Brontë, Patrick. A Sermon … in Reference to an Earthquake (1824) and A Funeral Sermon for the late Rev. William Weightman … (1842), reprinted in Brontëana, ed. by J. Horsfall Turner, (Bingley, 1898), 209–219; 252–262.


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A
 
SERMON
 
PREACHED
 
IN THE CHURCH OF HAWORTH,
 
On Sunday, the 12th day of September, 1824,
 
IN REFERENCE TO AN
 
EARTHQUAKE,
 
And extraordinary Eruption of Mud and Water,
 
THAT HAD TAKEN PLACE TEN DAYS BEFORE,
 
IN THE MOORS OF THAT CHAPELRY.
BY THE REV. PATRICK BRONTË, A. B., 
Incumbent of Haworth, near Keighley.

“When were the winds

“Let slip with such a warrant to destroy?

“When did the waves so haughtily o’erleap

“Their ancient barriers, deluging the dry?

“Fires from beneath, and meteors from above,

“Portentous, unexampled, unexplained,

“Have kindled beacons in the skies; and the old

“And crazy earth has had her shaking fits

“More frequent, and foregone her usual rest.”

Cowper.
BRADFORD:
 
PRINTED AND SOLD BY T. INKERSLEY, BRIDGE STREET;
 
AND ALL OTHER BOOKSELLERS.
 
1824

PRICE SIXPENCE

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ADVERTISEMENT TO THE READER.
I wish the Reader to understand, that in preparing this Sermon for publication, I have condensed and shortened it, as much as the nature of circumstances would admit, in order, that as it was principally intended for the poorer classes of the people in Haworth, and the adjoining parishes, it should, both in the perusal and purchase, require as little as might be of their time and money. I am also desirous that the Reader should know, that it appeared to me to be a duty incumbent on some one, to afford them an opportunity of procuring, at an easy rate, a plain and practical statement of an extraordinary occurrence, of a monitory nature, which ought to be remembered and improved.

[Page 2 is blank, page 3 bears the above Advertisement. The Sermon occupies pages 4–16, with 28 lines per page. At the foot of page 16,— Printed at the Columbian Press, by T. Inkersley, Bradford.]


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A SERMON, &c,
PSALM XCVII. 4, 5.
“His lightnings enlightened the world; the earth saw, and trembled. The hills melted like wax at the presence of the Lord, at the presence of the Lord of the whole earth.”
THE Saviour of a lost world usually availed himself of all the advantages offered by incidental circumstances, calculated to convey moral and religious instruction to his hearers. The infinitely wise Redeemer selected this as the best method to awaken the drowsy, interest the indolent, inform the ignorant, and build up believers in their most holy faith.

Endeavouring, though at an immeasurable distance, to follow the example of our Lord, I would avail myself of the advantages now offered for moral and religious improvement, by the late Earthquake and extraordinary Eruption, which lately took place about four miles from this very church in which we are now assembled. You all know, that on the second day of this month of September, and in this present year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and twenty-four, at about six o’clock in the afternoon, two portions of the Moors in the neighbourhood sunk several yards, during a heavy storm of thunder, lightning, and rain, and issued forth a mighty volume of mud and water, that spread alarm, astonishment, and danger, along its course of many miles.

Previously to the issuing forth of this flood, as I learn from some who reside near the place, there was a very considerable tremour of the neighbouring parts, and I was able myself to perceive something of the kind, though at the distance of four miles. This circumstance, which was not noticed by many who live much nearer, requires some explanation, which I shall give you in a few words. As the day was exceedingly fine, I had sent my little children, who were indisposed, accompanied by the servants, to take [211/212] an airing on the common, and as they stayed rather longer than I expected, I went to an upper chamber to look out for their return. The heavens over the moors were blackening fast. I heard muttering of distant thunder, and saw the frequent flashing of the lightning. Though, ten minutes before, there was scarcely a breath of air stirring; the gale freshened rapidly, and carried along with it clouds of dust and stubble; and, by this time, some large drops of rain, clearly announced an approaching heavy shower. My little family had escaped to a place of shelter, but I did not know it. I consequently watched every movement of the coming tempest with a painful degree of interest. The house was perfectly still. Under these circumstances, I heard a deep, distant explosion, something resembling, yet something differing from thunder, and I perceived a gentle tremour in the chamber in which I was standing, and in the glass of the window just before me, which, at the time, made an extraordinary impression on my mind; and which, I have no manner of doubt now, was the effect of an Earthquake at the place of eruption. This was a solemn visitation of Providence, which, by the help of God, I shall endeavour to improve.

