death, it comes home to our feelings; it makes us fear and tremble. This, above all things, is the most powerful instrument of awakening our attention to the means he has provided for our escape. But we must remember, that it is not mere fits of devotion, nor occasional agitations of grief for our sins, nor the transient and glowing exercise of our best affections towards our Maker, that will secure his favour; but habitual penitence, and that faith which works by love, and purifies the heart from its moral defects.

We are now, my brethren, by the solemn scene before us, most strikingly admonished of the necessity of attending to these things. The corpse that lies before us, not in words, but in language more tender, more persuasive than any words could be, tells us to make our peace with God; that when we depart hence, we may be welcomed into that blessed mansion where we presume he now is in happiness and joy. Dear young man, I esteemed and I loved thee; but God had a superior claim, and has taken thee from those that loved thee on earth, that thou mayest enjoy more fully his blessed presence, and be embraced with a purer affection by saints and angels in light. Dark and mysterious, O God, are thy dispensations; but just and true are thy ways, thou King of saints!

We felt need, great need of the sacred services of this young man, in the holy office on which he had just entered; but thou, O God, hadst a right to place him in thy paradise, and to leave thy Church here to mourn. And great cause have we indeed to mourn. With every advantage to be useful; thoroughly furnished as an ambassador of heaven, this young man had just set out upon the sacred career, with a mind richly endowed by nature; furnished with all the advantages of a finished education; elegant and graceful in person; clear and sweet in elocution; ardent to proclaim the Gospel of the Redeemer he loved; to convert sinners; to comfort saints; to do the work of an evangelist; and to wait till his labour was finished for his reward in heaven. With all these advantages, and all this promise to the Church here

below, he but just opened his divine commission; was called away by his Master, and has left nothing but kis lifeless remains here before us, to weep over, to lament with the keenest grief, the absence of the interesting, the intelligent, the affectionate, the pious spirit that lately dwelt within it, and beamed forth its loveliness upon us through a person adorned with all that youth could bestow upon the fairest human form. O death, how dreadful are thy ravages! No human excellence can escape thy desolating hand! Thanks be to him who has wrested from thee thy power; who will ere long destroy thy cruel reign; restore to us again these frail bodies, bereft of their corruption, and clothed in celestial beauty. It becomes us to wait with faith and patience till this glorious change is effected. Weep we may, upon this melancholy occasion, for we have lost one that many of us tenderly loved; and Jesus himself wept at the death of a beloved friend. But though with him we weep, yet the words that he then pronounced will soothe our grief, will dry up our tears. "I am the resurrection and the life," saith the Lord," he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live; and whosoever liveth and believeth in me, shall never die." This declaration greatly assuages our grief; and, if it does not immediately put an end to it, yet, upon reflection, it will perfectly reconcile us to every evil we now endure, and at length turn our sorrow into joy.

It is with great concern that I view the afflicted family and friends, now bereaved of the darling object of their hope, and the exercise of those kind, tender, and mutual affections which constitute the finest and best enjoyment of human life. I see you sunk in grief, and I know that nothing is so keenly distressing, as for parents to be called to close the eyes of those who, according to the course of nature, should close their own. I participate in your sorrow; I partake largely of your grief. Still I must tell you, that God can do us no wrong; his we are ourselves, and his are all that are most nearly connected with us. He doeth whatsoever he pleaseth; and happily for us he

pleaseth to do that which is most for our good. While he afflicts us, he is ready to sustain us under it; he pitieth us as a father pitieth his own children; he takes no pleasure in our sufferings, but sends them upon us to draw us nearer to himself. Afflictions, even of the severest kind, are no indications of his neglecting us; but, on the contrary, that he watches over us with the tenderest care. "For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth." We should, therefore, not only be patient and resigned under his afflictive hand, but our love and gratitude should be increased by it, by finding that we are subjects of his kind and watchful care; though wounded to the quick, yet we can certainly love him who grieves us for our own good; who chastises us here, that we may be for ever blessed and happy with him hereafter. To his fatherly kindness 1 commend you, begging him to render your present affliction instrumental in helping you forward to that blessed place, where sorrow will be felt no more, where tears shall be wiped from every eye.

