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Les diagrammes suivants illustrent la mdthode. 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 5 6 * EE AND PIl ^* .^^ k^* "Remember your Leaders:" Jl Scrnton OCCASIONED 1)Y THE DEATH Or THE EEV. ALEXANDEE TOPP, D.D. OF TORONTO, FOJIMKRLY OF ELGIN ; i'REACIIKD I.N THE FREE HIGH CHURCH, ELGIN, . On SABBATH, October /p, jSjq, BY THE REV. ROBERT COWAN; AND PUBLISHED BV KEQUKST OF THE KIRK-SESSION OF THE FREB IIKJII CHURCH. ;S^ ^Vj^ PRINTED AT THE "MORAY WEEKLY NEWS" OFFICE. 1879. Note.— The first part of the Sermon ha-« been ainidged, ami a few sentences added in the second part; otlierwise it is given ahnost precisely as preached. T r (? (I REMEMBER YOUR LEADERS." ■i, few laio.st "llemember them which have the rule over you, who have spoken unto you the word of God, whose faith follow, considering the end of their conversation."— ^cbwifs xiii. 7. 'T'HIH text refers to deceased ])astors. As it stands in our version, it might seem rather to refer to pastors still li\ ing and laboiiring in the Chui'ch. But tlie expression in the tirst clause, " them which have the rule over you," is, as is indicated on the margin, when rendered literally, " your guides" or "leaders;" and in the last clause "the end" means the ending or outgoing, and "conversation" means the life. The "conversation" is indeed not the bare life, but the life with certain moral characteristics ; still it is the life, and " the end of their conversation" is the ending of their life, or their outgoing from life. It is thus to deceased leaders that the text refers — these leaders, as the terms employed, when taken conjointly, indicate, having been pastors in the Church, although a reference also to some who were not in the pastoral office, and yet were in a valid sense leaders, is not neces.sarily excluded. Paraphrasing the text a little we may read it and bring out its meaning thus : — " Remember your leaders, who have spoken unto you the word of God, whose faith follow, considering the happy outgoing from life they got, that life of theirs being such as it was." The duty therefore to which the "Word of God here calls the Church is that of remembering its deceased pastors. And in summoning to this duty, it brings into view some of tlie cliief aspects in whicli pastors art; to be tliouglit of and rememltored when gone, and oiw of tlie chief ends for which they are to l)e niunnnljered. Of tliese things, in the order in wliich tlie text brings them before us, I shall now speak. May the Lord impress the lesson of His Word — together with the lesson of His providence wliich has led ns to this portion of the Word to-day— on our minds and hearts, and make it fruitful in our lives. I. Look with me at thy, aspecfs in which we aie here called to regard pastors, and, regarding them, to remember them when they have gone from tjarth. In the first place, we are to remember them as having been our " leaders" or " guides." The term " leader," although, like the terms " elder" and " overseer," having a simple natural meaning in itself, had yet, we ha\e good reason to believe — es])ecially when wc look at the 17th and 24th verses of the chapter, where it again occurs — come to have a technical sense in the A})ostolic Church. Like the other terms referred to, it had come to be an official desig- nation — somewhat as, indeed, throughout Greek history we find the very same term in use as tlie official designation of the general of an army or commander of a regiment. And when the official " leader" or " guide" was at the same time one who " spake the Word of God," he was in the fullest sense a pu-stor, or, as we more conunonly express it, a "minister." The name "leader," however, though it thus became an official title, did not on that account empty itself of its original meaning. Just as, in an army, the general was expected to be a real leader, so in the Church was tlie jiastor thought of as being. And so, in every ag(;, the tiiie pastor has in some important sense always been. As the jn-eacher of the Word to the people, as holding a prominent place in the Church, as jiresiding in its courts, aiding in their del ibet-at ions luul liolpiug to give sliajio to their decisions, iiiul as directing and encouraging in works of faith and hif)0Ui's of love, the pastor, wlien rightly discharging what is but his ordinary tluty, cannot be other than a leader in the Church. SoHKitinies, however, an extraordinary duty of leadt.'rshi]* falls to the lot of a pastor, occasioned by the circumstances of the Clunrh i i the time in "which he lives and labours. It is, no doubt, a case of that kind that the insjiiri^d writer has hen; immediately in view. At the somewhat late date at which it is most pj-obable that this