can only be attended with feelings of horror and alarm. "For all men must appear before the judgment-seat of Christ that every one may receive the things done in the body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad." And it is clearly set forth in our Saviour's own words, that when he shall have taken possession of the seat of judgment, and the dead small and great shall stand before him on that solemn and awful day, the righteous on his right hand, and the wicked on his left, he shall say unto them on the left hand, "Depart from me ye cursed into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels." The prospect of death therefore, when his destination will be thus awfully sealed, can bring no hope-no comfort to the sinner while he continues in sin. But surely the contemplation of the judgment to come ought to make an impression on the mind of the wicked; surely it ought to awaken his mind to a sense of fear, that "fear of the Lord" which "is the beginning of wisdom;" surely the loving-kindness, and mercy, and long-suffering of God, as set forth in the scriptures, ought to soften the heart of the sinner and lead him to repentance. O that every sinner would seriously reflect upon these things so as to take alarm for the state of his soul, forsake the error of his way, and turn to the Lord his God! Then might we have some hope, that "turning away from his wickedness that he has committed," and under the divine blessing, "doing those things which are

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lawful and right," he may so go on from strength to strength," and from "conquering to conquer," as in the end to "save his soul alive."

And now, before I proceed to the application of the subject to ourselves, I would call your attention to a few remarks suggested by a late melancholy event, which has induced me to dilate thus far on the words of the text. I would call your attention, I say, to a few of the leading traits in the life and character of our late venerable Rector, whose death we must one and all (as far as regards the loss which we ourselves have sustained) be deeply lamenting at this time.

In the task which I have undertaken (and I must not be so false to my own feelings as to say that it is not a task) to pourtray in some faint and feeble lineaments a few of the prominent features in the life and character of the eminent personage who has recently been removed from among us, it is needless for me to go so far back as to speak of his parentage and birth; it is needless for me to say of his parents that one, as a Prelate of our Church,* moved among the first circles of society, or that the other was a descendant of one of the most distinguished families among the nobles of our land. It is needless, I say, for me to dwell upon these

* Bishop of Peterborough.

+ The Lady Charlotte Madan, daughter of the first Marquis Cornwallis.

things; for, believe me, true and genuine and lasting nobility does not consist in high-sounding names, noble titles, and earthly designations; it does not consist in any thing that is born "of blood, or of the will of the flesh, or of the will of man," but in "that which is born of God." "For whosoever is born of God overcometh the world; and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith." To them only, therefore, who through faith receive the "Eternal Word," does he give power to become the sons of God, and in this adoption alone consists genuine and lasting nobility. This was the true and enduring greatness after which your deceased Minister so ardently aspired, and we all know how successfully he attained the object of his chief pursuit; manifesting, as he did to all around him, the existence of "the new man" within, by the practical illustration of an unaffected piety, compassion, and benevolence. The union of such christian graces was at once a clear, a forcible, a convincing illustration how largely "the love of God was shed abroad in his heart by the Holy Ghost which was given unto him."

The mental endowments, and the intellectual attainments of our departed Friend, (and whose Friend of this assembly was he not?) were of no ordinary cast and character. Indeed, his natural talents, strengthened and enlarged as they were by the best education upon subjects of eternal

moment, eminently fitted him for the sacred duties of his ministerial charge; and we all know how faithfully and effectively he fulfilled those duties. He was greatly and deservedly esteemed by the inhabitants of this village, and we may safely say that his name, as a pious, watchful, and diligent Minister will, through them, be handed down to their children's children. He well knew that he was placed as a Watchman over the people committed to his charge as one that must give an account, and therefore he was ever anxious to impress their minds with "the things which belong unto their" present and everlasting "peace." In his public ministrations within these sacred walls, his chief aim and care was candidly and clearly to set before his hearers the pure and simple doctrines of the Bible; as, for instance, the Justice of God-the Warnings and Threatenings of Scripture-Forgiveness to the Penitent-Salvation through Christ alone and the absolute Necessity of a Holy and Religious Life. Hence it will be inferred, that he was disposed to avoid every thing like controversy in his preaching. He was, however, always ready to state his opinions, as he held them, and, indeed, with safety he could do so, for they were the result of careful and conscientious enquiry, and therefore needed no concealment.

Amongst the more extensively public acts of his life, one belongs too much to the nation at large to be omitted here, even amongst his com

paratively little flock: I allude to that period of his life when, as the Incumbent over a very large population in one of the most central of our English towns, he was compelled, as it were, both from the Pulpit and the Press, to confute some unscriptural and highly dangerous notions on the subject of civil and religious polity, which had been published and circulated in that populous Town and neighbourhood. With what ability and success this was done, can be best appreciated and testified by those who have read and studied the excellent compositions which he wrote on that occasion.* The friends of his Church and Nation, indeed, have reason to be thankful to him for delaying, for a season at least, by his exertions at that time, an impending public evil. And if his name must be classed somewhat lower than among the noblest champions of his Church, surely it may be ranked among those faithful warriors, who with earnestness of mind and determination of heart, have fought a good fight in struggling to preserve our pure and holy citadel against the attacks of persecuting enemies.

His mode of carrying on his pastoral visits was a peculiarly happy one, possessing, as he did, the rare qualification of being able to engage and fix the attention of those with whom he conversed, by an interesting, kind, placid,

* See Dr. Madan's Sermon preached on the 14th February, 1790; &c. &c.