But we are all afflicted on this occasion; every tender string of our hearts is touched, and we involuntarily weep with them that weep. We all want consolation. Let us then look where, and where only it can be found, to our Father and God. Let us trust with unbounded confidence in him. He has almighty power to protect us; his unerring wisdom will direct our goings, and his infinite goodness will overpay our slight sufferings with an unfading crown of glory. When all human means fail us, he can adapt his succour to our necessities. Agitated as our minds now are with sorrow, he can assuage our grief. The doors are never shut against the divine assistance; that can find admittance and give relief when nothing else can. It can speak comfort to the agonized bosom, and peace to the dying. If we have this divine Comforter within, we shall not sink under the evils we endure, nor feel alarm when threatened with all the terrors of death. In that sacred custody, in which they that sleep in Christ shall be preserved, we may see a rest from pain and weariness,

from trouble and distress. With the holy hope of a Christian we may patiently endure what is laid upon us here. In the exercise of its graces, weaned from the cares and interests of the world, we may be brought even to desire, with St. Paul, to be no longer absent from Christ; knowing, as he did, and as he assures us, that if our earthly tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. With this hope, therefore, my brethren, let us soothe our present sorrow, and be influenced by it to pursue, with increased alacrity, our journey through this earthly pilgrimage to our heavenly inheritance.

God grant us grace thus to do, through the merits of Jesus Christ our Lord and Saviour.

For the Christian Journal. MORRIS S. MILLER, ESQUIRE. THE death of this gentleman was noticed at page 380 of our last volume. We have been favoured with the following extracts from the funeral sermon delivered on the Sunday after his interment, by the Rev. Henry Anthon, Rector of Trinity Church, Utica :

"It is not only a fond and affectionate family, a numerous circle of friends, and the community at large, whom this bereavement affects: the Church, my brethren, is also a sharer in the calamity. To this Church especially it is a 'time to mourn.' In Judge Miller she has lost one of her founders, one of her warmest friends, one of her firmest and most liberal supporters. A striking trait in his cha racter was his attachment to the Episcopal Church; an attachment not hastily formed, but the result of rational, diligent, and well matured inquiry. A sober and unprejudiced investigation of the institutions and services of the Church, served to fasten upon his mind the conviction, that she was evangelical in her doctrines, apostolical in her priesthood, pure and unrivalled in her worship. It was this affection for the Church which made him adhere to her through good report and evil report, and labour unceasingly for the promotion of her welfare. At a period when

this congregation was deprived of the benefit of ministerial services, encumbered with difficulties, and exceedingly depressed, he was not wanting in his exertions; and is entitled to a full share of that praise which our bishop then bestowed upon some of its members. In the state of the Church at Utica,' says the bishop, in his address to the Convention of 1819, I received a strong evidence of the beneficial effects of continuing the service in destitute congregations by means of lay-reading. That congregation, for more than a year, have been deprived of ministerial services; and yet, by the judicious attention and exertions of some of their own number, who, without interfering with the ministerial functions, kept the church open by reading prayers and a sermon, and extended their counsel and care to their brethren of the congregation, and particularly to the young, the spiritual interests of the Church have been preserved from serious injury.'