By considering How and for what reason Earthquakes are produced.

And then by making some particular observations in reference to that Earthquake which forms the immediate object of our attention.

Previously to my endeavouring to show how, and for what reasons Earthquakes are produced, let me tell you, that as my object is, I trust, solely to edify my hearers, and to do them good, I shall labour to be plain, carefully guarding against all unnecessarily hard words and phrases used by chemists, and many of the learned, and which lie beyond the reach of the generality of hearers, in almost every congregation, both in town and country.

When we speak of an earthquake, we mean an extraordinary shaking of the earth to a very considerable extent, which sometimes, though not always, rends the surface of the ground, and pushes it sideways, or upwards, or causes [212/213] it to sink lower than usual. Thus earthquakes have been in different ages and countries, the most dreadfully effective instruments of vengeance, which God has employed against his guilty creatures. Sometimes by earthquakes God has merely agitated the ground, and filled the inhabitants with terror. Sometimes he has caused wide and awful chasms to be made, but has destroyed no lives. Sometimes he has opened the flood-gates beneath, and produced standing pools of water; or, as in the case before us, overwhelming rivers that have borne down all before them. And sometimes by earthquakes he has let his vengeance fall in all its terror, shaking and sinking whole cities, with thousands of inhabitants, in a moment of time, and covering the ruins of men and houses over with one wide stagnant lake.

God occasionally, without the intervention of second causes, produces earthquakes, as he did at the destruction of Korah, Dathan and Abiram, with their rebellious adherents. But far more frequently he uses the elements as his instruments, which, however, does not make the work less his own, than if he were to effect his purpose by a miracle.

Sometimes earthquakes are produced by certain inflammable substances, such as sulphur kindled underground, and causing an expansion, that struggles till it bursts its usual limits.

This fire underground may be produced in a variety of ways; by the friction or collision of bodies, as when fire is elicited by the rapid whirling of an axis upon wood or iron; or by the quick and forcible contact of flint and steel; or by some chemical process, such as the pouring of water on newly burnt limestone; or fires may be kindled at greater depths than we imagine, by lightning or electrical fluid, under some other modification.

Owing to some one of these causes, no doubt, Etna, Vesuvius, and other burning mountains, for several days before they disgorge liquid fire, shake to their very bases, and not unfrequently cause a tremour far beyond these, exhibiting earthquakes on the grandest and most appalling scale. [213/214]

The kindling also by some of the aforesaid causes, of what miners usually call fire damps, and which are frequently to be found at the bottom of deep pits and wells, may produce such a convulsion and expansion as will constitute an earthquake. The dreadful effects of these fire-damps when kindled are but too well known in this country, to need an illustration; sometimes in deep and extensive coal-pits, where there is not a free and continual flow of air, explosions take place, that scorch and force all things round them; and, in an instant of time, hurry numbers of souls into eternity.

Water also is another cause of earthquakes, and the last that I shall mention. When a number of streams suddenly rush into one place under ground, which lies considerably below their respective sources, and especially when this water so collected is made to expand by extraordinary heat, arising from electrical fluid, or some other cause, like the too powerful expansion of water in an overcharged and overheated boiler, that trembles and bursts, it will make the earth that surrounds it to shake and rend, till the expanding element, urged on by the incumbent streams, obtains a vent, and either forms itself into a standing lake, or rolls onward in an impetuous torrent. This, in all probability, was the nature of the phenomenon we have under consideration; which, though it may be called by some the bursting of a bog or quagmire, had all the precursors, accompaniments, and results of an earthquake, and justly merits that appellation.

This shaking and opening of the earth, and eruption of mud and water, was preceded by a profound calm, and accompanied by a very high wind, and much lightning and thunder: and both before and after, the air was strongly electrified, as was manifest from the sultry heat, the frequent and vivid lightning and loud thunder, and the apparent mingling of the clouds, and their copper-coloured, and hazy, lowering gloom.

