,transcribed from the #ahdb ,j4 ,g4 ,f4 
,j4 ,rivington edition by ,david ,price4
                                        
,a                                      
,,farewell ,,sermon1                    
,,delivered                        ,,on 
,,sunday1 ,,october #bc1 ,a4,d4 #ahdb1  
,,at ,,the ,,parish ,,church ,,of       
,,st4 ,,mary ,,abbotts1 ,,kensington4   
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,,by ,,the ,,ven4                       
,,archdeacon ,,pott1 ,m4,a4             
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,,printed ,,at ,,the ,,request ,,of     
,,the ,,parishioners4                   
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,,london3                     ,,printed 
,,for ,j4 ,g4 ,f4  ,j4 ,,rivington1     
,,st4  ,,paul',s ,,church ,,yard1       
,,and ,,waterloo ,,place1 ,,pall ,,mall4
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,,to                               ,,the
 ,,parishioners                         
,,of                          ,,the     
,,parish ,,of ,,kensington1             
,,the ,,following ,,discourse1          
,,with ,,every ,,fervent ,,prayer ,,for 
,,their ,,welfare1                      
,,is ,,inscribed1                       
,,by ,,their ,,faithful                 
,,and ,,affectionate ,,servant1         
,j4 ,h4 ,,pott4                         
,a ,,farewell ,,sermon1 c4              
,,eccles4 iii4 #a4         8,to every   
thing there is a season1 and a time to  
every purpose under                     
the heaven40    ,,when time draws on to 
a close with us1 the last opportunities 
should be  carefully regarded and       
applied to some such purpose as may show
 what has  been the chief aim and the   
main design of past endeavours4    ,a   
sad thing it would be1 indeed1 if the   

last portion of our time were to  be    
reserved for some single effort3 for who
 can accomplish at one step  that which 
a daily progress only can effect8       
,they who enjoyed long lives of old     
time1 indulged1 it must be owned1 in    
some complaints which showed more of the
 weakness of our common nature1  than of
 that proficiency for which the loan of 
life1 whatever may be the  term of its  
duration1 is bestowed4  ,the good king  
,hezekiah poured his  lamentation1 when 
it should seem he had much cause to be  
contented with  what ,god had wrought   
for him in his day4  ,he called that    
8the cutting off  his days10 which it   
may be thought he might have met with   
more  complacency of mind1 from the     
contemplation of the benefits which ,god
 had  enabled him to procure for        
,israel3 but if there was any token of  
infirmity in this1 it was coupled with a
 pious mind1 and the suit was  therefore
 heard and granted4  ,if ,david1 too1   
seems sometimes querulous in  his pleas 

for the enlargement of his days1 yet he 
added a good and  becoming reason for   
it1 that he might show the power of ,god
 to that  generation in which his       
eventful lot was cast1 and make it known
 to those  who were to come4    ,but we 
may remark in general1 that we do not   
form a right judgment of the            
,providence of ,god1 if at any time we  
speak with disparagement of the term  of
 human life1 as too short for the       
accomplishment of things which form  its
 proper end4  ,we should consider1      
rather1 that in all cases the gift  of  
life is made capable of some sufficient 
share of the mercies and  salvation of  
the ,lord4  ,it becomes so for all who  
partake a common  nature1 where they put
 no impediment to the current and       
communication of  ,divine ,grace4  ,let 
us weigh this point with care3 it has a 
seasonable  application at this moment1 
since it will prevent undue regrets when
 any  portion of the loan of life may   
cease to serve the purposes to which it 

may have been conducive whilst the      
season for its exercise endured4    ,if1
 then1 it is the child who is called    
hence to an early grave1 he goes  with  
the seal of grace upon him2 and what was
 wanting here1 the bud1 the  blossom1   
and the ripened cluster1 will thrive in 
a happier soil1 and  flourish in a more 
propitious climate4  ,the thread of     
life1 which1 in  this case1 was so soon 
severed from the parent's bosom1 was    
fastened to  the throne of heaven1 and  
death has no power to dissolve it4  ,the
  ,conqueror of ,satan1 who brought life
 and immortality to light1 will not     
exclude those little ones1 whom ,he once
 called into his presence1 from  the    
rescued train of countless multitudes   
who shall hear that glad word  of       
introduction1 8,behold1 ,i and the      
children whom ,god hath given me40  ,the
 privileges of the ,gospel stood pledged
 to them in this life to render  their  
change blessed to themselves1 and to    
leave that consolation1 in the  day of  

