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undiscriminating edge. The Christian parent then, who would not have shrunk from a personal encounter with the King of Terrors, covered as he is with the shield of God, and protected by the Captain of Salvation, and strong in the Spirit to wield the weapon of all prayer and supplication-would he not tremble for his child, the object of so many sleepless anxieties, so many fervent prayers; who is, perhaps, all that could be desired, as to his temporal relations, and of all that he could possess, lacks only the one thing needful! Would it not be a wound, especially bitter and enduringly painful and poignant

beauty and extend the influence of a truly Christian example, perhaps to the conviction, conversion, and salvation of others, whom it may be the Lord's gracious pleasure to save by their instrumentality alone and even those who are at once mature of years, and ripe for glory, and who would have descended to the grave as a shock of corn cometh in its season, and would have found it gain to die-even these may yet find it Christ to live-may find work to do, ere they receive their promised and purchased inheritance, which will add another leaf to their andying wreath, another jewel to their immortal crown; and should now cause them heartily to coincidely acute-ever rankling in the confidence of the Apostle, "I know that to abide in the flesh is more needful to you." To all, however advanced in grace, and matured for glory, the prolongation of life is, or may be, made a blessing. O may we then be taught not only gratefully to acknow-whose image is treasured in the inledge the past, but be thus stimulated to the more active discharge of duty by considering the object, WHEREFORE we are spared?

The benefit, moreover, will be enhanced by another consideration. Temporally and spiritually, it is alike true, that none of us liveth to himself, and no man dieth to himself. It is not only the righteous who are swept away by pestilential disease the hurricane that desolates the earth does not carry before it only the full ripe ears, which, mightily and marvellously controlled, it would waft to the granary of the Great Husbandman. When a scourge of this character enters into a neighbourhood, it destroys and depopulates without respect of persons-moral and spiritual worth is as little heeded by the Avenger as is the thick clay of perishable wealthwhatever encounters the scythe--weed, flower, or grain-is alike mown down by its merciless, and unsparing, and

throbbing-festering -into which grace alone could pour the soothing balm, and which grace itself would not wholly heal on this side the grave, to think that some endeared relative, some beloved friend, some of those

most soul, and can be obliterated by no hand save that of death-might be severed from all possibility of repentance without a single remaining hope of pardon, and thus could only in future recur to our remembrance as one suffering the vengeance of eternal fire-would it not be dreadful, to take up the Volume, within which our own eternal hopes are comprehended and comprised, and to find in it the seal and the signet to the irremediable ruin-it might be of the object most beloved-so that we could never read our own title sure to mansions in the skies, without reading also the record of their imperishable, unchangeable woe. Ah brethren-however calmly or even joyfully you may have contemplated for yourselves putting off the mortal tabernacle, be thankful for those to whom life prolonged may be the soul preserved, and the day that is lengthened may be a day of grace, a time of salvation. And you, who

as my knowledge extends, has been | vile material as the perishable body,

even slightly smitten by the destroying scourge; not one has been swept by it from the land of the living. Yes, brethren, a year has elapsed, and the number of deaths from this cause alone has swelled beyond the fearful aggregate of five-and-twenty thousand; and yet we, that did cleave unto the Lord, are alive every one of us this day-this day,when the official reports are once again discontinued, and the disease, which has been so long abating, seems at last on the eve of extinction. And ought we not then to ask, each of his own heart, "What shall I render to the Lord for all his benefits that he hath done unto me?"and ought we not all to reply-each from his inmost soul-"I will receive the cup of salvation-I will call upon the name of the Lord."

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and were equally involved in the sentence, "Dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return"-it would be comparatively of little moment by what instrumentality we were swept from the face of this earth, and the sharp yet brief agony of the rapid and fearful epidemic would perhaps be no more formidable, than a less painful indeed, but greatly more protracted struggle; or even the slow and wearisome process of the gradual extinction of the taper of life, when it has burned through its longest interval of fourscore years, and is glimmering dimly over the slowly opening grave. All considerations of comparative and present suffering obviously fade into utter insignificance, before the estimate which we spiritually form concerning that portion of man, in which alone he resembles the Divinity; and it would be an imbecility descending be

But benefits forgotten or misapplied worse-far worse-in their eventual and abiding result than cala-low that of the idiot, and a frenzy outmities apprehended or endured. Tribulation worketh patience and patience experience-and experience hope- but what doth ingratitude work? Shall we go, for an answer, to the dreary regions of fearful expectation, in which impenitent sinners are reserved under darkness to the judgment of the great day?—No, beloved brethren; rather may the Spirit attune our hearts to gratitude, and draw us to our GOD by the cords of love, while we consider—

First, THE BENEFIT CONFERRED.
Secondly, THE RETURN EXPECTED.
Thirdly, THE DUTY TO BE PER-

FORMED.

