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After we are laid in our graves other ministers will rise than we; for a better day is at hand. The churches will shine with brighter lustre. A purer spirit will pervade the ministry; a spirit of deeper humility, of more fervent love, and more perfect harmony, a spirit of greater wisdom and zeal, a spirit of higher effort and more exalted piety. Great will be the company of those who will publish the word of the Lord, and great the success which will crown their labors. The fervent prayers offered up by our lamented father, and by the thousands now with him in glory, and the prayers of thousands on earth now panting for the conversion of the world, will be answered, in the universal reign of the Prince of Peace.

A SERMON

OCCASIONED BY THE DEATH OF THE REV. SAMUEL WORCESTER, D. D., SECRETARY OF THE AM. BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS FOR FOREIGN MISSIONS; DELIVERED IN THE TABERNACLE CHURCH, SALEM, JULY 12, 1821.

1 Sam. 25: 1.— AND SAMUEL died; and ALL THE ISRAELITES LAMENTED HIM.

WHENEVER a good man dies, the world sustains a loss. But among good men, there is an obvious ground of distinction. God has constituted his moral kingdom, as he has the natural body. Though there is but one body, there are many members. And though the members are all necessary; some hold a place of higher importance than others, and the loss of them is more severely felt. When the Apostle touches upon this distinction among Christians, he does it for the purpose of stigmatizing a spirit of emulation and envy, and of promoting mutual love and sympathy, and a paramount regard to the good of the whole. And why should the difference, which God has made among the members of his spiritual empire, ever excite any other feelings, than these? For what is the difference, but a difference in the degree of usefulness? That man is marked with the highest distinction, who does the most good. True greatness is combined with the best interest of the world. interest of the world, we shall love the

And if we love the best man who promotes it;

and we shall love him most, who promotes it in the highest degree. In the contemplation of the-great object which benevolence seeks, we are raised above self-interest. We forget our individual importance; we forget all personal distinctions. Let the highest degree of good be accomplished, whether by us or by others as instruments, and we have our desire. Mere intellectual greatness, or worldly greatness is indeed an object, to which ambition looks up with impatient aspirations. But what is it in the sight of God, or in the sight of good men? It is the greatness of Christian benevolence, that we admire; it is the greatness, not of the man who has superior endowments, but of the man, whose superior endowments are devoted to the cause of Christ; the greatness of the man, who, feeling that he is not his own, presents himself a living sacrifice to God, and exists only for the welfare of his kingdom. This is the greatness that disarms hostility, that puts envy to shame, that attracts universal love, and that does not moulder in the grave.

I propose on this occasion, to inquire briefly, by what causes and in what manner the character of true greatness is formed.

Here I begin by ascribing to God all that constitutes excellence of character-all that fits men for distinguished usefulness. In God's hand it is to make great. He creates and sustains the immortal mind with all its powers. He creates and sustains the

body, with all its vigor and activity. And it is by his Spirit that a man is new-created· "created in Christ Jesus unto good works." Everything which gives improvement to the understanding or the heart, is from God. Let it be that the powers of the mind are cultivated and strengthened by the use of various natural means. Who appointed those means but God? And who but God gives a heart to use them, and makes that use successful? Be it so that Christians are sanctified through the truth. It is God that sanctifies them in this very way. The truth is his instrument; and from him comes all its efficacy. When therefore you fix your eye upon a Christian, who exhibits the character of distinguished greatness; you see the workmanship of God-the expression of his power and his goodness.

The Christian is what he is, by the grace of God. To God then be all the glory of those faculties, which distinguish men from the beasts of the field; of that holiness, which distinguishes Christians from the ungodly; and of every degree of piety and usefulness, which raises one Christian above another.

I shall now endeavor to show in what way a Christian, possessing the requisite natural endowments, and enjoying the guidance and blessing of God acquires the character of true greatness.

In the first place, he directs the powers of his mind to the most excellent and worthy object-the salvation of men—the good of Christ's kingdom. If a man turns his thoughts and labors to the good of his country, his heart grows patriotic and noble. But if he exercises his thoughts and affections upon Christ and his kingdom, the effect on his character will be as much higher, as the glory of Christ and the value of his kingdom are more excellent, than any earthly object. The heart becomes assimilated to the object of its attachment. He that contemplates and loves the character of Christ, is by degrees changed into the same image. He that employs himself in so great a work as building up the kingdom of Christ, will be constantly ennobled by the nature of his employment. He will derive a greatness from the greatness of the work in which he is occupied.

But the Christian, who acquires the character of greatness, contemplates the glory of Christ, and pursues the welfare of his kingdom with intense affection. And it is very much in proportion to the frequency and strength of his benevolent and pious efforts, that he experiences a salutary influence upon his own mind. When a man comes to such a state, that the glory of the Redeemer and the precious interests of his church are the objects of his contemplation from day to day; when they occur spontaneously; when other things, which formerly had a place in his mind, in a great measure retire; when these divine objects get so strong a hold of his thoughts, that no pleasures, no cares or sufferings can exclude them; in short, when his attachment to the cause of Christ becomes his ruling passion; then he experiences a rapid growth in everything excellent and praise-worthy. Whatever is earthly in

his nature dies away. His thoughts and affections range in a higher and brighter region. He acquires moral purity, enlargement and strength, and advances rapidly towards the elevated character of just men made perfect.

My brethren, do any of you aim at eminence in Christian piety and usefulness? See here what course you must pursue. And see here the course actually pursued by that distinguished servant of Christ, who has recently been taken from us. Beloved man! Wherever his name is known, not only among those who were personally attached to him, but through the Christian world, it is associated with all that is precious in the cause of the Redeemer.

Our departed brother was, in the best sense, a man of distinguished excellence. He possessed eminent qualifications, and attained to eminent usefulness. The qualities of his understanding and heart were such, as would have rendered him beloved and useful in any condition. Had he lived in the most retired village; the inhabitants would have been enlightened by his wisdom, and benefited by his pious example and benevolent services. Had he lived in days of persecution, and had the power of his enemies immured him in a prison; he possessed excellences of character, which would have been manifested even there. His meekness and self-government would have checked the impatience of his fellow sufferers; his affectionate counsels would have enlightened and comforted them; and the ardor of his prayers and praises would have taught them the happiness of devotion.

But his peculiar greatness arose very much from the circumstances in which he was placed and the relations which he sustained. It is indeed very obvious, that he had an original structure of mind, exactly suited to the work which God designed for him. Still it was his situation-it was his being actually called to his work, and successfully engaged in accomplishing it, which made known the value of his talents, and led to their highest improvement. In a very important sense, a man is made by circumstances. The time when he lives; the particular place where he acts; the dispositions and pursuits of those with whom he is most nearly connected; the nature of the duties allotted to him, and