It is better to go to the house of mourning than to the house of feasting; for that is the end of all men, and the living will lay it to his heart In Rama was there a voice heard, lamentation, and weeping, and great mourning; Rachel weeping for her children, and would not be com- Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth; while the evil days come not, nor the years draw nigh, when thou shalt say, I have SERMON I. ON THE CHARACTER OF RELIGION. 1 KINGS, xix. 12. "And after the fire, a still small voice." I NEED scarcely remind you, my brethren, that these are the concluding words of that very sublime passage. in which the Divine Presence is represented as being made known to the prophet Elijah. "Go forth, and stand upon the mount before the Lord. And behold the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the mountains, and brake in pieces the rocks before the Lord; but the Lord was not in the wind: and after the wind, an earthquake; but the Lord was not in the earthquake: and after the earthquake, a fire; but the Lord was not in the fire: and after the fire, a still small voice. And it was so, when Elijah heard it, that he wrapped his face in his mantle, and went out, and stood in the entering in of the cave." A passage of this kind is, in itself, an evidence of the inspiration of Scripture. All the circumstances of the description are in a style of thought superior to the course of human ideas, and appear to be the result of those lofty conceptions of the divine nature which can be communicated only by the Spirit of God. The A most terrific images from the natural world are first introduced; but they are introduced merely for the sake of contrast, and to heighten the mysterious solemnity of the circumstance which follows. The prophet, we may suppose, witnessed the great and strong wind, the earthquake, and the fire, with emotions suited to the contemplation of those tremendous ministers of ruin: yet these were but natural agents, parts of the constituted order of things; the servants, not the Lord. It was not till the "still small voice" signified the presence of another Being,-of a Being distinct from nature, and speaking with the composure of irresistible power, amidst all the confusion and havoc of the elements, that Elijah is described as having felt the peculiar emotion of religious awe,-that he "wrapped his face in his mantle, and went out, and stood in the entering in of the cave." But to dilate upon these circumstances would tend rather to weaken than increase their effect. It will be a more useful employment to notice some views of religion which, by an easy interpretation, may appear to be silently pointed at in this remarkable passage. To look for hidden meanings in the Sacred Writings is, indeed, in most instances, both idle and injudicious. The imagination, in such inquiries, has so wide a field, and may so readily be betrayed into delusive views, that we ought to be very cautious lest we fasten upon the simplicity of Scripture the wandering reveries of an enthu siastic mind. Yet, in some passages, more may be meant than meets the ear. A still small voice may whisper from them great and important truths. |