A Farewell Sermon / delivered on Sunday, October 23, A.D. 1842, at the Parish Church of St. Mary Abbotts, Kensington
Date: 2021-03-06T00:00:00+00:00
Keywords: Sermons; English; Church of England -- Sermons -- 19th century; Farewell sermons; Bible. Ecclesiastes III; 1 -- Sermons

The Project Gutenberg eBook of A Farewell Sermon

This ebook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this ebook or online at www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you will have to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this eBook.

Title: A Farewell Sermon

Author: Joseph Holden Pott

Release date: March 6, 2021 [eBook #64716]

Language: English

Credits: Transcribed from the 1842 J. G. F. & J. Rivington edition by David Price

*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK A FAREWELL SERMON ***

Transcribed from the 1842 J. G. F. & J. Rivington edition by David Price.

A
FAREWELL SERMON,

DELIVERED

ON SUNDAY, OCTOBER 23, A.D. 1842,

AT THE PARISH CHURCH OF

ST. MARY ABBOTTS, KENSINGTON.

BY THE VEN.
ARCHDEACON POTT, M.A.

PRINTED AT THE REQUEST OF THE PARISHIONERS.

LONDON:
PRINTED FOR J. G. F. & J. RIVINGTON,
ST.  PAUL’S CHURCH YARD,
AND WATERLOO PLACE, PALL MALL.

1842.

TO
THE PARISHIONERS
OF
THE PARISH OF KENSINGTON,

THE FOLLOWING DISCOURSE,

WITH EVERY FERVENT PRAYER FOR THEIR WELFARE,

IS INSCRIBED,

BY THEIR FAITHFUL

AND AFFECTIONATE SERVANT,

J. H. POTT.

A FAREWELL SERMON, &c.

Eccles. iii. 1.

“To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven.”

When time draws on to a close with us, 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 endeavours.

A sad thing it would be, indeed, if the last portion of our time were to be reserved for some single effort: for who can accomplish at one step that which a daily progress only can effect?

They who enjoyed long lives of old time, indulged, it must be owned, in some complaints which showed more of the weakness of our common nature, than of that proficiency for which the loan of life, whatever may be the term of its duration, is bestowed.  The good king Hezekiah poured his lamentation, when it should seem he had much cause to be contented with what God had wrought for him in his day.  He called that “the cutting off his days,” which it may be thought he might have met with more complacency of mind, from the contemplation of the benefits which God had enabled him to procure for Israel: but if there was any token of infirmity in this, it was coupled with a pious mind, and the suit was therefore heard and granted.  If David, too, seems sometimes querulous in his pleas for the enlargement of his days, yet he added a good and becoming reason for it, that he might show the power of God to that generation in which his eventful lot was cast, and make it known to those who were to come.

But we may remark in general, that we do not form a right judgment of the Providence of God, if at any time we speak with disparagement of the term of human life, as too short for the accomplishment of things which form its proper end.  We should consider, rather, that in all cases the gift of life is made capable of some sufficient share of the mercies and salvation of the Lord.  It becomes so for all who partake a common nature, where they put no impediment to the current and communication of Divine Grace.  Let us weigh this point with care: it has a seasonable application at this moment, 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 endured.

If, then, it is the child who is called hence to an early grave, he goes with the seal of grace upon him; and what was wanting here, the bud, the blossom, and the ripened cluster, will thrive in a happier soil, and flourish in a more propitious climate.  The thread of life, which, in this case, was so soon severed from the parent’s bosom, was fastened to the throne of heaven, and death has no power to dissolve it.  The Conqueror of Satan, who brought life and immortality to light, will not exclude those little ones, whom He once called into his presence, from the rescued train of countless multitudes who shall hear that glad word of introduction, “Behold, I and the children whom God hath given me.”  The privileges of the Gospel stood pledged to them in this life to render their change blessed to themselves, and to leave that consolation, in the day of sorrow, for surviving friends.

If the call hence comes in somewhat of maturer years, though still in the days of youth, the young man will have lived long enough to have learned the rudiments of saving knowledge, and to have practised the first lessons of Christian faith and Christian duty; and thus the best end for which the loan of life was given, will have found that happy earnest of its future fulness.

If, again, the thread of life shall have been continued to later periods of its course, no doubt the opportunities for all those advantages to which life can minister, will render it at all times a blessing and a boon.  Nor will you wonder, in comparing the longer with the shorter term of life, that the suit of supplicating parents in our Lord’s days, whether for the child or for the youth, was so often granted by a restoration to a more protracted term of life.  You will not wonder that our Blessed Lord should so mark the value of the life which now is, and its connexion, by a right improvement of it, with the life of glory.  We are bound, indeed, to bless God for all the dispensations of his hand, for they all serve for good; but we must not reverse the language, not of natural feeling only, but of more just conceptions of the purposes for which life is given, or be led to think that death is the boon, and that a return to this life could be no blessing.  When did our Lord make that answer to the mourner’s suit? or when did He reprove the tears and sorrows of survivors with that cold reply?  So little ground is there, among the singularities of dress and manners in which some have placed so much of their religion, for refusing to put on the mourning weed for the departed.  There is but a single instance in the Sacred Volume of a prohibition so enjoined; and then it was designedly portentous, denoting the last extremity to which offences had grown up in Israel, and the punishments which were to follow.

