Imágenes de páginas
PDF
EPUB

their folly in departing from the Lord, and return unto Him. This is to be learned from the 6th verse of the chapter from which we have selected our subject: · And I also have given you cleanness of teeth in all your cities, and want of bread in all your places, yet have ye not returned unto me, saith the Lord.' Had the object been accomplished, their calamities would have been arrested. Their fields would have smiled again, and put on their beauty afresh; they would have been blessed with plenty; their gardens, and vineyards, and fig trees, and olive trees would have been safe from the palmer worm; they would have been strangers to the pestilence after the manner of Egypt; their young men would have escaped the sword; their strength in battle would have remained undiminished; their country would not have been desolate.

Many other examples might be furnished which clearly exhibit the principle which we have said characterizes the Divine administration. We shall present one more-Nebuchadnezzar, the great king of Babylon. His vast possessions, his immense power, and the splendor which every where met his glance, had well nigh made him forget that there was a greater being than himself. His greatness is said to have reached unto heaven, and his dominion to the ends of the earth.Kings were his vassals and tributaries. Egypt, Syria, Phoenicia, Arabia, swelled his wealth. He was a conqueror; the strength of his arms was acknowledged on the shores of the Euxine and Caspian seas, and to the Atlantic ocean.

Babylon' the glory of kingdoms,' the city of palaces; Babylon, with its gates of brass, its magnificent temples, its hanging gardens-Babylon was his. His own grandeur and the fate which awaited him were pictured to him in a dream. He seeks an interpreter. The prophet of the Lord unfolds the vision, and urges him to break off his sins by righteousness, and his iniquities by showing mercy to the poor. But power, pomp, wealth, splendor, intoxicated him. He looked forth upon the glory of his kingdom, and he was dazzled. He walked in the palace of the kingdom of Babylon, he looked upon its beautiful architecture fashioned by his own taste; the city in its glorious splendor was at his feet, and as he gazed upon it, and the voices of the thousands who owned his sway broke upon his ear, his heart swelled with a lofty pride, and he exclaimed, 'Is not this great Babylon, that I have built for the house of the kingdom, by the might of my power and for the honor of my majesty? In that very hour an unearthly voice fell upon the ear of the king of Babylon, saying, 'The kingdom is departed from thee.' He was driven from men; his dwelling was with the beasts of the field. Years passed away, and at length Ñebuchadnezzar rose up from his degradation, a wiser and a better man. He lifted his eyes to heaven, his understanding was restored, and he blessed the Most High.

[ocr errors]

These reflections will, we trust, be sufficient to persuade us that the judgments of God are not vindictive; but that the object contemplated even in the infliction of heavy punishment upon men, is their own true happiness. It is true the history of mankind unfolds sad scenes, but these may be traced to sin; this brought death into the world and all

our wo.'

6

It is for no idle purpose that the wrath of the Almighty goeth forth

as a tempest-that nations are overthrown-the proudest and oldest institutions prostrated-one king pulled down and another raised up. The unseen Spirit of the Most High is there, bringing order out of confusion, educing good from evil. War, pestilence, famine, these are but instruments directed by an invisible but mighty arm. Let us look around us. Are there no judginents now to be observed upon the earth? Have they exerted their proper influence upon us ?

There is a disease which taking its rise in an idolatrous country has invaded nation after nation, until it hath been named the scourge of nations:' it hath spared neither age nor sex-it hath not respected rank or power-but clad in gloom, and followed by lamentation and weeping, it hath gone on pushing its conquest of death wider and wider. Have we not shared in public calamities? Have we suffered no private bereavements? Hath the hand of the Lord been upon us, and have we not yet returned unto Him? Let us be warned by the fate of others not to persist in rebellion until the fearful admonition comes to us from insulted Heaven, Prepare to meet thy God.'

[ocr errors]

The second thought suggested by this subject is, that when the object contemplated by the judgments of God is not accomplished, those who have been subjected to them must prepare to meet God as an enemy.

The message to the Israelites, upon which we are now remarking, is manifestly in the style of a challenge, and a sublime and unequalled description of the power of their great adversary is given in the succeeding verse. They are told to expect Him to come in His strength and take vengeance upon them, and they are called on to consider whether they are able to contend with Him.

