TO THE MEMORY OF MY DEAR AND VENERABLE FRIEND,

THE REV. ROBERT HALL,

Who died in the 63d year of his age, on March 13, 1791.

AND is my much-respected friend no more?
How painful are the tidings to my heart!
And is that light extinguish'd which so long
Has burn'd with brightest lustre, and diffused
Through all his loved connexions round about,
Pure rays of evangelic light and joy?

Is all that stock of true substantial worth
Become as water spilt upon the ground?-
That universal knowledge, which embraced
A compass wide and large, of men and things!-
That well-known solid wisdom, which, improved
By long experience, made his face to shine ?--
That uprightness of character, by which

He lived down slander, and of foes made friends?-
That ardent and affectionate concern
For truth, for righteousness, for Zion's good,
Which, with a social kindness, long endear'd
His name, and renders him a public loss?--
That grace that ruled and season'd all his soul,
And as with sacred unction fill'd his lips,

In which as life declined he ripen'd fast,

And shone still more and more to perfect day?

That tender sympathy, that often soothed

The sorrowing heart, and wiped the mourner's tear?—

That sweet humility, and self-abasement,

With which we heard him oft invoke his God;

Which ne'er assumed, though first in counsel skill'd,
The lordly look, or proud dictator's chair?-
That guiltless pleasantry, that brighten'd up
Each countenance, and cheer'd the social hour?-

(If he were there, it seem'd that all were there;
If he were missing, none could fill his place.)
That store of excellence, in short, to which
(As to a ship well fraught) one might repair,
And be enrich'd with treasures new and old?-
Is ALL, as by a kind of fatal wreck,

Destroy'd, and sunk at once to rise no more?

Dear friend! (for still I fain would talk to thee)
Shall I discern thy cheering face no more?
And must thy glad❜ning voice no more be heard?
And when I visit thy much-loved abode,
Shall I not find thee there as heretofore?

Nor sit, nor walk, as erst with pleasure wont,
Nor mingle souls beneath the friendly bower?

...

No... this is past . . . nor ought seems left for me,
Except to walk, and sigh upon thy stone!

Dear friend! I saw thee burden'd, years ago,

With heavy loads of complicated grief;

And grief more complicate, though less intense,
I'm told thou didst in earlier days endure;

But tribulation patience in thee wrought,

And such a stock of rich experience this,

That few like thee could reach the mourner's case,
Or ease the burdens of the lab'ring heart,

We saw thee ripen in thy later years,

As when rich-laden autumn droops her head:

That theme on which thy thoughts of late were penn'd,*
None knew like thee, nor could have touch'd so well;

It seem'd thy element, the native air

Thy holy soul had long been used to breathe.

Such things we saw with sacred pleasure; yet

"Twas pleasure tinged with painful fear, lest these
(As fruit when ripe is quickly gather'd in)
Should only prove portentious of thy end.

O thou great Arbiter of life and death!
Thy ways are just, and true, and wise, and good;
Though clouds and darkness compass thee around,
Justice and judgment still support thy throne.
Had it been left to us, he still had liv'd,

Communion with God, the subject of the Circular Letter for 1789, which was Mr. Hall's last printed performance,

And lived for years to come, and bless'd us still:
But thus 'tis not; thy thoughts are not as ours.
Had poor short-sighted mortals had their will,
The great Redeemer had not bled, or died.
Teach us to say, "Thy will, not ours, be done,”
To drink the cup thou givest us to drink.