sorrow1 for surviving friends4    ,if   
the call hence comes in somewhat of     
maturer years1 though still in the  days
 of youth1 the young man will have lived
 long enough to have learned  the       
rudiments of saving knowledge1 and to   
have practised the first  lessons of    
,christian faith and ,christian duty2   
and thus the best end for  which the    
loan of life was given1 will have found 
that happy earnest of  its future       
fulness4    ,if1 again1 the thread of   
life shall have been continued to later 
periods  of its course1 no doubt the    
opportunities for all those advantages  
to  which life can minister1 will render
 it at all times a blessing and a  boon4
  ,nor will you wonder1 in comparing the
 longer with the shorter term  of life1 
that the suit of supplicating parents in
 our ,lord's days1  whether for the     
child or for the youth1 was so often    
granted by a  restoration to a more     
protracted term of life4  ,you will not 
wonder that  our ,blessed ,lord should  

so mark the value of the life which now 
is1 and  its connexion1 by a right      
improvement of it1 with the life of     
glory4  ,we  are bound1 indeed1 to bless
 ,god for all the dispensations of his  
hand1  for they all serve for good2 but 
we must not reverse the language1 not of
  natural feeling only1 but of more just
 conceptions of the purposes for  which 
life is given1 or be led to think that  
death is the boon1 and that  a return to
 this life could be no blessing4  ,when 
did our ,lord make that  answer to the  
mourner's suit8 or when did ,he reprove 
the tears and  sorrows of survivors with
 that cold reply8  ,so little ground is 
there1  among the singularities of dress
 and manners in which some have placed  
so  much of their religion1 for refusing
 to put on the mourning weed for the    
departed4  ,there is but a single       
instance in the ,sacred ,volume of a    
prohibition so enjoined2 and then it was
 designedly portentous1 denoting  the   
last extremity to which offences had    

grown up in ,israel1 and the            
punishments which were to follow4    ,if
 now the term of life runs on1 and the  
seasons are prolonged1 old age  comes   
forward1 and not without its burdens and
 privations4  ,will you  plead here with
 old ,barzillai1 to whom ,david gave a  
gracious invitation1  to mark the sense 
he entertained of the value of past     
services1 proposing  that he should     
return with him when he was restored    
from exile1 and  brought back in peace  
and honour to ,jerusalem8  ,the old     
man's answer was  not entirely the most 
proper and becoming3 8and ,barzillai    
said unto the  king1 ,can thy servant   
taste what ,i eat1 or what ,i drink8 can
 ,i hear any  more the voice of         
singing-men or singing-women8           
,wherefore1 then1 should  thy servant be
 yet a burden unto my lord the king80   
,but ,barzillai1 if  this was ill       
spoken1 showed a prudent spirit in what 
followed1 for he  puts in a prompt plea 
for his son3 8,behold10 said he1 8thy   

servant  ,chimham2 let him go with my   
lord the king1 and do with him what     
shall  seem good unto thee40  ,now      
,david might1 no doubt1 have replied1   
8,i want  you for the council-board1    
where your sage experience may yield me 
better  service than this youth can     
furnish40  ,but ,david had a due regard 
to the  privileges of descent1 and to   
the preference to be shown to the       
children  of deserving parents who may  
spend their lives in the service of     
their  country1 and frequently can find 
no reward in this life1 but in the      
persons of surviving children4  ,it is  
the plain stamp of barbarism which      
rests upon those governments which do   
not recognize this principle1 and  where
 the hand of power makes one only       
testament for the frail possessor  after
 all his services4  ,david formed a     
different judgment2 he accepted         
,barzillai's tender of his son2 he      
followed the same course which he had   
pursued with poor ,mephibosheth1 the son

 of the princely1 noble-minded          
,jonathan1 who preferred the known will 
of ,god1 and his love to ,david1 to  the
 crown of one who had incurred the      
forfeiture of what he had so            
ill-sustained4  ,david placed           
,mephibosheth at his own board1 although
 he  could neither serve him in the     
field1 nor attend him in his exile4     
,the  first order made upon the king's  
return1 after receiving ,mephibosheth's 
excuse1 was to confirm to him the grant 
which had before been made in his       
behalf4    ,thus have we traced the     
several stages of the life of man1 and  
in each of  them we have found that life
 might be a blessing1 and the ground of 
every  blessing2 and that ,god1 ever    
gracious1 ever merciful1 might crown    
with  some word of benediction the      
closing days of each such term or period
 of  the life of man1 just as ,he did   
the six glorious days of the creation4  
,the morning and the evening 7for so we 
reckon time7 were followed by a  solemn 

