Favonian, from warm chambers of the south Or, if this seem to be but the language of fancy and of poetry, and, therefore, barren of consolation, let us go to the oracles of truth, of which the departed was an interpreter, and which are as rich in consolation as in admonition. There may you behold, with the eye of faith, the temple of God opened in heaven, and the glory of the Ancient of Days, and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God. "And lo! a great multitude, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues," standing before the throne of the majesty on high, “clothed in white robes, and palms in their hands." Do you ask, "What are these, and whence came they?" "Here is the patience of the saints." These are they that have kept the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus. They have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb." They have come out of great tribulations; for their delight was in the law of the Lord, who hath guided them by his counsel, and now receiveth them into glory. "Therefore are they before the throne of God, and serve him, day and night, in his temple; and he, that sitteth on the throne, shall dwell among them. They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more, and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain; for the former things are passed away." Their labors are finished, their righteousness is perfected. In their "Father's house are many mansions," and an eternal and exceeding weight of glory. For they are come to "the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem." They are come to the general assembly of the church, and "to the spirits of just men made persect,” and "to an innumerable company of angels," and messengers of God's word, and to Jesus, the Mediator, and to God, the Judge and Father of all; where "they, that are wise, shine as the brightness of the firmament, and they, that have turned many to righteousness, as the stars forever and ever." "Wherefore, comfort one another with these words." RIGHT HAND OF FELLOWSHIP. [Delivered at the Ordination of the Rev. C. Lowell, Jan. 1, 1806.] THE decorum, which belongs to this place and to this occasion, does not allow me to express all the pleasure which I feel, upon being called to begin the year by greeting a friend and classmate, under the new, but not unexpected, relation of a brother in the gospel. If, in offering you the fellowship of the churches, I should suffer myself to dwell with too much fondness on expressions of personal good-will, you, I know, would forgive me, but I should hardly have performed the duty assigned me by this honorable council. In their name, therefore, and by their direction, I now present you this right hand of fellowship. Interpret it as the symbol of union; as a pledge, freely granted you, of our coöperation, counsel, and support. But it intimates yet more. It signifies affection, as well as concord. Take it, then, again, my brother, as a testimony of our Christian charity, which we pray may never fail; of our joy, which we hope will never be abated; of our expectation, which we trust will not be disappointed. We and our churches are by this act united, not in the bonds of an ecclesiastical league, not under the dominion of an infallible superior, not for the purpose of strengthening the secular influence of our religious societies, nor in the spirit of any selfish and mercenary connexion; but in those equal and spiritual ties, which God has hitherto blessed and hallowed to the peace of the churches of New England. For we are united in the same faith and profession, in the same duties and hopes, in the same ordinances and liberties, and, as we trust, in the same spirit also, under one Lord, even Jesus, and "one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in all." than Are not these grand principles of common faith in the divine authority of our religion, and common desires to promote the holy influence of its laws, strong enough to bind our hearts together, though our speculations may sometimes warp asunder? Is there not, amidst all the varieties of discipline and faith, enough left to us in common to preserve a unity of spirit? What though the globes, which compose our planetary system, are, at some times, nearer, at others, both to one another and to the sun, now crossing one another's path, now eclipsing one another's light, and even sometimes appearing to our short-sighted vision to have wandered irrecoverably, and to have gone off into boundless space; yet do we not know that they are still reached by some genial beams of the central light, and continue, in their wildest aberrations, to gravitate to the same point in the system? And may we not believe that the Great Head of the Church has always dispensed, through the numerous societies of Christendom, a portion of the healing influences of his religion; has held them invisibly together, when they have appeared to be rushing farthest asunder; and, through all the order and confusion, conjunction and opposition, progress and decline of churches, has kept alive in every communion a supreme regard to his authority, when clearly known, as a common principle of relation to him and to one another? It is not with you alone, my brother, that we express our fellowship, but with this church also, which has spread out her arms to receive you, as a gift of God. Brethren, we rejoice in your prospects, which, as they should be, are brilliant; for your history has been illustrious, and we respect you, when we venerate your pastors. Surely, the desk, where such men as Mayhew and Howard have stood, is privileged above the common walks of public instruction. May we not venture to express our fellowship with them, also, though departed? God grant, that we may, some time, join their communion! But their light has not yet vanished, though their orbs have set. Of Mayhew we have heard and read only, but enough to know that posterity will hear and read of him also. They will be curious to learn more of that intrepid spirit which nothing could depress, of that vigorous understanding which broke so easily the little meshes which were spread to entangle it. However they may hesitate to follow him in all his speculations, they will never hesitate to admire his noble attachment to his country, its liberties, its churches, and its literature; they will not be interested to depreciate the independence of his virtue, the manliness of his piety, and his undissembled love for the cause of the Redeemer. Howard we have seen; and who, that has seen him, has forgotten the patriarchal simplicity of his character, united with a tenderness which would have been admired even in a brother? Who, that knew him, is not eager now to assure us that he had ingrafted the most sublime virtues and honorable accomplishments of his predecessor on the sound. and uncorrupted stock of his own integrity? But we forbear, for we remember the words of one of their contemporaries : He, who flatters the dead, would deceive the living." 66 |