In all probability, as the ground is already sunk to a great extent, and riven and shaken for a considerable distance, there will be a more than usual conflux of water to the place; which may, from time to time, produce other sinkings of the earth, and other eruptions of mud [214/215] and water, upon a less extensive and less destructive scale.

The operating cause, whatever it was, must have been very powerful; as two cavities were formed, one of which was not less than four or five yards deep, in some places, and six or seven hundred yards in circumference; and a rapid torrent of mud and water issued forth, varying from twenty to thirty yards in width, and from four to five in depth; which, in its course for six or seven miles, entirely threw down or made breaches in several stone and wooden bridges—uprooted trees—laid prostrate walls—and gave many other awful proofs, that, in the hand of Omnipotence, it was an irresistible instrument to execute his judgments.

Having thus stated how earthquakes are produced, we shall briefly mention some of the reasons which God has for giving birth to, and employing them, in different ages and nations.

God, sometimes, produces earthquakes as manifestations of his power and majesty. In this sense he employed them at the delivery of the Ten Commandments to Moses; when “Mount Sinai was altogether on a smoke, because the Lord descended upon it in fire; and the smoke thereof ascended as the smoke of a furnace; and the whole mount quaked greatly.”

Sometimes earthquakes are produced as instruments of condign and final punishment; when men have obstinately persevered in rejecting the offered mercies of the Lord, and have proceeded to open rebellion against him. Such was the earthquake that caused that horrid opening which swallowed up the Israelitish rebels in the wilderness, and spread consternation and dismay throughout the remainder of their host.

Sometimes, God produces earthquakes as awful monitors to turn sinners from the error of their ways, and as solemn forerunners of that last and greatest day, when the earth shall be burnt up—and the heavens shall pass away with a great noise—and the universal frame of nature shall tremble, and break, and dissolve. In this sense, earthquakes are viewed in our text; and in this [215/216] sense our Lord viewed them, when he spoke of the destruction of Jerusalem, and of his coming to judgment; and in this sense we ought to view the earthquake that has lately been produced in our own neighbourhood and parish.

Let us then endeavour, by God’s help, to improve this solemn visitation, by making some particular observations in reference to it, as being the immediate object of our attention this day.

On the day after the earthquake, when the fame of it had reached the inhabitants of Haworth and surrounding parishes, motley groups of people from all quarters, hastened in to view the scene; and exhibited, in miniature, a picture of the world—a picture not merely of the inhabitants of Haworth, and Keighley, and Bradford, but of England, and France, and Spain, and the four quarters of the globe.

As I was myself one of the number, I had an opportunity of a near view of the picture, in the most advantageous light; and found it exactly to resemble fallen man, in all ages and climates, since God expelled our first parents from the garden of Paradise.

Whether we examine the Scriptures, or uninspired history, or the inhabitants of the most highly polished and civilised countries, or of the most remote and barbarous islands, where men come nearest to an unsophisticated state of nature, with the exception of a few outward and merely incidental circumstances, we find there is such an exact likeness, that each might be taken for a twin brother to the other; and that it might be truly said, this is but one family, whose whole souls and bodies are polluted by the sins of their common and fallen parents, and who all stand equally in extreme need of the enlightening influence of the Holy Spirit, and the cleansing efficacy of the crucified Saviour’s blood.

As I proceeded up the channel, along which the overwhelming and ruinous flood had lately passed, I heard some, whilst surveying the ruins of overthrown bridges and walls, lament in pathetic terms the great expense that must be incurred by the different townships. [216/217]

Others, I observed, were absorbed in matters still nearer home; whose sorrows were confined within the narrow limits of their own fields of corn, so lately their hope, but now laid prostrate and ruined. But the greater part, by far, I could perceive, rushed on, impelled by mere idle curiosity.

Here and there, however, I was able to discern one in deep contemplative mood, who saw by faith through nature to nature’s God, and could in the appropriate language of our text say—“His lightnings enlightened the world, the earth saw and trembled. The hills melted like wax, at the presence of the Lord, at the presence of the Lord of the whole earth.”

Some, I discovered, who being mere scientific men, could neither penetrate so far, nor rise so high as this; who only looked at second causes, and grovelled here below. In all their observations, however shrewd and appropriate in some respects, I could easily perceive, that they generally left out of their reasoning, the Grand First Cause. They wanted the wings of faith, to soar above matter into the region of spirit—and this want cannot be supplied, by the utmost stretch of human invention and power.