THE BENEFIT CONFERRED varies in degree with the circumstances of every individual, at least when contemplated in his highest and most durable relation as an heir of immortality. If, indeed, it were to be regarded only in a temporal sense, and the soul were compounded of the same

raving that of the madman, seriously to weigh the respective interests of the body and the soul, believing, that is, in the existence and reality of the latter. Ifthen we attempt to estimate the benefit conferred on the only proper principles of the influence it may exercise over eternity, it will appear, that some of us are still cumbering the ground, but with hope of bearing fruit, who might otherwise have been cut down and cast into the unquenchable fire ;some are becoming heirs of immortality, who would otherwise have been fixed for ever inheritors of the cursesome are being made meet through grace for the inheritance of the saints in light, who would otherwise by unrepented corruptions and an unregenerate heart, have been suited only to the congenial fellowship, of the devil and his angels. Some are preparing for a higher degree, who would otherwise have been scarcely saved, even so as by fire. Some are spared to exhibit the

undiscriminating edge. The Christian parent then, who would not have shrunk from a personal encounter with the King of Terrors, covered as he is with the shield of GOD, and protected by the Captain of Salvation, and strong in the Spirit to wield the weapon of all prayer and supplication-would he not tremble for his child, the object of so many sleepless anxieties, so many fervent prayers; who is, perhaps, all that could be desired, as to his temporal relations, and of all that he could possess, lacks only the one thing needful! Would it not be a wound, especially bitter and enduringly painful and poignant

beauty and extend the influence of a truly Christian example, perhaps to the conviction, conversion, and salvation of others, whom it may be the Lord's gracious pleasure to save by their instrumentality alone and even those who are at once mature of years, and ripe for glory, and who would have descended to the grave as a shock of corn cometh in its season, and would have found it gain to die—even these may yet find it Christ to live-may find work to do, ere they receive their promised and purchased inheritance, which will add another leaf to their andying wreath, another jewel to their immortal crown; and should now cause them heartily to coincidely acute-ever rankling — throbin the confidence of the Apostle, "I know that to abide in the flesh is more needful to you." To all, however advanced in grace, and matured for glory, the prolongation of life is, or may be, made a blessing. O may we then be taught not only gratefully to acknowledge the past, but be thus stimulated to the more active discharge of duty by considering the object, WHEreFORE we are spared?

bing-festering -into which grace alone could pour the soothing balm, and which grace itself would not wholly heal on this side the grave, to think that some endeared relative, some beloved friend, some of those whose image is treasured in the inmost soul, and can be obliterated by no hand save that of death-might be severed from all possibility of repentance without a single remaining hope of pardon, and thus could only in future recur to our remembrance as one suffering the vengeance of eter

The benefit, moreover, will be enhanced by another consideration. Temporally and spiritually, it is alike true, that none of us liveth to him-nal fire-would it not be dreadful, to self, and no man dieth to himself. It is not only the righteous who are swept away by pestilential disease the hurricane that desolates the earth does not carry before it only the full ripe ears, which, mightily and marvellously controlled, it would waft to the granary of the Great Husbandman. When a scourge of this character enters into a neighbourhood, it destroys and depopulates without respect of persons-moral and spiritual worth is as little heeded by the Avenger as is the thick clay of perishable wealth whatever encounters the scythe--weed, flower, or grain-is alike mown down by its merciless, and unsparing, and

take up the Volume, within which our own eternal hopes are comprehended and comprised, and to find in it the seal and the signet to the irremediable ruin-it might be of the object most beloved-so that we could never read our own title sure to mansions in the skies, without reading also the record of their imperishable, unchangeable woe. Ah brethren-however calmly or even joyfully you may have contemplated for yourselves putting off the mortal tabernacle, be thankful for those to whom life prolonged may be the soul preserved, and the day that is lengthened may be a day of grace, a time of salvation. And you, who

attributes of the unsearchable GoD himself? Beings infinitely superior to our feeble and perishable nature are awed and abashed in his presence

are such-who feel that you arewho look back upon the danger you have been spared with an inward, though involuntary, conviction, that had it come suddenly upon you, it would have been the wreck of your eternal hope, the seal of your everlasting ruin-oh, close not your eyes to the mercy by which you have been reprieved and let a grateful remembrance of it be one motive among many to render the expected return. Surely we are not to receive all, and render none-not only does the corrupt human heart itself rise up against so monstrous a supposition, but the Psalmist asks "What shall I render to the Lord;" and if even you who did not cleave to him are yet alive, every one of you this day-do you not owe a double return of gratitude, in that he did not even smite the body, when he might justly have condemned the soul? Consider, there-joicing in the Lord, and causing others fore, one and all,