benediction1 but with a special blessing
 for the ,sabbath-day1 the  crown of all
 that stupendous work1 the day          
sanctified by the ,creator's  rest2 the 
day claimed for ,himself1 with a marked 
reserve1 such as the  true ,proprietor  
of all that ,he had made1 and of all the
 bounties which  distinguished man's    
first abode in ,paradise1 was pleased to
 attach to one  tree in the garden1 by  
which the first pair might be reminded  
of the  homage due to ,god1 and might   
fulfil it by a strict regard to his     
commandment4    ,the ,sabbath-day6      
,with what joy must its regular returns 
have been hailed  in the first scenes of
 an unblemished world2 and how good and 
gracious  was the ,author of that first 
hallowed institution1 so that in the day
 of  forfeiture1 not only was the first 
pledge of salvation given1 but the      
welcome respite from increasing labours 
by returning ,sabbaths was  continued4  
,it had no limitation or exception in   
its first appointment1  nor should we   

presume to put such2 much less was there
 any intimation  given in that hour that
 the appointment of this day1 with its  
solemn  benediction1 was but an         
anticipated notice of the ,jewish       
,sabbath1  together with what was indeed
 peculiar to it1 when1 after long       
intermissions or neglects1 it was       
revived4  ,can we think that when 8for  
every thing there is a season10 there   
was to be none more especially          
provided1 in all times1 for religious   
observation8 and that1 too1 when  the   
,sovereign ,lord had set his seal to    
such provision1 without one word  which 
could affect its perpetuity8            
,accordingly we find a set time for     
religious exercises mentioned in that   
new scene of discipline and trial  to   
which man was removed2 for1 indeed1 he  
was not cast out as an alien  and an    
enemy1 a wanderer and a wretch4    ,in  
this hour of closure for my pastoral    
care among you1 it may not be           
unseasonable to advert to things which  

have found their turns in hours of      
teaching and persuasion4  ,let me then  
entreat you to remember those first     
acts of grace1 the early grounds of good
 hope1 which made life itself1  with all
 its seasons1 a blessing1 and1 if       
rightly husbanded1 the  seed-plot of all
 blessings to the sons of men4  ,nothing
 but a new  apostasy could destroy that 
hope1 when the term of life was         
continued  where it might have been cut 
short1 in which case the human race     
would  have been extinguished1 and that 
triumph would have been given to the    
common foe to ,god and man4  ,nothing   
but a new apostasy from ,god would      
render man1 in his state of promised    
rescue and encouragement and in the  new
 term of his probation1 an enemy to     
,god4  ,before that horrible  desertion 
from his worship1 the ,most ,high made  
his visit to the  patriarchal altar1 and
 gave that memorable declaration of his 
will1 8,if  thou doest well1 shalt thou 
not be accepted80  ,the ground was laid 

in  purpose and effect for that         
acceptance2 and surely the assurance    
thus  added was not for one family4     
,thus there is a ,sabbath still set     
apart for a welcome day of rest1 and    
for religious exercises2 a day1 the joy 
of which ,i have so often shared  with  
you in these happy seasons of religious 
worship and communion4  ,remember the   
well-timed distinctions which ,he who   
was ,lord also of the  ,sabbath-day1 as 
the partner of his ,father's glory1     
prescribed for the  right observance of 
the day1 divesting it of its legal      
strictness and  peculiarities1 and still
 more protecting it1 by an open         
vindication of  its essential objects1  
from ,jewish scruples and from ,jewish  
superstitions4    ,o look well to the   
duties of the ,christian ,sabbath6  ,we 
want no  traditionary warrant for its   
transfer to the glad day of the         
,redeemer's  resurrection4  ,the        
,scriptures furnish plain and           
indubitable vestiges of  that change4   

,look well to its salutary obligations1 
bound upon us by the  twofold cogency of
 precept and example4    ,remember who  
it was1 who1 after the scene of his     
ministerial labours1  kept his last     
,sabbath in the grave1 and crowned with 
perpetual glory the  day of his         
triumphant resurrection4  ,well might   
that day become not only  the day of    
rest from labour1 but a day of gladness 
and release from  worldly cares and     
occupation1 and1 above all1 the happy   
emblem of a rest  from every evil work1 
a respite from a bondage worse than that
 of servile  ,egypt1 a rest too from the
 galling yoke and ruling power of sin1  
which is  the privilege of faith4       
,among such topics as may now claim a   
seasonable repetition1 ,i may again     
remind you how much it behoves us1 in   
consulting the written word1 the  rule  
of faith and duty1 to avoid all partial 
views1 by which restriction  one truth  
would exclude another2 or1 what is      
worse1 a wrong conclusion  may be joined

