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— the love of sin iinslain, and depravity burning its deep and corroding 

 brand within the soul ! Ah ! it is the suddenness of scenes like these — it 

 is their unexpectedness to the individual, which makes them so awful and 

 fearful ! Prepared for death — girded for the judgment, and clad in those 

 robes of righteousness, which alone can bear its living light ; a sudden 

 death is not to be deprecated — with the love of God within the soul, and 

 the living everlasting Saviour at hand, a solitary death is not to be deplor- 

 ed ! But unprovisioned for eternity how fearful ! unprepared for the solemn . 

 interview with God, which must then ensue, how tremendously awful is a 

 sudden death ! Who would appear before his Maker with the love of sin 

 uppermost in his soul — who would thus appear, even united to Christ, 

 with the world clustering around, and clasping the affections of the heart ? 

 Not so ! Oh, not so, would he that is wise die ! How lightly, friends, 

 should we esteem the thing of time, and what priceless value should we 

 attach to the interests of the deathless soul ! And yet poor man, in his 

 blindness and sin, reverses all this ! God stoops, and invites us to his 

 arms, and to his heavenly home, but too many busied with the vanities of 

 earth, and eager in its pursuits, slight those rich treasures and everlasting 

 joys — turn away from these offers of life, and seek an heritage for time ! 

 Other thoughts, frier ds, crowd upon me, but I must hasten ! I trust 

 you see and feel the teachings of the text, enforced as they are by the fear- 

 ful incident which convened us together. "We are but pilgrims on the 

 shores of time ! Sojourners on the earth as were our fathers ! Here we 

 have no abiding place — passengers at the best, we walk in darkness, un- 

 der perils and in great suspense — the future is all Jiidden — we know not 

 what a day may bring forth ! Do you esteem the picture dark and 

 gloomy ? and ask what can be done ? I answer, trust in the Lord and d(i 

 good ! thus may you fill up your lives with acts of usefulness, and deck 

 them with deeds of Christian honor ! Thus passing away, piety shall give 

 you the tribute of tears ; and the bosom of virtue shall send forth sighs at 

 your decease! Do you still ask, as to what can be done.^ I answer, 

 make Jehovah God in Christ your refuge, and trust, and then it shall be 

 well with you, well with your soul! "He that dwelleth in the secret 

 place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty." 

 It is your privilege so to live, and so to bind the hopes of the gospel of 

 •Jesus Christ to the heart, that you may dread the grave as little as your 

 bed ! Here is the Bible of God — the great moral light which teaches Je- 

 hovah's will — presents the provisions of His mercy ; with its truths re- 

 ceived — with its remedies embraced — with its Saviour believed in, and trus- 

 ted on, you have a stay which shall avail amid the conflicts of time — more ! 

 it shall cheer you as you go down under the power of Death's arm — light- 



