SERMON XXII. Genesis, c. xix. v. 14.—And Lot went out, and spake unto his sons-in-law, which married his daughters; and said, Up, get you out of this place, for the Lord will destroy this city. But he seemed as one that mocked unto his sons-in-law.... Page 278 SERMON XXIII. Luke, c. vii. v. 11.-Now when he came nigh to the gate of the city, behold there was a dead man carried out, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow; and much people of the city was with her; and when the Lord saw her, he had compassion on her, and said unto her, Weep not. ... SERMON XXIV. Romans, c. viii. v. 28.-And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God. SERMON XXV. 1 Cor. c. iv. v. 5.—Until the Lord come, who both will bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and will make manifest the counsels of the hearts and then shall every man have praise of God. ... SERMON XXVI. Jeremiah, c. ix. v. 9.-Shall I not visit them for these things? saith the Lord: shall not my soul be avenged on such a nation as this? 294 308 323 337 SERMON XXVII. Isaiah, c. xlii. v. 20.-Seeing many things, but thou observest not. ... ... Page 355 SERMON XXVIII. Psalm cxxvii. v. 4.-As arrows are in the hand of a mighty man, so are children of the youth.... SERMON XXIX. Genesis, c. ii. v. 18.-And the Lord God said, it is not good that the man should be alone; I will make 368 386 SERMON XXX. 2 Cor. c. xiii. v. 11.-Finally, brethren, farewell: be perfect, be of good comfort, be of one mind, live in peace, and the God of love and peace shall be with MEMOIR. WHILST few avocations are productive of greater benefit to the best interests of a community than those of a useful and conscientious clergyman, whether employed in pastoral or scholastic duty, few are less fertile in circumstances calculated to excite interest. But as every good man leaves behind him a circle to whom his memory is precious, a biographical sketch, even if, as in the present case, it be little more than a detail of dates, by serving as a memento of departed worth, will not be valueless in itself, nor altogether unserviceable to the real objects of human society. It is in compliance with the wishes of many to whom the recollection of Mr. COOKE opens a grateful retrospect, that the following memoranda of his tranquil progress over the stage of earthly existence, are prefixed to the discourses which occupy the present volume. His family had been stationed in Monmouthshire for several centuries, and held considerable b property there. His father, John Cooke, Esq. of Goytre, in that county, was a person of refined education, and combined, in no common degree, the habits of the country gentleman with a love of polite literature. Hence he was in close terms of intimacy with some of the most eminent writers of the day; and ranked among his friends the poet Shenstone, many of whose letters are in possession of the family, and the celebrated traveller, Philip Thicknesse, Esq. father of Lord Audley. His mother was descended from Charles Cotton, Esq. the continuator of Walton's Angler, and the subject of these memoirs inherited his attachment to that source of recreation. The Rev. JOHN COOKE was born in the year 1756. He received his education in the collegeschool at Glocester, under the Rev. Mr. Bishop, and upon leaving it for the University, he was the head, or, as it was called, the captain of the school. From thence he went to Merton college, Oxford, where he took his degrees of B.A. and M.A. He was ordained to a church in Bristol, but afterwards came to Birmingham, where he continued four years, holding first the curacy of St. Martin's church, and subsequently that of St. John's chapel, Deritend. He was from thence elected second master of the grammar school in Bristol, where he resided eight years, and where, in 1793, he married Elizabeth Frances, only daughter of William O'Brien, Esq. of Middleton, in the county of Cork, and afterwards of Honduras, by whom he had one son, who died in infancy, and seven daughters, five of whom survive him. The loss of two, within twelve months, in the prime of youth and loveliness, was almost the only affliction that disturbed the calm stream of his placid life. In the year of his marriage, he was, in his absence, chosen to the second mastership of King Edward's School, in Birmingham; and in the year 1797, to the head mastership of that important institution, after a close competition with the Rev. Dr. Croft. Upon returning to Birmingham he resumed the curacy of St. Martin's, the parochial duty of which he discharged by an assistant curate. This he held for thirty-five years, until the decease of the rector, the Rev. Charles Curtis, in 1829. As a preacher, he was here, as he had been at Bristol, a great and permanent favourite. And his popularity continued to the last, being grounded upon no fastidious or affected advantages. His manner in the pulpit was peculiarly happy; its attraction was earnestness and simplicity; aided, no doubt, by a clear |