epistle was written, there was already niuch work of leadershij), and work of a special kind, in the Apostolic Church, to look l)ack ui)on. When the Christian Church starte*! dii its career, many mattei's needed arrangement and adjustment for the first time. Thc^ organising of the Church had then to be attended to — the formation of the nudtitude of b(>liev('rs into congregations- — provision for the appoint- ment (if elders in these, and of deacons where desirable. Questions that sprang up between Jewish and Gentile Christians, such as that with reference to the continued observance of the ceri-monial law, had to 1)C dealt with and determinc'l. And then, also, when the civil rulers interfered and sought to arrest the preaching of the Woi'd and pro- fession of the faith, the Church's leaders had to stand in the breacli, had to work out and settle for themselves and for tli(^ (,'liurch the right attitude towards the civil power, and the right -laim as regards spiritual freedom on the part of the Clnu'ch of Christ as existing in the world. There had thus already been much work of leadership, and work of an extraordinary kind, devolving upon the leaders in the Church. Many of them, too, had siifFered much in the faithful discharge of this duty — some of them imto death, as James and Stephen, who, when leading on the; host, had fallen in the forefront of the battle. And, whilst all 6 (lepartctl pastors were to V)0 reiiicinbored, sucli leadors as tliese liad a special claim to loving and honourable remem- brance, and there was special good to be deriveil fron> renunnbering them. The rule is tlu; same still. The duty of rememberi) g deceased pastors is still incumbent on the Church ; and the rule of remembrance is tlu^ same for the Church now as it was in Apostolic times. We an^ to remember all who were our leaders. But if there ai'e any among these who had the duty laid upon them by the (ireat Head of the Church of leading in critical and troublous times, and who, in those times, by the gi-ace of God, took the right turning, and led faithfully, wisely, and well — esi)ecially if they had to suffer for their fidelity to truth, and zeal for the honour of their Lord — these above all we are to remember and think of with love and honour. And we are to remember them to practical purpose — namely, that we may still persevere in t\\o paths, and still be true to the ])rinciples, which, by tlu; light of God's Word, they were led to choose, and to which, by tlie aids of His grace, tliey were enabled to adhere. The other aspect in which those who wen^ true pastors, and who have been removed by death, arc; held up for loving and honoui'al)le remembrance, is, as liaving " spoken unto US the word of God." This is what distinguishes the pastor from the ordinary ehUn' or overseer in the Church. The i)astor is an elder also, whose duty it is, in association with his fellow-elders, to "rule well;"' but he is, besides this, one specially called and set a])art to " labour in word and doctrine." As we have it in the text, he is a " leader," but he also "speaks unto the i)eopl(5 the Word of Ciod." And this latter is the most peculiar duty and the ordinary work of a pastor of the flock of Christ. He is to feed the flock, and that not in some moorland wilderness of his own speculations, but among the green ])astures and by the still waters of tlio Wonl of (iod. With that Word in his huml ho is fullv fiirnislicd. There lie has his battle-axe and weai)Ons of war ; there his medicine; chest ; there his granary filled with the finest of the wheat; there his fountain of gardens, well of ]i\ing water, and streams from Lebanon. He is to study the Word, and then to speak it — to expound and ai)ply it for (^vci-y end for which it is given — for gniding, comforting, correcting— for comerting sinners, building up l)eli(n'ers, making ready a peoiile for the; coming of the Lord. And i)astors who do this work lovingly, diligently, and faithfully, des(;rve to be remembered, and will l»e remem birred b} all who have profited by then). As John Macdonald of Calcutta says — and his referenc(i is to our own city, and to a faithful juinistry exercised for a season there; in a bygone generation: — "How great the amotnit of pure ha])pines8 aflbrded by a true gosj)!'