tion is this! How great the multitude that are constantly dropping into eternity! and how numerous the paths that lead to the grave! Life, too, is but a short journey, and we soon arrive at the house appointed for all living. We may rather be said to die daily, than to live. We have not only the spoils of death around us, but the seeds of death within us. We do not all however, descend to the tomb in the same way. Some few are spared to the age of man, and then pass silently away. Others are cut off in the bloom of life, and in the midst of active and useful exertions. Some linger for awhile under painful disease-they see their grave ready before they lie down in it. Others, wearied with life, and impatient under its ills, throw themselves into the arms of death: "they either shake their glass to make it run faster, or break it at once by violence." And some who bid fair to stand for a season, are unexpectedly called away by some mysterious dispensation of divine providence. Thus it was with our departed young friend. The public eye was upon him, and much was anticipated from his talents and zeal in the great work in which he was engaged; but infinite Wisdom has seen fit to remove him to another world. Well! what shall we say? "Clouds and darkness are round about the Most High; but righteousness and judgment are the habitation of his throne."*

it is benumbed with cold; it must lie down for rest, or it will fall of itself: it must be perpetually exercised, or it will become the habitation of disease: it must be treated with attention and watched over with care, or it will be rendered unfit for the functions of life. How many wheels are there in perpetual motion! the friction of which, if driven too fast, will set fire to the whole machine; or, if impeded or clogged, will stop the whole course. The apostle Paul, calls it a vile body;* not indeed in respect to God's workmanship; but as it is flesh, formed of the dust of the ground, the habitation of many evil propensities, too often a hinderance to devotion, and must at last become noisome, and be cast into the grave. Here, too, we are all on a level. What is that mighty conqueror, celebrated for his military glory and applauded for his noble achievements in the field of battle ?--It is but flesh. What is that illustrious monarch, sitting on a splendid throne, and clothed in all the robes of majesty? It is but flesh. What is that profound philosopher, diving into the depths of science, or soaring above the intellects of his fellows. It is but flesh. What is that persuasive orator, that so impresses with his eloquence, that charms and effects the passions of human mind? It is but flesh. What is that fine form and beautiful countenance, that attracts the attention and fascinates the senses? It is but flesh.

The words we have chosen are not to be consi-"Death (says one) will alike condemn their eyes to dered only in relation to the opposers of God's an impenetrable night; their tongue to eternal silence; cient people, at the time of their deliverance from their whole system to the grave. I see a superb mocaptivity, but are applicable to the whole human nument; I approach this striking object. I see magrace. The voice said, Cry. And he said, What nificent inscriptions: I read the pompous titles of shall I cry? All flesh is grass, and all the goodli-general, prince, monarch; but I long to see the inness thereof is as the flower of the field." The side of this elegant piece of workmanship; and I mortality of man then is a subject with which we peep under the stone that covers him, to whom all ought to be deeply affected. It is, indeed, that which this pomp is consecrated. There I find-what? A makes but a faint impression on the mind; for putrid carcass, devoured by worms! O vanity of though the living know that they must die, yet there human grandeur! Vanity of vanities: all is vaniis a most strange insensibility as to this awful event. ty!" Now, is this the case? Then why should we We can hear of it without concern, and talk of it think so much of our bodies? why should all our without feeling; when it comes nearer to us than happiness be placed in the gratification of our usual, we seem awake for a moment, just drop a tear senses? Why should we spend so much time and or two over our departed enjoyments, converse a money in adorning that which must soon decay?— little on the uncertainty of life, and then fall asleep Especially aged people; how painful is it to see again and dream away our existence; till at last, we them so fond of useless decorations! The day is are awakened by this very enemy, whose approach nearly closed: the evening is advancing; and yet we have all along studied to forget, and which most they want to go down to the grave covered with of us, indeed, are ill prepared to meet! But how finery. Their strength, perhaps, is gone; their frame unwise is this, thus, to impose upon ourselves! Can has the marks of death upon it. It is but a skeleton; any thing be more irrational? O that we were but and yet they want to cover it with ornaments. What wise-that we did but consider our latter end!"+ an affecting sight, to see old age and new fashions meeting together! How much happier they whose adorning is not "the outward adorning of plaiting the hair, of wearing of gold, or of putting on of apparel, but is that of the hidden man of the heart, which is not corruptible, even the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of great price."+ Seek then this grace. Let not the body be adorned at the expense of the soul. Remember, "to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Put ye on, therefore, the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof."