When I arrived at the two great cavities, I was strongly reminded of some memorable events recorded in the Scriptures, and of many of the occurrences of daily life.

A few gravely contemplated the sunk and riven earth, and, in pious ejaculations, poured out their hearts unto God. Like pious Noah and his family, whilst surveying the ravages of the Deluge, they thought of the direful effects of sin, of the infinite mercy, as well as justice, of the Lord; and how, in this instance especially, he had graciously remembered mercy in judgment.

Several graceless persons wrangled and disputed with each other, even in the very bottom of the cavities, and on their edges; utterly regardless of the warning voice of Providence, that so lately spoke to them in thunder, and seemed, even yet to give a tongue and utterance to every chasm that yawned around them. [217/218]

Similar to this, was that bad spirit that actuated the discontented Israelites, when they murmured rebelliously over the very seam of the closed pit, which, but the day before, had swallowed up a part of their host for the sin of rebellion.

Many, I perceived, on their return home, who in all the giddy frivolity of thoughtless youth, talked and acted as if they dreamed not either of heaven or hell, death or judgment. And some, as I afterwards learnt, though they had been thoughtful for a time, lost, in a day or two afterwards, all their serious impressions.

Thus we often find it to be in daily life. When some grievous calamity befals a neighbourhood, or unexpected and sudden death hurries away an individual of consequence, a few are only impressed as they ought to be with the solemn occurrence: the greater part continue to indulge in their bad passions and practices, utterly regardless of every warning, and not considering the awful reckoning they will be brought to for these things on the last day.

Let us pray earnestly for divine grace, that we may be enabled to act differently, and to walk by faith in Christ Jesus. We have just seen something of the mighty power of God: he has unsheathed his sword, and brandished it over our heads, but still the blow is suspended in mercy—it has not yet fallen upon us. As well might he have shaken and sunk all Haworth, as those parts of the uninhabited moors on which the bolts of his vengeance have fallen.

Be thankful that you are spared.—Despise not this. merciful, but monitory voice of Divine Wisdom—Hear, and learn to be spiritually wise, lest the day come suddenly upon you, when God “will laugh at your calamity, and mock when your fear cometh; when your fear cometh as a desolation, and your destruction cometh as a whirlwind;. when distress and anguish cometh upon you.” The Lord is long-suffering and of tender mercy; but if sinners continue to despise his mercies, and disregard his judgments, they shall at last be placed for ever beyond the reach of redemption, in eternal torments. [218/219]

Happy are they, and they only, who attend to the voice of the Holy Spirit; who deny themselves, and take up their daily cross, and follow Christ. They shall have faith, which is the victory that overcometh this world—they shall come off more than conquerors over death—and, in perfect security on the last day, they shall fearlessly and triumphantly survey the wreck of universal nature, when the sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood—when the stars shall fall from their orbits, and the heavens and earth shall dissolve in flames, and pass away.

Printed at the Columbian Press, by T. Inkersley, Bradford.

[This Sermon, preached Sept. 12th, 1824, in reference to the Eruption ten days before, was reprinted in the Cottage Magazine, (Bradford), Jan. 1825, pp. 9-18. It, and the “Phenomenon” that precedes it, with the Sermon on Mr. Weightman that follows, were reprinted at Keighley for R. Brown, Bookseller, Haworth, about a dozen years ago, in a pamphlet of 41 pages.]


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A FUNERAL SERMON
 
FOR THE LATE
 
REV. WILLIAM WEIGHTMAN, M. A.,
 
PREACHED
 
IN THE CHURCH OF HAWORTH,
 
ON SUNDAY, THE 2nd OF OCTOBER, 1842,
BY THE REV. PATRICK BRONTË, A. B., INCUMBENT.

THE PROFITS, IF ANY, TO GO IN AID OF THE SUNDAY

SCHOOL.

HALIFAX:
 
PRINTED BY J. U. WALKER GEORGE-STREET.
 
1842.

PRICE SIXPENCE.

[This is a pamphlet of 16 pages, large 8vo, of which page 2 is blank.]

A SERMON.
IN THE FIFTEENTH CHAPTER OF THE FIRST EPISTLE OF PAUL TO THE CORINTHIANS, AND THE FIFTY-SIXTH, FIFTY-SEVENTH, AND FIFTY-EIGHTH VERSES, YOU WILL FIND THE FOLLOWING WORDS:—“THE STING OF DEATH IS SIN, AND THE STRENGTH OF SIN IS THE LAW. BUT THANKS BE TO GOD, WHICH GIVETH US THE VICTORY, THROUGH OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST. THEREFORE MY BELOVED BRETHREN, BE YE STEADFAST, UNMOVEABLE, ALWAYS ABOUNDING IN THE WORK OF THE LORD, FOR AS MUCH AS YE KNOW THAT YOUR LABOUR IS NOT IN VAIN IN THE LORD.”

For more than twenty years, during which time I have ministered amongst you, this will be the first sermon I shall have read to this congregation, and it may be the last. This is owing to a conviction on my mind, that in general, for the ordinary run of hearers, extempore preaching, though accompanied with some peculiar disadvantages, is more likely to be of a colloquial nature, and better adapted, on the whole, to the majority. I might not, even now, have departed from this my usual line, had it not been, that some have requested I would publish what I may say on the present solemn occasion. Seeing that I mean to do this, I deem it proper, with prayer to God and previous meditation, deliberately to write down my thoughts, but yet in such plain terms that, whatever they were, they might be understood without the aid of extraordinary learning. I was also desirous that there should be no discrepancy between the pulpit and the press, but that what may be heard now, may be read again, without any alteration, which could hardly be done if all were to be trusted to memory.

It is the duty of every minister of the gospel, at all times, so to speak that, if possible, he may be understood by all his attentive hearers. Yet, whilst he sets forth the weighty truths in the Scriptures, he ought to do it in the pure and dignified language of Scripture, and not to debase them by a garb foreign to their character, but to clothe them in that attire with which it pleased Him to vest them, who has arrayed the heavens in majesty, and even the lilies of the field in robes eclipsing all Solomon’s glory. [253/254]

These reflections press upon me with unwonted force, whilst I consider, as on the present occasion I must necessarily do, the shortness and uncertainty of this mortal life, our vast responsibility, the speed of time, and the consequent near approach of eternity; an eternity to every one of us either of unspeakable happiness or unutterable woe.

The text itself is a sermon in reference to what I have already hinted, and in discussing it I shall first give a general explanation; and then apply it more immediately, directly or indirectly, in reference to the present occasion.

Both in biographical sketches and funeral sermons great care should be taken to consider, full as much the interest of the living as the fame of the dead; and everywhere, and at all times, there should be a due regard to truth, whether it may please or displease, disappoint or satisfy. For want of abiding by this rule many productions, such as I refer to, are calculated to mislead rather than edify, and most assuredly to give us a very different idea of men and manners from what we obtain by a careful perusal of the unerring and impartial word of God.