! ministry to those w^ho wait \ipon the Loi'd ! When ministers fill their pitchers of truth at the * wells of salvation' with the waters of love and grace, and when they carry them full, and set them to the head of each dying sinm.'r, each fainting believer, and .say, ' Drink of this water of life freely,' then, if men drink and live, and becouK! hapi)y, will they, can they ever afterwards forget the water, the pitcher, the gift, the approach, the message, the man ]" Those who spake to us the word of God are not to be forgotten by us. Christ, whom they preached, is to be thought of chieHy and supremely, but they are to be rennnnbered for His sake, and as having spoken of Him. H(! is the Rose of .Sharon ; they were not the rose, but they w(;re near to the rose, and took something of its fragrance. W(; an; to remember them as having sjjoken unto us the woi'd of God — in that aspect, and for that reason. And we are to remember them so with piactical intent — that we may inquire how we profited by their word, and whether we shall liave boldness or shall be ashamed when the Word 8 whicli they spako unto us — the Hiiiiic Word kIiuII judgo us at the last (lay. II. Look at the eruf with a view to which wc; arc to remoiaber deceased i)astors — "whose faith follow." Every true [lastor is a man of faith. "Without faith it is iiu- possihle to pleases God" — iiiipossiMc for any man, hut least of all iiossible for a minister of thc^ Woi-d, to do so. But all true [>astors an^ themselves helieviiio; \avn ; they can all say with Paul — "As it is written, 1 believed, therefore have I spoken, wo also belicvt-, therefore speak." Faith leads them to the work, expresses itself in the word they preach, sujjports them un(h'r all the anxieties and trials of minis- terial labour, and is at the foundation of the life they lead. And the ministry of tla; Word does not realise its end unless it liegets faith in the heai'ers, and nourishes that faith when begotten. \n looking back, therefore, upon a past ministry, it dee[)ly concerns us to iiKjuire— Did it beget faith in us? or, was tlie faith otherwise begotten in us nourished, strengthened, and advanced by its instrumentality? And we are still to take the Lord's servants who have yone as examples to us in the faith. We are to follow their faith — the faith they expounded, the faith they exemplified. We are to follow it as it received and held thefiictsand doctinnes of the gospel, as it led to look to Christ for justification, to lean on Him for sanctification — and as it l)rought daily life to the soul from Christ. We an; to follow it as it was in them a living faith, not a dead faith ; as it led to works, was fruitful in good works. Wv are to follow it as it led to stedfastness in the truth and fidelity to C'hrist to the utter- most under temptation and trial. We are to follow it as it led to prayer, and gave power to prevail with (Jod ; as it sustained under afflictions ; and as it perse^•ered and grew to the end. And, as an incitement to all this, we are to " consider the 9 end of tluMV convorsati'on" — tliat is, as already cxjilaiiuMl, tlip ha]ii>y c)ii<';()ing tln'y liinl from tlic •j^ooA life wliicli tlicy led. Some of tlh(lc('(';is("l lenders of (lie A [lostolie Cliiirdi liad had a sjiecially liappy oiitLii'iiiL,' ffoiu life. Siieli had licon the case, for (.■.\ain[)le, wirli Ste]ilieii, tlie first mai'tyr of tll(! Clmreli, wlio, wliell liI'olIL'-llt liefeiv the ('olllicil, (juailed not, hut, :is tjiry l(iol:i'(l iqioii him, they s:i\v his face as tlio face (if an am^el ; and who, when they L;'nashe(l npon him with iheir teeth, looked n]i stedfiistly into heaven, and saw the j,dory of (lod, and Jesus standing on (he ri^iit liand of (Jod, and saiil. " I'ehold I sic the hea\ens o|iened, and tla Hon of Man st;indin;j,' on tlio ri^'ht hand of (hul ;" and who, wlien the I'ude stones assailed and hattered him, called upon the i.ord i'Jid said, " Lord .Jesus, ri'cei\(' my s[iirit," and knolt [)hon"s outj;()inn- from life ; that was '• the ci. of his con\-ersation." And it was (he result of his faith ; he is first introduced to us as a man "full of faith." A consideration of the end of his (•oiiN'crsation was (ruly well l;((ed to incite the Christians of that day to he followers of his faith. 'I'hei-e were; otliei'S, such as dames, wh-om Herod put (o deadi, who, no douht, had had a happy outgoing from life too, althou^^'h ScriptiU'O has iKjt (houn'ht it neces.sary to give us any iiarticular account of i(. But e\cn aUhough ■wo knew nothing of the secret exercises of helieving and godly men in the time of their departure— though they were silent-— though they were taken away so suddenly that they could give no testimony, or though the mind at such a time wei'c clouded through the disease of the body, it would matter little as regards the ai'gument of the text. If we know that i\ man has faith — if W(^ liave seen in him the good life that springs from faith, wo are as sure of liis happy estate after cleath, even when he has given no sign in dei)arting, as though he had gone away 10 amid raptures and triuiuplis liko those of Steplien. There is liut one jiatli that h'ads to a Uessed death, and a Uessed life after death ; it is the patli of faith, and of