimes sang on earth, he tunes it alone to the
melody of the blessed. Instead of singing " Why art thou cast
down, oh my soul, and why art thou disquieted in me?" he sings
only the strains of triumph and victory. There, too, is the
mighty prophet Elijah ; but never more will even his valiant heart
be so despondent as again to utter the doleful strain "They have
slain thy prophets, and overthrown thine altars, and I only am
left, and they seek my life to take it away. Lord it is enough,
take now away my life, for I am no better than my fathers."
Instead of such disheartened and despairing cries, he sings only
the songs of accomplished salvation. Nor do Job, or Moses, or
Peter, or the numbers of God's people in recent times and among
our own kindred, who have passed away, remember their earthly
hours of sadness and sorrow whilst they were here ; or if they
remember them, it is that from the depths of souls expanded and
developed by suffering they may bring forth louder notes of praise
to Him who sits upon the throne. What a contrast their present
state of purity and joy presents to their former condition of dark
ness and struggling 1 Their despondency and weakness and fear
have given place to immortal beauty and eternal joy. They now
inherit the promises, and stand before God and serve him day and
night in his temple.
rV. My last remark is, that those who now inherit the pro
mises have come to this state of triumph through the exercise of the
simple graces of faith and patience.
Faith and patience may be regarded as very simple graces,
but however simple, they are very powerful means in securing
our present comfort and our future victory. Great results of any
kind are generally expected to flow from great causes. In war
fare the doctrine is held that success is ever found with the
largest armies and the heaviest battalions and the greatest skill

In the spiritual world, too, we think of shining gifts, and intel
lectual abilities, and great reasoning powers, and lively imagina
tion, and favourable outward circumstances, and we expect that
these should accomplish great results. The text, however, limits
our thoughts only to two very common — ah! might we not rather
call them uncommon graces — faith and patience. The grace
that believes in God in the darkest night of His providence, that
the sun has not been blotted out from the firmament, however
dark it may be, but that it will appear again — and the grace that
waits with cheerfulness and hope, that tarries the Lord's leisure,
until it does appear.
Now of these two graces these things, for our edification at
present may be said, first that they are the peculiar possession of
no one class. They may be found in a palace, and be the best
adornment of a hut or a cottage. They may distinguish a
prince, and the poorest widow may clothe herself with them.
They may shine where there are also to be found the brightest
mental endowments, and a wayfaring man, though a fool, may
claim them as his own particular treasure. Furthermore, they
ever accomplish the very mightiest moral and spiritual results.
They do so in individual character, in every case of man's resto
ration to the favour and image of God ! And they have been
the means of bringing unnumbered multitudes of our fellow-men
from the ruin of this world to the bright world above. What a
record of their triumphs is given us but a little further on in this
same Epistle to the Hebrews ! And what a record will there be at
last when we come to sum up the multitudes that no man can
number out of every kindred and nation and tongue, who through
faith and patience inherit the promises !
My dear Friends, — I have been led to this subject of dis
course this morning, as you well understand, in consequence of
the solemn and affecting event which has occurred in the lamented
death of the Revd. Dr. Lang, who, for so many years occupied
this pulpit, and ministered here in holy things. That event has
already been the subject of much public notice, and has called
forth testimonies to Dr. Lang's character and influence, which
are remarkable not more for their inherent value than for their
varied and spontaneous nature. It is therefore not needful that
I should dwell upon or attempt to delineate the character and
life of your late pastor, as that has been done, and will yet be
done by others who, in every way, are more capable for the work
than I can possibly be. Tet it is but seemly that on this the
first occasion of Sabbath service in the church since his funeral,
and in this pulpit which he so long occupied, I should offer a few
remarks in regard to the life and labour which have just closed.