In attending to these words, let us observe the state of man as here represented, and endeavor to derive from them some important and useful lessons. I. Observe the Description.-Man is flesh! It is true he possesses an immaterial, immortal principle; but his animal frame is frail and perishing. He is not composed of gold nor silver, marble nor iron, wood nor stone, nor any of the durable materials around him. Almost every object he sees or handles is less perishable than himself. There is nothing substantial in his nature. He is affected by almost every thing that touches him. An insect can contend with him; a worm can undermine II. Observe the Comparison." All flesh is grass, him; a little air can stifle him; a few drops and all the goodliness thereof is as the flower of the of water can drown him; a moth can crush him. field." Human nature in its lowest state is but grass, The Almighty need not throw a mountain on and in its highest, but a flower. "The Lord God formhim to destroy him; he need not call for a tor-ed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into rent to inundate him; he need not open a volcano to swallow him.-No: Weakness and death are in his very frame. It is but an earthly house; a temporary building; the various parts of which are kept together with labor and difficulty. The body must be daily fed, or it languishes: it must be clothed, or * Psalm xcvii. 1, 2.

+ Deut. xxxii. 29.

his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living soul. He is then of earthly extraction. Though God was his maker, yet he was not constituted pure intelligence. "The first man, says the apostle, was

* Phil. iii. 21. + Pet. iii. 3, 4, § Gen. ii. 7.

+ Saurin.

Rom. viii. 6. xiii. 14

of the earth, earthy." Like grass, how easily endan- | appointed unto men once to die, and after that the gered, how soon cut down. How exposed to the winds judgment. There is no man that hath power over and storms of adversity. Nor can he screen himself from these. They pass over the field of life, and often prove destructive in their career. The diseases to which we are liable are numerous, and the casualties we are subject to, are not a few. Ten thousand things lie in ambush to push us to the grave. And even events trifling in themselves have proved destructive. "We read of some, that a fly or a grape stone have dispatched them; some that have died by plucking an hair from their breasts; the Almighty thus turning a very hair into a spear to destroy them. If we consider the vicissitude of natural things, we shall find that death reigns in them all. The day dies into night, summer into winter; time itself, that destroys all things, yet dies continually; nor can it exist two minutes together. Our very life is nothing but a succession of dying; every day, and every hour wears away part of it, and so far as it is already spent, so far are we already dead and buried: so that the longest liver has no more, but, that he is longer a dying than others." But, another figure is here used by the Prophet: "all the goodliness thereof, is as the flower of the field." Not as the flower of the garden; where it is cultivated and protected; but of the field, where every hand is ready to gather it, or any foot may tread it down. The flower is noted for three qualities: sweetness, that affects the smell; beauty, that affects the eye; softness, that affects the touch. The metaphor, therefore, is here employed to represent man at his best estate. But as the most beautiful flower soon loses these qualities, so it is said, "the days of man are as grass; as a flower of the field so he flourisheth; the wind passeth over it, and it is gone, and the place thereof knoweth it no more. In the morning, it flourisheth and groweth up; in the evening, it is cut down and withereth." Have you not, reader, known this in your own circle? You have been favored with earthly comforts; you have often looked upon them with peculiar pleasure; you have taken more than usual care with those flowers which have appeared tender and beautiful in your own eyes; you have transplanted them, as you thought to a more genial soil; you have said, well, these are delightful objects-these are sources of the greatest pleasure-truly, I am happy in their possessionthese shall be my support and comfort in times yet to come. O, how have you gone and watered these flowers; how have you hedged them round; how have you endeavored to protect them when you saw the storm advancing; but ah! after all, you could not preserve them: you have had the pain to see the leaf fade, the beauty decline, the energy fail, and presently the whole fall. What! said you, Can it be? Is this my child; is this my friend; is this the object I so much admired? Father of mercies! why this? why didst thou not smite yonder weed? why didst thou not let thy hand fall on the unsightly plant, rather than on this choice flower? Thus, however, Providence is pleased to work; and herein it becomes us to learn the vanity of depending on any human excellency. Neither the goodliness of the flower, the care of its owner, nor the felicity of its situation, can preserve it alive. Beware, then, of idolizing the creature. Turn your attention to a superior object: anticipate the joys of another world- there, no worm is at the root; there, the goodliness shall never fade.