If now the term of life runs on, and the seasons are prolonged, old age comes forward, and not without its burdens and privations.  Will you plead here with old Barzillai, to whom David gave a gracious invitation, to mark the sense he entertained of the value of past services, proposing that he should return with him when he was restored from exile, and brought back in peace and honour to Jerusalem?  The old man’s answer was not entirely the most proper and becoming: “and Barzillai said unto the king, Can thy servant taste what I eat, or what I drink? can I hear any more the voice of singing-men or singing-women?  Wherefore, then, should thy servant be yet a burden unto my lord the king?”  But Barzillai, if this was ill spoken, showed a prudent spirit in what followed, for he puts in a prompt plea for his son: “Behold,” said he, “thy servant Chimham; let him go with my lord the king, and do with him what shall seem good unto thee.”  Now David might, no doubt, have replied, “I want you for the council-board, where your sage experience may yield me better service than this youth can furnish.”  But David had a due regard to the privileges of descent, and to the preference to be shown to the children of deserving parents who may spend their lives in the service of their country, and frequently can find no reward in this life, but in the persons of surviving children.  It is the plain stamp of barbarism which rests upon those governments which do not recognize this principle, and where the hand of power makes one only testament for the frail possessor after all his services.  David formed a different judgment; he accepted Barzillai’s tender of his son; he followed the same course which he had pursued with poor Mephibosheth, the son of the princely, noble-minded Jonathan, who preferred the known will of God, and his love to David, to the crown of one who had incurred the forfeiture of what he had so ill-sustained.  David placed Mephibosheth at his own board, although he could neither serve him in the field, nor attend him in his exile.  The first order made upon the king’s return, after receiving Mephibosheth’s excuse, was to confirm to him the grant which had before been made in his behalf.

Thus have we traced the several stages of the life of man, and in each of them we have found that life might be a blessing, and the ground of every blessing; and that God, ever gracious, ever merciful, might crown with some word of benediction the closing days of each such term or period of the life of man, just as He did the six glorious days of the creation.  The morning and the evening (for so we reckon time) were followed by a solemn benediction, but with a special blessing for the Sabbath-day, the crown of all that stupendous work, the day sanctified by the Creator’s rest; the day claimed for Himself, with a marked reserve, such as the true Proprietor of all that He had made, and of all the bounties which distinguished man’s first abode in Paradise, was pleased to attach to one tree in the garden, by which the first pair might be reminded of the homage due to God, and might fulfil it by a strict regard to his commandment.

The Sabbath-day!  With what joy must its regular returns have been hailed in the first scenes of an unblemished world; and how good and gracious was the Author of that first hallowed institution, so that in the day of forfeiture, not only was the first pledge of salvation given, but the welcome respite from increasing labours by returning Sabbaths was continued.  It had no limitation or exception in its first appointment, nor should we presume to put such; much less was there any intimation given in that hour that the appointment of this day, with its solemn benediction, was but an anticipated notice of the Jewish Sabbath, together with what was indeed peculiar to it, when, after long intermissions or neglects, it was revived.  Can we think that when “for every thing there is a season,” there was to be none more especially provided, in all times, for religious observation? and that, too, when the Sovereign Lord had set his seal to such provision, without one word which could affect its perpetuity?  Accordingly we find a set time for religious exercises mentioned in that new scene of discipline and trial to which man was removed; for, indeed, he was not cast out as an alien and an enemy, a wanderer and a wretch.

In this hour of closure for my pastoral care among you, it may not be unseasonable to advert to things which have found their turns in hours of teaching and persuasion.  Let me then entreat you to remember those first acts of grace, the early grounds of good hope, which made life itself, with all its seasons, a blessing, and, if rightly husbanded, the seed-plot of all blessings to the sons of men.  Nothing but a new apostasy could destroy that hope, when the term of life was continued where it might have been cut short, in which case the human race would have been extinguished, and that triumph would have been given to the common foe to God and man.  Nothing but a new apostasy from God would render man, in his state of promised rescue and encouragement and in the new term of his probation, an enemy to God.  Before that horrible desertion from his worship, the Most High made his visit to the patriarchal altar, and gave that memorable declaration of his will, “If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted?”  The ground was laid in purpose and effect for that acceptance; and surely the assurance thus added was not for one family.

Thus there is a Sabbath still set apart for a welcome day of rest, and for religious exercises; a day, the joy of which I have so often shared with you in these happy seasons of religious worship and communion.  Remember the well-timed distinctions which He who was Lord also of the Sabbath-day, as the partner of his Father’s glory, prescribed for the right observance of the day, divesting it of its legal strictness and peculiarities, and still more protecting it, by an open vindication of its essential objects, from Jewish scruples and from Jewish superstitions.

O look well to the duties of the Christian Sabbath!  We want no traditionary warrant for its transfer to the glad day of the Redeemer’s resurrection.  The Scriptures furnish plain and indubitable vestiges of that change.  Look well to its salutary obligations, bound upon us by the twofold cogency of precept and example.