10
The Rev Dr. Lang came out to this colony fifty-five years since.
During that long period, the changes that have taken place m
the world have been greater, perhaps, than during any similar
period in the history of man— one or two epochs, such as that ot
the introduction of Christianity and that of the Reformation
alone excepted. The social and political changes in the British
Empire have been immense ; and, perhaps, m no part have these
been more marked than in this colony. Dr. Lang arrived at a
critical period. Though a very young man, he possessed great
natural talents, and an ardent temperament ; and to the inesti
mable advantage of having been trained up in a godly family,
and with sound principles, there were added the possession of
an excellent University education, and the position of an
ordained Minister of the Church of Scotland. He was first,
and for many years the only representative of that section
of the Church of Christ to which he belonged. The circum
stances of the colony afforded him a wide scope for his talents
and endowments ; and, with great ardour and perseverance he
threw himself into public affairs. Ton need not be told that such
a course, whilst it exposes every man who follows it, and especially
a minister of the gospel, to many personal temptations, lays him
open also to much misrepresentation, and to not a few serious
troubles. Nevertheless, constrained by a sense of Christian
patriotism, and by a deep and warm interest in the welfare of
this colony, which he' had made his adopted country, an interest
which continued undiminished to the last hour of his life, he
followed this course. It is not necessary to say that that line of
conduct which he saw to be his duty may not be a law for others
to follow ; bnt the history of mankind, from the first until now,
contains names not less distinguished in the discharge of the
duties of their sacred calling as ministers of religion than they
are held in honourable remembrance as those who have done the
Civil State great and permanent service. That Dr. Lang's
influence was ever exerted in the interests of truth, and morality,
and order, and liberty, every one— now that he is gone — grate
fully remembers. That his course was not exempt from some of
the infirmities common to our nature, and that it was especially
not exempt from the troubles and griefs incident to the pursuit
of any worldly object whatever, are surely very common-place
remarks indeed. But the spontaneous and universal outburst of
regard which found such seemly expression on the part of all
classes of the community, from her Majesty's representative to
the humblest of our population, when his remains were carried to
the grave, showed that he was held in high estimation, and that
the community felt they had lost in him a good and patriotic

11
man, who had not sought selfish ends, but who had the well-being
of the colony at heart, and who, in the means he had used, had
been guided by simplicity and directness ; and not a few persons
think and say that in various ways he had been more useful to
the colony during his long life than any other single individual
whatever. It is not for me farther to dwell on this public
character of Dr. Lang. But 1 cannot refrain from a remark or
two in reference to his position and influence as a minister of the
Gospel of Christ. The very length of time during which he
laboured is worthy of remark — fifty-five years ! The greater
number of us were unborn long after he began his labours ; no
other minister in any of the colonies, and but few in any part of
the British Empire, have laboured so long. Where are those to
whom Dr. Lang ministered during the first and earlier years of
his ministry ? One or two here and there may be found, but
nearly two generations have come and gone since then. Tet
during all these years, with greater or less ability, in weakness
or in strength, in joy or in sorrow, the Master has permitted him
to continue preaching the unsearchable riches of Christ.
Although by no means, in his religious relations, a man of party
spirit or sectarian bigotry, he was yet deeply attached to the
simple form of worship and to the doctrine and discipline of the
Presbyterian Church, with which his earliest memories and most
sacred feelings were associated, and that attachment remained
unabated to the close. For many years he was the only Presby
terian minister in the colony, and his labours, singlehanded, in
connection with the cause of Christ, of which no record may
now remain among us, are not forgotten by Him in whose
service his life was spent. In looking back on all these labours,
whether in this particular congregation, or elsewhere, who can
form a just estimate of them ? How many individuals has he
led to the only source of light and comfort and hope amid the
darkness and sorrow and sin of this world 1 To how many
homes has he brought peace, by the gospel of peace ! And how
frequently, by his instructions and services in the sanctuary, has
he directed the thoughts and affections of this congregation and
of their fathers to higher things than those of earth ! Whatever
influence he thus exerted, as it was infinitely higher in its
character than that which had reference only to worldly affairs,
so shall it be infinitely more abiding when the records of our
hves are disclosed and made the subject of impartial retribution
to our Supreme Judge. In his private life Dr. Lang was a man
who, I believe, walked humbly before God, and had respect to
Him in his daily walk and conversation. To tell you that in his
domestic relations he enjoyed great happiness, and manifested

12
the fragrant graces of affection and gentleness, is only to say
what every one knows ; and the deep and heart-felt grief which
has been shown at his removal by the poor and the unfortunate
of all creeds among us, is a striking testimony to his unwearied
acts of benevolence and charity. And now, what do his desolated
home, and his empty pulpit, and his finished course, say to us ?
Whilst they call us to manifest tender sympathy towards his
surviving widow, the lifelong companion of his journey, and
towards the other members of his family, they also call us to be
ready also for our own departure to the eternal world. We
cannot long remain here. The threescore and ten, and even
fourscore years, which your pastor had nearly attained, soon sum
up, and we fly away. Are we in Christ Jesus ? If so, we are
ready at any time, and willing rather to be absent from the body
and to be present with the Lord. " All flesh is grass, and all the
goodliness thereof as the flower of the field ; the grass withereth,
and the flower thereof falleth away, but the Word of the Lord
endureth for ever. And this is the Word which, by the Gospel,
is preached unto you."