Our text would powerfully urge us to believe the truth, and to speak and practise it. Who that reads it can avoid being almost absorbed and lost in the contemplation of its doctrines. “The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law.” This it commences with, and solemn words they are, especially when it is considered that it is appointed for man once to die, and after that the judgment. None of us can plead any exemption. Die we must, whether we will or no, and judged we must be, though we should call on the hills and mountains to cover and hide us from the face of Him, who will sit on the great white throne of judgment. And should we on the last day of account be found to have been under the law and not under grace, then we shall discover by sad experience “that the sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law.” Through sin, and sin alone, death entered into the world; and not only was death introduced by sin, but sin gave death a goad, a poisoned dagger, fatal and tormenting, and capable of destroying both body and soul in hell for ever. The perfect law of God, [254/255] so far from wiping off this poison, or demolishing this sting, added virulence to the one, and strength and poignancy to the other. The perfect law of God, through man’s imperfection, notwithstanding its divine ordination for life, was found to be unto death—like a just but stern and inexorable judge, this law, in its spotless purity and wide latitude, arraigned the thoughts, desires, words, and actions, and all the commissions and omissions of the criminal, considering a breach of one, as a breach of all its commandments, and finding that there was none righteous, no not one, and not making atonement or opening a way for pardon, it passed the dreadful sentence on the culprit, and would have left him to perish for ever. We may, therefore, say with the Apostle, “thanks be to God which giveth us the victory, through our Lord Jesus Christ.” Yea we must come, after all our windings and subterfuges, and seek out the strait gate and narrow way, which is Christ, the truth and the life. We must enter in at the one, and walk in the other, if we would escape hell, and get into heaven. This may puzzle, or perplex, and disgust fallen proud man; the infidel may sneer, the scorner may laugh, the philosopher may despise, the lukewarm may disregard, and the sophist cavil; and Satan, and the evil deceitful heart may join the unholy alliance; yet the cause of God must stand. What was the result of the operations of the Eternal Mind, what was suggested by infinite mercy, and love, and executed by the hand of the Almighty, has prevailed, and shall for ever prevail, till the wicked shall be consigned to perdition, and heaven shall be peopled with the redeemed. To fulfil the Law, and make it honourable, to make atonement for the sins of the world by dying to conquer death, and take away his sting, by descending into hell to gain more than the victory over hell, was the work of Christ, who alone was capable of executing it, whilst the prerogative of the Spirit is to make Christ to be formed in our souls the hope of glory. Who then, in the fulness of his heart, would not say, “Thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory, through our Lord Jesus Christ;” and with St. Paul would not add, “therefore my beloved brethren, be ye steadfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, for as much as ye know that your [255/256] labour is not in vain in the Lord?” In this sinful, perverse world, we may often meet with difficulties and dangers, in our way to heaven, which, where faith is weak, may tend powerfully to shake us from our steadfastness; but knowing what is threatened, and what is promised, who it is that opposes, and who it is that encourages, whom we fight for, and whom we fight against, let us put on the whole armour of God, and courageously dispute every inch of the ground; marching vigorously and boldly on, till the victory is won, and we obtain the prize of immortality. We must abound, and continue to abound in the work of the Lord. Our obedience to Him, must not be niggardly, and dealt out in sparing measure, but must result from the overflowings of a heart changed by the renewing of regeneration—so shall we infallibly obtain the reward of our labour—a reward, indeed, not of debt but of grace—the free unmerited grace of Him who was dead and is alive again, who has the keys of hell, of death, and of the prison of the grave, and the kingdom of heaven. Our frail bodies must soon perish, and return to the dust; but by the power of Him who has said, “Let it be,” and the universe was created, they shall be raised in their own proper identity, in a manner far surpassing the comprehension of man, and probably of the highest Archangels, when this mortal shall put on immortality, and shine with unfading splendour for ever and ever.

These were the scriptural doctrines preached, practised, and maintained by him whose loss we deplore.

In his preaching, and practising, he was, as every clergyman ought to be, neither distant nor austere, timid nor obtrusive, nor bigoted, exclusive, nor dogmatical. He was affable, but not familiar; open, but not too confiding. He thought it better, and more scriptural, to make the love of God, rather than the fear of hell, the ruling motive for obedience. He did not see why true believers, having the promise of the life that now is, as well as that which is to come, should create unto themselves artificial sorrows, and disfigure the garment of gospel peace with the garb of sighing and sadness. Pondering on, and rejoicing in the glad tidings of salvation, he wished others to rejoice from the same principles, and [256/257] though he preached the necessity of sincere repentance, and heart-felt sorrow for sin, he believed that the convert, in his freedom from its thraldom, should rejoice evermore in the glorious liberty of the gospel; nevertheless, that he should mix fear with his joy, and pray earnestly, and watch continually, lest he should fall into temptation, well knowing that our adversary the devil, goeth about as a roaring lion, or in the assumed form of an angel of light.

