death for the first time seen; and seen in his ghastliest form! Death before the time! The death of piety and goodness! Death inflicted by violence, and preceded by pain! Death embittered to the sufferer by reflecting on the hand from which it came; the hand of a brother, the hand which should have supported and protected him, which should have barred the door against the murderer, not borne the fatal instrument itself! At length the feeble eyes close in peace; and the pain of bleeding wounds, and the pangs of fraternal cruelty are felt no more. "The dust returns to the earth as it was, and the spirit unto God who gave it." The spirit returns to God, to see his unclouded face, formerly seen through the medium of natural objects, and of religious services; to understand, and to enjoy the great mystery of the atonement, hitherto known only in a figure. Happy Abel, thus early delivered from the sins and sorrows of a vain world! And thus death, at whatever season, in whatever form, and from whatever quarter it comes, is always unspeakably great gain to a good man. Such was the life, and such the untimely end of righteous Abel;" for so our blessed Lord styles him, who fell a martyr to religion. The remainder of Cain's history; the short view given us of the character of his descendants, together with the birth of Seth, given and appointed of God to preserve the sacred line, to propagate the holy seed, in place of Abel, whom Cain slew; will, with the permission of God, furnish matter for another Lecture. Let us conclude the present, by setting up the character of Abel as an object of esteem, and a pattern for imitation. Faith in God, and in a Saviour to come; and the righteousness which is of God by faith, are the leading and striking features of this portrait," and by these, being dead, he yet speaketh; or if you chuse to adopt the marginal reading," is yet spoken of." It is "is a desirable thing to enjoy a good name while we live, and to be remembered with kindness after we are dead. But reputation is the gift of others; it is often gained without merit, and lost without a crime. Whereas true goodness is a real, unalieanable possession; it cleaves to us in death; it accompanies us to the world of spirits; it instructs the world while we live; it speaks from the grave; it shines in the presence of God in heaven. Here, my friends, it is lawful and honorable to aspire. Permit others to get before you in wealth or in fame; grudge not to your neighbor the superiority in wit, or strength, or beauty: but yield to none in piety, in purity, in faith, in charity; aim at the highest honors of the christian name; be humble, and be every thing. 66 Salvation, men and brethren, has from the beginning, flowed in one and the same channel. There was not one gospel to the antidiluvian, and another to the postidiluvian world; one method of redemption to the Jews, and another to the Gentiles; but " Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, and to-day, and for ever." Abel, Abraham, Moses, David, Simeon, Paul, and all who have been, or shall be saved, lived and died in the faith of Christ. "Neither is there salvation in any other; for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved,". Acts iv. 12. This therefore is the great commandment of God to us in these days of meridian light and glory, namely, "that we should believe on the name of his Son Jesus Christ, and love one another." Was Abel a type of Christ, as well as a believer in him? The scripture indeed saith it not expressly; but surely, without straining, we may discern some striking marks of resemblance. What saith Moses?" Abel was a keeper of sheep." What saith Christ? "I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep.' What did Abel?" He through faith brought of the firstlings of his flock, and of the fat thereof, an offering unto the Lord." What did Christ? "Through the eternal Spirit he offered himself without spot to God." Were Abel's days cut short by the hand of violence? So " Messiah, the Prince, was cut off, but not for himself." Was Abel hated of, and slain by his brother? Christ" was despised and rejected" of his own, and died by the treachery of a familiar friend in whom he trusted, and by the cruelty of those who were his brethren according to the flesh. Did the blood of Abel cry to God from the ground, for vengeance on the head of him who shed it? O, with what oppressive weight has the blood of Jesus fallen, and how heavily does it still lie on the heads of them, and of their children, who with wicked hands crucified and slew him! Could the blood of Abel atone for his sin? No but the blood of Christ cleanseth him, and every believer, from all sin. Yet Abel died as a righteous man, Christ as a sinner. Abel a guilty creature, was justified and accepted through an imputed righteousness; Christ, who was "holy, harmless, undefiled, and separated from sinners," was condemned and suffered, because" the Lord laid on him the iniquity of us all." Abel suffered death once for all; the body of Christ was offered once for all," and by that one sacrifice," he hath for ever perfected them that are sanctified." But we pursue the similitude and the contrast no farther. May God bless what has been said, Amen. And to his holy name be praise. For this is the message that ye heard from the beginning, that we should love one another. Not as Cain, roho zvas of that wicked one, and slew his brother. And wherefore slew he him? Because his own works were evil, and his brother's righteous...1 JOHN iii. 11, 12. IT T is a pleasant task to attend the footsteps of the wise and good, through the thorny maze of human life: to draw nigh with the devout to the altar of God: to learn patience of the meek, compassion of the merciful, and kindness of the generous: to love and admire them in life, and to regret them in death. Bu ah!.. how painful to trace the progress, and to mark the appearances, of "the carnal mind, which is enmity against God," and hatred to man from the first conception of an ill design, to the final execution of a deed of horror!" Lust, having conceived, bringeth forth sin, and sin when finished bringeth forth death." Nevertheless, it is highly important, that even objects of detestation should be placed before the eyes of men; that sin should be viewed in her native loathsomeness and deformity, to excite, if possible, aversion and disgust. To direct men in the journey of life, it is necessary to erect beacons, the admonition of hidden dangers and death; as well as to set up indexes, to point out the right path. The two first men who were born into the world, are designed of Providence to answer this valuable purpose, to those who should come after them. Abel, though dead, continues to instruct men in the excellency, amiableness, and importance of true religion; Cain stands to all generations, a fearful example of ungovernable passion hurrying a man on to blood, and plunging him into despair. Having considered the former as a pattern for imitation, we are now to consider the history of the latter, as affording an useful and seasonable warning to look to ourselves, "lest we also be hardened, through the deceitfulness of sin." Cain has now accomplished his bloody purpose. His envied, hated rival is now removed out of sight: the virtues of his brother no longer reproach him: Abel stands no more in the way, to intercept the rays of the favor of God, or of man. Is he not now then at rest? No eye saw him commit the murder. And if it were known, who shall call him to account? No eye saw him! Yes, the eye of Cain saw him: yes, the eye of God saw him hence the whole earth becomes all eye to behold , all tongue to accuse him. Who shall call him to That shall Cain; his own conscience shall urder: that shall the hand of every man, ill; for every man is concerned to hin account. avenge the ni fly whither he w es light of the life of another: destroy him, who ma that shall: God, from who " he cannot fly. Revenge, on him that employs. zar's fiery furnace, like a devilish engine," recons isters of ven fthe The mournful tidings must soon reach the cars afflicted parents. What were now thy feelings, Exe, when he, who was expected to be a Saviour, turns out a destroyer? Which is the heavier affliction, a son prematurely and violently cut off; or a son living to present an object of horror and detestation to their eyes? A pious child dead, is beyond all controversy, a posses sion infinitely preferable to a profligate alive. Alas! what shall they do? To overlook the murder, is to become partakers in the guilt of it; to punish the mur |
