IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) 1.0 I.I |tt|2.8 ^ tiS. II 2.2 1.8 1.25 1.4 1.6 — ^ 6" — ► w V Photographic Sciences Corpomtion 33 WiST MAIN STRUT WIBSTIR.N.Y. )4S80 (716) I7a-4J03 ^ s %^ V .§\-* \\ 'V*^. <> CIHM Microfiche Series (l\/lonographs) ICiVIH Collection de microfiches (monographies) Canidlan Institute for Historical Microraproductiont / Institut Canadian da microraproductiont historiquas Technical and Bibliographic Notes / Notes techniques et bibliographiques The to th The Institute has attempted to obtain the best original copy available for filming. Features of this copy which may be bibliographically unique, which may alter any of the images in the reproduction, or which may significantly change the usual method of filming, are checked below. 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L'Institut a microfilm^ le meilleur exemplaire qu'il lui a M possible de se procurer. Les details de cet exemplaire qui sont peut4tre uniques du point de vue bibliographique, qui peuvent modifier une image reproduite. ou qui peuvent exiger une modification dans la mithode not male de filmage sont indiqu^s ci-dessous. □ Coloured pages/ Pages de couleur □ Pages damaged/ Pages endommagtes □ Pages restored and/or laminated/ Pages restaurtes et/ou pelliculies r T Pages discoloured, stained or foxed/ lJlI Pages decolorees, tacheties ou piquees □ Pages detached/ Pages dit8Chbruar.r lOlli. 1815, BEING TIIK MABBATII IMMEDIATELY AFTEU TUB TNTERMEXT OF THEItt I.ATE PASiOH, THE REV. DONALD ALLAN FRA8ER, A.M. BY MINISTER OF THE CONGREGATIONAL CilllRt II, lltiUishfH lis tcqurtt. IIRNRT WINTON, OBRKBAI. riUS riXO-OFFIC B, QUEEN-SI KtEf. MDCCCXLT. Tl ■ ^B Nat.o,i.»l LibM-y Bibl.otheque nal.onale 1*1 ol Canada du Canada ,\*'.\ V//J, ♦vw^ Canada BE MI tlG] TIIL FAITHFUL MINISTER OF GOD A BURNING AND A SHINING LIGHT. SEKMOK 1 PBEACHED TO THE CONGREGATION OF *!t. anUicbj's Churcli, ST. jro]i:»'i>, ]wi:itvFoi;:wi.A:ii]>, ON TUE EVENING OF February 16tli. 1845, BEING THE SAUBATH IMMEDIATELY AFTER THE INTERMENT OF THEIR LATE PASTOR, THE REV. DONALD ALLAN FRASER, A.M. BY MINISTER OF THE CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH, ^ubltsheH bo request. ST. JOHN'S, ^EWFOVXDLAI^D : HENRY WINTOK) QENFRAL rillNTlNG. OFFICE, QUEEN-STREET, NDCICXLV. ^^, ADVERTISEMENT. THIS SERMON is published at the request of the Con- gregalion of the lale Kev. Mr. Fiiazeu; had it been originally intended for the Press, the style would probably have been different, but as it was prepared for oral delivery, and preached as prepared, it is published without alteration, for the use and salisfaclion of thjse who are called to lanieut the loss of their beloved Pastor. The Preacher would have preferred, for himself, entire silence on the meldncholy occasion ; but he was willing lo do wh^t he was desired, to show his respect for the departed, and his eympalby wiih the surviving. He cannot but lament, however, that the esteemed Minister, who was announced to preach the Funeral Sermon, should have been so afflicted at ihe time, as to be unable to discharge this Service. That genllenian could have given an instructive account of the life, labours, and last experience of the departed, which the author of this Sermon, from his very short acquaintance, could not do, and did not therefore attempt, that the whole field might be open to one more competent. But it was a season when the feeblest would feel impelled lo do his utmost;— .one Minister was called to hia reward in Heaven, — another was silenced by bodily affliction,— and the third, the last of the brotherhood that could interchange services, was called, not only to supp\y the place of both, as well as his own, but also lo improve the awful dispensation for the good of the living. His pose was a solemn one : and now be can only sa)', that he endeavourad to do his best in the circumatances, and that his fervent j^rayer is that the •• Father of mercies/' and "the GuD of patience and consolation," may be pleased to give unto them that mourn " grace to help ' i time of need," and to overrule the painful dispensation for go,>d. May Hin rich blessing be upon the widow and the fatherless; and may His Spirit feed and guide the destitute flock. St. John's, 3Iarch 4th., 184.') sis!a^.