 with what is only true in some         
respects1 and both the truth  and the   
fallacious inference may thus gain      
currency together4  ,the  neglect of    
this rule has brought more strifes and  
divisions into the  ,christian world    
than almost any thing that can be named4
  ,take an  instance if you think fit2  
there is more joy when that which is    
lost is  found again1 than for that     
which was never lost4  ,this is true in 
that  respect2 but will you strain the  
matter farther1 and say that the        
recovered sheep is of more worth than   
the whole flock to which it is          
restored8  ,will you say that the piece 
of silver which was missing1 and  when  
found creates much joy on that account1 
outweighs all that the  purse1 from     
whence it dropped1 contained8  ,will you
 say1 that the  pardoned son1 who       
returns to the right path by a true     
repentance1 and  fills his father's     
heart with well placed and unwonted joy1
 is in all  respects to be preferred to 

the son who never left the right path   
from an  early day8  ,the forgiving     
father's answer will convict that       
misconception3--8,son1 thou art ever    
with me1 and all that ,i have is        
thine40  ,if the elder brother may be   
thought to have lost his preference1  it
 could only be because of his envious   
temper and his ill-timed  remonstrance4 
,in avoiding partial views and          
misapplications of what is  true1 the   
more numerous and more general and      
plainer testimonies1 and  those which   
admit but of one construction1 will be  
the guiding light for  reconcilement and
 consistency--not for preference1 for   
that would still be  but a partial view4
    ,i may here add a necessary caution 
7oftentimes suggested1 for it           
frequently proves needful71 to give heed
 to the native idioms or forms of       
speech1 which were in use1 and rightly  
understood1 by those to whom the  word  
of treaty and persuasion was first      
addressed4  ,the use of learned  pains  

will thus appear1 as well as of every   
method of right reasoning in  the study 
of the sacred ,scriptures1 the rule of  
faith and duty for which  we have to    
bless ,god daily4    ,i may now touch   
upon the best and only safe ground of   
trust which we have  to take in any     
season of review1 when past portions of 
our lives are  recalled to our          
consideration4  ,we may look1 now1 to   
the hope of pardon1  and allowance for  
things done amiss1 or things left       
undone2 and blessed  be ,god that ground
 has been laid1 or who could stand in   
judgment in the  last account8          
,certainly not the boastful and         
punctilious ,pharisee2  certainly not   
those who have keener eyes for the      
faults of others than  for their own    
defects4  ,excellent are the words of   
our ,lord's apostle1  and now most      
seasonable in their application2 thus he
 marks it for a  ruling principle of    
charity1 that it 8thinketh no evil10 and
 is not1  therefore1 apt to censure or  

condemn4    ,it is but in some respects1
 that we can speak well of those whom we
 are  least inclined to censure1 and    
most ready to regard with favour2--and  
with  that remark ,i shall fairly take  
leave of what concerns myself in this   
day  of valediction4    ,but ,i am well 
aware that the season of departure from 
accustomed scenes  of duty is a proper  
season for advice1 and to this last     
tribute of  sincere affection and       
regard1 ,i will now address myself4     
,we stand much for authority1 for rights
 of station1 and the sacred  warrant of 
the pastoral commission--and we do well1
 for without them there  would be no    
order in the world1 no joint progress in
 a common path2 no  peace1 no security4 
,when every man in ,israel did what was 
right in his  own eyes1 and nothing by  
direction or consent1 it was a day of   
trouble  and disaster1 of ruin and      
confusion4  ,they who will own no guide 
in the  way they have to tread1 had need
 be well acquainted with the road4      

,it would be well if such men1 who      
despise all guides1 would be content to 
go alone--but was it ever so seen in all
 the world8  ,are not such the men  who 
strive most eagerly to press others into
 their train from all  quarters where   
they can obtrude themselves and spread  
their pestilent  opinions1 and lay their
 destructive snares8    ,but the rules  
of pastoral advice derive their         
obligation from the  simplest forms of  
truth2 were it otherwise1 how would they
 meet the  varied calls for choice and  
resolution which come forward in the    
course  of human life8  ,if the truth   
itself has no special period for the    
height  and measure of its growth in    
human breasts1 yet it has for its       
perpetual  standard ,god's own eternal  
attributes4  ,in those perfections of   
the  ,deity1 the sure test of truth is  
established4  ,our ,lord's apostle takes
  this ground2 8,he that cometh to ,god1
 must believe that he is20--and  observe
 what follows1 8and that he is a        