Remember who it was, who, after the scene of his ministerial labours, kept his last Sabbath in the grave, and crowned with perpetual glory the day of his triumphant resurrection.  Well might that day become not only the day of rest from labour, but a day of gladness and release from worldly cares and occupation, and, above all, the happy emblem of a rest from every evil work, a respite from a bondage worse than that of servile Egypt, a rest too from the galling yoke and ruling power of sin, which is the privilege of faith.

Among such topics as may now claim a seasonable repetition, I may again remind you how much it behoves us, in consulting the written word, the rule of faith and duty, to avoid all partial views, by which restriction one truth would exclude another; or, what is worse, a wrong conclusion may be joined with what is only true in some respects, and both the truth and the fallacious inference may thus gain currency together.  The neglect of this rule has brought more strifes and divisions into the Christian world than almost any thing that can be named.  Take an instance if you think fit; there is more joy when that which is lost is found again, than for that which was never lost.  This is true in that respect; but will you strain the matter farther, and say that the recovered sheep is of more worth than the whole flock to which it is restored?  Will you say that the piece of silver which was missing, and when found creates much joy on that account, outweighs all that the purse, from whence it dropped, contained?  Will you say, that the pardoned son, who returns to the right path by a true repentance, and fills his father’s heart with well placed and unwonted joy, is in all respects to be preferred to the son who never left the right path from an early day?  The forgiving father’s answer will convict that misconception:—“Son, thou art ever with me, and all that I have is thine.”  If the elder brother may be thought to have lost his preference, it could only be because of his envious temper and his ill-timed remonstrance.  In avoiding partial views and misapplications of what is true, the more numerous and more general and plainer testimonies, and those which admit but of one construction, will be the guiding light for reconcilement and consistency—not for preference, for that would still be but a partial view.

I may here add a necessary caution (oftentimes suggested, for it frequently proves needful), to give heed to the native idioms or forms of speech, which were in use, and rightly understood, by those to whom the word of treaty and persuasion was first addressed.  The use of learned pains will thus appear, as well as of every method of right reasoning in the study of the sacred Scriptures, the rule of faith and duty for which we have to bless God daily.

I may now touch upon the best and only safe ground of trust which we have to take in any season of review, when past portions of our lives are recalled to our consideration.  We may look, now, to the hope of pardon, and allowance for things done amiss, or things left undone; and blessed be God that ground has been laid, or who could stand in judgment in the last account?  Certainly not the boastful and punctilious Pharisee; certainly not those who have keener eyes for the faults of others than for their own defects.  Excellent are the words of our Lord’s apostle, and now most seasonable in their application; thus he marks it for a ruling principle of charity, that it “thinketh no evil,” and is not, therefore, apt to censure or condemn.

It is but in some respects, that we can speak well of those whom we are least inclined to censure, and most ready to regard with favour;—and with that remark I shall fairly take leave of what concerns myself in this day of valediction.

But I am well aware that the season of departure from accustomed scenes of duty is a proper season for advice, and to this last tribute of sincere affection and regard, I will now address myself.

We stand much for authority, for rights of station, and the sacred warrant of the pastoral commission—and we do well, for without them there would be no order in the world, no joint progress in a common path; no peace, no security.  When every man in Israel did what was right in his own eyes, and nothing by direction or consent, it was a day of trouble and disaster, of ruin and confusion.  They who will own no guide in the way they have to tread, had need be well acquainted with the road.

It would be well if such men, who despise all guides, would be content to go alone—but was it ever so seen in all the world?  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 opinions, and lay their destructive snares?

But the rules of pastoral advice derive their obligation from the simplest forms of truth; were it otherwise, how would they meet the varied calls for choice and resolution which come forward in the course of human life?  If the truth itself has no special period for the height and measure of its growth in human breasts, yet it has for its perpetual standard God’s own eternal attributes.  In those perfections of the Deity, the sure test of truth is established.  Our Lord’s apostle takes this ground; “He that cometh to God, must believe that he is;”—and observe what follows, “and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him;”—in which two particulars, the existence of God, and the never-failing characters of truth, wisdom, equity, and goodness in such expressions of his favour, the sure foundations of his moral government are laid, as well as the sum of every moral and religious obligation.  This appears in all the articles of faith, and in all the acts of duteous service; it appears in all that God hath done for us in the great work of our redemption more especially, and in all that he requires of us in order to a future recompense.

Let no vicissitude in things by which men are tried, but with a sure refuge under all events for the dutiful, tempt you for a moment to forget that the “ways of God are equal:” it was his own challenge to backsliding Israel, and the last result will not fail to confirm it.  Let no light conceit at any time induce you to suppose that the great truths, upon which the hope of our salvation is built, may be regarded as things indifferent, for which another season may be found; or that such things, with all their convincing proofs and trains of evidence, are placed beyond our reach.  Can we think that our Lord’s word is not verified, that, “Wisdom should be justified of her children?”  And with respect more particularly to disingenuous pleas of difficulty, do we find the rules of faith and duty things so hard to be ascertained?  Have we no sufficient traces of them in the light of conscience; in the bright tokens and communications of God’s own grace and solemn declarations, in the powers of right discrimination, without which there could be no reasonable choice of any thing that best deserves our compliance?  Have we not (blessed be God!) the sacred, never-erring Word, which has been written for our learning, and for our sure direction in all things needful to salvation?