After these preliminary remarks, in which I have been rather anticipating what I proposed for the second head, I shall now proceed to apply what has been said, directly, or indirectly, in reference to the present solemn occasion. Since many maybe desirous of retaining this sermon as a memorial of our departed friend, I shall give a few more hints, respecting his history and character, which though not full and perfect, may, nevertheless, in some measure answer the ends for which they are intended. The Rev. William Weightman was a native of Westmorland, and born of respectable parents, who spared no expense within the range of their power in the education of their children; wisely judging this to be the best, the most intrinsic, and abiding fortune they could give them. From school he went to the University of Durham, and at that well-conducted and celebrated seat of learning, for his assiduity, steadiness, and abilities, he obtained both fame and favour, and in due time graduated as a Bachelor and Master of Arts. Whilst he was there, I applied to the justly venerated apostolical Bishop of this Diocese, requesting his Lordship to send me a Curate, adequate to the wants and wishes of the parishioners. This application was not in vain. Our Diocesan, in the scriptural character of the Overlooker and Head of his Clergy, made an admirable choice, which more than answered my expectations, and probably yours. The Church Pastoral Aid Society, in their pious liberality, lent their pecuniary aid, without which all efforts must have failed. For about three years our Reverend Friend in his sacred office has laboured amongst us, faithfully preaching the doctrines expressed and implied in our text. There are many, who for a short time can please, and even astonish—but, who soon retrograde and fall into disrepute. His character [257/258] wore well; the surest proof of real worth. He had, it is true, some peculiar advantages. Agreeable in person and manners, and constitutionally cheerful, his first introduction was prepossessing. But what he gained at first, he did not lose afterwards. He had those qualities which enabled him rather to gain ground. He had classical attainments of the first order, and above all, his religious principles were sound and orthodox. This was manifest in his sermons, which, with the key of scripture, opened through Christ, the door of salvation to all—and which, though sometimes above the reach of ordinary capacities, always exhibited clearness, truth, and argument, well calculated to edify the generality of attentive hearers. When I stated to him that it would be desirable he should descend to the level of the lowest and most illiterate of his audience, without departing from the pure and dignified simplicity of the scriptures, he would good naturedly promise to do so—and in this respect, there evidently was a gradual, but sure improvement. As it ought to be with every Incumbent, and his clerical coadjutor, we were always like father and son—according to our respective situations—giving and taking mutual advice, from the best motives, and in the most friendly spirit; looking on each other, not as rivals, but as fellow labourers in the same glorious cause, and under the superintendence of our common Lord and Master.

In visiting, and cottage lectures, a most important part of a minister’s duty, he who, in reference to this world is now no more, was as active and sedulous as health and cirumstances would permit; and in the Sunday School, especially, he was useful in more than an ordinary degree. He had the rare art of communicating information with diligence and strictness, without austerity, so as to render instruction, even to the youngest and most giddy, a pleasure, and not a task. The Sunday School Committee, and Teachers, as well as learners, have duly appreciated his talents in this way, and will long remember him with esteem and regret. In these familiar remarks I do not, however, mean to represent the subject of them as faultless; I have no such anti-scriptural views of human nature. I would say with the wise Solomon, in his book [258/259] on the failings and vanities of this world, “There is not a just man upon earth, that doeth good and sinneth not.” But wherever there might have been a deficiency, it would, through the grace of God, necessarily have been supplied in due time, by sage experience afforded through the rough but salutary discipline of this unsparing and unceremonious world.

As he was himself a friend to many, and an enemy to none, so by a kind of reaction, he had, I think I might say, no enemies and many friends. He was a conscientious Churchman, and true Protestant—but tolerant to all his differing brethren; where he could not cordially unite, he determined that separation should be no ground of hostility—making due allowance for the natural effects of birth, education and circumstances, and looking to God for causing all things to work together for good to those who love Him. Thus, our reverend friend lived—but, it may be asked, how did he die? During his illness, I generally visited him twice a day, joined with him in prayer, heard his request for the prayers of this congregation, listened to him whilst he expressed his entire dependence on the merits of the Saviour, heard of his pious admonitions to his attendants, and saw him in tranquility close his eyes on this bustling, vain, selfish world; so that I may truly say, his end was peace, and his hope glory. But after all, I do not, and never did consider, the transactions of a dying bed as exclusively a safe criterion to judge of a man’s character. If we would know whether a man has died in the Lord, we ought, in the first instance to ask, has he lived in the Lord? Some, I fear, have greatly and dangerously erred on this head, and an error here, would be as fatal as it would be irretrievable. In the dying scenes of Jacob, David, and the martyr Stephen, we see calm confidence, solemn reverence, and deep and serious reflection, with an evident godly awe of the near approach of eternity and judgment—and above all, we have a perfect criterion, on that occasion, when supernatural darkness covered the world, and the graves were opened, and the veil of the temple rent, when the sun hid his face in night, and the Saviour of the World died. Extraordinary exhilaration may be [259/260] right, but it may also be wrong; it might exist in a Mussalman, or Jew, and may be, as I fear it often is, the natural result of ignorance, the mere offspring of physical causes, originating in the peculiarity of disease, or the injudicious conduct, or still more injudicious sayings of well-meaning, but unguarded bystanders; whereas, the holy confidence, the calm resignation, the solemn awe of the dying Christian, can only be the effects of divine grace in the regenerated heart, and can alone afford sure proof that the spirit of Infinite Wisdom has been the Teacher.