rewarder of them that diligently  seek  
him20--in which two particulars1 the    
existence of ,god1 and the              
never-failing characters of truth1      
wisdom1 equity1 and goodness in such    
expressions of his favour1 the sure     
foundations of his moral government  are
 laid1 as well as the sum of every moral
 and religious obligation4  ,this       
appears in all the articles of faith1   
and in all the acts of duteous  service2
 it appears in all that ,god hath done  
for us in the great work of  our        
redemption more especially1 and in all  
that he requires of us in  order to a   
future recompense4    ,let no           
vicissitude in things by which men are  
tried1 but with a sure  refuge under all
 events for the dutiful1 tempt you for a
 moment to forget  that the 8ways of    
,god are equal30 it was his own         
challenge to backsliding  ,israel1 and  
the last result will not fail to confirm
 it4  ,let no light  conceit at any time
 induce you to suppose that the great   

truths1 upon  which the hope of our     
salvation is built1 may be regarded as  
things  indifferent1 for which another  
season may be found2 or that such       
things1  with all their convincing      
proofs and trains of evidence1 are      
placed  beyond our reach4  ,can we think
 that our ,lord's word is not verified1 
that1 8,wisdom should be justified of   
her children80  ,and with respect  more 
particularly to disingenuous pleas of   
difficulty1 do we find the  rules of    
faith and duty things so hard to be     
ascertained8  ,have we no  sufficient   
traces of them in the light of          
conscience2 in the bright  tokens and   
communications of ,god's own grace and  
solemn declarations1 in  the powers of  
right discrimination1 without which     
there could be no  reasonable choice of 
any thing that best deserves our        
compliance8  ,have  we not 7blessed be  
,god67 the sacred1 never-erring ,word1  
which has been  written for our         
learning1 and for our sure direction in 

all things  needful to salvation8    ,it
 is much to be observed1 in such general
 statements1 that the ,apostles  of our 
,lord never failed to add to their      
reasonings with ,jew or ,gentile1       
scribe or sophist1 such comprehensive   
testimonies of the grounds of faith  and
 the fruits of holiness in those who    
continue true to their  engagement1 as  
will leave no room for uncertain tests  
or bold opinions1  for endless          
fluctuations in the mind and conduct1   
with doubts and  difficulties of our own
 creating4  ,it is true1 that in the    
revelations of  ,god's will there are   
things which no human faculties1 or even
 those of  the purest of created beings 
in the realms of light1 could penetrate1
  until the ,most ,high so graciously   
revealed them1--things which relate to  
his own ,essence1 with his purposes and 
counsels for the redemption of  mankind2
 but is it so hard to understand that   
when all was forfeited1 ,god  should    
send a ,saviour from the throne of glory

 to become the new ,head of  mankind1 by
 taking flesh1 and in that nature1 which
 ,he by his ,divine  prerogative had    
power to assume1 to fulfil all that     
wherein our common  sire had failed8    
,was not this a nobler exercise of      
,divine wisdom1 than  the creating a new
 race1 and leaving that triumph to the  
common foe to  ,god and man1 that one   
such race was lost8  ,is it so hard to  
be  understood1 that to vindicate the   
credit of ,god's ,holy ,law1 there      
should  be one sufficient satisfactory  
atonement1 one sacrifice never more to  
be  repeated or renewed8 or that1 by the
 prevailing intercession of the same    
,divine ,redeemer1 the gates of ,heaven 
should be set wide to a rescued  race1  
whose own exertions should from         
thenceforth be well employed1 in  spite 
of all the force and all the artifices  
of the common adversary8  ,the glory of 
,divine grace is thus exalted1 when the 
first gifts of ,god  are again directed 
to their proper ends4  ,to raise        

children unto ,abraham  of the stones of
 the desert1 had been1 no doubt1 an easy
 task to the  ,almighty2 but would it   
have served so highly to his glory1 as  
the  preservation and recovery of the   
first formed race8  ,is it so hard to   
perceive how signally the conspiring    
attributes of ,god1 his justice1  truth1
 and mercy1 were thus illustrated and   
made to meet together in that  work of  
redemption1 which was accomplished in   
,christ ,jesus8  ,does it  require much 
scope of argument or pains of study to  
enable us to see1  that to redeem       
mankind was an object no less worthy of 
,divine  interposition1 than to create  
them from the first8    ,again1 could we
 safely remain strangers 7as some would 
gladly seem to do7  to the several      
branches of all moral obligations1 when 
they have been  confirmed anew1 and     
drawn out into manifest example1 and set
 before us so  expressly for our        
imitation1 in our ,lord's own life8     
,st4 ,paul's brief enumeration of faith1