It is much to be observed, in such general statements, that the Apostles of our Lord never failed to add to their reasonings with Jew or Gentile, scribe or sophist, such comprehensive testimonies of the grounds of faith and the fruits of holiness in those who continue true to their engagement, as will leave no room for uncertain tests or bold opinions, for endless fluctuations in the mind and conduct, with doubts and difficulties of our own creating.  It is true, that in the revelations of God’s will there are things which no human faculties, or even those of the purest of created beings in the realms of light, could penetrate, until the Most High so graciously revealed them,—things which relate to his own Essence, with his purposes and counsels for the redemption of mankind; but is it so hard to understand that when all was forfeited, God should send a Saviour from the throne of glory to become the new Head of mankind, by taking flesh, and in that nature, which He by his Divine prerogative had power to assume, to fulfil all that wherein our common sire had failed?  Was not this a nobler exercise of Divine wisdom, than the creating a new race, and leaving that triumph to the common foe to God and man, that one such race was lost?  Is it so hard to be understood, that to vindicate the credit of God’s Holy Law, there should be one sufficient satisfactory atonement, one sacrifice never more to be repeated or renewed? or that, by the prevailing intercession of the same Divine Redeemer, the gates of Heaven should be set wide to a rescued race, whose own exertions should from thenceforth be well employed, in spite of all the force and all the artifices of the common adversary?  The glory of Divine grace is thus exalted, when the first gifts of God are again directed to their proper ends.  To raise children unto Abraham of the stones of the desert, had been, no doubt, an easy task to the Almighty; but would it have served so highly to his glory, as the preservation and recovery of the first formed race?  Is it so hard to perceive how signally the conspiring attributes of God, his justice, truth, and mercy, were thus illustrated and made to meet together in that work of redemption, which was accomplished in Christ Jesus?  Does it require much scope of argument or pains of study to enable us to see, that to redeem mankind was an object no less worthy of Divine interposition, than to create them from the first?

Again, could we safely remain strangers (as some would gladly seem to do) to the several branches of all moral obligations, when they have been confirmed anew, and drawn out into manifest example, and set before us so expressly for our imitation, in our Lord’s own life?

St. Paul’s brief enumeration of faith, hope, and charity, forms the sum of what in other places he sets forth with a large detail of things required of us, all serving to the same end and intent: only, remember carefully what that end is,—it is not the same for which Christ wrought and suffered, and He only could sustain; yet is it the “reasonable service,” or “living sacrifice of the whole man,” which is required, in order not only to our own improvement, which could not thrive without it, but in order to a promised recompense, which, together with the freedom of the Gospel state, were procured for us at so rich a cost.  The ransom paid, the heritage obtained, by one only righteous Mediator, how widely do they differ from the promised recompense for the faithful and sincere! and yet how consistent are these things in their whole effect!  There is one judgment-seat for both, and one form of judicial sentence, though in different respects, is applied to both; but how different is the language in which the same Apostle speaks of each.  There is no need to call in the suffrage of a fellow-witness to correct his view, for both he and his fellow-witness, when they speak of the same things, use the same language, and declare the same consistent judgment.

And what, then, is our Lord’s compendious draft of things required of us in the days of our probation? it is “to love the Lord our God with all the heart, and with all the soul, and with all the mind, and with all the strength; and our neighbour as ourselves.”  Will you strain a flight beyond this, and regard the care for yourselves as too low a pitch for your wishes to excel, or for the native worth of what is good?  Do but consider that the welfare and the happiness of his reasonable creatures formed the first object and design of the Creator, and can never cease to be his purpose; consider, too, that any kind of moral goodness which should not be good for us, would want just so much of real goodness, and of its proper and essential excellency.  It was one of the vilest errors of the heathen world, and one which prevailed much, as their earliest historian tells us, that there was envy towards man among the gods; and no wonder, if the rule of Providence could be placed in such hands as they feigned for its administration.

Again, as the truth itself is always true, and virtue, which is its image, is no less uniform and constant, most groundless and injurious must be those restrictions which would shut out any one real virtue or its exercise from the Christian pattern; for in so doing we should detract just so much from its integrity.  You may reverse the proposition if you think fit, and say, with truth, that every virtue puts on the Christian character, not from any date of their adoption, but as they are cherished and enhanced by new motives and inducements, and strengthened by the bond of unity and concord in the Christian household.

Can I forget at this moment, befriended as I have been in the past scene of my labours, that among the virtues which some would leave to the heathen, together with the patriot spirit and the courage to maintain it, Friendship has been made to share the sentence of exclusion?  At this rate the noble-minded Jonathan could not be added to the list of worthies, to recount which St. Paul found the day too short.  But the glowing pen of David has inscribed the name of his generous and ever-constant friend with the sons of faith, in characters which no time shall efface.  And what then?  Had our blessed Lord no family of friends which brought him even weeping to the grave of Lazarus?  Was it for nothing that it was then said, “Behold how he loved him?”  Had our Lord no disciple who was laid in his bosom at the paschal feast; to whom also He gave his last charge concerning her who should be blessed among women?  Most gladly, therefore, shall I pay the debt of friendly obligation on my removal from among you, and cherish that good property of mind which has so many moral motives for exciting its first growth, and brings forth so many moral fruits in its maturity which may be stored in everlasting garners.