|>^^, ,» II ** He was a burning and a shixixg light, axd yb were willing, for a season, to ilejoice in uis LIGHT." — John v., 35. T. HIS statement was made by the Son of God respecting Jolni the Baptist, who was promised and sent as " the Messenger" of the Messiah, " to prepare the way before him." John had now probably finished his course, and his day was ended. He had been a faithful servant, and sealed his ministry with his blood, for he died a martyr's death. And he to whom he had borne witness now bears an honourable testimony in return, describing him, as to his character and office, as " a burning and a shining light." It is always pleasing to hear the testimony of a mas- ter to the worth of a departed servant; but far more interesting is it to conterr "'-■te the character given, and the approbation manifc ,t'3d by the Saviour of the world to his beloved ministers. And what an enviable monument is here raised by the Saviour to the memor" of John the Baptist! What an appropriate and ex- pressive epitaph is the text to record the excellence of a departed Servant of Gqd, both to those who had valued, and to those that had not improved his faith- ful ministry ! " He was a burning and a shining light." In san-etl Scripture the ministry of the Gospel, and indeed spiritual gifts and graces in general, are often described by figures taken from light, its adjwncts, and modes of manifestation. Light, lamps, candlesticks, stars, day ; and to light, to shine, and to be of the daxj, are terms frequently used in reference to Christians, the discharge of their duties, and the developement ot their oharacter ; and light, as pure, pleasant, and ati entire contrast to darkness, is an appropriate emblem of moral goodness. Of the Divine Being, as perfectly lioly, just, and good, it is said "God is light, and in Iiim there is no darkness at all;" and as the soun;e and giver of holiness, he is represented as "the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of a turning." but who ever shine.- with the same brightness and glory. And Christians as renewed and sanctified by the Spirit of God, "follow- ing holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord," are described by similar figures, and their duties are enforced in corresponding terms. «Ye are the light ot the world," said the Saviour to his disciples—" let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your father who'is in Heaven." —(Matt. 5. 14, 16.) The Apostle describes to the Phil- lippians the corruption and ungodliness of mankinu, "among whom," he adds, "ye shine as lights in the world, hoMing forth the word of life."— (PAjV. 2, 16). To the Ephesians he whites— " r e were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord ; walk as children of light;" and to the Thessalonians— ««Ye are all the children of the light and of the dav; we are noi^ofthe night nor of dark ness."—(£jo/t. 5,8': 1 Thess. 5, 5.) And the Christian's course, as he grows iu M holiness, is thus described -" The path of ll,e just, is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day — Prov. 4, 18. I.-Having thus considered the import of the princi- pal terms used in the text, and regarding the passage as an appropriate theme for our meditations, wnile we endeavour to improve the death of a late excellent and faithful minister of Christ, we shall, in the first place, contemplate the character and office of John the Baptist, as here described by our Saviour.—" He was a burning and a shining light." Some maintain that there is here an allusion to a particular passage in the Psalms, which they regard as referring to John the Baptist, as the Messial^s fore- runner and herald, and which reads thus— ''There (in Zion) will I make the horn of David to bud ; I have ordained a lamp for mine anointed,"^for my Christ. And hence they read the text,— "He was the burning and shining light,"— the specific one mentioned in the Scripture. -Psalm 132, U. The metaphor is intend- ed to descnbe him as eminent in spiritual graces and gifts ; he was conspicuous, or distinguished, in charac- ter and oflice. John the Baptist was eminent for spiritual graces ; hs was a man of more than ordinary pisty and holiness' —"a light," yea, "a burning and a shining light." His character was transparent; and a spectator would at once be convinced of his moral worth and sterling piety. There was nothing dark, hidden, or equivocal about him, but e\erything was open and upright, with- out the shadow of