 hope1 and charity1 forms the sum  of   
what in other places he sets forth with 
a large detail of things  required of   
us1 all serving to the same end and     
intent3 only1 remember  carefully what  
that end is1--it is not the same for    
which ,christ wrought  and suffered1 and
 ,he only could sustain2 yet is it the  
8reasonable  service10 or 8living       
sacrifice of the whole man10 which is   
required1 in  order not only to our own 
improvement1 which could not thrive     
without it1  but in order to a promised 
recompense1 which1 together with the    
freedom  of the ,gospel state1 were     
procured for us at so rich a cost4  ,the
 ransom  paid1 the heritage obtained1 by
 one only righteous ,mediator1 how      
widely  do they differ from the promised
 recompense for the faithful and        
sincere6  and yet how consistent are    
these things in their whole effect6     
,there is  one judgment-seat for both1  
and one form of judicial sentence1      
though in  different respects1 is       

applied to both2 but how different is   
the language  in which the same ,apostle
 speaks of each4  ,there is no need to  
call in  the suffrage of a              
fellow-witness to correct his view1 for 
both he and his  fellow-witness1 when   
they speak of the same things1 use the  
same  language1 and declare the same    
consistent judgment4    ,and what1 then1
 is our ,lord's compendious draft of    
things required of us  in the days of   
our probation8 it is 8to love the ,lord 
our ,god with all  the heart1 and with  
all the soul1 and with all the mind1 and
 with all the  strength2 and our        
neighbour as ourselves40  ,will you     
strain a flight  beyond this1 and regard
 the care for yourselves as too low a   
pitch for  your wishes to excel1 or for 
the native worth of what is good8  ,do  
but  consider that the welfare and the  
happiness of his reasonable creatures   
formed the first object and design of   
the ,creator1 and can never cease to  be
 his purpose2 consider1 too1 that any   

kind of moral goodness which  should not
 be good for us1 would want just so much
 of real goodness1 and  of its proper   
and essential excellency4  ,it was one  
of the vilest errors  of the heathen    
world1 and one which prevailed much1 as 
their earliest  historian tells us1 that
 there was envy towards man among the   
gods2 and  no wonder1 if the rule of    
,providence could be placed in such     
hands as  they feigned for its          
administration4    ,again1 as the truth 
itself is always true1 and virtue1 which
 is its  image1 is no less uniform and  
constant1 most groundless and injurious 
must be those restrictions which would  
shut out any one real virtue or  its    
exercise from the ,christian pattern2   
for in so doing we should  detract just 
so much from its integrity4  ,you may   
reverse the proposition  if you think   
fit1 and say1 with truth1 that every    
virtue puts on the  ,christian          
character1 not from any date of their   
adoption1 but as they are  cherished and

 enhanced by new motives and            
inducements1 and strengthened  by the   
bond of unity and concord in the        
,christian household4    ,can ,i forget 
at this moment1 befriended as ,i have   
been in the past scene  of my labours1  
that among the virtues which some would 
leave to the  heathen1 together with the
 patriot spirit and the courage to      
maintain it1  ,friendship has been made 
to share the sentence of exclusion8  ,at
 this  rate the noble-minded ,jonathan  
could not be added to the list of       
worthies1 to recount which ,st4 ,paul   
found the day too short4  ,but the      
glowing pen of ,david has inscribed the 
name of his generous and  ever-constant 
friend with the sons of faith1 in       
characters which no time  shall efface4 
,and what then8  ,had our blessed ,lord 
no family of friends  which brought him 
even weeping to the grave of ,lazarus8  
,was it for  nothing that it was then   
said1 8,behold how he loved him80  ,had 
our ,lord  no disciple who was laid in  

his bosom at the paschal feast2 to whom 
also  ,he gave his last charge          
concerning her who should be blessed    
among women8  ,most gladly1 therefore1  
shall ,i pay the debt of friendly       
obligation on my  removal from among    
you1 and cherish that good property of  
mind which has  so many moral motives   
for exciting its first growth1 and      
brings forth so  many moral fruits in   
its maturity which may be stored in     
everlasting  garners4    ,but as strange
 as that distinction is which would cast
 out real virtues  from the ,christian  
code1 ,i may now warn you from an       
opposite extreme4  ,thus have words of  
counsel been exalted above the word of  
the  commandment4  ,let us weigh this   
also for a moment2 it has been1 and     
continues still to be1 the nurse of many
 fond conceits4    ,if you strive to put
 more into a vessel which is already    
well  replenished1 will you not displace
 some of its contents8  ,and if this be 
done where the hand of the ,lord hath   