that good conversation wliicli triu^ faith invariably begets. That path leads to glory — that only, but that most surely. For those v.'ho tread that path, the end of tlut good conversation of earth is infallibly the lieginning of the blissful connnunion of hea^'en. And it may well incite us to follov/ tlie faith of our departed leaders, that the end of that conversation which their faith led them to, and sustained them in, is an ending so safe, so Idessed, and so every way d(^sirable. The text w(; liavc^ been considering is a suitable; portion of God's Word for us to listen to to-day. Since I last addressed you from this pulpit, tidings have conie of the decease of him who was its first occui)ant, and who also, this day three months ago, jn'eached fi'om it, on the last occasion, as it now appears, on which he was to speak the Word of God on eai'tli. It is hardly necessary for me, speaking to you, to giv(? any sketch of the life of our departed fatliei- and friend. You knew lum well ; you have remendtered him well. Indeed, it has struck nu', since I came to Elgin, as a somewhat remarkable phenomenon, that tiie recollection of Dr. To}>p by the mendjers of this congregation, and tlie interest felt in him, are as vivid at this mon.ent as though he had h'ft you but yesterday, instead of having Iummi twenty- seven years away, and most of that time abroad. Dr. Top]) was, as you know, a native of Elgin, whei'i^ he afterwards became minister. The second son in a, family of thi'ce :sons and tliree daugliters (the eldest of wJiom di(Hl in cluldhood), lu; was born in iSll at Shei'iffmill, in our neighbourhood, the farm of whicli his father, after a residence; in earlier years in Uie Wt^.st Indies, had lease! ami settled upon. The sous of the family b(!cam(! ]»rolicient scholai's, takiii'j,' a high ]i]ace bot'ii iit the Academy hen^ and 11 tng at A1)eril(H'u Uiiiv{!r.sity. The oklost of tlic tliree you also knew well — the Lolovcd and liuneuted William Topp, who, after lioldiiiy tlic ollico of !seci'(;tai'y to the Governor, and acting for a consi(h'ral)k>- time as hini.self Governor of tlie GoUl Coast territory, in Westei-n Africa, cameliome to spc^nl liis days among you, and was for many years, and up to his deatli in 1877, an honoured euler in tliis congregation. Tlie youngest of tlie three hrotla.'rs went to Africa too, and died there. It A\as in 1S3S that INIr. Topp was settled as junior minister in the cc^llegiatc chai'ge of this parish, being then only twenty-three years of age ; and soon after, on the translation of his colleagut^ to Unjuhait, he became senior minister. The; newsj)apei-s of the day, as well as all whose memories carry t\um\ liack so far, spe.'tk of ^Ir. Topp's settle- ment as having been most hai-monious. He was, of cour.-,e, in one sense, not unknown to the [icople before; but his preaching, from the time previous to his call when he had become assistant to one of the ministers, seems to have burst u{)on them with all the ellect of a delightfid surprise. So Scriptural in its doctrine, so competent in its thought, so (;vangelical in its tone, so fervent in its spirit, and so iJOjiular in its mode, it came to their souls like a breath of spring, and w(> do not wondi-r to read that the call to him was unanimous, and that he was received, not only with cordiality, but witli enthusiasm. I have been told also by those who can remember that time, with what ardour and energy the young pastor addressed himself to the woi*k of his gi'eat charg(! — establishing, not without a battle, a large and l)i'osperous Sal)l)ath School — making himself personally actpiainted with his peojile in their homes, so that, indeed, li(! not oidy kn<'w them all then, but seemed to carry the remembrance of even the hiunblest families with him through life, and throwing himself unsparingly into every good work. It was a time wh(,'u the great evauiielical revival of the 12 second qnartor of tin's contiuy •«\'as uoav spi'oading and penetrating o\'(>ry\vliere ; and tin; evangelical revival at Elgin was to a good cxttMit couteniporaneous with tlie advent of tlio young i)astor of 1838. Then 1813 came. There had lit'cn niueli to do before that date, in tlic Avay of rxponnding, defending, and niahi- taining the Scriptural princi]>h'S which helong to the con stitutioii of a Christian Church, a.nd Avhich were the constitutional principles ( f the tincicut Chuivh of Scotland — much especially foi* one >.lio ]i\<>d so nciir Strathhogie as the minister of Elgin did. \\\ that pl•c^■io^'.s aud ])r('li!;nnary ■work to which (!od in Jlis i^"i)\ idi'ico was calling His faithful servants all on'ci- Scot.":an>l Ihcn, ]\!r. 'J'opp, during the five years that jirecrded the Di,■^i•ulltion, took his full share ; and many of you know with v.