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cause, remembering the day of judgment, he endea vours so to act now, that he may not be condemned then.

Suffer me, brethren, in my endeavour to save my soul, and to acquit myself of my duty to you and to God, to do that which, according to the best of my judgment, I believe to be right.

That you may understand how strictly the clergyman has been required to give heed to this particular point, I will read you the rule of the primitive Church respecting it; a rule which has been in the Church for more than fourteen hundred years. In cases where Christian burial is sought for, on the pretence of insanity, for persons who have destroyed themselves, it is said, "the clergyman shall carefully ascertain this, whether it be really so; for, oftentimes, out of a desire of obtaining the oblation for him, the connexions of the deceased misrepresent the case, to show that he was of unsound mind. The clergyman, therefore, ought to investigate it, lest he fall into condemnation 1."

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It can hardly be necessary to point out the reasons which demand that the solemn office for the burial of the dead should not be used for those who destroy themselves; they must be obvious to every one. When you return to your houses, read over that office, and judge for yourselves. Take, for instance, those two passages in which it is said, that God has taken the man out of the world.

The first, where it is said,

"forasmuch as it hath pleased Almighty God, of his

1 Can. Resp. Tim. Alex. A.D. 380.

great goodness, to take unto himself the soul of our dear brother;" the other, where it is written, “We yield thee hearty thanks, most merciful Father, that it hath pleased thee to deliver this our brother out of the miseries of this sinful world;" and then let, not only every clergyman, but every Christian, who tenders the honour of sacred things, consider whether his heart would not revolt with something like a sense of mockery, in applying these words to one who, being conscious of what he did, waited not for God's summons, but rushed headlong and unbidden into the presence of his Maker, directly contrary to His commands? Or look at those words in which we pray, "that we may rest in Thee, as our hope is this our brother doth." As long as there is a possibility for hoping that there may have been repentance, even for a single day, though hope may be reduced to the least possible degree, we should not be justified in refusing to express it, though oftentimes our hearts must feel sad, to think how little hope there really is. But how can we use it at all, (for the Church does not speak of vague and unfounded hope, but of that Christian hope which rests on the belief of God's promises,) in the case of one who took himself out of the world by an act of sin, which removed all possibility of repentance, (for there is no repentance in the grave,) and therefore utterly destroyed all hope according to the Scriptures, which every where teach us, that, without repentance, there is no forgiveness. Is it not clear that nothing will warrant the use of the burial office, according to the truth of Scripture, over

ground for believing that he was a madman, and destitute of the use of reason?

But there is another motive which has led the Christian Church, in all ages, to refuse Christian burial to such-and that is, a regard to the safety of others. "For," as one of the early councils' observes, "many presume to do this through ignorance :" i. e. being ignorant of the hopeless and desperate nature of such a sin. Therefore it behoves those to whom God has committed the ministry of reconciliation, and who have been appointed by Him to watch for the souls of the people, as they that must give account,It behoves, I say, the clergy, whom God has intrusted with this charge, to set such a mark upon this sin, that all men may be deterred from it. If the clergy have been instructed to do so, as you have seen they have been, and have failed to do it, as they unquestionably have failed, and the sin, through their neglect, has been increased, I see not by what means they can be excused from their share of the guilt. But mind, I speak not this to condemn others, for who am I that should judge another man's servant? but I write under the influence of what the Apostle has said, "To him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin." It is very true, that a strict and upright discharge of their duty would probably expose them to ill-will from many who could not understand their motives: but none who valued the honour of God, and the salvation of men, would find fault

1 Council of Braga.

with them; or, at any rate, they would not when the matter was explained to them. But, let the ill-will be never so great, let suffering or any persecution follow in consequence, this is no more than the true servants of Christ are in all times taught to expect: and when the alternative is either to suffer persecution, or to shrink from the conscientious discharge of our duty, he who has not learned to obey God rather than man-he who has not the true courage to fear Him who can destroy both soul and body in hell, more than those who kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do, does not yet know what it is to be a Christian.

And now I am told that I shall have to answer for my conduct, both in the spiritual and temporal courts -I am prepared to do so; and I know not the sentence that awaits me in either. But this I know, that if it be God's will that I suffer for serving Him faithfully, I can only say His will be done! and may He give me grace to thank Him for counting such a sinner as I am worthy of so high an honour!

If the temporal courts condemn me, I shall submit as to any other persecution, acknowledging no authority in them to guide me in my spiritual duties. If the spiritual courts condemn me-brethren, until I hear sentence pronounced, I never will believe that those who administer the laws of the Church will punish me for obeying the laws of the Church, which, God knows, is all that I have done.

And now I will say no more. Holding the situation I do, I could not but feel desirous of an oppor

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tunity of explaining the grounds and motives of my conduct in the face of you all, that you may be better able to form your own opinion concerning it.

And now, brethren, I commend you to God and to the word of His grace. Of this be assured, that whether I am allowed to continue with you, or whether I am compelled to depart from you, let me be in what place I may, I shall never lie down at night, nor rise in the morning, without offering my petitions at the throne of grace for your welfare and salvation.

Now to God the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.

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