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"This honourable testimony, brethren, belongs in no small degree to him who has been removed from among us. In proportion as adversity overshadowed the Church, was his solicitude to seek her good;' and no one rejoiced with more sincerity when he marked her increase in numbers, piety, and respectability. But whilst he was steady in his preference, and established in his attachments for one denomination, he was prudent, mild, and without bigotry. He valued his Church before every other. He freely conceded to others that liberty of conscience which he required for himself. Nor was this love for the Church without its influence on his life and conversation. He saw that here were the words of eternal life. The more he became acquainted with our enlightened and scriptural standard of faith and practice, and imbibed the spirit of our matchless liturgy, the more he felt persuaded that the things belonging to his peace' should engage his concern. Yes, brethren; long before disease had assailed his frame, did such considerations occupy his thoughts. Under the goodness and grace of God, they were not without their proper fruit. They

were the means of leading him to the altar of his Redeemer. After diligent examination and preparation, he there received, and at every opportunity was ready to receive, the pledges of that love which did humble itself even to the death upon the cross for us, miserable sinners.

"But the wisdom of such a choice, the worth of these principles, can be tried by no surer tests than the bed of sickness and the hour of death: and blessed be God, in the character before us, their efficacy at these solemn seasons was proved, their preciousness was felt and experienced. He heard the rod, and him who had appointed it, and humbled himself under his mighty hand.' To him who is 'our only help in time of need,' his petitions ascended with constancy and fervour, for strength and support under his af fliction, for the perfecting of his penitence, and the stablishing of his faith and hope. And during the last months of his visitation, scarcely a day passed without our uniting in prayer to the 'Father of mercies and God of all comfort.' When his extreme pain and distress at times prevented our interview, he would send for me as soon as he had experienced any abatement, to thank God with him for the relief. At every seeming intermission indeed of his disease, his gratitude was loudly expressed. Fully sensible of his unworthiness in the sight of God, he placed his hopes of pardon on the cross. Aware of his obligations to his God and Redeemer, he was peculiarly anxious whilst stretched upon the bed of pain, to testify his faith and love, by participating once more in that hallowed ordinance, which, under its most affecting symbols, is designed to convey the richest blessings to the humble and believing. Disappointed, by the nature of his disease, in several attempts which he made for this object, his wishes were at last gratified; and his friends cannot soon forget his fervent acknowledgments of the consolation, strength, and composure of spirit, imparted to him by this instituted means of grace and mercy. The goodness of Providence was with him a favourite topic: he attributed every success in

life to the Divine Providence; and his expressions of thankfulness to that Being who had given him all things richly to enjoy, were both fervent and frequent.

"Under all the vicissitudes of disease, his love for the Church glowed with unabated ardour. Anxiety for her prosperity lay near to his heart. Of the strength of his attachment to her principles and institutions, most interesting was the evidence given almost in his last moments. It was on last Sunday evening, the evening but one preceding his death, that he made this declaration before I left his bedside. Brethren, it was his dying testimony, and should be deeply engraven upon the hearts of every member of this communion. Having observed that he had attached himself to the Church, because she was evangelical in her doctrines, apostolical in her priesthood, and pure in her worship, he then with energy reminded me of this eloquent remark of one of our bishops: Should you at any time be tempted to go away from your Church, say with unshaken attachment, To whom should we go? Here is pure doctrine and primitive discipline; here are the words of eternal life; and we know and are sure that, if we fail of obtaining eternal felicity, the loss must be attributed to our own neglect. With this remark he bade me farewell for the night. On the following morning it was too evident that his mortal career was drawing to a close. The approach of death was gradual. Though the body was reduced by debility and suffering, the mind was free from agitation. Frequently, in the course of the day, he awoke as it were from his mortal stupor, and joined with fervency in prayer. 'How solemn are these prayers!' would he remark. 'Let me have another solemn prayer.' He repeated with peculiar emphasis this expression in one of them: The Lord gave, and the Lord taketh away,' &c. And after I had prayed with him for the last time, he dwelt with marked satisfaction the concluding sentence, upon 'Admitted-admitted to the mansions of everlasting rest and love, through. Jesus Christ our Lord, our Redeemer, and our Advocate.? In the evening the

Society for Promoting the Enlargement and Building of Churches and Chapels.

