X.

Conversion a Spiritual Resurrection.

PREACHED AT ST. OLAVE'S, SOUTHWARK,

ON SUNDAY, APRIL 2, 1826,

ON OCCASION OF

THE DECEASE OF MR. THOMAS VAN.

CONVERSION

A SPIRITUAL RESURRECTION.

LUKE Vii. 14, 15.

And he said, Young man, I say unto thee, Arise. And he that was dead sat up, and began to speak.

THERE are few terms, perhaps, the best and highest import of which is less understood, than that of philosopher;—a word peculiarly attractive to the studious mind, which delights to hold converse with the mighty dead, and to rove in the wide field of literature. Nor let it be supposed that the religion of the Bible is at all calculated to shackle the human intellect, or to debar its possessor from the refined pleasures of taste and of elegance, of which such

beautiful specimens are furnished in the writings of the great masters of antiquity. Indeed, it is much to be desired, that every parent who may be able, and especially every Christian parent, should use every means in his power that his children may enjoy the advantage of a good, solid, classical, education; an education which, under God's blessing, may fit them for any future situation to which Divine Providence may call them.

But will this, of itself, constitute a philosopher or lover of wisdom, in the best and noblest sense of that term? No, verily, my brethren. A man may be a proficient in all known languages, may exultingly speed his way through the whole circle of the sciences, may argue with the most logical accuracy, and entreat with the most persuasive eloquence or empassioned oratory, and yet be destitute of the smallest spark of Divine wisdom and Divine grace. Education can expand the mind; but it cannot convert the heart. It can communicate ideas; but it cannot bestow grace. It can strengthen

the reasoning powers; but it cannot destroy the corrupt passions. It can soften the manners, and prevent fierceness; but it cannot elevate the affections, or ensure salvation.

Hence arises the importance of that better, that Divine, philosophy which, by teaching us the lessons of heavenly wisdom, bestows the enjoyment of heavenly feelings. Its axioms are indeed despised by some, and slighted by most; but this indifference arises from ignorance, and this contempt from depravity. The wisdom which is from above, is, unlike human wisdom, first pure. It communicates the

character, and bestows the likeness, of the infinitely pure and Holy God. It discovers itself in producing the most striking effects upon persons hitherto careless, or even abandoned. It leads them to consider their latter end; for in this, however unwilling some may be to credit the assertion, in this consists an important part of heavenly philosophy. Hence the expressed wish of Jehovah in reference to his creatures, Oh that they