filled the vessel1 that we may drink    
and thirst no more1 but live for ever1  
the loss 7not to name the  sacrilege7   
will outweigh the gain a thousand-fold4 
,the boastful young  man1 who would not 
accept the word of the commandment at   
our ,lord's lips  as a full reply to his
 inquiry1 but said1 8,all this have ,i  
kept from my  youth up2 what lack ,i    
yet80 did not receive1 in answer to this
  pretension1 a word of counsel4  ,our  
,lord showed him plainly what the true  
breadth of the commandment was4  ,thus  
he required no more of him than  that   
which became the bounden duty of many in
 the days of trouble which  succeeded4  
,many were made to feel the force of    
that never-changing  precept1 which     
demands the sacrifice of all things     
sublunary1 where the  bond of ,truth    
cannot otherwise be kept4  ,there was no
 sacrifice1 then1  proposed to this     
aspiring youth1 nothing counselled1     
beyond the verge of  the commandment2   
and the test to which he was put was but

 the fruit of  his overweening zeal4    
,when some of the early ,christians were
 not contented to wait the coming  of   
the fore-named obligation1 but sought   
martyrdom of their own accord1  although
 our ,lord enjoined them when persecuted
 in one city to flee into  another1 the 
,church interposed1 and set a mark of   
public censure upon  such rash exposures
 of the lives of faithful men4  ,will   
you say1 then1  that ,st4 ,paul put     
forward words of counsel for which he   
acknowledged  that1 in advising what was
 best for those days of peril1 he had no
  commandment8  ,he did so2 but as he   
had received no commandment1 so did he  
impose none4  ,he left his converts free
 to follow his advice according to      
their own discretion3 he laid no bond   
upon them1 no vow1 no snare1 no         
scruple2 for1 indeed1 he was the steady 
foe to things unbidden4    ,and what1   
then1 are the general and never changing
 precepts which no  flight of zeal can  
surpass8  ,we have already taken one    

such comprehensive  rule from our       
,lord's lips2 but to enlarge a little on
 a theme so  seasonable at all times1 we
 may remark1 that the word of precept   
requires  us to weigh and esteem things 
according to their real worth2 to seek  
the  kingdom of ,god first1 and his     
righteousness2 to prize that pearl of   
price  above all other things2 to take  
readily1 as ,st4 ,paul showed in his    
example1 what ,god giveth1 with a       
thankful and becoming use of the welcome
  gift1 but with a just sense that what 
may be bitter and distasteful1 if  such 
be the cup1 will serve for good to those
 who love ,god2 we are thus  enjoined to
 be content with such things as we have1
 to keep under and to  combat every evil
 inclination1 for there lies the place  
and proper  exercise of self-denial2 it 
will prove unfit and injurious when     
pressed  beyond its uses4  ,it was the  
aim of the apostle to set free to all   
things  lawful and becoming1 but not to 
be brought under the power of any2 which

  shows at once the misery and          
inconvenience of an iron chain1 whether 
forged by others1 and imposed upon us in
 their names1 or adopted by our  own    
devices4    ,he who will set up better  
rules than these1 must not expect his   
word to  be taken for them2 he must     
prove them by the known declaration of  
the  will of ,god1 or by sufficient     
reasons1 tried by the sure word of the  
commandment4    ,there were not wanting1
 we may now remark1 many who passed the 
season of  attendance before the coming 
of the promised ,mediator1 with some    
profit  to themselves and others4  ,we  
have noticed this with respect to the   
patriarchal age and to the ,israel of   
,god2 and it holds good1 in some        
measure1 with relation to the ,gentile  
world4  ,there were those even where    
the hideous darkness of idolatry        
prevailed1 among whom truth found its   
seasonable culture4  ,there were those  
who sustained in some sort the  credit  
of the human race4  ,they sought a      

refuge in their own reflections  from   
false worship1 and delusions gross1     
impious1 and far below the  character of
 man4  ,they betook themselves          
accordingly to some sound  principles of
 moral truth and moral wisdom4  ,thus   
the faculty of right  discrimination1   
and the power of conscience1 when not   
drowned in vice and  superstition1      
exhibited some lines1 and showed some   
traces of the great  ,creator's image4  
,they reduced the rule of life and of   
well-doing to some  fixed points2       
prudence1 justice1 fortitude1 the love  
of truth1 the scorn  of falsehood or    
deceit1 self-government1 with other     
noble qualities1  exhibited plain       
characters of man's first resemblance to
 the ,author of  his being4  ,thus      
things which are always true and always 
good1 kept their  place in some fair    
examples1 and sustained the claim which 
such men had  to be the teachers and the
 monitors of others1 although without   
authority  to teach or to direct--that  