THE EVENING SERMON
BY THE
BEY. P. FALCONER MACKENZIE.

Acts xiii. 36 -. — For David, after he had served his own
generation ly the will of God, fell on sleep, and
was la/id imto his Fathers and sa/w corruption.
The circumstances in which we to-day assemble are peculiarly
solemn and impressive. A truly good and great man has fallen
in Israel. He who for the long period of fifty-five years was
wont to unfurl throughout the length and breadth of this land, and
before your eyes, the glorious banner of the cross, has been called
home by the Master whom he so devoutly served. He literally
died at his post, and has been gathered unto his fathers in a good
old age, being full of years and of honors ; and not only our
Zion which was ever dear to his loving heart, and whose interests
he ever sought with aU the energy of his large soul to promote,
but likewise this whole land, and all the neighbouring colonies
mourn his loss. When a useful life closes, however prolonged it
may have been, it is a cause of bitter lamentation and sorrow to
those who are left behind ; and how keenly the community at
large felt thatt hey had been deprived of a great benefactor, was
plainly evidenced by the great multitude which took part in or
witnessed the funeral procession. But though he has gone, the
work that he has done remains. He has left his footprints on the
sands of time — ^footprints that shall never be effaced, and 1
believe that generations yet to come wiU rise up and call him
blessed. WHle therefore on our own account we mourn, let us
temper our sorrow. He whose loss we now deplore, is not dead ;
he only sleepeth. What is our loss is eternal gain to him. He has
but gone a little way before, and oh ! what a hearty greeting will
he give us when he meets us on the other side of Jordan. He had
done a long and hard day's work, and surely it does not become
us to grudge him his much needed rest now. No man was
ever more entitled to take his rest, and while we cannot sorrow
as those who have no hope, it behoves us to learn and to lay to
heart the lessons which his active Jand well spent life teaches us.
Yes, he being dead, yet speaketh ; and as I said, when I stood in
this place on the day of his funeral, so let me say again, that
from that closed tomb there comes out a powerful voice to you
and to me, " Work while it is to-day. The night cometh when

14
no man can work." " Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it
with thy might." " For there is no work, nor wisdom, nor device,
nor knowledge in the grave whither thou goest."
It is of course no part of my present purpose to enter upon
a full explanation of the passage of Scripture I have read in
your hearing. I have simply chosen it as a fit motto, by which
to illustrate the special object that I have in view. Still I cannot
quite overlook a few of the leading ideas that it suggests to the
mind. It refers to David, the man after God's own heart, and
gives a short and succinct account of his life, death, and burial.
1. First of all, the text furnishes us with a brief but
significant epitome of the life of David. It is said of him that
he served his own generation by the will of God. Some men are
born to be great. From early youth they are marked out for high
distinction and honor. They may for a long time lie in seeming
obscurity, but their powers and faculties are only being gradually
developed, and when God has need of them He prepares them
for and sends them forth to the particular sphere of action which
He would have them to occupy.
This was specially the case in regard to David. _ He was at
first but a poor shepherd boy, and yet, though he then knew it
not, God had very important purposes to serve by him. He was
to be employed as an effective instrument in propagating His
cause, and was destined to wield a mighty moral and social
influence over the whole Kingdom of Israel. Few men have ever
lived whose influence has been so powerful, and few have ever
died whose loss has been more extensively deplored. He was
essentially a man for the people. He lived and worked for them
alone, and ever sought with heart and soul to do them the
greatest possible amount of good.
I. First of all I note that one secret of his commanding
influence was, that he was a man of uifbending integrity and
honesty of purpose. Herein lay his great power. He was
upright in the ways of God. He felt assured that God had
called him to carry out a great enterprise, and with his whole
might he set himself to do the work that had been assigned to
him. Upon the faults and follies of this great and good man,
I do not care to expatiate. They were, as you are well aware,
neither few nor small, but they were simply the infirmities of
human nature, and were sincerely repented of and graciously
forgiven, and in spite of them all, by his unbending integrity of
purpose he secured and retained the esteem and affection of his
people, and had moreover the approval of his own conscience and
of his God.