But as strange as that distinction is which would cast out real virtues from the Christian code, I may now warn you from an opposite extreme.  Thus have words of counsel been exalted above the word of the commandment.  Let us weigh this also for a moment; it has been, and continues still to be, the nurse of many fond conceits.

If you strive to put more into a vessel which is already well replenished, will you not displace some of its contents?  And if this be done where the hand of the Lord hath filled the vessel, that we may drink and thirst no more, but live for ever, the loss (not to name the sacrilege) will outweigh the gain a thousand-fold.  The boastful young man, who would not accept the word of the commandment at our Lord’s lips as a full reply to his inquiry, but said, “All this have I kept from my youth up; what lack I yet?” did not receive, in answer to this pretension, a word of counsel.  Our Lord showed him plainly what the true breadth of the commandment was.  Thus he required no more of him than that which became the bounden duty of many in the days of trouble which succeeded.  Many were made to feel the force of that never-changing precept, which demands the sacrifice of all things sublunary, where the bond of Truth cannot otherwise be kept.  There was no sacrifice, then, proposed to this aspiring youth, nothing counselled, beyond the verge of the commandment; and the test to which he was put was but the fruit of his overweening zeal.

When some of the early Christians were not contented to wait the coming of the fore-named obligation, but sought martyrdom of their own accord, although our Lord enjoined them when persecuted in one city to flee into another, the Church interposed, and set a mark of public censure upon such rash exposures of the lives of faithful men.  Will you say, then, that St. Paul put forward words of counsel for which he acknowledged that, in advising what was best for those days of peril, he had no commandment?  He did so; but as he had received no commandment, so did he impose none.  He left his converts free to follow his advice according to their own discretion: he laid no bond upon them, no vow, no snare, no scruple; for, indeed, he was the steady foe to things unbidden.

And what, then, are the general and never changing precepts which no flight of zeal can surpass?  We have already taken one such comprehensive rule from our Lord’s lips; but to enlarge a little on a theme so seasonable at all times, we may remark, that the word of precept requires us to weigh and esteem things according to their real worth; to seek the kingdom of God first, and his righteousness; to prize that pearl of price above all other things; to take readily, as St. Paul showed in his example, what God giveth, with a thankful and becoming use of the welcome gift, but with a just sense that what may be bitter and distasteful, if such be the cup, will serve for good to those who love God; we are thus enjoined to be content with such things as we have, to keep under and to combat every evil inclination, for there lies the place and proper exercise of self-denial; it will prove unfit and injurious when pressed beyond its uses.  It was the aim of the apostle to set free to all things lawful and becoming, but not to be brought under the power of any; which shows at once the misery and inconvenience of an iron chain, whether forged by others, and imposed upon us in their names, or adopted by our own devices.

He who will set up better rules than these, must not expect his word to be taken for them; he must prove them by the known declaration of the will of God, or by sufficient reasons, tried by the sure word of the commandment.

There were not wanting, we may now remark, many who passed the season of attendance before the coming of the promised Mediator, with some profit to themselves and others.  We have noticed this with respect to the patriarchal age and to the Israel of God; and it holds good, in some measure, with relation to the Gentile world.  There were those even where the hideous darkness of idolatry prevailed, among whom truth found its seasonable culture.  There were those who sustained in some sort the credit of the human race.  They sought a refuge in their own reflections from false worship, and delusions gross, impious, and far below the character of man.  They betook themselves accordingly to some sound principles of moral truth and moral wisdom.  Thus the faculty of right discrimination, and the power of conscience, when not drowned in vice and superstition, exhibited some lines, and showed some traces of the great Creator’s image.  They reduced the rule of life and of well-doing to some fixed points; prudence, justice, fortitude, the love of truth, the scorn of falsehood or deceit, self-government, with other noble qualities, exhibited plain characters of man’s first resemblance to the Author of his being.  Thus things which are always true and always good, kept their place in some fair examples, and sustained the claim which such men had to be the teachers and the monitors of others, although without authority to teach or to direct—that want remained to be supplied, as the wisest of them fairly owned.

Our blessed Lord, who came to bind the bruised reed, and to fan the least spark of the smoking flax, never turned with scorn from such tokens of good disposition and right judgment, or failed to give his word of commendation when they came before him.  “I have not found so great faith, no not in Israel,” were words which embraced the qualities of mind which were always found to be most favourable to prepare the heart (the seat of every moral property) for any seed of truth which should be cast upon it.  Such was the good ground of which our Lord made mention in his instructive parable of the Sower and the Seed.  A rational acknowledgment, with a just esteem for what is good, is the soul of faith, of which the tenth leper left a memorable proof.  Without such moral properties faith might be the hand for receiving any benefit, but where would be the mind to understand its value, and perceive the nature of its obligations?  Let the nine lepers who were healed, but returned not to give thanks, supply the answer.  But if the Gentile sages showed indeed sound judgment in reducing rules of ethics to fixed principles, our blessed Lord with the full warrant of divine authority formed the draft of faith and duty, sometimes compendiously, and sometimes with particular enumerations.