the Spirit to retain the Spirit; neither hath he power
in the day of death." Ever since the entrance of
sin, death has been making the most awful ravages.
"One generation passeth away, and another cometh;
but the earth abideth for ever."+"The world," says
one, "is like a great fair, where some are coming
in-others going out, while the assembly that is in
it is confused, and the most part know not where-
fore they are come together." Whether men how-
ever be wise or ignorant, idle or active, rich or poor,
young or old, death is common to all. It is not to
be bribed by riches, impeded by power, conquered
by strength, nor stayed by entreaties. All ranks
fall before this destroyer. Sometimes it is the harm-
less infant, who has no sooner entered the vale of
tears than it is commanded to depart. Sometimes
the youth, whose powers just began to open, and
whose appearance was the most promising, is un-
expectedly removed. Sometimes the middle aged,
in the midst of business, and apparently in health,
are pierced by a sudden arrow from the bow of
death. Nor are the rich and the great exempt.
They too, must die, like others. There is no royal
path to the grave. There is not one kind of death
for the monarch, and another for the peasant. The
crown cannot prolong life, nor the sceptre sway the
last enemy, death. Here, too, the wise philosopher,
as well as the ignorant barbarian, must fall. The
finest understanding must be darkened; the strong-
est powers fail; and the most brilliant imagination
be clouded. Nor shall the mighty conquerors of
nations escape. Where are our Alexanders, and
our Cesars, who have struck terror through the
whole world? And, whither are those tending, who
yet disturb mankind with the noise of the chariots
of war, the clash of arms, and the groans of the dy-
ing? Soon they must surrender to the king of ter-
rors, and be numbered among the slain. Neither
let the beautiful nor the fair pride themselves in ex-
ternal appearance. They too must lie down in the
grave, and their glory fade. The righteous also,
however desirable their example, however exalted
their piety, must go the way of all the earth. The
wicked, too, must depart. However unwilling, they
must obey; however unprepared, they must go.
Their cries to stay cannot be heard; their hopes of
respite will be in vain. The finally impenitent, it
is said, do not go down gently into the grave; but
they "are driven away in their wickedness: they
are driven out of light into darkness, and chased
out of the world." But shall not the benevolent,
the zealous, the useful be spared? An Enoch and
an Elijah, indeed, reached the land of pure delight
without passing the dark valley of death; but no
promise is given to others of the like privilege.
Yes; the most useful must die. These we may con-
sider as the goodliest flowers in the field: as the
most valuable of all. But how often are they cut
down just as they begin to bud, or suddenly wither
as they arrive to their full bloom? What shall we
say to the instance before us? Was not here a beau-
tiful flower, with hues painted by the rays of the
Sun of Righteousness; and, unfolding its excellen-
cies as the summer advanced, but alas! suddenly.
swept away, to be seen no more.
O God! myste-
rious is thy providence, but righteous art thou in all
thy ways!

Here, then, is the end of all. "The grass.witherIII. Mark the Universality of Man's Mortality.-eth, and the flower fadeth;" but it is added, "beNot a few, but all flesh is grass. "As by one man cause the Spirit of the Lord bloweth upon it." Let sin entered into the world, and death by sin; so death us not consider it then as coming by chance. Whatpassed upon all men, for that all have sinned. It is ever be the means, the place, or the time, let us re

1 Cor. xv. 47.
Psalm ciii. 14, 16. xc. 6.

+ Hopkins.

* Rom. v. 12. Heb. ix. 27. + Eccl. i. 4. viii. 8.
+ Boston.
Job xviii. 18. Prov. xiv. 32.