15
The great and good in all ages, brethren, have been charac
terized by unflinching honesty of purpose. Without this quality
there can be no true greatness. To err, indeed, is after all but
human, and a man who tries faithfully to serve his generation
may sometimes be carried away by enthusiasm, or by an over-
sanguine temperament. He may not always combine prudence
with zeal, and may thus occasionally commit grave errors in
judgment, and may, unintentionally, stir up enemies, not a few
who are too ready to accuse him of self-seeking, indiscretion, and
numberless other sins ; but only place these accusers in the same
circumstances, and will their conduct bear so narrow a scrutiny ?
It is all very well for men who live simply to take their ease, and
to please themselves, and whose one and only object is to secure
the insincere flattery and fulsome homage of the fickle multitude,
to look askance at and to endeavour to frown down the men
whose intellectual and moral powers they cannot gainsay ; but
uprightness and integrity are sure in the long run to win the day,
and the traducers of those who made it their careful study to
practice these sacred virtues will be thrown completely into the
shade. Some men can only look at others through the dim
medium of their own spectacles. They have in themselves so
little of true nobility that they fail to perceive any nobility in
other men. I will endeavour by and bye to show that the
venerated man, whose loss we to-day deplore, was free as most
men have been from all guile and self-seeking, and that his one
absorbing aim all through his long and busy life was, to " serve
his own generation by the will of God." Can you have any
doubt of it, you who have seen the work he has been honored to
accomplish in this land ? Uprightness characterized all his
actions, and with all the ardour of his soul he scorned everything
that was mean, or that in the least degree swerved from what
was true, and honest, and of good report. No man who does
not follow out these sacred principles can serve his generation
by the will of God.
II. Then second, if we would do as David did, and serve
our own generation by the will of God, all our actions must be
characterized by unfiagging energy and zeal.
Be ye zealous This is the command which God has very
distinctly laid upon each of us. Ton have got a work to do, and
you must be up and do it with your might. Let there be no
vascillating, no indecision. Look duty straight in the face. Go
calmly and right forward in the path that God has appointed to
you. However rough or dark or thorny the road may be, how
ever mysterious or perplexing may be your way, never flinch or
tarn aside, if you are well assured that it is the right way— God's

16
way. Then you may tread it without fear of any evil befalling
you, and may hope to reach in safety the destined end. How
glorious a thing would it be were we all animated by the fiery
zeal which influenced a David, a Paul, a Peter, a John, and many
other noted men, and what a benefit and a blessing would we be
to our own generation. Let it be noted further that to serve our
own generation by the will of God we must not only begin a
work of reformation, but must diligently and perseveringly
carry it out.
When a man's mind becomes absorbed with any one subject,
when he is as it were completely possessed by it, he cannot take
any rest until he has worked it thoroughly out, and entirely
satisfied himself regarding it. So if you would serve your own
generation, you must labor and toil, unremittingly and ungrudg
ingly for it.
Let me ask you, my brethren, what are you doing to serve
your generation ? Have you done anything at all to serve it ?
This day I would fain arouse you from your sloth. The day in
which you might serve will soon be over and gone. A very
little space is apportioned you for this service. A few moie
years will roll, and then, where are you ? What have you done
to benefit your fellows ? Think of it well, friend, and if you
have not yet begun this service, begin it now. It is a good and
true saying " It is never too late to mend." Only he who truly
serves his own generation, by the will of God, wiU receive the
fitting recompence, " Well done, thou good servant, enter thou
into the joy of thy Lord."
Then steadfast let us still remain,
Though dangers rise around,
And in the work prescribed by God,
Yet more and more abound ;
Assured that though we labour now,
We labour not in vain,
But through the grace of Heaven's great Lord,
The eternal crown shall gain.
II. Let me ask you now to note, in the second place, the
brief record that is given in the text of the death of David.
" David, after he had served his own generation by the will of
God, fell on sleep." No more beautiful or significant epitaph was
ever engraven on the tomb of any. In few and touching words
it portrays his life, and gives us a glimpse of his state after be
has passed through the dark valley. The figure of sleep, as you
know, is often employed in Scripture to illustrate the kind of
death which the true children of God die. Tou will recollect
how, when Jesus, the loving and sympathising friend of man.

