SERM. word of God himself; they rest from their XII labours here, and their good works follow

them to the judgment seat of Christ. Not so with the wicked; and therefore this precept must be received with limitations, and perhaps the remainder of the text may admirably serve us to point out this distinction; but let us rather dwell now upon the hope of the righteous. They, when they die, are indeed at rest; all their earthly cares and sorrows at an end for ever; they are, to apply a figure of speech peculiar to the Scriptures, in "Abraham's

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bosom," carried thither perhaps unseen to us, by the angels and ministers of God. We do not know this from reason, but we know it from the word of God. Reason cannot in fact tell us more than we see ; that the dissolution of this our earthly tabernacle ends our existence here; but through the Gospel of our blessed Saviour Jesus Christ, the immortality of the soul has been brought to light; and we now are assured, upon the promise of God,himself, exemplified in the resurrection of our blessed Lord, that at the end of the world

"the

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XII.

the dead shall be raised incorruptible," and SERM. all " they that have done good shall come forth," from the dark and dreary grave, to "the resurrection of life,"-of life eternal, in the realms above, in the presence of God; where there shall be "fulness of joy, and pleasures for evermore." We ought in reason then to moderate our grief for those that "die in the Lord," assured that, in regard to them, death has no sting, nor over them shall the grave obtain a victory. We should not "sorrow, as those “without hope,” but rather rejoice that they are removed from this scene of care and anxiety, and have found rest to their souls. Having thus briefly treated of those two leading precepts of the text, that have respect to the sorrow we ought to express for those that are removed from us by death, I shall proceed to the remainder of my text, which no doubt is pregnant with instruction. "Weep for the dead, for he "bath lost the light, and weep for the fool, 'for he wanteth understanding." The dead is out of the way of all opportunity of repairing what is amiss; the fool is so un

SERM. wise as not to avail himself of any, though XII. he is alive to do it. He "wanteth understanding," though every thing is at hand to convince him of the lapse of time, and the frailty of all sublunary things; yet cannot he get discernment enough to learn "so to number his days," as "to apply his “heart unto wisdom." It is, generally speaking, therefore, more reasonable to weep for the fool that is living, than for the wise that are dead; for as my text further expresses it, "the life of the fool is worse than

death." But what then is this folly that is worse than death? Surely it is the folly of not providing, as we should do, against the stroke of death. And what can contribute more to the correction of such folly, than such an awful and solemn sight as is now before us? The fool in holy writ is he who trusteth too much to the things of this world. To riches or honor, power or fame. Now what becomes of these at the hour of death? Is not every thing brought to the same end? Is not the scene before us applicable to all alive? There is but one lesson to be learnt from it, namely,

that

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XII.

that except virtue and true religion, no- SERM. thing in this world is to be depended upon as a security against the stroke of death. By death, strength is brought low; beauty consumed; power dissolved; riches scattered; wit silenced; the prince can no more avoid it than the peasant; the rich than the poor; nor yet to any certainty, the young more than the aged; for the arrows of death are always flying abroad, and what can ward them off, or hide us from them? Death overcomes us as easily in the fenced city, as in the open hamlet; in the bosom of our friends, as in the midst of our enemies; in the crowded street, as in the howling wilderness; on dry land as on the wide sea; in the moment of mirth and joy, as in the hour of darkness and dismay. Such a scene as that now before us, should make rather a stronger impression, or at least give greater warning to the young and gay and dissipated, than to the aged and infirm. The latter will probably have been wise enough to gather instruction from the gradual decay of nature, and to have put themselves into

a course

SERM. a course of religious preparation for that XII. awful hour, which, though it may not be nearer to them, than to many much younger around them, cannot in the course of things be very far from them.-To them such scenes as these, if they have been so wise as I have described, may rather raise than depress their spirits; since the Gospel of Jesus Christ has opened to us a view of the future state prepared for us. They. will regard the lifeless corpse, as a burthen laid aside, which confined the soul to a scene unfit for it; they will rather feel a longing desire themselves to put off their earthly tabernacle of clay, to be clothed upon with the celestial body prepared for them, and to be admitted to the presence of their Maker. They will contemplate such a scene, with a pious hope that their deceased friends are only removed to a state of rest and happiness, a little before them; that it is their turn to follow soon, and then they may again be united, in a state infinitely more desirable, abounding in all rational delight, and free from all corroding cares. But the But the young should regard