Having now offered a few Reflections on Mortality let us observe,

IV. The consolation afforded us under these affect ing views.

member, it is the Lord's doing. Besides, it is necessary to die, as well as to live. There is another state of things, as well as the present, and of far more importance. There is a judgment to come; and we must leave this world to appear before that "The grass withereth, the flower fadeth, but the solemn tribunal. There are dark providences which word of our God shall stand for ever." And Peter cannot be understood here: we must quit the pre-adds, "and this is the word which by the Gospel is sent scene, that we may be able to bear the explana- preached unto you."* Let us not say then, that our tion. There are riches of glory, which our present condition is deplorable. He who is infinitely wise capacities cannot contain: we must die before we and holy, is also merciful and gracious, long suffershall be able to explore them. There are abodes ing, and abundant in goodness and truth. “As a of light, and mansions of absolute purity above; father pitieth his children, so he pitieth us." He but we must be dissolved, leave our imperfections has written to us the great things of his law; he here, and be endowed with glorious bodies and ce- has favored us with the revelation of his will. Belestial minds, to be fitted for the enjoyment of them. holding us as rational, yet sinful and dying creatures, To the righteous then, death is a friend. If the he hath made known to us a system every way adaptflower drop, it is that it may be removed from the ed to renovate our natures, illuminate our minds, desert, to bloom for ever in the light and glory of relieve our miseries, and conduct us safe to a hap the paradise of God. pier world. "In this was manifested the love of As it respects human life, the repetition used in God towards us because that God sent his only bethe text should teach us the earnestness with which gotten Son into the world, that we might live through the frailty of man should be stated, and the neces- him. Herein is love, not that we loved God, but sity there is of endeavoring to impress the subject that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propi ion our own hearts. It is not said that the grass will ation for our sins." Here, then, amidst all the fade, but that it now does. We shall not only go, changes of time, and the awful ravages of death, but we are all now going to one place. "Our life we find a firm basis on which to build. Here we is a candle, either blown out by the wind, or soon can behold God as our father, Christ as our mediburns out of itself." Death comes indeed very sud-ator, and the divine Spirit as our comforter and den to some. Some go cheerfully to rest in the evening, but are consumed before the morning light. Some venture into the river, without suspecting danger; but the waves cover them, and they are seen no more. Others set out on a journey, for business or pleasure, but are thrown out of the vehicle, and carried back dead. Others, while conversing with a friend, in a moment are seized with pain, heave a sigh, and fall lifeless to the ground. "It is a strange folly then, that we, who are subject to such casualties, should yet dream of dying no other way than by old age. Did we but seriously consider, by what small pins the frame of man is held together, it would appear no less a miracle to us, that we live to the end of one day, or one hour."*

But while the best and most serious must confess their insensibility to danger, how should we pity the wicked! Sudden death to a good man is sudden glory; but the wicked are neither happy in the thought of death, nor at all prepared for it. They have their portion in this life. The beauties of virtue, the excellencies of godliness, the glories of heaven have no charms for them. They prefer the indulgence of their appetites, the pleasures of the world, and the gratification of their passions to all the satisfaction which a good hope, a pure conscience, or right principles can afford. How dreadful must the prospect of death be to such men! The very thought of leaving this world must fill them with horror. Hence, when one flattered another in the midst of his enjoyments, and asked him, What he wanted more? he said "Continuance." But this is the very thing that cannot be granted. To how many does God say, "This night thy soul shall be required of thee?" O miserable man, then, who builds his happiness on what he cannot retain; who thinks about every thing but the right object; who is always busy in gazing upon the baubles of sense, and despises the pearl of great price; who is assiduously gathering imaginary treasures, which at last will be of no more avail than pebbles or straws, while he neglects the one thing needful! May such remember, before it be too late, that without repentance of their sin and faith in the Saviour, they cannot meet death with joy, nor ever be permitted to enter into the kingdom of heaven.

* Hopkins.

guide. Here it is that we hear a voice, saying, Son, daughter, be of good cheer, all thy sins are forgiven thee." Our attention is turned off from every thing here to centre alone in the chief good. Here we can approach the Almighty without trembling; and, without presumption, humbly hope for his benediction. Under the cross, we can dwell without fear, and with wonder and delight behold our guilt rolled away for ever. Clothed with the righteousness of our Redeemer, and participating the influences of his grace, we can rejoice with a joy unspeakable and full of glory. Yes, this, and this only is the support of man under all the evils of life. This affords tranquillity within, while the tempest rages without. Welcome, then, all ye scenes of sorrow and trouble! Welcome, all ye vicissitudes of life, and harbingers of death! Yea, welcome death itself, and an eternal world! These shall not affright the renewed soul; these shall not damp the happiness of him who looks above, and aspires to glory and immortality. O how delightful, how suitable is the gospel of Christ! What affliction does not this sweeten; what loss does not this repair; what condition does not this make easy! What gloom does not this dispel! "Blessed are they that know the joyful sound: they shall walk, O Lord, in the light of thy countenance; in thy name shall they rejoice all the day, and in thy righteousness shall they be exalted."

But let us observe here the striking contrast between this delightful system and all other things. The one is said to fade, but the other shall stand for ever. We have already seen that every thing of a sublunary nature tends to decay: however excellent it may appear to our view: however valuable it may be considered in itself; or however desirous we may be of retaining it-it is of no consequence: mutability and dissolution are written upon all. But here is the Plant of Renoun, that bears twelve manner of fruits; and which shall never cease to yield in the paradise above. For ages already hath the gospel shed its influence among the sons of men. The powers of darkness, indeed, have done all they could to destroy the leaves which are for the healing of the nations. The tree of life has been surrounded with enemies. There, the savage