But again, with these main principles and never-changing objects of regard, there is another word which has its special season—it is that of pastoral entreaty; and it remains for me to press it at this time—it results, indeed, from the whole view which has been taken.

Never then, I beseech you, my beloved brethren, consent to yield the profession or the practice of the rule of faith and duty, for fear or favour; for any flattering bait or treacherous inducement, never lose sight of what is due to God, to your fellow-creatures, and yourselves;—only remember that if we neglect to take thought for others, that is not the care for ourselves which we are enjoined to extend to others.  And here I cannot sufficiently commend the manifold attentions of the prudent and sincere, which have been paid to the needs of many in this vicinage.  O! let that care continue for your poorer brethren—let it manifest itself in the religious instructions which your schools provide for their children, and in a thousand instances of kindness which the succours which the law requires cannot supply.

And yet again, amidst all these incumbent obligations, there is still room for the words of Solomon, “to every thing there is a season;” and the present moment constrains me yet once more to conjure you to bear these things in mind, to keep them as the treasure of your hearts.  If such shall be the purpose and endeavour, it matters less at what period the foot is stayed, provided it be found in the right path when the day of travel or of any special charge shall close.  But in such case, when we can no longer walk together as companions, there must be the word of exhortation for those who have to go forward—let it then be the word of the apostle—to “walk worthy of your vocation wherewith ye are called, with all lowliness and meekness, with long suffering, forbearing one another in love, endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.  There is . . . one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.”

To us who have walked long together, there is another cheering word on separation, when most happily the new guide, with every hopeful commendation, is at hand and ready to succeed.

There is but one word more, one which cannot be amplified, for it contains the sum of every good wish, every grateful sense and recollection of past kindnesses—there remains but the little, yet significant and comprehensive word—farewell; “and this I pray, that your love may abound yet more and more, in knowledge and in all judgment; that ye may approve things that are excellent, that ye may be sincere, and without offence until the day of Christ.”

THE END

LONDON:
GILBERT AND RIVINGTON, PRINTERS,
ST. JOHN’S SQUARE.

*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK A FAREWELL SERMON ***

Updated editions will replace the previous one—the old editions will be renamed.

Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without permission and without paying copyright royalties. Special rules, set forth in the General Terms of Use part of this license, apply to copying and distributing Project Gutenberg™ electronic works to protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG™ concept and trademark. Project Gutenberg is a registered trademark, and may not be used if you charge for an eBook, except by following the terms of the trademark license, including paying royalties for use of the Project Gutenberg trademark. If you do not charge anything for copies of this eBook, complying with the trademark license is very easy. You may use this eBook for nearly any purpose such as creation of derivative works, reports, performances and research. Project Gutenberg eBooks may be modified and printed and given away—you may do practically ANYTHING in the United States with eBooks not protected by U.S. copyright law. Redistribution is subject to the trademark license, especially commercial redistribution.

START: FULL LICENSE

THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE

PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU DISTRIBUTE OR USE THIS WORK

To protect the Project Gutenberg™ mission of promoting the free distribution of electronic works, by using or distributing this work (or any other work associated in any way with the phrase “Project Gutenberg”), you agree to comply with all the terms of the Full Project Gutenberg™ License available with this file or online at www.gutenberg.org/license.

Section 1. General Terms of Use and Redistributing Project Gutenberg™ electronic works

1.A. By reading or using any part of this Project Gutenberg™ electronic work, you indicate that you have read, understand, agree to and accept all the terms of this license and intellectual property (trademark/copyright) agreement. If you do not agree to abide by all the terms of this agreement, you must cease using and return or destroy all copies of Project Gutenberg™ electronic works in your possession. If you paid a fee for obtaining a copy of or access to a Project Gutenberg™ electronic work and you do not agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement, you may obtain a refund from the person or entity to whom you paid the fee as set forth in paragraph 1.E.8.

1.B. “Project Gutenberg” is a registered trademark. It may only be used on or associated in any way with an electronic work by people who agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement. There are a few things that you can do with most Project Gutenberg™ electronic works even without complying with the full terms of this agreement. See paragraph 1.C below. There are a lot of things you can do with Project Gutenberg™ electronic works if you follow the terms of this agreement and help preserve free future access to Project Gutenberg™ electronic works. See paragraph 1.E below.

1.C. The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation (“the Foundation” or PGLAF), owns a compilation copyright in the collection of Project Gutenberg™ electronic works. Nearly all the individual works in the collection are in the public domain in the United States. If an individual work is unprotected by copyright law in the United States and you are located in the United States, we do not claim a right to prevent you from copying, distributing, performing, displaying or creating derivative works based on the work as long as all references to Project Gutenberg are removed. Of course, we hope that you will support the Project Gutenberg™ mission of promoting free access to electronic works by freely sharing Project Gutenberg™ works in compliance with the terms of this agreement for keeping the Project Gutenberg™ name associated with the work. You can easily comply with the terms of this agreement by keeping this work in the same format with its attached full Project Gutenberg™ License when you share it without charge with others.

