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trines,-one who prayed for her prosperity, and ever sought her peace, has been snatched from her by a sudden and a fatal stroke. In the presence of such a calamity, all considerations of a sectarian kind disappear; the common interests of the catholic body become paramount in every heart, and the throb of a sincere and cordial sympathy bespeaks throughout the Brotherhood the consciousness of a common bereavement.

This large and populous town mourns his loss. In it his best days were spent, and to the welfare of its inhabitants, his best energies were devoted. Not indifferent to his worth whilst living, they are not insensible to the greatness of the loss they have sustained in his death. In the public tokens of respect that were offered to his memory on the day of his burial,-in the multitudes of respectable citizens who, clad in the habiliments of mourning, followed him to the grave,,-and in the thousands who poured forth to gaze in silent and respectful sorrow, as the procession, which accompanied his body to the tomb, passed along, a testimony, more eloquent far than words, has been given of how much he was beloved and regretted by those among whom his life was spent.

Dear

Our mourning is indeed great, for great has been our loss. and venerated friend,-able and devoted minister of Christ,-faithful and tender pastor,-wise instructor and counsellor, we sorrow for thee, yet not as those for whom no consolation is left. Thou art gone, but the memory of thy greatness and thy worth remains. Thy monument is amongst us in the enduring fruits of "thy works, and charity, and faith, and patience." Thy name shall abide with us as a "household word." Till we shall join thee in that land of light, and love, and joy, whither thou hast gone, we will cherish the recollection of thy labours, thy virtues, and thy worth. Till then, beloved, honoured, lamented Russell, farewell!

And now, my brethren, let us turn for a brief space from the departed, to ask, Of what use is this trying dispensation to be to us? Events like these are not sent without a wise and gracious purpose; and it is for us to endeavour to penetrate their meaning, and receive the lessons they are calculated to convey.

The members of the church which this dispensation has bereft of its

pastor, will at once see that it has a loud and impressive voice to them. Brethren, your privileges have been great! What has been your improvement of them? To you much has been given! What have you rendered?-what are you prepared to render in return? Oh! what a church should yours be!-so singularly benefitted !-so impressively bereft! Be worthy of your past advantages, and let it be seen for the future, that this visitation has not been sent upon you in vain. Call to mind your departed pastor's counsels, instructions, warnings, reproofs, and exhortations; let them exert upon you an influence all the more deep and commanding, that he who uttered them shall speak to you no more; and let it be manifest that the seed he so diligently sowed, for so many years, is yet germinating within your souls, and shall yet bring forth much fruit, to the glory of Him from whom all your by-gone privileges have come. The spirit of your departed pastor was one of sincerity, of love, of purity, of zeal: let that spirit prevail amongst you. Be zealous for God; be valiant for the truth; be solicitous for the welfare of the church; and be at peace among yourselves. Whilst you display no imprudent haste to supply the vacancy occasioned by this dispensation, let not the interests of the cause of Christ among you suffer by needless and fastidious delay. You cannot expect to find one who will all at once fill the place of your departed pastor in the public eye, nor can you find one, who, coming among you as a stranger, will ever be to you, who have grown up under his instructions, all that he was to you, or who, as he did, "will naturally care for your state." But if you go wisely and prayerfully to work in this matter, you will not, I trust, have to wait long for one who will, with fidelity, diligence, and ability, take the oversight of you in the Lord. Your departed pastor, on his death-bed, said he left you under the care of Christ. May He, the living Head of the church, the great Shepherd and Bishop of souls, have you in his gracious keeping, and lead you in the right and perfect way!

It may be that I address some who, though privileged from Sabbath to Sabbath to listen to the faithful and instructive ministry of the deceased, have hitherto continued unconverted, impenitent, and unrenewed. To such, alas! what shall I say? or with what words shall I hope to move those on whom the powerful and pointed appeals of so eminent a preacher have hitherto fallen without effect? I can but remind you, my friends, of the greatness of the privileges you have enjoyed, of the awful responsibility which the enjoyment of such

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privileges entails,—of the guilt you have already contracted by your neglect of them,—and of the still further guilt you shall yet contract, should you allow this solemn event, by which these privileges have been withdrawn from you, to pass away without awakening you from your criminal indifference, and leading you in penitence and petition to the footstool of Divine mercy. Oh that the voice which now cries to you from the sepulchre may have that power over you, which was denied to the living eloquence of your departed teacher! Oh that the recollection of his by-gone instructions, rising up within you, amid the hallowing solemnities of this day, may at length subdue your obduracy, and win you to that Saviour whom he ever urged you to accept! It is not yet too late. The door of mercy is still open for you. The blood of Christ can atone even for the sin of neglecting and despising it. Betake yourselves to that blood without delay:—who can tell whether the next summons to the judgment-seat may not be for some of you?

A few weeks ago Dr. Russell preached, in this place, a sermon on the anniversary of his instalment as pastor over this church,-the first sermon and the last of the kind he ever delivered. In the course of this, referring to the joy of bringing sinners to Christ, he spoke thus:-"It has been well said, by a friend of missions, 'The souls which we may have been the means of saving, will, in the day of Christ, be as a crown of glory around us, and yet, along with ourselves, form part of that brighter crown which shall beam around the head of our glorified Redeemer ; just as, in our solar system, the satellites revolve round their respective planets, and yet are with them borne in their mightier orbits around that brighter luminary which is the centre of the whole.' How elevating the prospect of being honoured to emit the faintest ray from one of the brilliant clusters of gems which adorn that dazzling crown which shall for ever encircle the head of the Saviour! But there is an honour higher still,-to blaze forth the central gem of one of these brilliant clusters." Such was the honour which this faithful minister craved; and such honour the great Head of the church has graciously vouchsafed to him in large measure. Shall it receive any accession now that he is gone? Shall he hear in heaven the tidings of the conversion of some whose consciences may this day tell them that they ought to be of the number of those who shall form that crown of joy which he shall receive in the day of the Lord? Resist not the conviction, I beseech you, if it rises in your minds. It is the last pleading with you of him whose voice you have been so long

accustomed to hear;—his pleading from the tomb. be in vain ?

Shall it too

In the discourse above referred to, Dr. Russell alluded touchingly to the changes which the lapse of time produces in the circle of friendship and christian fellowship, and I cannot more appropriately conclude these reflections than with a passage from this part of his

sermon:

"On looking back," said he, "we miss the friends of our youth; they have dropt, one after another, in slow but sure succession. We can tell of the incidents of their lives, the features of their characters, the changes through which they passed, and the dates of their successive departures; till death has almost gone round the circle, and has left few remaining. Those who survive are waiting for the stroke that shall join them to their friends above. The Lord bless them and keep them, spare them a little longer, and when their work on earth is done, take them home, as a shock of corn, fully ripe, is brought in in his

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These passages are quoted from Dr. Russell's manuscript, obligingly lent me by his son, the Rev. D. Russell. My text was selected without being aware that Dr. R. had expressed himself as above. The coincidence is perhaps remarkable.

GLASGOW:

PRINTED BY BELL AND BAIN, ST. ENOCH SQUARE.

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