17
entered the chamber where Jairus' daughter lay, and found many
weeping and wailing on account of the great loss they had sus
tained by her early removal. He comforts their sorrowing hearts
with these simple and tenderly touching words : " Why make ye
this ado and weep ; the damsel is not dead, but sleepeth." And
of Lazarus he speaks thus to His disciples : " Our friend Lazarus
sleepeth, but I go that I may awake him out of his sleep." How
comforting is this representation of death to every true-hearted
soul, and especially how consoling is it to the sorrowing and the
bereaved. We are, I fear, too much accustomed to think and
speak of death as the King of Terrors, as a hard tyrant, a
powerful and inexorable foe ; and so to the wicked unquestion
ably it is ; but to the righteous it is a sweet and tranquil sleep
into which they fall, when their hard day's work is over.
Sweet indeed is the sleep of the labouring man. If he has
a conscience void of offence towards God and towards men, he
can lay down his head upon his pillow and enjoy his night's
repose, and rise in the morning refreshed and invigorated in
body and in mind, vigorously to prosecute the labours of the day.
He goes forth unto his work and to his labour until the evening.
Sleep, then, marks the close of a day of toil. It is a resting
from labour, a cessation for a time from worldly anxiety and care,
and is therefore a fitting representation of the death of God's
people. Rest, sleep, come after service. Hence we read of the
blessed dead, that they rest from their labours. And in another
place it is written : " There remaineth a rest for the people of
God." " They that believe do enter into rest." But I would not
here be mistaken. Let it not be supposed that sleep is a state of
perfect unconsciousness. Even when a man sleeps the mind con
tinues active, and is often much absorbed by the passing events
of the day. There is a spirit in man which can never slumber
nor sleep. The brain is ever active and restless, and often con
jures up airy phantoms which disturb and annoy us. Now, such
is the sleep of death. Mark, it is a sleep. The person still lives.
He lives in the fond memory of those dear and loved ones from
whose gentle embrace he has been ruthlessly snatched. Oh, how
they delight to remember him just as he was. In imagination
they can see him going out and coming in among them as he
was wont to do. They listen over and over again to his tales of
joy and of sorrow. They recount all that was virtuous and true,
and forget all that was false or insincere. Thus, though a man
dieth he does live again. What he does here below can never
die. His works live after him. Be they good or be they bad,
they are his memorial still, and will foUow him onward to the

18
judgment. This, brethren, is to my mind a very solemn and
momentous thought. The good and evil both live after you.
Even when you are laid in the silent tomb your influence is not
buried in the coffin with you, but may for many generations after
you are gone sway the destinies of a nation.
Then again reflect, that the spirit in man never dies. The
body may sleep the sleep of death. It may lie slumbering in the
tomb until it is awakened by the loud blast of the trump, on the
morning of the resurrection, but the man himself lives. Yea,
lives in greater energy than ever he had lived before. Man's
spirit is immortal. He is a living energy, and will continue to be
so for countless ages. A man dies. He goes to sleep, but he
shall wake up again. Tes ; in yonder home on high there is
rest for the weary — after life's struggles and battles and turmoils
are over, there is a land of rest and of pure delights on the other
side of Jordan. " There the wicked ceace from troubling, and the
weary are at rest." Oh ! blessed prospect. Oh ! sweet day of
rest. My heart be thou hushed and calmed amid all the turbu •
lent frettings and anxieties of this earthly state. Come, then,
blessed rest. Let me enter in and I shall be at peace.
" There is a soft, a downy bed,
'Tis fair as breath of even ;
A couch for weary mortals spread.
Where they may rest their aching head.
And find repose in heaven."
III. Third and finally, David was gathered to his fathers
and saw corruption. That is, he was laid in the grave. This is
the end of all flesh. All men must die, and all men are buried.
" The Fathers where are they, and the Prophets do they live for
ever ? " The grave is the resting place of great and small. All
go unto one place. The sods of the valley must cover us, and by
and by we must all lie sleeping in the tomb. Be up then friends.
Quit you like men and be strong. The life that you live in the
flesh, live it in earnest. Forget the things that are behind and
press forward unto the things that are before. Seek the kingdom
of God and His righteousness. Live the life of the righteons,
and your last end shall be like his.
Tou know full well brethren, what has prompted these few
and imperfect remarks. As I said at the outset, so say I again,
a prince and a great man has fallen in Israel. It is not necessary,
nay I will not attempt to present you with anything like a full
length portrait of your late venerated pastor. His history has
already been so fully sketched by the public press, all over this
colony, that very little remains for me to say. Still I feel that I
must say something, not exactly in the way of vain laudation,