dissimulation or obliquity; his prin- ciples were pure, and his actions were equally frea from all that could be condemned : he was altogether like his mastpr, unspotleJ, lovely, and good ; and ne was eminently holy, "a burning and a shining- lioht,'' making apparent and reproving the sins of the age. His apparel was coarse, his diet plain and sparing, and his entire deportment rigidly correct and austere. ■ — " He had his raiment of camel's hair, and a leathern girdle about his loins, and his meat was locusts and wild honey." — Matt, 'd, 4. "lie drank neither wine nor strong drink ; and he was filled with the Holy Ghost from his motlier's womb." — Luke, 1, 15:7,33. His sanctity was soon and widely famed abroad, and without repelling or offending many, it attracted the multitude, and commanded the admiration and confi- dence of his countrymen. And all the servants of the Loud should be like him- eminent in holiness, pure in life and conversation, " givinj^ no offence in anything, that the ministry be not blamed ; but in all things approving" or commending " themselves ns the ministers of God." All Christians should shine as lights in the midst of a crooked and perverse ge- neration ; but Christian ministers are to be eminent- ly holy and devout, " burning and shining lights." .Tohn was also eminent for spiritual gifts;— he was called and qualified to occupy an in)portant post, and in the discharge of his office " ho was a burning and a shining light." He was sent to "preach the king- dom of Heaven," to announce the coming of the Messiah, and to prepare the way before him, by rousing and fixing the attention of men; and his ministry was remarkable for the importance of its sul>ject, and for the zeal with which it was discharged. IJis preaching related to the Son of (lOn, and the salvatiim of men, and on these important points he was intelligible to T « f 4 1 ! all— "a sluiiiiig light." His cry was " R«^pent, for llie kingdom oflleaven is at liand." And the multi- tudes who came to him to be baptized. " confessiri}? their sins." and "fleeing fVom the wralh to come."" he directed to one higher than himseIf_to the true Saviour of sinners, saying— «' Behold the Lamb of God, that faketh away the sin of the world ;" and in preaching this gospel he was bold, uncompromising, and zealous, displaying the spirit and power of Elias, peremptorily demanding the fruits of repentance in the admiring crowds that Hocked arou : him, and reprov- ing sin, though found in royalty itse.., and to the peril of his own life. His vocation was important, his post Ingh, and his endowments eminent; his zeal was fervid and his ministrations faithful and useful : " he was a burning and a shining light;" and those who are called to preach the same goopel, and display the same zeal, are described by similar metaphors. The ministers of the "seven churches," mentioned in the Revelation, are represented as the "seven stars;" and all Christi- ans, especially Christian ministers, must shine as lights in the world, "holding forth (he word of life." But it must be remembered, that John was " a burn- ing and a shining light " only as he reflected a borrowed light. The piefy, holy zeal, and useful labours of the most eminent saints are the result : Cod's grace,-— they are of his operation and of his gift, for we are " born again," or "regenerated," of his spirit, and we "are sanctified" by the same agent, who " worketh in us both to will and to do of his good pleasure. Hence the Apostle Paul declares—" It is by the grace of God 1 am what I am;" and whoa ho speaks of imsulf; aa labouring most abundantly, he checks him- self, saying— "Yet not I, but the grace of Goi) wliicli was with nie." lie was a luminary only as he was illu- mined from a higher source, and redected the light he had received. And the most holy and useful of Christ's servants have ever acknowledged their obligations and consecrated all their endowments to Him from whom they had emanated. They shine, because they display tho graces of the Spirit, or "hold forth the word of life,"— and they bum, because " the love of Goi) is shed abroad in their heaits;" and whenever the church is favoured with men of eminent gifts and graces- holiness, zeal, and usefulness— let us adore the grrce of God in them, and pray to the Lord that he will graciously be pleased to multiply his Servants, who shall go forth, like John, and be burning and shining lights, for the edification of the church, and the conver- sion of a wicked world. The harvest truly is great, but such labourers are few. II. — Let ns now contemplate ihe feelings and conduct displayed by the Jews toward John the Baptist.