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knowledge that he shall never more be separated from you. Then you may triumphantly sing, "This my son was dead and is alive again: he was lost and is found."-I doubt not that all these consolations have been fully experienced by you, and have enabled you, like the father of the faithful, to offer up to God a beloved son with submission and Christian patience."

K.

SERIOUS THOUGHTS EXCITED
BY THE LATE ECLIPSE.

(Concluded, from page 86.)

4. THE darkness in which we have recently seen the sun involved, should remind us of the great day of final judgment. For at the ushering in of that awful scene, the sun will be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood. It is confessedly a solemn and tremendous, though sublime spectacle, to see the glorious orb of day suddenly, though but for a moment, wrapped in obscurity; and this, almost amid the splendour of its meridian career. What then will it be, to see its last ray extinguished? What will it be, to see this splendid luminary blotted out from the face of heaven forever? What will it be, to see the heavens themselves passing away with a great noise, the elements melting with fervent heat, and the earth, with all it contains, partaking in the general conflagration and ruin? Yet even these scenes will scarcely be tremendous, compared with the alarm of the last trumpet, and the all awakening call;

Arise, ye dead, and come to judgment. O my brethren! With these ears we shall hear these momentous sounds. With these eyes we shall see nature in convulsion, the universe in flames, the Judge descending, with ten thousand times ten thousand angels, the throne erected, and all the countless millions of the human race, from Adam to his last born son, assembled before it. Behold, he cometh with clouds, and every eye shall see him, and they also that pierced him; and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Yes; we must all appear before the judgment. seat of Christ; and for purposes of the highest conceivablè moment. In that vast assembly, there will be no infidels, no sceptics, no triflers, not a wandering eye, nor an unpenetrated heart. All will come before their Judge, either to be welcomed to the everlasting joys of heaven, as his friends, or to be banished, as his enemies, to regions of endless wo and despair. Now, my hearers, can there be a wise man among us, who, knowing that he has an immortal soul to save, will not endeavour to realize the scene, to bring it home, to enter into his own heart, and anticipate, as it were, the solemn business of the judgment day? The inquiry upon which our final state will turn, is simple; and, if we are faithful, not difficult of resolution. How stand our hearts affected to the Judge? Have we gratefully embraced him as the Saviour? Have we, as condemned, selfdespairing sinners, fled to his blood and merits, as our only hope? Have we been sitting at his feet for instruction? Have we welcomed his sceptre and his

laws? Have we, with cordial affection, embraced his interest as our interest, his friends as our friends, and his service as the grand business of our lives? In a word, are we habitually preparing to meet him? Do we love his appearing, and, in some bright and happy moments, long for it? Do we count neither the delights of time, nor life itself dear to us, so that we may finish our course with joy, and meet our beloved Redeemer in peace? These, these are the questions on which hangs our whole eternity. Upon the result of these it will depend, whether in the great day of decision, we shall lift up our heads with joy, or be overwhelmed with speechless confusion and agony. How

then can we be sufficiently faithful and in earnest, in pressing them home now, to our consciences, and our hearts?

5. Let the late memorable eclipse of the natural sun, lead us to reflect on the wretchedness of those, who will be finally rejected by the Judge, and thus suffer an eternal eclipse of that Sun of Righteousness, whose beams alone convey true life and happiness to the immortal soul. During the late darkness, though short, what an unwelcome change did we realize! What a face of gloom and horror was upon every object around us! What a solemn pause in the customary employments and joys of life! How did nature herself seem to languish and mourn! Had the sun never more emerged from its obscurity, how certainly should we have bidden adieu to the principal comforts and delights of this world! Nature would

have been one universal blank— one barren waste; and life would have lost its power to charm. Similar to this, but indescribably more wretched, is the condition of that man, who dies in his sins, and destitute of the favour of God. The moment his soul quits the body, the last beam of comfort, the last ray of hope, vanishes forever. Alas! he has lost his God! irrecoverably, eternally lost him; and with whatever indifference he may have treated this idea before, he will then find, to his everlasting sorrow, that it is a loss indeed; a loss for which thousands of worlds could make him no compensation. Farewel God, the eternal sunshine of the soul. He will then find that his immortality is a curse; that protracted existence is but protracted misery. Ah! who can bless him whom God refuses to bless ? What ray of joy can find its way to that soul, which Jehovah has abandoned? It has been conjectured by some, that there are comets, which have wandered so far from the sun, as to get quite beyond the sphere of its enlightening and attractive influence. To these irregular and devious bodies, the apostle Jude may perhaps have allusion, when he describes certain sinners under the appellation of wandering stars. And what is their doom? To such, says he, is reserved the blackness of darkness forever. These expressions are superior to all comment. THE BLACKNESS OF DARKNESS FOREVER ! Nothing would so strikingly portray the unutterable anguish, the unallayed despair, the never ceasing wo, of that man who lives and dies

without the grace of heaven. O that this faithful and salutary warning, while it vibrates in the ears, might effectually reach the heart, of every sinner in this assembly! O that all such might be persuaded, while yet there is hope, to flee from that wrath, and that ruin which they cannot bear!

Finally. Amid all the solemn appearances in nature, and all the gloomy aspects of providence, how serene, how courageous, how happy, may the Christian be. No doubt, some of the children of God have, in contemplating the late phenomenon, been thrown into a degree of distress and consternation. This may have been owing to a particular natural temperature of mind or body, to want of information, to surprise, or to sinful distrust and fear. Such, however, may still be congratulated, that they will soon find themselves in that blest region, where an unclouded, uneclipsed sun shall shine, and all darkness, doubt and distress shall flee away forever. Other pious per sons have, I doubt not, contemplated the late spectacle with a tranquil and sublime pleasure; realizing in it an unusual and striking display of the power and majesty of the God whom they love; the Almighty Friend in whom they trust. This courage

becomes them. It has a foundation. Let them cherish it more and more. Let the wicked fear where no fear is; or rather, let them tremble with just and awful apprehensions of impending wrath and destruction. But let the children of Zion be joyful in their King. He rules the world. He controls the elements. He commands the sun, and it rises not; and he seals up the stars. He turns the shadow of death into the morning,and makes the day dark with night. And he will render all the operations and changes, all the gloomy and portentous appearances of the natural and moral worlds subservient to his own glory, and to the felicity of his chosen. Should convulsions shake the world; should the earth be removed, and the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea, still GoD will be their REFUGE, and their very present help. Should nature faint and die; should these visible heavens expire in flames, still may they, according to divine promise, look for new heavens, and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness. O then, Christians, comfort yourselves, and comfort one another with these words. Beloved, seeing ye look for such things, be diligent that ye may be found of Him, your adored Redeemer and Judge, in peace, without spot, and blameless. AMEN.

Selections.

EXTRACIS FROM BISHOP CLAGGETT'S PASTORAL LETTER.

The whole of this letter seems well adapted to the design of its venerable

author. It contains serious and seasonable truths, clothed in an easy and perspicuous style, and discovers a pious becoming zeal in the cause of evangelical truth. The following extracts

may be read with profit by all denominations of Christians.

"To the ministers, vestries, and congregations of the Protes: tant Episcopal church in the state of Maryland.

"Dear Brethren,

"The convention of this year having requested me to address to you a pastoral letter, I should have endeavoured to comply with their request without delay, had the state of my health permitted. But since the last convention, Providence has thought fit to render my returns of sickness more frequent and severe than usual. Yet while the Almighty is pleased to continue to me the enjoyment of reason, I would employ it, as far as I can, in the service of our common Lord; and the nearer I approach the completion of the hopes, which Christianity gives, the more ardent ought to be my desire of promoting the temporal and eternal welfare of those whom I leave behind.