-h;il; iiiti'cjiidity, as well as mee'cuess of wisdi)ni, he was ('nal)li'd on li'yingM)ccasions to do it. And when the testing ti)nc came, and manses, glehes, sti]iends, and status had to lie sun'cndci'cd, if the Church of Scotland was to maintain ;ind carry out its ancient and Scriptiu'al princii>les, it fon:;d him i-cady. His teaching had, hy God's lilessing, made you also i-eady ; and so almost all the elders, and almost the entire congregation, though far fi'oni undervaluing the great ])rivilege of Stat*- endow- ments, wei'e enabled to give them up rather than consent to have Christ's right to i ule in His own kingdom interfered with, to sepai'at(; from the State, and to iovm in this place a congregation of the Free Church of Scotland. It is interest^ ing to look into the Session liccord of that time, f find, in the fir.st two sedtTunts of the; Kirk-Session after May, 1813, these names : — Provost Wilson, Ex-Provost ]M.'Kimmie, Wni. Stephen, Alexander Stei)lien, Isaac Forsyth, Alexander Forsyth, Alexander Skene, John Torrie, John Mortimer, James Burgess, Wni, Gordon, George lleid, George Fiudlay, Andrew Gcdde.s ; Mr. William Grant, accountant, having 13 also heen appointed at the first meetiiig Clerk and Treasurer to the Court. Three of these brethren yet survive, two of them l)eing still elders in this congregation ; the rest, and now also the Moderator of tiiat Kirk-Session, have fallen asleep. After ti.'e Disruption, the work of the Fi-ee Church minister of Elgin, not only at home, but throughout the Presbytery and Synod of the bounds, was necessarily very great. There was so much to do in completing the organisa- tion of a Church called so suddenly to the unwonted duty of self-sujiport, as well as in i»reaching the Gos})el to congregations not yet supplied with pastors ; and, as one x'emarked to nw last week, to no man in these northern parts was the Free Church more indebted for pastoral and organising labour, and for its strength and success generally, than to Mr. Topp of Elgin. His health, indeed, suffered from these and his other great labours, so that, in 184G, he had to withdraw for a seasori and .s})end a winter abroad in Italy. One little incident of his return, which has been related to me, is worth mentioning, as illustrating better than any statement could do what 1k^ had been foinid to be as a i)astor, and the endearn;ent in which lu- was held, es[tecially by the young of his Hock. When the coach by which he travelled in returning to Elgin drew uj) in the High Street, a var^t crowd, the majority of them young persons, wei'c waiting to catch the tir.st glimpse of his face among them again, and he found it necessary to escape by a by-lane from their affectionate, but to him at that moment .somewhat embarrassing attentions. The occurrence was characteristic. Not only then, but all through life, he had a singular attractiveness for the young, and a singular power to win them. To many now in middle life the recollection of his occasional sermons to the young, not only here, but in neighbouring towns and parLshes— the vast assemblage, u the riveted attention, the deligliteJ interest — are among the brightest memories of their early years ; and liis printed New Year's addresses to the young are still in the possession of many of you, and kejjt among the treasures of your affection and veneration. His work went prosperously on for a few years longer among you ; and you know also, and the Session Record of the time bears witness, how lively an interest he took in the formation of a second congregation in Elgin, to relieve the overgrowth of this one, and to create anothei- centre of Christian influence and source of spiritual benefit in our city. But the time of change came. The long-continued and uniisual strain of thos*; Disruption years had made change necessary. And so — although with the reluctance that is born of love, l)oth on his pai*t and on yours — he accepted a charge elsewhere ; leaving with us, however, resting under the shadow of our old Cathedral, dust dear to him, the dust of an only son,* till the morning of the resurrection. Of his ministry in Edinburgli, from 1852 to 1858, I do not stay to speak. 1 notice that his present successor in Roxbxxrgli Church has done full justice to that portion of his service in an a|)preciative tribute last Lord's-day. From some of themselves T have learnt how much his Edinburgh congregation valued and loved him, and how the church Increased and floux'ished under his ministry. I know also of public work he had to do then in connection with the examinations of students ; and, as one of those students, I know how we esteemed and regarded liim. But He who orders the steps of a good man had a larger ' 1 find, since the above v/txa in type, that it was after leaving Elgin that this child died. A relative of Dr. Topp writes :— "His only son, Alexander, who is buried at Elgin, died at Hopeman of scarlet fever at four and a-half years of age. They had come there from Edinburgh for sea-bathing." 15 your field in view foi" His serv.ant; and in 1858 he saw it to be his duty to accept a twice-tendered call to Canada. It has been mentioned to me, by one to whom his brother liappened to divulge the cii'cumstance, that, wishing to take counsel with that brother as to the; path of duty, the two met by arrangement in Aberdeen. They sjient most of the night in prayer, and it was in the morning that light broke for him on l)is way. It was assuredly no misleading light that, but the light that comes from the Father of lights. Speaking as one who has had opportunity of i)ersonal observation, and has some jjcrsonal knowledge of Canada, I feel warranted in saying that, if Mr. To})p had been of importance in Elgin, he was much moi'o so in Toronto. The minister there of what I uiay call, so far as Presbyterianism is concerned, the metro- ]»olitan church of Canada, ho could infii ^nce for good, not only the city, Inxt the entire Dominion. He went thither, moreover, at a time when the Presbyterian Church was not very far advanced — when it needed to advance with the advancing spirit and advancing population of the country, and when wis(i leadership and ];rompt action weie indis- pensable. The keel had l)een fairly laid, but the timbers required to be prepared and piled, and the great ship welded together ; and for this there was need of wise master- builders, and one of the chief of these was found in Dr. Topp. 80 experienced already in Church business and Church organisation, so distinguished for sense and suavity, for truth and tact, with so much cheerful gravity and modest dignity, and with the grace of God in his heart, and the glory of God in his aim. Dr. Topp was a God-sent man to Canada for its necessity at that era. In saying this I know that I aiii only saying what the whole Presbyterian Church of Canada feels, and Avill be forward to acknowledge. It lias acknowledged it already by making him Moderator of Assembly in 1 868, and that, as never previously, by the 16 unanimous noniiuiition of the sovonil Presbyteries of tlie Church ; and, after tlie recent union of Churclies there, liy placing him again in the chair. Of ])0tli the unions, iiuleed, that liave been consummated recently in Canada, Dr. Toj)i> was a chief ja-omoter. Not only did h(> do service as Con- vener of the Union Committee of his own Church, and Secretary of tlie Joint Connnittees, l)ut it is within my knowledge that, at one or inore points, when the jn'ospect became son ,'what clouded, his tact disco\ere(l a way to unite ditiering sections, without sacrificing truth on the one hand or wounding suscej»tibilities on the other. And at loronto as well as at Elgin he was the faithful, diligent, and loving pastor, as well as the zealous Cluirchman. With him the one character was ne\ cr swamped in the other. His gentle and kindly manners, which adapted him for intercourse equally with the highest and with the lowest, made him a welcome, as he was a willing, visitor in eA(>rv house ; whilst in times of alHiction or bereavinuent, his j)resence, his words of sup])ort and sympatliy, and his prayers, brought light to .nany a home, and a lightening of the bui-den to many a heart. The time has not yet come for us to hear the voices of our brethren abrotid, as tliey speak of tiieir loss ; but this will, no doubt, be the burden of the ('hureh's liimeut for him in that great Dominion, that "a prince and a great man has fallen in their Israel ;" and this will be the tribute upon the tongue and the feeh'ng in the heart of numy a son-owing mend)er of his flock : " Ho was a succoui'or of many, and of me also." His last visit to P]lgin -so recent, so fresh in our me- mories, and now toned for us in the retrospect by the .sombre light that rests U}>on the last — it is somewhat ditlicult to refer to. The one or two pi-evious visits he was al>le to mak(^ since he went to Canada, wei-e to you seasons of d'^lightful interest ; and Elgin did itself honour in 1870 by puljlicly 17 re, ijy eutortaiiiing its forinor minister, as his University then also did, by conferring upon liini, of its own motion, the degree of Doctor of Divinity. But there was surely a peculiar charm belonging to his recent visit, and that apart fi'om the feeling with which, as being the last we are to look for, we now regard it. He was so ]tleasant, so sjjiritual, and so edifying in private intercourse ; and it was the first occasion on which, since he left it in 1852, he had staid at his old Elgin home of the Manse — his brother's house being his natural home on former visits. He was full of interest also in oil friends, inquiring after many, and visiting all whom he could overtake. I confess to a feeling that would some- how arise as 1 walked about with him, th.at he was taking farewell, and that he knew it. There was a certain pensiveness, though not sadness ; it was the quiet, kindly, cheex'ful farewell of a Christian soon going home. And to us he preached his last sermon. It was not indeed his last public se)'vice; at Toronto, since his return, he n?ade the speech to the Governor-General the jVIarquis of Lome, and the Princess, on occasion of her laying the memorial stone of a Home for Incurables, of the committee of which he was f!hairman, thus ending his public labours with a work rather than a word of Christian love. But his laat i)ublic preaching of the Word was from this pulpit. And may we not say that there was a fitness in this 1 As, I observe, it was said last Lord's-day by his present successor in Edinburgh, in reference to this circumstance :— " To them, when he was yet a stripling, he preached his first sermon, and to them, when on a visit to this country some weeks ago, he preached his last sermon. Elgin was the place of his biith ; the place where, almost in boyhood, he began to preach ; the place where he fought the battle of the Disruption ; the place where he built and consolidated the interest of the Free €hurch ; the place where he was trained for all the work 18 done afterwards ; tho place wliere ho preached for tlie last time." It was not unfit that our beloved friend and father should end his ministry with us, as with us he liad l»egun it. Shall 1 .say that a thought pas.sed through my mind as I .sat listening to him here, on the first and last occasion on which I heard him preach, that iwssibly this might be the ending ? It was rather in this form, liowe\er :— If this were to be tlie ending, how good an ending this woiUd be. Yes, how good ! for his heai-t was inditing a gooil matter — he si)ake to \is the things he liad mad«; touching tlic^ King. It was the royal Psalmist's exultant words when the prayers of David the son of Jesse were thereuijon ended, that lu; .set before us — " His name shall endure for ever. His name shall be con- tinued as long as the sun, and men shall be blessed in Him ; all nations shall call Him blessed." It lias been associated in my mind, ever since we heard of his depai-ture, with a verse of a hynni — the favourite verse of Dr James Hamil- ton's saintly father, and the verse which he himself recalled and dwelt upon when dying : — '* I'll speak the honours of Thy name With my last labouring breath ; Then, speechless, clasp Thee in mine arms, The antidote of death." Brethren, "Remember your leaders, who'have spokenunto- you the Word of God, whose faith follow, considering the end of their conversation." Note. — Tlie Toronto Globe of October 7th, come to- hand since the above sermon was delivered, gives these particulai-s of Dr. Topp's death, which took place on October 6th : — " He had been suffering for a year an^ a-half from heart disease, but no one imagined his end to be so near. 19 last ther 11 it. - sat liicli ing ? the ,'oo(l ! IS the oval the lis — cou- Hiin ; ciated itii a lamil- called Accompanied by Mrs. Topp, lie started in a carriage to \'isit a sick parishioner, Mrs. Beattie, a daughter of Mr. W. Gal- In'iiith. Shortly after entering Mr. Galbraith's house, he complained of a feeling of fat.^ue and faintness, and asked permission to recline for a little upon the couch. His request was com])lied with, and Mrs. Galbraith observing that he appeared to ))e sinking, sent for Doctors Richardson and Fulton and Mr. Mortimer Clark, but before they arrived, before even the return of Mrs. Topp, who had gone for some medicine for him, he expired without a struggle." Funeral sermons were i)reached in Knox Church, Toronto, on Sabbath, 12th October, by the Rev. Drs. Reid and Gregg. Dr. Reid (Home Mission Secretary of the Presbyterian Church of Canada) refers to his having been a fellow-student of Dr. Topp, having succeeded him in the position he held before coming to Elgin C'hurch, and having often heard him preach during the first two years of his hil)ours in Elgin. He mentions that the last thing Dr. Topp wrote was u minute referring to the death of an office-bearer in Knox Church. In one sentence of the minute he says — " How solemn and powerful the lesson to all his fellow office-bearers, ' Work while it is day, the night cometh ;' " and the closing words (only completed while the carriage, which was to take him on his last visit, was at the door) are — " If we believe that Jesus died and I'ose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with Him."