1.D. The copyright laws of the place where you are located also govern what you can do with this work. Copyright laws in most countries are in a constant state of change. If you are outside the United States, check the laws of your country in addition to the terms of this agreement before downloading, copying, displaying, performing, distributing or creating derivative works based on this work or any other Project Gutenberg™ work. The Foundation makes no representations concerning the copyright status of any work in any country other than the United States.

1.E. Unless you have removed all references to Project Gutenberg:

1.E.1. The following sentence, with active links to, or other immediate access to, the full Project Gutenberg™ License must appear prominently whenever any copy of a Project Gutenberg™ work (any work on which the phrase “Project Gutenberg” appears, or with which the phrase “Project Gutenberg” is associated) is accessed, displayed, performed, viewed, copied or distributed:

This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you will have to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this eBook.

1.E.2. If an individual Project Gutenberg™ electronic work is derived from texts not protected by U.S. copyright law (does not contain a notice indicating that it is posted with permission of the copyright holder), the work can be copied and distributed to anyone in the United States without paying any fees or charges. If you are redistributing or providing access to a work with the phrase “Project Gutenberg” associated with or appearing on the work, you must comply either with the requirements of paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 or obtain permission for the use of the work and the Project Gutenberg™ trademark as set forth in paragraphs 1.E.8 or 1.E.9.

1.E.3. If an individual Project Gutenberg™ electronic work is posted with the permission of the copyright holder, your use and distribution must comply with both paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 and any additional terms imposed by the copyright holder. Additional terms will be linked to the Project Gutenberg™ License for all works posted with the permission of the copyright holder found at the beginning of this work.

1.E.4. Do not unlink or detach or remove the full Project Gutenberg™ License terms from this work, or any files containing a part of this work or any other work associated with Project Gutenberg™.

1.E.5. Do not copy, display, perform, distribute or redistribute this electronic work, or any part of this electronic work, without prominently displaying the sentence set forth in paragraph 1.E.1 with active links or immediate access to the full terms of the Project Gutenberg™ License.

1.E.6. You may convert to and distribute this work in any binary, compressed, marked up, nonproprietary or proprietary form, including any word processing or hypertext form. However, if you provide access to or distribute copies of a Project Gutenberg™ work in a format other than “Plain Vanilla ASCII” or other format used in the official version posted on the official Project Gutenberg™ website (www.gutenberg.org), you must, at no additional cost, fee or expense to the user, provide a copy, a means of exporting a copy, or a means of obtaining a copy upon request, of the work in its original “Plain Vanilla ASCII” or other form. Any alternate format must include the full Project Gutenberg™ License as specified in paragraph 1.E.1.

1.E.7. Do not charge a fee for access to, viewing, displaying, performing, copying or distributing any Project Gutenberg™ works unless you comply with paragraph 1.E.8 or 1.E.9.

1.E.8. You may charge a reasonable fee for copies of or providing access to or distributing Project Gutenberg™ electronic works provided that:

- • You pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive from the use of Project Gutenberg™ works calculated using the method you already use to calculate your applicable taxes. The fee is owed to the owner of the Project Gutenberg™ trademark, but he has agreed to donate royalties under this paragraph to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation. Royalty payments must be paid within 60 days following each date on which you prepare (or are legally required to prepare) your periodic tax returns. Royalty payments should be clearly marked as such and sent to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation at the address specified in Section 4, “Information about donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation.”

- • You provide a full refund of any money paid by a user who notifies you in writing (or by e-mail) within 30 days of receipt that s/he does not agree to the terms of the full Project Gutenberg™ License. You must require such a user to return or destroy all copies of the works possessed in a physical medium and discontinue all use of and all access to other copies of Project Gutenberg™ works.

- • You provide, in accordance with paragraph 1.F.3, a full refund of any money paid for a work or a replacement copy, if a defect in the electronic work is discovered and reported to you within 90 days of receipt of the work.

- • You comply with all other terms of this agreement for free distribution of Project Gutenberg™ works.

1.E.9. If you wish to charge a fee or distribute a Project Gutenberg™ electronic work or group of works on different terms than are set forth in this agreement, you must obtain permission in writing from the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the manager of the Project Gutenberg™ trademark. Contact the Foundation as set forth in Section 3 below.

1.F.

1.F.1. Project Gutenberg volunteers and employees expend considerable effort to identify, do copyright research on, transcribe and proofread works not protected by U.S. copyright law in creating the Project Gutenberg™ collection. Despite these efforts, Project Gutenberg™ electronic works, and the medium on which they may be stored, may contain “Defects,” such as, but not limited to, incomplete, inaccurate or corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other intellectual property infringement, a defective or damaged disk or other medium, a computer virus, or computer codes that damage or cannot be read by your equipment.

1.F.2. LIMITED WARRANTY, DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES - Except for the “Right of Replacement or Refund” described in paragraph 1.F.3, the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the owner of the Project Gutenberg™ trademark, and any other party distributing a Project Gutenberg™ electronic work under this agreement, disclaim all liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including legal fees. YOU AGREE THAT YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE, STRICT LIABILITY, BREACH OF WARRANTY OR BREACH OF CONTRACT EXCEPT THOSE PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH 1.F.3. YOU AGREE THAT THE FOUNDATION, THE TRADEMARK OWNER, AND ANY DISTRIBUTOR UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOT BE LIABLE TO YOU FOR ACTUAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR INCIDENTAL DAMAGES EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGE.