"To you then, my brethren of the clergy, I must first ex press the earnest wish of my heart, that, as I have been instrumental in clothing many of you with the sacred character of labourers in the vineyard of Christ, I may, while I live, have the unspeakable joy of witnessing the fruit of the united labours of us all, in the increase of rational and vital religion; and that in that kingdom where all painful obedience shall be at an end, we may be able to join our mutual congratulations and praises to the Giver of all good, with those souls whom the Redeemer shall have snatched from

the evils of the world, and whom we shall have had the happiness to lead, through dangers and temptations, to the possession of the promised reward.

"First of all then, my dear brethren, let me remind you of the solemn vows, which you made at your ordination, in the presence of God, of angels, and of men, to preach the gospel of Jesus. If your fervent desire is to increase the kingdom of righteousness, of peace and joy; to win souls to Christ; thereby diminishing the evils of our fal len state, and multiplying its joys,-if, with the eye of faith fixed on him, who trod the same path before you, whose gracious Spirit is with you, whose hear venly words have been left on record for your instruction and comfort, you long to receive that best and most significant of all applauses, "Well done, good and faithful servants,"-if, like the apostles, and many of your fellow-labourers in every age of the church, your full determination is to testify the gospel of the grace of God; to finish your course with joy, having many seals of your ministry in the day of the Lord; the difficulties and discouragements, which occur in your Christian vocation; the reproach, which, by the thoughtless and profane, is sometimes cast upon the ministers of religion; the privation of many pleasures, as they are unwisely called, which to the votaries of the world seem the only desirable blessings all these will be accounted by you as nothing, while you eagerly press onward, for the prize of inestimable val ue. I cannot, therefore, too earnestly beseech you to lay the

foundation deep and strong in your own hearts. But I will suppose this foundation already laid; that your hearts, renewed by divine grace, glow with love to God and charity to man; that you are rooted and grounded in a lively faith; and that your whole souls and hearts are given to your profession. Then your labours in the service of Christ are, and will be, blessed. Easily will you obtain the victory over a world lying in wickedness; and nothing can deprive you of the present rewards of piety and virtue-peace of mind; the joy of doing, and being good; the strong persuasion that you are working together with God; that you are protected by an omnipotent arm; assisted and directed by unerring wisdom; and that the fidelity of God is pledged to make all things work for your present and everlasting good. The fate of the unfaithful and insincere in the work of the ministry, it is necessary frequently to recal to your thoughts; that, by the terrors, as well as the goodness of the all-seeing Judge, you may persuade yourselves and others to strive against languor and remissness, and to be in all respects worthy of your exalted privileges and hopes.

way, continue yourselves, and exhort others to continue.

"We cannot too often recur to first principles, if we would preserve purity in faith and practice. In this age, especially, when many, alas! even of professing Christians, have erred from the faith; when many books are thrown upon the world, and eagerly read by the thoughtless, in which the original depravity of man is carefully concealed, and an apology made for the greatest crimes, under the names of sensibility and refinement,-when, in the form of novels, of natural philosophy, or travels, many attempts are made to lead the incautious into the snares of vice and irreligion, it becomes you, my reverend brethren, to warn the rising generation especially, of these insidious foes. To your office a high responsibility is annexed. That you may counteract the devices of the evil one, be firm, be intrepid, put on the whole armour of God. Often place before your hearers the leading truths of Christianity, the corruption of our nature by our fall from innocence, the necessity and influence of the mediation of Jesus Christ, of preventing and assisting grace, of man's free will in rejecting or in complying with the gracious covenant, into which we were admitted by baptism: In short, the essential truths of the everlasting gospel, which, as they are nesessary to all, may by all be understood, so far as to become the articles of their faith. The union of morality and devotion, of faith and good works, is an

"In the good old paths, in which the first reformers walked; in which your forefathers found peace; in which I am fully convinced the blessed apostles themselves and their successors walked, until a great corruption overspread the Christian world, and its rulers were inflamed by love of riches, and the ambitious projects of domination even in object so momentous, and so evtemporal concerns-in this good ident, that it needs only be men

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