— "He was a burning and a shining- light, and ye icere willing, for a season, to rejoice in his light." They once regarded 1-im as a prophet, and admired his character and ministry, though their great men after- wards persecuted him. Even Herod himself, whom he reproved for gross sins, "feared John, knowing ihat he was a just man aud an holy, and observed him ; i-nd when he heard him he did many things, and heard him gladly ."-3iar^, ({, 20. And it is said that " when ho afterwards would have put him to death, he feared the multitude, lor they ouunted him as u pro- phet "'-Matt. 14, 5. Thus they " rejoiced in his light." Thetj admired the sanctity of his life. They beheld t . Lis holiness and piety with pleasure; and it is a great thing to be able to appreciate moral excellence, and spiritual graces — but it is moro to cultivate them. And the servants of the Lord should be patterns of every excellence -examples of piety and goodness— which all may admire and follow; they should live as well as preach the gospel. But it is more thau can be expected that the Christian should gain the admira- tion of every heart and lip: for many, conscious of their own moral worthlessness, and anxious to excuse it, will hate and traduce the excellence which they do not possess. Still, eminent holiness -consistent, devout, and useful piety — will command the respect of men in general, and even of enemies. Hut, brethren, it is not sufficient that you rejoice in the light of Christ's faithful servants; you must cultivate the purity and devotion, the faith and zeal, which you admire. And hence the Apostle says—" Be ye followers of me, even as I am also of Christ."—! Cor. 11, 1. And again it is said — " Remember ihem that have the rule over you, who have spoken unto you the word of the Lord, whose faith follov/, considering the end of their con- versation Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, to-day, and for ever."— Heft. 13, 7, 8. And are Christ's ministers, whom you esteemed for their piety and faith- fulness, gone to their rest and reward ? Then " be ye followers of them who, through faith and patience, inherit the promises." — Heb. G, 12. The Jews admired the excellence of John — "for a season rejoiced in his light;"— but they did not imitate his gruccM. They also attruued and loved his minixtry. As with bold and fervid zeal he commanded the people to 10 repent, announced the approach of "the kingdom of Heaven," and directed attention to the coming Saviour, lie was heard with gladness, and followed by attentive and admiring crowds. The subject of his ministry was new, popniar, and pleasing; his manner was striking; and his entire character and life commend/d the theme of his discourses to the hearts of his countrymen. But it is one thing to admire and follow a pious and pow- erful ministry of the gospel, and a very diflerent thing to believe that gospel, and feel it to be the power of God unto Salvation. Have you not often rejoiced in the ministrations of a holy and gifted preacher, with- out rejoicing in the truth, or the Saviour he proclaimed ? And what multitudes are there, who will attend and lo\p tin able ministry, and will, notwithstanding, perish in unbelief, rejecting the counsel of God against them- selves, and losing his grace in tneiradmiration of the instrument by which it was presented before therti ! But, brethren, the ministers of Christ— the most devout and faithful-— desire no respect or attention to themselves, but to the grace of God which they have received, and to the gospel which they preach, and to which they urge you to give the most earnest heed, knowing that it is able to save your souls, that you can not escape if you neglect so great salvation, and that ■when you reject the gospel preached, you reject not man, but God. The Jew* rejoiced in the light of John ; and it had been well had they received "the true light,"-- the Saviour to whom he bore witness. But their attendance on his ministry was temporary, " Ye were villjng, /or a season, to rejoice in his light." They admired and followed his preaching, until it I n ' became too f^iithful ; liis light burned and shone so brightly as to reprove, expose, and condemn the sins which they loved and would not confess; and hence they walked no longer in his light. And how often is it that men withdraw their esteem and attendance from that ministry which is plain and searching — the only one that from the nature of things, is likely to promote their salvation— and exchange it for another, or for none at all, that they may dwell at ease in their sins. Like the foul hirds and reptiles of night, which cannot bear the light of day, and move abroad only iu the darkness, they retreat from tliat light, and turn away from that ministry which reveals to their conscience Iheir sins, and alarms them by the terrors ol the ^ORD against the ungodly, that they may flee for refuge to the grace of God iu CiiRiST" Jesus. And thus it was in the case of our Saviour himself, whose words became "too hard"- whose ministry became too faithful for some, who "turned back, and walked no more with Jksus," though he spoke the words of everlasting life. — " For every one that doeth evil, hateth the light, neither conieili to the light, lest Uis deeds should be reproved." — John 3, 20. But the Jews rejoiced only /or a se(f,son .n the light of John, because ho soon disappeared. His was "a burning and a shining light" whilst it continued, but it was only as that of a short moon, or a passing comet. His course was very brief, though britliaat, and his sweetaud invalqable lig|it was extinguished by the cru- el hi^nds of wicked \\\w, for he died a martyr's uatimcly death. Nor can t!ie inost (^hle uud useful ministry «hilie Ippg ou earth, huweiver much it may ht appro- ciutcd. 12 ! The ministers of Christ "are not suffered to con- tinue by reason of death ;" and thus there is a constant change in the firmament of 'the church— her "stars" waxing, >7aning, and disappearing one after another in rapid succession; but still the Sun abides— a rich fountain of the light of life— to supply additional lumi- naries when any are withdrawn ; the great Shepherd and Bishop of souls lives for ever, though undf r- shepherds are dismissed from their labours and taken to their reward : and he can send and endow others ■with gifts and graces, so that they may shine, and "give the knowledge of salvation to them that are in darkness," and direct our erring footsteps in the way to Heaven. And now, what prar^tca/ instruction san we derive from this passage? AVe learn that we must value christian friends and christian ministers, as they re- semble their Master, and give evidence of the grace of God. We should rejoice in his gifts bestowed upon them for the edification of the church, and render to him the thanks which he deserves ; and we should im- prove their fellowship and ministry while we have them, rejoice in their light while it shines, lest, "lov- ing darkness rather than light," we grieve the Holy Spirit of God, and the next ministry that he sends be a ministry of justice and wrath, to cut us down for our unprofitableness. But it is scarcely necessary that I should urge this duty in this place. You have now, if you had not pre- viously, learned how to valae christian excellence, and faithful, evangelical ministrations of the word of God : — else, what means the deep gloom that pervades this •anctuary ? Why are yours the garb and the hearti of 1 13 mourners ? It is not because a country has lost a patriot — a clan its chieftain— a family its head and stay. Far more than all this you mourn. A Christian dock has been bereft of its beloved Pastor; — the cruel hand of death has been here, and snatched away the foremost and most useful among you. He whom you esteemed as a Christian and as a Pastor; who preached unto you the word of the Lord, and whose faith you felt you could follow ; who loved you, and watched over your souls as one that should give account ; and whose " heart's desire and prayer to God for you was that you might be saved ;" — he has been called away from his solemn charge. The light, in which you once rejoiced and were blessed, is now extinguished, and it is difficult to repress the sigh, or escape the pang of sorrow, when so much of what is excellent, pure, lovely and capable of delighting and blessing, is taken away from us. How appropriate on this mournful oucasion are the Saviour's words ! Of you and your late Pastor it