in ascribing all the glory of your salvation and eternal felicity to the "Lamb that was slain." Our great High Priest and Advocate still lives and reigns to make intercession for us; he is Unchangeably faithful to save, Almighty to rule and command." "Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need."* Let us commune with our own hearts, and with this almighty Saviour, that we may listen to his voice, and obey his word, and follow him whithersoever he leadeth. *Heb. iv. 16. 25 CHAPTER II. ON THE MODERATION OF GRIEF. CHRISTIANITY does not forbid its disciples to mourn; but rather sanctions the expressions of grief, occasioned by the loss of friends, when viewed as the consequence of sin generally, as the result of our own carelessness and folly, and as forming a part of that probationary discipline which is designed to prepare us for another and a better world. Grace does not destroy, but simply regulates nature; it does not supersede the affections or forbid their influence, but only moderates and directs their exercise. Could we distinctly view every object and event through the chastened medium of Christianity, there would be no danger in the indulgence of grief: there would be no fear of offending God by weeping over the loss of those blessings which he has conferred, together with all capacity for their enjoyment: there would be no necessity to restrain the exercise of those affectionate sympathies which he has implanted in our bosoms, as the source of many of our plea sures, and the principle upon which much, and that the most admirable part of our conduct, is grounded. The feeble glimmering light of nature is insufficient to guide our affections or actions. The objects we perceive through this medium are so distorted by prejudice, so deceptive by their energetic appeal to our feelings and passions, that our judgment is rendered vacillating and uncertain; and we become incapable of forming a correct estimate of their real nature, and of their respective combinations and affinities; or of the results to which they lead. But the torch of divine truth enables us to discover the way in which we should walk; it unmasks prejudice, develops the secret influence of feeling, dispels the mists of error, and, by its clear and steady radiance, safely guides and invigorates the sincere inquirer; discloses to him the hidden treasures of hope, and regulates his conduct by its own unerring laws. We no longer walk in darkness and uncertainty, but are enabled to descry the dangers we must avoid, as well as the object we must pursue, and the means by which it may be attained. The Christian mourner is not left in doubt as to the limits which should define his sorrow: for, although we must rejoice at the present, eternal, and unfading happiness of the spirit of the de parted Christian, and the infinite and incalculable value of the exchange he has made; yet to mourn for the dead, and more particularly for those who die in the arms of their Lord, is a duty which nature and affection demand-which is perfectly compatible with the purest influence of religion, sanctioned by the example of eminent saints, and required by God himself. Abraham, that faithful servant of the most high God, mourned for Sarah. "Abraham came to mourn for Sarah, and to weep for her." So did Jacob for his son Joseph, and Joseph and his brethren for their father Jacob.* Instances might be multiplied; but the bare mention of these is enough to prove, that to mourn was not inconsistent with their patriarchal piety and primæval simplicity. Indifference to the death of the righteous has been plainly reproved by the Spirit of Truth, who declares that "the righteous perisheth, and no man layeth it to heart." It is not then sorrow in itself, but its excessive indulgence, which is to be avoided by the Christian; for "godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of." It is indeed true that affliction is grievous to be borne; and it is equally true, that the ravages of intemperate grief intercept our views of the *Gen. xxiii. 2; xxxvii. 34; 1. 10. + Isa. lvii. 1. Great Disposer of all events and of the hearts of men, becloud our prospects of eternity, depress the spirits, shrivel and contract the heart into the coldest selfishness, and impair the health of the body. Grief is a passion which requires the greatest watchfulness; for its influence steals upon us insensibly, under the disguise of positive duty; and acquires the power of expanding itself to an almost indefinite extent, till it has so occupied the heart, that there is great danger lest it should overwhelm us, and prevent our deriving those advantages from affliction which our merciful Father has intended. Hence it is enjoined that Christians should moderate their sorrow: "6 My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him."* Excessive sorrow is combined in the same precept with that hardness of heart which refuses to be softened, and to feel under the chastening hand of God. We are commanded not to faint; hence, sorrow should be so moderated as not to interfere with the discharge of the private duties of religion. It should bring us to God more humbly, more intimately, and more devoutly, rather than alienate us from him. If we indulge the soft luxury of grief, our minds will become enfeebled for religious duties; we shall be completely ab * Prov. iii. 11. |