But these reflections must come to a conclusion. Notwithstanding all that medical skill, the prayers, and good wishes of friends, the tender affection of relations, and the careful attention of nurses could do, our friend is gone the way of all flesh, and the people and places which knew him once, shall know him no more. But let us not grieve, as those without hope. The spotless Saviour wept for his friend Lazarus, and we may, and ought to weep for our departed friends. Want of natural affection is ranked amongst the condemning sins. But our privilege as Christians is to look forward to a joyous resurrection, in the hope of being for ever re-united above, with those who have been taken from us by death, and whom we have loved here below. Let us often think of the words of our text, and pray that we may be enabled to mark, learn, and inwardly digest them. “The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law; but thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory, through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore my beloved brethren, be ye steadfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as you know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.”

Our late lamented friend ran a bright, but short career. He died in the twenty-sixth year of his age. He had not attained the meridian of man’s life; amidst the joyous, and sanguine anticipations of friends, the good wishes of all, and, as may naturally be supposed, the glad hopes of himself, he was summoned for his removal from this world, to the bar of eternity, by Him whom at the instant, Emperors and Kings, as well as their meanest subjects, angels and mortals, demons, and all created beings must [260/261] obey. When bad men are removed by death the world rejoices, and considers this as a happy riddance, and a just retribution; when their life is prolonged in prosperity, many, like the Psalmist are puzzled and perplexed, till like him they go into the sanctuary of the Lord, and discover that all this is in the way of mercy, or of judgment. When good men die early, in the full tide of their usefulness, there is bewildering amazement, till we read in the scriptures, that in mercy they are taken away from the evil to come. In all such cases, we want faith, and strong faith too. We are prone to look more than we are generally aware of with the eye of the flesh, and not of faith. Our faith, too frequently, is not the substance of things hoped for, nor the evidence of things not seen; and consequently, this world, with its false lights, eclipses in our morbid imagination, the unimaginable splendour of heaven. Honour and riches, power and fame, with long life to enjoy them, frequently occupy but too much of our attention, whilst we dread the visitation of death, the darkness of the grave, the worm of corruption, the loathsome work of decomposition, eternal separation and oblivion. A joyous resurrection, the glorious immortal transformation, the eternity of unspeakable bliss, the freedom from sin and sinners, and the presence of God and His angels, are seen in dim perspective. Were it not for these things, good men would not dread dissolution. There is more of scepticism in man’s creed than he is wont to think of. Else, why does the pious youth fear to die? perhaps, that he may live well, perhaps not—or for what reason does the good old man wish to protract his weary existence, till he becomes a burthen to himself, and an incumbrance to others; till, like a dismantled tower, or a scathed oak, he is divested of his ornaments; and left without friends, without affections, without the capability of receiving or communicating pleasure or profit. Is it that he may enjoy life? This cannot be. We may easily comprehend why the wicked have a desire for life, and a dread of death and judgment; but, that the followers of Christ should tremble at the last step of their journey, which will introduce them into His presence and His glory, can only be accounted for by the weakness of their faith, and the remains of sin, that would chain them [261/262] down, or keep them back from those unspeakable pleasures which he has in reserve for them in the kingdom of their Heavenly Father.

Brethren, the human heart is weak, wicked, and wrong in its reasoning and conclusions; let us, therefore, not trust in it, but in the strength and wisdom of God, let us walk by faith and not by sight, and be always prepared for death and judgment, looking forward to, and longing for, a glorious resurrection, and eternal salvation, through Jesus Christ, our Lord and Saviour; to whom, with the Almighty Father, and Holy Spirit, we would ascribe all glory, praise, power and dominion, both now and for ever. Amen!

WALKER, PRINTER, GEORGE-STREET, HALIFAX.

[The parishioners erected a tablet in Haworth Church to the memory of Mr. Weightman, see Haworth Past and Present.]