"had a connection, if, in the circle of your own family, you have had a father, a husband, or a brother, who discharged with exemplary fidelity the duties of his station, "whom every tongue blessed as the friend of God and man, " and who died as he lived, full of faith and hope, place him "before you as the model of your conduct-conceive him "bending from his seat in the skies, pleased with your at"tachment, deeply interested in your success, and cheering 66 you in your labours of love. His image will be as a guardian "angel to admonish you when dangers approach, to rouse "within you every principle of virtuous exertion, and to "inspire you with strength to overcome. "Our hearts, Christians, have been deeply pierced with "the loss of a most valuable connection, of a venerable 66 pastor, who watched long for our souls, and with the most "unwearied fidelity pointed out to us the path of happiness. "To you, and to the general interests of pure religion, he was attached by many powerful obligations. A native of "this city, and descended from a family, which, in former "times, had given several bright ornaments to the Church "of Scotland, he felt the warmest tendencies of nature co"operating with the principles of duty, to call forth all his 66 powers in the sacred service to which he was devoted. And "by the blessing of God on his industry, he rose to an eminence in professional merit, which has reflected distinguished honour on the city, on the church, and on the country which produced him. "It was the fortune of Dr. Blair to appear at a period "when the literature of his country was just beginning to "receive polish and an useful direction; and when it was ❝emulously cultivated by a bright constellation of young men "who are destined to carry it to high perfection. In concert "with them he applied himself with diligence and assiduity "to all those branches of study which could contribute to "form him for the eloquence of the pulpit. This was the department in which he chose to excel; to which all the "force of his genius was directed; and in which he soon felt "that his efforts were to be successful. For from the very 66 "commencement of his theological studies, he gave presages "of his future attainments; and, in the societies of his youth"ful companions, laid the foundations of that splendid reputation, which, through a long life of meritorious service, ❝continued to increase; and which has procured for him, as "a religious instructor, access to the understandings and the "hearts of all the most cultivated inhabitants of the Christian "world. "To you, my brethren, who have long enjoyed the in"estimable blessing of his immediate instruction, it will not "be necessary to describe the qualities of that luminous, fas"cinating eloquence with which he was accustomed to warm, "and ravish, and amend your hearts. You may have heard "others who equalled, or even excelled him in some of the "requisites of pulpit oratory, in occasional profoundness of 66 thought, in vivid flashes of imagination, or in pathetic "addresses to the heart. But there never was a public "teacher in whom all these requisites were combined in juster proportions, placed under the direction of a more exquisite "sense of propriety, and employed with more uniform success to convey useful and practical instruction. Standing on the foundation of the Apostles and Prophets, he ex"hibited the doctrines of Christ in their genuine purity, se"parated from the dross of superstition, and traced with "inimitable elegance, through all their beneficial influence "on the consolation, on the order, and on the virtue of both 66 public and private life. Hence his discourses, uniting in "the most perfect form the attractions of utility and beauty, CC gave a new and better tone to the style of instruction from "the pulpit; and contributed, in a remarkable degree, to "correct and refine the religious, the moral, and the literary "taste of the times in which he lived. 66 "The universal admiration which attended his ministerial "labours, was some recompence to him for the exertions they had cost. But his chief recompence arose from the "consciousness of having contributed so eminently to edify "the Church of Christ, and from the improving influence "which his labours had shed on his own heart. For he was "at home and in himself, the perfect image of that meekness, simplicity, gentleness, and contentment, which his writings "recommend. He was long happy in his domestic relations; "and though doomed at last to feel, through their loss in "succession, the heaviest strokes of affliction, yet his mind, "fortified by religious habits, and buoyed up by his native "tendency to contentment, sustained itself on God, and "enabled him to persevere to the end in the active and "cheerful discharge of the duties of his station; preparing "for the world the blessings of elegant instruction; tender❝ing to the mourner the lessons of divine consolation; guid"ing the young by his counsels; aiding the meritorious with "his influence, and supporting by his voice and by his con"duct the civil and ecclesiastical institutions of his country. 66 "With such dispositions and habits it was natural that he "should enjoy a distinguished portion of felicity. And perhaps there never was a man who experienced more com66 pletely that the ways of wisdom are ways of pleasantness, and "that all her paths are peace. His Country was proud of "his merits, and at different times conferred on him, through "the hands of the Sovereign, the most honourable and sub"stantial proofs of her approbation: foreign lands learned "from him the way of salvation: he saw marks of deference "and respect wherever he appeared: and he felt within him"self the gratulations of a good conscience, and the hope of "immortality. It was peculiarly delightful to see him in the "latest period of his life, at the venerable age of eighty-two, "looking back on almost three-score years spent in the public "service of his God, pleased with the recollections which it 66 gave, possessing a mind still vigorous and clear, the delight "of his friends, sensible to the attentions which they paid to "him, burning with zeal for the good of the Church, and, "with all the ardour of youthful ambition, preparing the "materials of a new claim to the gratitude and admiration of 66 posterity. In this active state of preparation, with the "lamp of life still clear and bright, he was found by the "Great Lord of All when he came to say, it is enough ;' "and, after a single night of pain, to call him gently to his "rest. "He has gone to give an account of his stewardship. "The Church mourns in him the loss of her brightest orna"ment. Let us submit to the stroke with resignation and 66 reverence; and as the most acceptable proof of respect to "his memory, let us learn to practise the lessons which he "taught." J. FINLAYSON. EDINBURGH, March 13th, 1801. CONTENTS On the Influence of Religion upon Adversity. PSALM XXVII. 5. In the time of trouble, he shall hide me in his |