Secondly-THE return required. The question here is, simply, how since God has done so much for us, what should we do for GOD? We cannot ascend into heaven, and lay at his feet the inadequate tribute of our imperfect adoration and faltering praise -we cannot dive into the depth of ocean, and bring up the precious pearl that is yet unpolluted by human gaze, and present it to him, in token of our gratitude-we cannot offer the beasts of the forest, or immolate the cattle upon a thousand hills-and if we could, all would be in vain, for our goodness extendeth not to GOD, and before we can add a spark to his glory -his essential and eternal and unvarying glory, incapable of increase as of estimate—we may try our puny powers to enhance the lustre of the meridian sun, or to make the illimitable ocean overflow. If, then, the works of God laugh our diminutive efforts to scorn, how much more the

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the very heavens are not pure in His sight, and he charges his angels with folly-how much less then man, who is a worm, and the son of man, that is a worm! All, therefore, that we can do to express our sense of unexpected, unmerited, and unexampled mercy, is not by rendering, but by receiving-not by returning, but by imparting-not, as some erroneously imagine, by multiplying penances, by wearing sackcloth, and dwelling among ashes, and feeding on bitter bread and bowing down the head as a bulrush, and living in a dungeon and sleeping in a coffin—but by exhibiting the mercy which we have received, by commending the love which we have avowed, by re

to rejoice with us, and proclaiming to all within the range of our influence, "O taste and see that the Lord is gracious. Come, and I will tell you what he hath done for my soul." The debt is one which we can never pay, and which we must be contented still to owe; but O how delightful to owe to such a Giver! how delightful to acknowledge our obligation to such a Benefactor! What can more kindle the affections and more expand the heart than to recognize and realise our individual mercies; to feel that GOD takes care of us-not generally, not promiscuously, not as part and parcel of the great human family, but separately, and distinctly, and personally, and individually, so that each is known, and distinguished, and discriminated before Him. “Thou, GOD, seest me-my name is written in thy book of life”—to think that each of us is as vividly and as distinctly impressed on the capacious and comprehensive heart of Jesus, as if he

We

ledgment, while it begins in the house
of God, must extend its influence to
the duties of active life; like Eu-
phrates, its source may be lost amid
the invisible and inaccessible groves of
Eden; but it must go forth to water
the earth. The river of life must irri-
gate and refresh the thirsty and bar-
ren soil of the wilderness, that it
may cause the dreary waste to bud
forth, and blossom as the rose.
must be willing to exert ourselves
in the service of GOD, and we ought
to do it actively and cheerfully ;-
not forcibly driven to it, like slaves
chained to the oar, by the sound-
ing lash of conscience sounding in
our ears; not goaded to it, like sol-
diers of the craven heart and nerve-
less arm, who only advance to the
enemy before, because a forest of
lances frowns upon him from behind.
Much is lost to the cause of religion
and of the church, because the pro-
fessing people of GOD will not spon-
taneously arouse and exert them-

had died for none beside ourselves; and that the Holy Spirit takes up his abode as decidedly and as peculiarly with us, as if he had not another living temple upon earth! We all look upon the same sun, and it shines to all with undiminished lustre; and its light would be equally necessary to life and joy-equally quickening and reviving, if none beheld it but ourselves, while yet it is not the less so to all that do bebold it. So is GOD to the believer -He is a sun and he is a shield, and his protection, beneath the recent danger, is signally manifested to each of his people, as if he or she had been the only one preserved. Surely I am not the less indebted to GoD for his gracious deliverance, because he has sheltered my neighbour also beneath the shadow of his wing? Surely the benefit loses nothing of its virtue by being communicated to others? How should it when the value of the life is not thus affected, nor the capacity of the soul impaired? However widely the benefit may ex-selves-will not seek after and seize tend, whatever number may partake it with ourselves, the enquiry should ever recur, and it should be in all cases a personal one, "What shall I render to the Lord, for all the benefits that he hath done to me? I will receive the cup of salvation, and call on the name of the Lord."

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upon opportunities of doing good, which require a moderate portion of self-denial, much less make such for themselves-will confer with flesh and blood, instead of asking, “What can I do this day for my Saviour for my GOD-what can I render to the Lord for all the benefits that he hath done unto The return required therefore con- me? Can I in any way advance the sists primarily in acknowledgment. interests of pure and undefiled reliWhoso offereth praise, he honoureth gion? Can I impress the irreligious me. It is essential, that we solemnly of my own family-promote the diffuand gratefully avow our obligations, sion of Christian knowledge through whenever we call on the name of the my neighbourhood, or take an active Lord, in the domestic circle, and in part in the superintendence of the the sanctuary of secret prayer, in the Christian education of the poor, and courts of the Lord's house, where our bear with me to the dwelling of the vows are paid in the presence of all indigent and ignorant, relief for the his people, and at the altar of his love, perishing body, and heavenly supwhere the cup of salvation is literally port and sustenance for the imperishreceived, where the cup of blessing able soul?" O how would the asthat we bless is the communion of the pect of the church be changed― blood of Christ. But this acknow-how much would be effected for the

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