Under this view let us consider the subject. That every man must meet God is certain. Reason and revelation both teach this. It will be sufficient here to remark, that it is declared by St. Paul in his epistle to the Corinthians, that We must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad.'

6

That the hopeless nature of the controversy between God and His impenitent people may be fully perceived and felt, let us pursue the view of this subject presented by the prophet. No where have we met with any thing more sublime: Prepare to meet thy God, O Israel. For lo, He that formeth the mountains and createth the wind, and declareth unto man what is his thought, that maketh the morning darkness, and treadeth upon the high places of the earth, the Lord, the God of hosts is His name.'

For lo, He that formeth the mountains. How forcibly does this represent the strength of God; He that formeth the mountains. Compare these with the works of man. How long does it occupy his skill, and industry, and strength to construct poor improvements and accomplish little objects-and these presently decay. But God throws a vast chain of mountains over a whole continent, and there they stand everlasting monuments of strength, witnessing the passing away of generations, and the destruction of empires. Man with difficulty ascends their steep sides, and standing upon their brow looks out upon plains and cities and rivers beneath his feet. He that formeth the mountains!

And createth the wind. Not only is His power displayed in forming works of grandeur which frown upon the littleness of man and defy his strength-but He controls those things which are subtile and unseen; which elude his grasp and baffle his skill. The wind-what an instrument in the hands of God! See the tempest as it sweeps over the earth in its unmeasured strength-prostrating forests-destroying cities-hurling into ruin the proudest works of man: or, as it turns its terrible power upon the great deep, scattering mighty fleets, sporting with 'Armaments, which thunder-strike the walls Of rock-built cities,'

rolling the billows mountain high against the resounding shore, and dashing the frail ship in pieces as a potter's vessel.

And declareth unto man what is his thought. He reads the veiled secrets of the heart; he penetrates the thoughts and purposes of artful man. Against the Almighty no policy can prevail; all skill is baffled. What an adversary is this! In the conflicts of human life prudence and enterprise are worth much, but in contending with God their power is lost.

That maketh the morning darkness. See the shades of night retiring,
For yonder comes the glorious king of day,
Rejoicing in the east.'

abroad with Over half a

The earth rejoices under his brightness; the birds are their songs, and men go forth to the business of life. world the glorious light is spread out, and the cheerful voice of life is heard. But lo, the Almighty arm is stretched forth-the sun is driven back in his course-his splendor is veiled-darkness falls upon the earth like a pall-nature is hushed, and men grope their way in thick night. What a sublime strength is here displayed by the adversary of frail man. This may be understood too to mean that upon the glory of life's young morning, He can bring the darkness of disappointment and despair.

And treadeth upon the high places of the earth. It is believed that what is mainly intended by this is, that God is above all earthly distinctions; that the great and the mighty, and the poor and the humble, the king and the beggar, the palace and the hovel are alike to Him; that He treadeth upon the proud, and vanquisheth the strong, and overthroweth fortified places.

The Lord. The ruler-He whom all things obey, whose empire is boundless.

The God of hosts is His name. How striking is this; hosts are at his command. Look abroad; strive to calculate the number of worlds which almighty power has created. Call in the aid of science and you are overwhelmed with the immensity of the contemplation. Added to the number with which science is acquainted, there must be a multitude undiscovered. In the language of Dr. Chalmers, What is seen may be nothing to what is unseen for what is seen is limited by the range of our instruments. Though this earth and these heavens were to disappear, there are other worlds which roll afar; the light of other suns shines upon them; and the sky which mantles them is garnished with other stars.' He illustrates his thought finely: The universe at large would suffer as little in its splendor and variety, by the destruction

[ocr errors]

of our planet, as the verdure and sublime magnitude of a forest would suffer by the fall of a single leaf.'

Over all the mighty population of these countless worlds the power of God extends. How utterly hopeless then, must be a controversy with Him whose resources are so ample, who can call up from every world hosts to swell the ranks of His mighty army.

Who can meet God as an enemy? If we remain impenitent, as an enemy He must be met: the frail strength which we possess must conflict with the power of the Almighty.

