dence and solicitude, principally fearing that the cause of the Deaf and Dumb may suffer, and yet hoping that God, in whose hands the feeblest instruments are strong, will deign to make our meditations not only productive of benefit to the unfortunate objects of our pity, but of eternal good to our own souls. And, my friends, how soon would the apologies of the speaker, and the implored candour of his hearers, pass into forgetfulness, could we feel that we are in the presence of Almighty God, and that the awful destinies of our immortal existence are connected with the events of this passing hour! May the Spirit of Grace impress these truths upon our hearts, while we take as the guide of our thoughts that portion of Scripture which is contained in

ISAIAH XXXV. 5, 6.

Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped. Then shall the lame man leap as an hart, and the tongue of the dumb sing: for in the wilderness shall waters break out, and streams in the desert.

These words depict a part of the visions of futurity which gladdened the eye of Isaiah, and irradiate his writings with so cheering a lustre

that he has been called "the evangelical prophet." His predictions are assuming, in our day, some of their most glorious forms of fulfilment. For although they had a more direct reference to the time of our Saviour, by whose miraculous energy the ears of the deaf were opened, and the tongue of the dumb loosened, yet without doubt, as might be proved from the general scope and tenor of the prophetic writings, they equally allude to the universal diffusion of the Gospel in these latter ages of the church, and to its happy influence upon the hearts of all mankind. The same Saviour, who went about doing good, is also the Lord of this lower creation. He once performed the acts of his kindness by the mere word of his power he now is mindful of the necessitous, and makes provision for them, through the medium of his providential dispensations. It should be matter, therefore, of encouragement to us, that the establishment which is now ready to receive within its walls the sons and daughters of misfortune, however humble may be its sphere of exertion, is not overlooked in the economy of the Redeemer's kingdom; that its probable influence is even shadowed forth in the sayings of prophecy; and that it forms one link in that golden chain of universal good-will, which will eventually embrace and bind together the whole family of man.

Let

it awaken our gratitude to think, that our feeble efforts are not disregarded by the great Head of the church, and that we are permitted thus to cast our mite into his treasury.

In the chapter from which the words of my text are taken, the prophet has described the blessings of the Redeemer's kingdom, in the richest colours of Oriental imagery. He pourtrays by the strongest and boldest figures, the joy that will be diffused throughout the earth, when the Gospel of Jesus Christ shall have been proclaimed to all people, and its principles made the universal rule of thought and conduct. He would thus teach us the intimate connexion, even in this world, between holiness and happiness, and excite our efforts towards hastening on the latter-day glory of the church, by placing before us the advantages that will result from it. Every exertion, then, of Christian benevolence, which forms a part of the great system of doing good, is entitled, so to speak, to the encouragements which the prophet holds forth. I shall not, therefore, depart from the spirit of the text, if, on the present occasion, I attempt to describe some of the benefits expected to result from the exertions which are making for the improvement of the Deaf and Dumb, and thus shew how it will happen, that in this department of Christian benevolence, "in

the wilderness shall waters break out, and streams in the desert."

The whole plan of my discourse, then, will be to state several advantages likely to arise from the establishment of this Asylum, and to propose several motives which should inspire those who are interested in its welfare with renewed zeal and the hopes of ultimate success.

The instruction of the Deaf and Dumb, if properly conducted, has a tendency to give important aid to many researches of the philanthropist, the philosopher, and the divine. The philanthropist and the philosopher are deeply interested in the business of education. The cultivation of the human mind is paramount to all other pursuits; inasmuch as spirit is superior to matter, and eternity to time. Youth is the season in which the powers of the mind begin to develop themselves, and language the grand instrument by which this development is to take place. Now it is beyond all doubt, that great improvement has been made in the mode of instructing children in the use and power of language. To what extent these improvements may yet be carried, time alone can determine. The very singular condition in which the minds of the Deaf and Dumb are placed, and the peculiar means which are necessarily employed in their instruction, may furnish oppor

tunities for observation and experiment, and the establishment of principles, with regard to the education of youth, which will not be without essential service in their general application. How much light also may in this way be thrown upon what are supposed to be the original truths, felt and recognised to be such by the mind, without any reasoning process! Many speculations, too, which now are obscure and unsettled, respecting the faculties of the human mind, may be rendered more clear and satisfactory. How many questions, also, may be solved, concerning the capability of man to originate, of himself, the notion of a God and of a future state; or, admitting his capacity to do this, whether, as a matter of fact, he ever would do it! What discoveries may be made respecting the original notions of right and wrong, the obligations of conscience, and, indeed, most of the similar topics connected with the moral sense. These hints are sufficient to shew, that beside the leading and more important uses of giving instruction to the Deaf and Dumb, their education might be made to 'subserve the general cause of humanity, and of correct philosophy and theology.

But I pass to considerations of more immediate advantage; and one is, that of affording consolation to the relatives and friends of these un