may be said — " He was a burning and a shining light; and ye were willing, for a season, to rejoice in bis light." And though sorrow hath filled your hearts because he is now no more, yet you have many reasons for thankfulness. While among you, he adorned the gospel of God, his Saviour, in all things; preached the truth as it is in Jesus ; was faithful, as a servant in his master's house; and finish- ed his course in peace and joy. "He was a burning and a shining light;" but now he is numbered among the past — among those that were : he was — nay, he is still — " a burning and a shining light," not here, but in heaven, for when he disappeared from your firma- ment, it was to enter on his own proper sphere above ; and though his course with yuu was very brief, yet 14 iher, he shines for evermore. The intelligent and devout spirit, the graces and the gifts that you esteemed, ^vere all from God : and. as earth has drawn to itself all tha was earthly, so Heaven has recalled and recei- ved what was spiritual. Nothing has been lost, but much has been gained by him whom you .leplore, for he rests from his labour and is blessed. Heaven had an interest and a share in him. and now all is set right. Donot^,3l,t^r^^^j,^j^. ^^^ rather pursue the path Avhich he trod, and, without delay, seek that rich and sovereign grace which he so freely preached, as flowing to sinful meu through the propitiation of the Son of t^oD. that you may be prepa.r^^ to follow and rejoiu L.m in a better land. When yon stand at his sepulchre, or behold the post that ho ouce occupied now vacant, " sorrow not for him, even as others who have no i»ope. but rather pray, each for himself, saying—" Let ine die the death of the righteous, and let my last end be hke bis." " He was a burning and a shining light," ^nd now his is the rest, the glory, the joy of «' the just Hiade perfect." " They that be wise shall shiue as the brightness of the firmament; and they Umt turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever" "Well done, thou good and faithful servant; enter th«u into the joy of thy Lord." <« And I iieard a voice from Heaven saying unto me; Write. Jilessed are the dead who die in the Lord from henceforth; Yea saiUi the Spirit, that thoy may rest from their Jaboprs,' ftud their works do follow them." {From the Public Ledger, St. John's, February I J, 1845.; Wt are indebted to an intimata friend and companion of llie late Reverend Mr. Fraseu, for tiie following obituary of the lamented deceased : THE LATE REV. 08NALD ALLAN FRASER^ A.W. The departed was a native of the picturesque Isle of Mull, on the west coast of Argyleshire, Scotland, where he was born on tiie y4th Noven.ber, 1793, at the Manse of Torosay, of which palish his fixther was clergyman. During his ear- lier years, the son was carefully educated under his father's eye, and he was indebted for the blessing of first strong re- ligious impression to the pious and tender solicitude of his parents. At the age of 12, he was sent to the University of tdinburgh, for the purpose of thus soon commencing'fhat arduous, intellecfual, moral and religious discipline which the Church of Scotland, with sound wisdom, has ordained as a preliminary and indispensable qualification for exercising the functions of the sacred ministry. At this celebrated seat of learning and scien-,e, he obtained the honour of A.M., the possession of which implies superior proficiency in study, and a high degree of mental excellence. When little more than 21 years of age, be was ordained by the Presbvtery of Mull, a minister of the established Church of Scotland. He remained in Mull for some time officiating as an assistant, and in 1817 ho was induced to go out to the province of ^ova Scotia, to take charge of a Presbyterian congregation at lictou, where he continued for many years to edify his Tru£ nf R '' '^T'"'""' r "'r^y ^'"' ^^'''■'''' '■« inculcated the i^n r^aL P '""• '," -^•?^ ''^ ''""''"^ »« Lunenburg! I .e same ProvMice, .where he resided, in the exorcise of Ills pastoral duties, for a period of four years, prior to in.]'> riiG Presbyterians in this island having made a determined r .oryo establish a chur.h of their own in St. John's, i„vi '. Bw. l.-'-ASER, in the summer of that year, to nnv the,,, ,t ...