What then is the part of wisdom? A king goes forth with an army of ten thousand; he spreads out his force in battle array; he awaits the hour of conflict which is to decide his destiny. Presently the sound of approaching hosts is borne upon the air and breaks upon his attentive ear, and upon a distant height he sees many banners waving, and the gleam of a hundred thousand spears. The report comes to him that his force is vastly outnumbered, and that all is lost. Does he await the coming of his foe, and expose his people to certain ruin? If he is wise, in the language of our Lord, while the other is yet a great way off, he sendeth an embassy and desireth conditions of peace. Let us imitate this wisdom. Let us meet God as penitents who need mercy. Then all the power He wields is exerted in our behalf, and as we look forth upon the heavens and the earth, and contemplate the countless worlds which move in their ample sweep about the throne of God, and survey the mighty benevolence which breathes through all and blesses all, we shall exclaim, 'The Lord reigneth, let the earth rejoice; let the multitudes of isles be glad thereof.'

From the Wesleyan Methodist Magazine.

MEMOIR OF THE LATE REV. JAMES TOWNLEY, D. D.
BY THE REV. ELIJAH HOOLE.

THE name of the late Rev. James Townley, D. D., is justly dear to an extensive circle of surviving relatives and friends; it is held in affectionate remembrance by many thousands in the Wesleyan Methodist societies of which he was, from early life, a member and a minister; and it is known and respected by many beyond that community, in consequence of the interesting works which he published, and the services which he rendered, by his industrious researches, to the cause of learning in general, and to the lover of Biblical literature in particular.

Of such a character it would be desirable to have a lengthened memoir. Many are the valuable lessons it would suggest. A history of increasing experience in personal religion, and of a holy walk with God; of a ministerial career, whose precious results were the conversion of many souls from sin to holiness, and increase and edification to the Church; and of that diligent study which, notwithstanding the unavoidable and frequent interruptions of numerous official avocations, was rewarded with an extensive knowledge of ancient ecclesiastical history, and a familiar acquaintance with Biblical criticism; could not fail to be instructive to all the followers of Christ, encouraging to the

junior laborers in the same vineyard, and deeply interesting to such as, under similar circumstances, are not unmindful of the pleasures and toils of literary pursuits.

It is therefore regretted that materials for such a memoir do not exist. Dr. Townley left no connected record of the circumstances of his life; and it is to the recollections cherished by his friends, and a reference to his works, that we are chiefly indebted for the following particulars.

James Townley was born of respectable parents in Manchester, May 11th, 1774. His father, Mr. Thomas Townley, was in extensive business. His mother, a very sensible woman, was a regular attendant at the services of the established Church, and an occasional hearer at the evening services in the Methodist chapel. Her maternal faithfulness and affection were eminently conspicuous in the sedulous attention she paid to the best interests of James, her youngest child. The influence of this excellent parent's example and counsel was happily successful. Filial love and religious feelings were observable traits in the character of her beloved son even in infancy ; and when, as a youth, his thoughtless associates had carried him to the fascinating amusements of the theatre, her advice sufficed to induce him, at once and for ever, to renounce a gratification, which with a boyish folly he had persuaded himself was both innocent and beneficial.

The care of his education was entrusted for some years to the late Rev. David Simpson, of Macclesfield: after his death he was continued at the school of his curate, where he was instructed in some departments of classical literature, and passed through the usual routine of an English education.

Mr. Townley's early religious impressions were powerfully reawakened by the solemn services connected with the funeral of the Rev. David Simpson, and particularly by the address then delivered; an event which he frequently alluded to in after life, and generally with deep emotion. He returned from the school in Macclesfield to Manchester, and became a member of the Methodist society. His course in the Christian life was evidently progressive: the spirit of bondage unto fear,' painfully disclosing to him the corruption of his nature, and the sinfulness of his life, was succeeded by the Spirit of adoption,' which bore testimony to his believing heart of his interest in the redemption by the Lord Jesus Christ, effecting in him also that new and spiritual character which fitted him for the service of his Divine Master in whatever sphere of life he might be called to move.

6

The consistency of his religious profession and the gravity of his deportment, at this early period, may be concluded from the circumstance, that in his seventeenth year he introduced family prayer into his father's house with the entire approval of his parents; and when about nineteen years of age he began to labor as a local preacher in Manchester and its immediate neighborhood, under the direction of the venerable Alexander Mather.

He did not enter upon this important work without much anxiety and serious reflection. He was greatly apprehensive of self-deception, and feared to run before he was sent; but his path brightened before him; the ministry of the word of reconciliation' became his

« AnteriorContinuar »