AN institution under this title has been in existence for a few years past in London, the principal object of which is sufficiently explained by the title itself. Our readers will be interested in the following brief account of its operations, which we have extracted from the sixth annual report of its committee of management, made at a general meeting of the society, the archbishop of Canterbury in the chair, on the 2d of June last, and published in the Christian Remembrancer for October. One result of the laudable efforts of this society, the providing free seats for the poorer classes of the community, is an object in which we have felt considerable interest, and, which we have occasionally brought to the view of our readers.-Free sittings in an Episcopal church were never more wanted than at this day in the city of New-York. If such a church cannot be raised and supported by voluntary subscriptions, how would that man be blest, and his name be handed to the latest posterity, who should bequeath a portion of his property to so noble a purpose.

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During the last year, 102 applica

In the Collection of the Dutch reformed

Church. To this hymn and the 13th in the Prayer Book he was never weary of recurring.

tions for assistance have been received, some of which are still under consideration; grants have been made in 62 cases, amounting to £13,758; and by the aid of that sum additional accommodation will be obtained for 17,630 -persons. The number of free and unappropriated sittings will be 13,088.

"It appears that the whole number of applications received since the establishment of the society, is 556; that 316 grants have been made; that in 39 cases, in consequence of offers of increased accommodation, the sums originally voted have been increased; and that the total of grants amounts to £76,880. But it must be observed, that 21 grants, amounting to £4955, have, from different causes, been relinquished; and that in five instances the works have been completed without claiming the sums which had been voted, amounting to £530. The total amount, therefore, of grants, as well those which have been already paid, as those which remain to be paid upon the production of proper certificates, is £71,395."

"The committee cannot but direct the attention of the subscribers to a circumstance which, though it does not involve an important sum, serves, in their opinion, to show the utility of the institution. They allude to the completion of the works at Wateringbury, Beddington, Kingsbury, Cirencester, and Southend, in the parish of Lewisham, without a claim being made by those places for the grants which had been voted to them. The knowledge of the existence of this society, and of its readiness to afford assistance, operated as a stimulus to provide an increase of accommodation. Applications were made to it, and aid was voted; but these places having found their own resources adequate to the works which they had undertaken, handsomely forebore to claim the grants, leaving the money to be appropriated to cases of greater urgency. The same number of free and unappropriated seats has, however, been obtained, as if the grants had been actually paid. The conditions imposed have been fulfilled, though the promised aid has not been called for; and thus from the impulse given by the VOL. IX.

society, a greater quantity of that kind of accommodation which is most wanted, has resulted, than would probably have been afforded, if these works had not been begun under its auspices.

"The committee have also the satisfaction to observe, that the society operates beneficially upon parishes of every description, whether situated in the country or in towns, whether of larger or of smaller population. It has lent its aid towards procuring additional accommodation for 50, or 40, or 85 persons, where only that number was required; and it has contributed to provide church room for much greater numbers at Bath, Wrexham, Walsall, Coventry, and many other populous places. The number, both of applications and of grants during the last year, exceeds that of each of the three preceding years. This may be considered as a proof that the society is in full activity, and that a part only, (probably a small part) of those undertakings which it was designed to encourage and assist, is as yet completed. It must be gratifying to the subscribers to learn, that by the grants which have been made, the society will be instrumental in providing additional accommodation for 91,955 persons, and that of this number, the free and unappropriated sittings amount to 69,295.”

"The whole amount of donations received is £ 61,209 19s. 10d. (which sum having been invested in the public funds has been increased by their rise,) and that of annual subscriptions is about £3000. The amount of money actually paid, and of grants, to the payment of which the society has pledged itself, is £71,395; and the disposable balance at this time is reduced to a sum less than the expenditure of the last year by one half.

"In the expenditure of the money, the committee have endeavoured to proportion the assistance given to the magnitude of the work, and to the necessity of the case; and their main object has been in every instance to secure as great an increase as possible of free and unappropriated sittings, that the poor may have the gospel preached to them. The number of such sittings obtained, will be 69,293.”

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