want remained to be supplied1 as the    
wisest of  them fairly owned4    ,our   
blessed ,lord1 who came to bind the     
bruised reed1 and to fan the least      
spark of the smoking flax1 never turned 
with scorn from such tokens of  good    
disposition and right judgment1 or      
failed to give his word of  commendation
 when they came before him4  8,i have   
not found so great  faith1 no not in    
,israel10 were words which embraced the 
qualities of mind  which were always    
found to be most favourable to prepare  
the heart 7the  seat of every moral     
property7 for any seed of truth which   
should be cast  upon it4  ,such was the 
good ground of which our ,lord made     
mention in his  instructive parable of  
the ,sower and the ,seed4  ,a rational  
acknowledgment1 with a just esteem for  
what is good1 is the soul of  faith1 of 
which the tenth leper left a memorable  
proof4  ,without such  moral properties 
faith might be the hand for receiving   
any benefit1 but  where would be the    

mind to understand its value1 and       
perceive the nature  of its obligations8
  ,let the nine lepers who were healed1 
but returned  not to give thanks1 supply
 the answer4  ,but if the ,gentile sages
 showed  indeed sound judgment in       
reducing rules of ethics to fixed       
principles1  our blessed ,lord with the 
full warrant of divine authority formed 
the  draft of faith and duty1 sometimes 
compendiously1 and sometimes with       
particular enumerations4    ,but again1 
with these main principles and          
never-changing objects of  regard1 there
 is another word which has its special  
season--it is that of  pastoral         
entreaty2 and it remains for me to press
 it at this time--it  results1 indeed1  
from the whole view which has been      
taken4    ,never then1 ,i beseech you1  
my beloved brethren1 consent to yield   
the  profession or the practice of the  
rule of faith and duty1 for fear or     
favour2 for any flattering bait or      
treacherous inducement1 never lose      

sight of what is due to ,god1 to your   
fellow-creatures1 and  yourselves2--only
 remember that if we neglect to take    
thought for others1  that is not the    
care for ourselves which we are enjoined
 to extend to  others4  ,and here ,i    
cannot sufficiently commend the manifold
 attentions  of the prudent and sincere1
 which have been paid to the needs of   
many in  this vicinage4  ,o6 let that   
care continue for your poorer           
brethren--let it  manifest itself in the
 religious instructions which your      
schools provide  for their children1 and
 in a thousand instances of kindness    
which the  succours which the law       
requires cannot supply4    ,and yet     
again1 amidst all these incumbent       
obligations1 there is still  room for   
the words of ,solomon1 8to every thing  
there is a season20 and  the present    
moment constrains me yet once more to   
conjure you to bear  these things in    
mind1 to keep them as the treasure of   
your hearts4  ,if  such shall be the    

purpose and endeavour1 it matters less  
at what period  the foot is stayed1     
provided it be found in the right path  
when the day  of travel or of any       
special charge shall close4  ,but in    
such case1 when  we can no longer walk  
together as companions1 there must be   
the word of  exhortation for those who  
have to go forward--let it then be the  
word of  the apostle--to 8walk worthy of
 your vocation wherewith ye are called1 
with all lowliness and meekness1 with   
long suffering1 forbearing one  another 
in love1 endeavouring to keep the unity 
of the ,spirit in the bond  of peace4   
,there is 4 4 4 one ,spirit1 even as ye 
are called in one hope  of your calling2
 one ,lord1 one faith1 one baptism1 one 
,god and ,father of  all1 who is above  
all1 and through all1 and in you all40  
,to us who have walked long together1   
there is another cheering word on       
separation1 when most happily the new   
guide1 with every hopeful  commendation1
 is at hand and ready to succeed4       

,there is but one word more1 one which  
cannot be amplified1 for it  contains   
the sum of every good wish1 every       
grateful sense and  recollection of past
 kindnesses--there remains but the      
little1 yet  significant and            
comprehensive word--farewell2 8and this 
,i pray1 that your  love may abound yet 
more and more1 in knowledge and in all  
judgment2 that  ye may approve things   
that are excellent1 that ye may be      
sincere1 and  without offence until the 
day of ,christ40                        
99 99 99 99 99                          
,,the ,,end                             
99 99 99 99 99                          
,,london3                               
,,gilbert ,,and ,,rivington1 ,,printers1
                              ,,st4     
,,john',s ,,square4