19
but rather to stimulate you, the living, to serious reflection, and
to urge you to be followers of him in so far as he was enabled to
follow Christ. Were you now to hear him audibly addressing
you, as you were wont to do,, methinks that this would be his
parting advice to you :— " Remember them which have the rule
over you who have spoken to you the word of God, whose faith
follow, considering the end of their conversation, Jesus Christ, the
same yesterday and to-day and forever."
With Dr. Lang T have hved on the most intimate and cordial
terms of friendship for the last five years, and having resided
under his hospitable roof for several months before I had the
least idea that I should be closely connected with his family, I
think I can with some degree of confidence speak of what he
was as a man, and of what he was as a Christian gentleman, and
I may, perhaps, be able to furnish you with a few particulars iu
his history with which you were previously unacquainted.
John Dunmore Lang was the eldest of foar children. He
was born in Greenock, a seaport town in the West of Scotland,
in the year 1799. It was then a place of comparatively little
note, but is now a place of considerable mercantile importance.
Like most men who have risen to any eminence whether in
Church or in State, Dr. Lang was very greatly indebted
to the training of a pious mother, who from his earliest
years indoctrinated him in the truths of our holy religion.
She was ever careful to attend to the Scripture precept,
" Train up a child in the way he should go," relying upon
the promise, " And when he is old he will not depart from
it." Her pious and painstaking teaching was not lost upon her
son. She happily lived to witness the result of her teaching,
and often have I heard Dr. Lang speak in the most enthusiastic
terms of his indebtedness to his mother, and from her, no doubt,
he inherited that strength of mind and dogged determinedness
of disposition which were such prominent features in his
character. From his earliest infancy Dr. Lang was destined by
his mother to the ministry of the Gospel of Christ. It was a
very laudable desire of Christian parents in Scotland who had
several sons, that at least one of them should become a minister,
and even among the poor this object was easily attainable, by the
facility of acquiring bursaries or scholarships, or private tuition.
Without these extraneous helps, however. Dr. Lang's parents
were quite in a position to give him the necessary education to
qualify him for the work of the ministry, and he gave very early
indications that his own mind was directed towards this sacred
profession. I think I may, without any breach of confidence,
give as an illustration of this an anecdote which the doctor often

20
related to me with great zest. When but a child of five years of
age, a clergyman, whose church his parents were frequently in
the habit of attending, called at their house. Child-like he was
amusing himself with his toys on the hearth rug before the fire.
The clergyman addressing him, asked, " Well, Johnny, what are
you going to be when you become a man," to which the child
replied, " I'm going to be a minister." " And what," asks the
clergyman, " will you say when you are a minister," to which the
reply is promptly given, " Sinners be ye good, and do good, and
ye shall be happy." Here how early was the child father to the
man, and was not this the simple motto which Dr. Lang acted
upon all throughout his busy and chequered career ? At an early
age he went to the parish school of the district in which his
parents resided, and so rapidly did he advance in the study of
the Latin and Greek languages, that at the almost unprecedented
age of twelve years he was able to enter the University of
Glasgow, then, as still, a seat of learning of no small credit and
renown. From it have come forth many men of eminence, men
who afterwards placed their mark upon the world and became
burning and shining lights, and did good service in their day and
generation. In after years, however. Dr. Lang often regretted
having entered the University at so tender an age, as he did not
consider that his powers were sufficiently developed, and he had
a very hard struggle to maintain, all through his literary course,
with many who were much older than himself, and who were
more advanced in their studies. Still, young as he was, he was
determined not to be overborne in the race for learning, and,
his college career was by no means unsatisfactory or unbrU-
liant. Perhaps I may be permitted here to state a little
incident which plainly shows how early was manifested that
indomitable zeal and pluck for which, in after years, he was
so noted, and which carried him through so many vicissitudes.
He had then an utter abhorrence of the study of mathematics.
It so happened, however, that a fellow student, and a close con
nection of his own, was an adept in this branch of study, and
had carried off several prizes. Toung Lang was not to be out
done, and with all his hatred of the work, set himself to it with
a dogged determination, and so far mastered it as to bear off the
highest honors for that year. After spending four sessions at
the arts classes of the University, according to the prescription
of the Church of Scotland, he entered upon the study of
Theology, with a view to his preparation for the work of the
holy ministry, and, after a very successful career of study, was
licensed to preach the gospel at the conf^aratively early age of
twenty-two. In what estimation he was held by those under