Dear relatives and friends, his special charge!
Bereaved at once of him whose life was spent
In unremitted labours for your good,
We must not call on you to mourn, but try
To stem the tide, or wipe th' o'erflowing tear.
'Tis true his course is finish'd, and your ears
Shall hear no more the long-accustom'd sound;
But 'tis as he desired, when late we heard
Drop from his lips, what seem'd his last farewell.*
The prize for which he counted life not dear,
Is fully gain'd; his course with joy he closed.
What did I say? the ship was wreck'd and lost?
No, it is not ;'tis safe arrived in port,
And all the precious cargo too is safe;
His knowledge, wisdom, love, and every grace,
Are not extinct, but gloriously matured,
Beyond whate'er he grasp'd in this frail state.
A fit companion now for purer minds;

For patriarchs, prophets, martyrs, and for those
Whom once he knew, and loved, who went before;
For HIM whose name was dear to him on earth,
And whose sweet presence now creates his heaven.
Nor is all lost to those who yet survive :
Though he is gone, his mantle's left behind.
Kind memory may recall his words, and deeds,
And prayers, and counsels; and conviction aid,
Or cheer the heart, or guide the doubtful feet,
Or prompt to imitate his holy life.

Nor memory alone, the faithful page

Is charged with some remains, in which the man

*It has been observed that Mr. Hall's last public sermon, in his own connexion, was preached at Olney Association, June 2, 1790, from Acts xx. 24. Neither count I my life dear,-that I may finish my course with joy, &c.

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And his communications yet are seen;

In these, though he be dead, he speaketh still.*
Yes, here's Elijah's mantle: may there too
A double portion of his spirit rest
Upon us all; and might I be indulged

In one more special wish, that wish should be,
That he who fills his father's sacred trust,
Might share the blessings of his father's God,
And tread his steps; that all may see and say,

66

Elijah's spirit on Elisha rests."

SKETCH OF A SERMON TO YOUNG PEOPLE.

Psalm xc. 14.

O satisfy us early with thy mercy, that we may rejoice and be glad all our days.

THE season is returned, my dear young people, in which you expect I should address you on your eternal interests. I hope what I have heretofore said to you, not only on these occasions, but in the ordinary course of my labours, has not been altogether in vain. Some of you, I hope, have already set your faces Zionward. Happy should I be to see many more follow their example!

The words which I have read to you express the desire of Moses, the man of God, in behalf of Israel, and especially of the

* Mr Hall wrote many of the Circular Letters to the churches of the Northamptonshire and Leicestershire Association, most of which have been noticed already, as well as his Help to Zion's Travellers. He also printed A Charge to Mr. Moreton, delivered at his ordination at Kettering, 1771; and a Funeral Sermon for Mrs. Evans, of Foxton, 1775.

rising generation. That generation of men which came out of Egypt with Moses were most of them very wicked. Though God divided the sea to save them, and caused manna to fall from heaven to feed them, with many other wonderful works; yet they did little else than provoke him by their repeated transgressions. Ten times they tempted him in the wilderness; and, to complete their crimes, they despised the good land, and disbelieved His promises who had engaged to put them in possession of it. The .consequence was, Jehovah sware in his wrath, They shall not enter into my rest. So they were all, except Joshua and Caleb, doomed to die in the wilderness. On occasion of this melancholy sentence, (the account of which you will find in the fourteenth chapter of Numbers,) it is supposed that Moses, the man of God, wrote this plaintive psalm; in which he laments over the mortality of man, and supplicates divine mercy to mitigate the doom. And the doom, as it respected Israel, was mitigated, or at least mingled with much mercy. Though the fathers were sentenced to perish in the wilderness, yet the promise was accomplished in the rising generation. Your little ones, said the Lord, which ye said should be a prey, them will I bring in, and they shall know the land which ye have despised. This younger generation, from that time, became the grand object of hope to Moses, and his companions. Their great business in the wilderness, for thirty-eight years, was to teach them the good knowledge of God, and to form their spirit and manners for his service. How earnestly did Moses pray for the Lord's blessing upon these their labours, towards the close of this psalm. Let thy work appear unto thy servants, and thy glory unto their children; and let the beauty of Jehovah our God be upon us: and establish thou the work of our hands upon us; yea, the work of our hands establish thou it. To the same purpose is the petition which I first read. O satisfy us early with thy mercy, that we may rejoice and be glad all our days. These petitions, too, were graciously answered. God's work did appear to Moses and his associates, and his glory to their children, and that at an early period. His spirit was richly poured forth upon the Israelitish youth. The beauty of the Lord their God was upon them, and the work of their hands was established,