■tii£terial visit, the consequenoe of which was that af-cr ^rrq.cut occasions .f intercourse with him, they felt desinms of availing themselves of his spiritual superintendence, and gave h,m a call to be their pastor, of which the Presbytery of ti.rdnM^, f».^'"Sf IPP'""*^.' he accepted and undertook tn« duties of his office here early in 1843. The foundation ot St. Andrews Church being laid in May that year, hp C.C iveied on that occasion an address, the compact substance and manner of which cannot but live in the memory of all ho hoard ,t; and in the month of December, thereafter, the Cluirch was first opened for public worship. He coni Imrn 7'il . °"*'J zeal-sometimes with a force of eloquence equalled but rarely, to proclaim within its walls the dad dmgs of salvation till the 15th of December last, after which snifc . "^"^ \?- "^If.""' ^'' ^""'^ °f ^^^ P'^^^nce of their spiritual shepherd m His sanctuary. JVhen first prevented from discharging his public duties, there did not appear ground for entertaining apprehension that his Illness would prove fatal. Up to within a Zr" period previous to his death, he administered the sacrament ot baptism, and discharged other clerical offices within his own house, and was sometimes allowed to go it of doors for exercise. At last the disease exhibited ala. • ig symptoms, and after much 8uff"ering, interrupted by occasional intervals ot comfort, his naturally vigorous constitution gave way, and Jc expired on the afternoon of Friday the 7th instant, in the 0-nd year of his age, and the Slst of his ministry. During the continuance of his illness, and particularly after he knew that his days would shortly be nom' ered, he manifested a spirit of composure thai rested for its oasis on God's promise ot support to his believing servants. Linked to this life bv T""! ^V.y.^^ ^"""^ ^""^ ''"'y' ''« '"'d yet "» slavish fear of death. When receiving visits from his friends, whom he loved to address on the religious topics so familiar to him, in words of consolation, encouragement and warning, he expressed his strong feeling of gratitude to God, for the m w in V c k I t t 17 was a man of rare 8!''"'^ „ J, ' „-,„tere8.h)g to those who conformation ^>f »«"f .1"^^ "."J^'XXi^tic^^ "" knew him. One of Us l^^f ^ ^"'^f intellect that made 10 have been a comprehensive P" ;«/ ° . j estions at all U.e discussion of reli.Mous -d Ph J oph. q^^^ ^^ times easy to h.m. .O^^Y'Ve would ponder with a deep sphere of his public ^l^^^^^^Jj^'ieX. Ventures with vivid earnestness that unpnnled the l«aamg ^ distinctness upon his own m.n.^ nd fi ted J^^,^^^ J^,,, .trong and P^'^^/; ^.^tral vlion e"^ him to expatiate the wide range of his meniai vi „» poriion of it ove. u.e ;»-»« -^-V:,^P^X'ti nThis tho'ught probed untouched,— and the '^e"" P^"f '*j ^-^^^ t^g varied and pecu- its very inmost recesses, ^""f J ^}^ [ ^^^^ ^elibh for the liar learning of his profession anrtwi^^ ^^^ ^^^ classical beauties "f»""^'^"\"„™n,f9acauired resources! usually averse to d'^play the extent "Hi^sac^^^^ ^^ and i" discharging te solemn dut J „, never lost sight of its f P'*'? ,V ''^ ^ j^ and of more enforcing the truths of Christ andocmn,,^^^ ^^ ^^^^^^ especially "^P^^" {^^,^^71 %nV^h^^^^^^^ faith in the their lives to the belief ^^at t is omy b ^^^ ^^_ all-sufficiency of Christ 3 atonement ^JJ^ . ^^, tj^is „end for acceptance with his God. In «!'««""'« » ^ fundamental truth, and its rfl'^t'""''' *^« Jul ^° ««^^j^ himself with merely ^""^"'''"^l^thVuis anding, and of cold propositions ^^^'''''^'l^^^l^^"^^^ fortifying his statement b. ^« ;"7;!;fXried scene, of authorities, it was his wont to travel ove. u. ^^^ ^""™5:'?ntctr.Srr o c^^^^^^^ Twe U in its teTne and darker seasons of mental angunh „ere kept subordinate to the predominant f^'""'^'^^^ nel Message. M-hich all the treasures of his thought ana tancy Ind feeling were ever devoted speciully to illustrate and enforce. His atfaclirnent to (lie Churcli of his native land was ground- ed on a delibera'e conviction of his understanding that its scrip- tural confession of i'aifh, its simple and rational torm of wor- ship, and the internal uiachinerv of its graduated courts for III' administrdtion of ecclesiasi I affairs, were peculiarly »mj to call His servant from the toils of this inortal life. May He, in His rich mercy, turn the hearts of the sorrowing flock, that each one of them may likewise bu ready for the summons, and be a partaker of the reward pre- pared for those who love 'lim. *^