21
whom he studied may be gathered from the fact that thus early
his University conferred on him the degree of Doctor in Divinity,
an honour which, in Scotland, is usually reserved for men of
mature learning and of ripe experience. Dr. Lang's mind seems
from the first to have been directed towards the Colonies as a
suitable sphere where he might find room for the expansion of
his great energies. Providence, who controls the destinies of the
world, and directs the paths of his servants, was in this respect
the breaker up of his way. A younger brother (whose mortal
remains lie interred underneath the pulpit in which I now stand)
had some time previously emigrated to New South Wales. The
descriptions he sent home of the spiritual needs of the Colony
were so touching that, discarding his own ease, and the bright
prospects that were opening for him in the old country, he
resolved without a moment's hesitation to consecrate himself to
the work of the Lord in this far distant land. He heard the
Lord saying to him " Whom shall I send, and who will go for
us," and he at once replied, " Here am I, send me."
He arrived in Sydney in the year 1823, and was the founder
of the Presbyterian Church in the Australian colonies. What he
has since done both in Church and State in these distant places
of the sea you need not be informed. It is already matter of
history. In fact. Dr. Lang and the history of New South Wales
are bound up together. I know full well, how near to his heart
this land was, and how greatly he rejoiced in anything that
tended to its prosperity and advancement, whether temporal or
spiritual. Many friends he has left behind him who lament his
loss for their own sakes and for their countries' sake, and
although he had his enemies— as every such man will have— yet
he has not gone down into h's grave unwept, unhonoured, and
unsung. The crowds which a week ago assembled to do honour
to his remains, plainly testified to the esteem in which he was
held. It may not become me to attempt a vindication of the
character of Dr. Lang, and the motives by which this great man
was ever actuated. Let his traducers say what they may, I have
no hesitation in testifying, from a very intimate acquaintance
with him, — personally for five years, but by repute since I was
a boy of ten years of age (for I may here remark as a
somewhat remarkable coincidence, that an elder brother of mine
was at that time a member of the Soots' Church, and now lies
interred within a foot of the Doctor's grave), that his aims were
of the purest and loftiest, and that in all his actions he had a
single eye to the glory of God. He sacrificed his time, talents
and means for the good of this colony, and from many what
thanks did he get for it? The very pith of his nature was utter

22
unselfishness. Had he chosen (as I believe it is universally
allowed) he might have amassed long ere this a very large fortune,
but mere money-grubbing he did not believe in. He was always
anxious to distribute, and willing to communicate, and many
among the poor and needy have good cause to bewail his loss.
In him all charitable, benevolent and philanthropic institutions
had a warm friend and supporter. He gave cheerfully and
liberally, and without grudging. I remember well when I accom
panied him to Melbourne, little more than a year ago, how, every
day when we appeared in the streets of that city, we were
surrounded by crowds of beggars whom in vain, I, perhaps some
what hastily tried to drive away. Their rejoinder generally was
to this effect : " Oh ! we know the Doctor well, and when we
used to call upon him in Sydney he never sent any of us away."
And of course each applicant received his mite.
I believe that in estimating the work of Dr. Lang, the state
of these colonies when he first arrived in them is not sufficiently
considered. How different this land was in those days to what it
now is ! It was then a perfect hot-bed of corruption and immor
rality. The convict element was very rife, and the press and all
public offices were very much under the domination of men of
vicious lives. Would he, I ask, have been true to his God,
true to his own conscience, or true to the best interests of his
adopted country, had he not lifted up his voice like a trumpet and
fearlessly denounced those abominations which swept down like a
mighty torrent and threatened to drive out of the land all virtue
and morality ? He was not the man to keep silence in such a
case, and of course offences came, because of the scathing and
withering reproofs which were fulminated against those who
occupied the high places of the land. How true is that scripture
saying, " It must needs be that offences will come," but that
other saying must be remembered also — " Woe be to the man
by whom the offence cometh." That Dr. Lang was faultless,
even his best friends will scarce venture to admit. Other men
have had their faults, and he had his, but low cringing to men of
wealth and power, sneakishness and cunning, could not certainly
be numbered among his failings, his enemies themselves being his
judges. They were as far removed from his nature, as east is
distant from the west. His downright honesty and straight
forwardness in rebuking what he felt to be wrong, alienated
from him many who were at one time his warm friends,
while these same qualities secured for him many friends,
whose friendship was better worth the having. In private,
in Presbytery, and in General Assembly, I have frequently
differed from him in regard to matters of importance, in