1.F.3. LIMITED RIGHT OF REPLACEMENT OR REFUND - If you discover a defect in this electronic work within 90 days of receiving it, you can receive a refund of the money (if any) you paid for it by sending a written explanation to the person you received the work from. If you received the work on a physical medium, you must return the medium with your written explanation. The person or entity that provided you with the defective work may elect to provide a replacement copy in lieu of a refund. If you received the work electronically, the person or entity providing it to you may choose to give you a second opportunity to receive the work electronically in lieu of a refund. If the second copy is also defective, you may demand a refund in writing without further opportunities to fix the problem.

1.F.4. Except for the limited right of replacement or refund set forth in paragraph 1.F.3, this work is provided to you ‘AS-IS’, WITH NO OTHER WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE.

1.F.5. Some states do not allow disclaimers of certain implied warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain types of damages. If any disclaimer or limitation set forth in this agreement violates the law of the state applicable to this agreement, the agreement shall be interpreted to make the maximum disclaimer or limitation permitted by the applicable state law. The invalidity or unenforceability of any provision of this agreement shall not void the remaining provisions.

1.F.6. INDEMNITY - You agree to indemnify and hold the Foundation, the trademark owner, any agent or employee of the Foundation, anyone providing copies of Project Gutenberg™ electronic works in accordance with this agreement, and any volunteers associated with the production, promotion and distribution of Project Gutenberg™ electronic works, harmless from all liability, costs and expenses, including legal fees, that arise directly or indirectly from any of the following which you do or cause to occur: (a) distribution of this or any Project Gutenberg™ work, (b) alteration, modification, or additions or deletions to any Project Gutenberg™ work, and (c) any Defect you cause.

Section 2. Information about the Mission of Project Gutenberg™

Project Gutenberg™ is synonymous with the free distribution of electronic works in formats readable by the widest variety of computers including obsolete, old, middle-aged and new computers. It exists because of the efforts of hundreds of volunteers and donations from people in all walks of life.

Volunteers and financial support to provide volunteers with the assistance they need are critical to reaching Project Gutenberg™’s goals and ensuring that the Project Gutenberg™ collection will remain freely available for generations to come. In 2001, the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation was created to provide a secure and permanent future for Project Gutenberg™ and future generations. To learn more about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation and how your efforts and donations can help, see Sections 3 and 4 and the Foundation information page at www.gutenberg.org.

Section 3. Information about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation

The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation is a non-profit 501(c)(3) educational corporation organized under the laws of the state of Mississippi and granted tax exempt status by the Internal Revenue Service. The Foundation’s EIN or federal tax identification number is 64-6221541. Contributions to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation are tax deductible to the full extent permitted by U.S. federal laws and your state’s laws.

The Foundation’s business office is located at 809 North 1500 West, Salt Lake City, UT 84116, (801) 596-1887. Email contact links and up to date contact information can be found at the Foundation’s website and official page at www.gutenberg.org/contact

Section 4. Information about Donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation

Project Gutenberg™ depends upon and cannot survive without widespread public support and donations to carry out its mission of increasing the number of public domain and licensed works that can be freely distributed in machine-readable form accessible by the widest array of equipment including outdated equipment. Many small donations ($1 to $5,000) are particularly important to maintaining tax exempt status with the IRS.

The Foundation is committed to complying with the laws regulating charities and charitable donations in all 50 states of the United States. Compliance requirements are not uniform and it takes a considerable effort, much paperwork and many fees to meet and keep up with these requirements. We do not solicit donations in locations where we have not received written confirmation of compliance. To SEND DONATIONS or determine the status of compliance for any particular state visit www.gutenberg.org/donate.

While we cannot and do not solicit contributions from states where we have not met the solicitation requirements, we know of no prohibition against accepting unsolicited donations from donors in such states who approach us with offers to donate.

International donations are gratefully accepted, but we cannot make any statements concerning tax treatment of donations received from outside the United States. U.S. laws alone swamp our small staff.

Please check the Project Gutenberg web pages for current donation methods and addresses. Donations are accepted in a number of other ways including checks, online payments and credit card donations. To donate, please visit: www.gutenberg.org/donate.

Section 5. General Information About Project Gutenberg™ electronic works

Professor Michael S. Hart was the originator of the Project Gutenberg™ concept of a library of electronic works that could be freely shared with anyone. For forty years, he produced and distributed Project Gutenberg™ eBooks with only a loose network of volunteer support.

Project Gutenberg™ eBooks are often created from several printed editions, all of which are confirmed as not protected by copyright in the U.S. unless a copyright notice is included. Thus, we do not necessarily keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper edition.

Most people start at our website which has the main PG search facility: www.gutenberg.org.

This website includes information about Project Gutenberg™, including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks.

Table of Contents

- A FAREWELL SERMON,

- A FAREWELL SERMON, &c.

- THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE