nally lost. It is true, that this awful event is a secret. We do not know in what manner this resurrection of the dead shall take place; but every doubt as to its possibility must disappear, when we daily perceive how that comes into existence which never yet existed-much more that which already existed;' when we see how the single grain lying beneath the snow comes forth from corruption into beauty; when we observe how the new-born child bursts forth through the doors of darkness into light. Every doubt must vanish when we trust to the revelation of Him, whose are the pillars of the earth, and who set the world upon them, who bringeth low and lifteth up, maketh poor and maketh rich, killeth and maketh alive, bringeth down to the grave and raiseth up." Such, my dear brethren, is the substance of the holy faith revealed on mount Sinai, and accepted by our forefathers. Such is the faith which went before them, like the pillar of light, through all their troubles and sorrows and sufferings. Such is the law, for the sake of which many thousands of our ancestors from their cradle to their grave, from their youth to the moment when the angel of death, who to them was an angel of life, closed I Sanhedrin 91:1. m 1 Sam. ii. 2-6. their sufferings,-gladly sacrificed all that is sweetest, and endured all that is most painful in life. Such is the faith which over all periods has diffused, and is daily diffusing, its blessings over millions of men in all parts of the earth. With this faith we step forth before mankind, and ask whether they can find in it aught which can be injurious to the interests of society and the state, or to the world at large. Indeed you are the witnesses:" your own existence, the monumental endurance of the same law, afford the strongest proof of the contrary. "Therefore fear the Lord, keep his commandments, for this is the whole of man": the whole of your duty, your interest, your happiness, here and hereafter. Let your hands be steady, and your look upon God stedfast, until the going down of the sun, until the last breath, when the victory will be ours, for it is for God, the everlasting God. Lawgiver of Sinai! we owe thanks, fervent thanks to thee, for all the benefits which thou showerest upon us every day, every hour, nay, every minute; but we owe thee infinite thanks for the precious gift which thou hast bestowed upon us, in imparting to us Thy law, Thy revelation, the n Isa. xl. 12. ray of Thy everlasting light, the sun, whence flow warinth and light unto the whole of mankind. How many fallen has it raised, how many desponding comforted, how many weary restored, how many blind enlightened! How often has it been the effectual spring of persevering virtue, when the realities of life had scattered our hopes, when this world's enjoyment was unable to quench that deep thirst of happiness which burns in our breast! And yet Thy law cannot be comprehended, its lofty height cannot be reached, nor its sublime depth penetrated; therefore, Teacher of all mankind, grant that the fundamental articles of our faith may never depart from our mind and heart and spirit, that we may ever fear Thee, and keep Thy commandments, and think on the world which is to come. Rouse those who are indifferent-rekindle the fire in those that are cold--inflame our zeal-fortify our resolution in fulfilling our duty towards ourselves, towards our fellow creatures, and especially toward Thee, O Lord! Amen. A DISCOURSE, OCCASIONED BY THE LAMENTED DEATH OF DAVID RUSSELL, D.D. PASTOR OF THE CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH ASSEMBLING IN WARD CHAPEL, DUNDEE. BY WILLIAM LINDSAY ALEXANDER, D.D. "I will ransom thee from the power of the grave."-Hos. xiii. 14. "O Grave, where is thy victory?"-1 Cor. xv. 55. "Mit dem Grabesteine von Jesu Gruft ist die Last von jeden Menschenbrust gewälzt." [With the gravestone from the tomb of Jesus is rolled away the burden from each man's breast.]-Mynster. GLASGOW: JAMES MACLEHOSE, 83 BUCHANAN-STREET. |