23
which I knew him to be deeply interested. I have stated my
opinions strongly and without reserve, but it never for one
moment interfered with the cordiality of our friendship. On the
contrary, he frequently indicated his approval of my having an
opinion of my own, and venturing to state them boldly. I think
it due to the memory of Dr. Lang to state this much on account
of the adverse, unfair and ungenerous criticisms that have recently
been made in certain influential quarters. But to see Dr. Lang
in perfection you required to enter the family circle. Though
fierce battles may have raged without, you here never heard a
jarring or discordant note. As he often used to say to me, "People
tell me I have been a man of war from my youth, and I dare say
they are right, but I thank God that I have always had peace in
my dwelling." But into this sacred domain I dare not further
intrude. I could have said much more about the life and work of
Dr. Lang, but must for the present forbear. The veteran warrior
has now laid aside, and laid aside for ever, his well-used sword.
He has ceased from the strife and tumult of battle, and has no
doubt ere now received the victor's crown. Though not able to
converse with those loved relatives who stood around his dying
bed, or to indicate audibly what his inward feelings were, he gave
sufficient evidences that he was not unprepared for the great
change, though it was exceedingly painful to witness the sharp
but short struggle which the strong spirit had to release itself
from the weak body. He ran diligently the race that was set
before him. He fought the good fight of faith, and early laid
hold of eternal life. What an example has he left to all of us,
and especially to the youth of this colony, and how loudly does
his career call upon us to improve present opportunity, to deny
ourselves for the good of our country, and to be persevering,
working with all our might while it is called to-day. " Be thou
faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life."
I cannot here refrain from relating a beautiful, and to my
mind an exceedingly touching incident, which happened in con
nection with Dr. Lang. It occurred only a few months ago, and
I had it from one of the family. In the month of April, in
company with one of the household, the doctor went to see the
International Exhibition. He was accidentally met at the door
of the Exhibition building by an aged minister of another
denomination. I fancy they had been comparing ages, and
both feeling the infirmities of years, were expecting a
speedy release. This friend says, " Well, doctor, if you
arrive up there first, be sure and be waiting at the
gate for me, and if I am there first I will be waiting
at the gate for you." The friend pre-deceased Dr. Lang by

24
several weeks, and I have no doubt he was as good as his
word. The two friends of earth met at the gate, and walked
lovingly side by side into the home of many mansions. Brethren,
to assist in laying the foundation of what is in future ages
destined to become a powerful nation, and in moulding the habits
of a people, and, humanly speaking, in creating their destiny, is
no mean object of ambition. It is an object well worthy of the
highest moral and intellectual powers. Few attain to such a
height of eminence as this, and yet, in a lesser degree, we all do
add our quota towards the formation of the character of subse
quent ages. We are, in a sense, living for the future as well as
for the present, and the more faithfully we serve our own gene
ration the better will we serve the generations to come. T close
by repeating those beautiful and well-know lines of the poet
Longfellow, which, in my view, are A short but impressive com
mentary on the life and career of Dr. Lang ; —
Lives of great men all remind us
We can make our lives sublime,
And departing, leave behind us.
Footprints on the sands of time ;
' Footprints that perhaps another,
Sailing o'er life's solemn main —
A forlorn and shipwrecked brother
Seeing, shall take heart again.

Printed by Foster and Fair/ax, IS Bridge Street, Sydney.

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