shall not overwhelm, and that the fires shall not consume thy people? Remember me then in my afflictions, O my God, according to these thine exceedingly great and gracious promises of thy word.

Quicken "-instruct and discipline me according to the doctrines of thy holy word. Hast thau not said, that thou wilt cause "all things to work together for good" to thy servants? thus may I find it in my complicated trials. Is it not a doctrine of thine own book, that thine eyes run through the earth, to watch over and protect thy people, and that "all their times are in thy hand?" Let me be so happy as, in all my mean affairs, and in all my varied troubles, to witness thy wise and gracious arrangements.

Quicken "—inspire my heart with larger measures of hope and joy, according to the detiverances recorded in thy holy word. Didst thou not gloriously turn again the captivity of Job? Through thy blessing, was not his "latter end greater than his beginning?" Didst thou not rescue Peter out of the jaws of the enemy, almost at the moment when he intended to have crushed him utterly? Didst thou not stand by Paul when all forsook him? And didst thou not deliver him out of the "mouth of the lion ?" And art thou not "the same yesterday, to-day, and for ever?" Is anything too hard for thee to accomplish? Sanctify my trials; support, deliver me.

Believer, lift up thy head with joy, for thy full redemption draweth nigh. All thy trials and conflicts are in measure, he will not lay on thee more than thou art able to bear-they are all in mercy; the curse of the law due to thy sins is entirely and for ever borne away from thee by thy glorious Surety, and we are sure that thy troubles are but momentary; the "days of thy mourning shall soon be ended, and sorrow and sighing flee away for ever:"

"Though distresses now attend thee,

And thou tread'st the thorny road;
His right hand shall still defend thee,
Soon he'll bring thee home to God:
Therefore praise him,

Praise the great Redeemer's name."

Southampton.

B. H. D.

SUBSTANCE OF A SERMON

PREACHED BY C. D. GAWLER, AT THE INDEPENDENT CHAPEL,

ILCHESTER,

ON THE DEATH OF THE REV. JOHN DAMPIER,

OF COLLINS HAYS HOUSE, NEAR BRUTON:

Incumbent of the parishes of Brewham and Petcombe, in the county of Somerset ; JANUARY 31, 1841.

Be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life.—REV. 11. 10. BELOVED IN THE LORD,

We are assembled on the present occasion to testify our Christian

In

love and regard for the Rev. J. Dampier, whom it has pleased Almighty God to take suddenly from this vale of tears to his eternal embraces. his life time he was an ornament to the Christian Church, and an eminent and faithful minister of the Gospel of Christ. His life, conduct, and conversation, proved him to be a truly enlightened, intelligent disciple of Christ, walking in all his ways blameless, looking unto Jesus, who is the author and finisher of his salvation. In his death the Church of England has sustained an irreparable loss, the Trinitarian Bible Society a warm and zealous supporter, his bereaved wife and children a most loving and affectionate husband, father, guide, and counsellor, and the poor a most sympathizing kindhearted friend. He was a burning and shining light in his day to testify of the Gospel of the grace of God, by which he was made wise unto salvation. He was a scribe well instructed by the Holy Ghost in the mystery of Godliness, and therefore he was a workman who needed not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of life. Having himself happily experienced the blessed reality of divine and sovereign grace in his own soul, he therefore did most faithfully and affectionately preach it to others; thereby evincing to all the redeemed of the Lord that he was truly born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever. His manner of preaching was so pleasing and edifying to the Lord's people that be thereby endeared himself so much to them, that many of them travelled a distance of twelve or thirteen miles, on the Lord's day, to hear him preach the unsearchable riches of Christ. He dug deeply into the mines of sovereign grace, and brought up from them inexhaustible treasures-things both new and old. Hence every poor sensible sinner present on those happy occasions received a portion of spiritual meat in due season from the presence of the Lord. His life was a life of faith in the Son of God, who loved him and gave himself for him. His death was sudden (after about twenty minutes illness), peaceful, and serene. He fought a good fight, and finished his course, having kept the faith; henceforth there is laid up for him a crown of righteousness, which the Lord the righteous judge shall give him at that day; and not to him only, but unto all them also that love his appearing. Hence, beloved, we perceive the applicability of the beautiful language of the Psalm, xxxvii. 37-" Mark the perfect man, and behold the upright: for the end of that man is peace."

Having given you this brief sketch of my dear departed friend and brother's life and death, by way of introduction to my subject, I shall, by the divine blessing, call your attention briefly to the solemn and impressive language of my text, "Be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life." These were the last words Mr. Dampier ever preached from, which was on the Sabbath before his death, and therefore I have selected them, as being the most appropriate portion of God's word, for the present occasion. It is the Lord Jesus addressing his church and people by his servant John, to remind them of the declaration he made to them before he left the world. John, xvi. 33-"In the world ye shall have tribulation." But fear none of these things which you may be called to suffer, for the sifting time of the church of the living God is not far distant when the devil shall cast some of the Lord's elect family into prison for the truth's sake, that they may be tried in the furnace; but,think it not strange, my beloved brethren, when these fiery trials come upon you, as though some strange thing had happened unto you: "but rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ's sufferings: that when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy" (1 Pet. iv. 12, 13). From these words I purpose to notice,

I. THE DIVINE INJUNCTION HERE GIVEN-Be thou faithful unto death.

These words are personally addressed to every regenerate child of God. Faith is the hand by which the Christian lays hold on Christ the hope of glory set before him in the Gospel, which hope is as an anchor to the soul, sure and steadfast, amidst all the foaming billows of sin that may rage against him. When this blessed grace is implanted in the heart, then there is power, will, and ability, to acquiesce in the language of my text, and therefore it is unto you the Holy Ghost is here speaking. May you, then, be faithful unto death, in maintaining and supporting the doctrine of the everlasting Gospel, according to the purpose of Him who worketh all things after the counsels of his own will: "keeping the eye of your mind fixed upon them as your polar star, by which you are to be guided through the tempestuous ocean of life, ever remembering that the dear Lord has said, "I will be with thee always, even unto the end." May you be faithfully and experimentally taught by the Holy Spirit to know and feel that whom the Lord did foreknow according to his eternal purpose of grace in Christ, them he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the first born among many brethren; and whom he did predestinate them he also called by divine and sovereign grace from beneath the ruins of the fall to a comprehensive knowledge of the truth as it is in Jesus; and whom he called them he also justified in virtue of the everlasting covenant made between the blessed and glorious Trinity of Persons in the Godhead, ordered in all things and sure to all the elected of grace, for whom Christ died, the just for the unjust, to bring them to God; and whom he justified them he also glorified. May you, my Christian brethren, be enabled faithfully to exhibit unto death a genuine scriptural evidence of regenerating grace-proving to a demonstration by your lives, conduct, and conversation, that you have been with Jesus, and learned of him the things belonging to your everlasting peace; so that when Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall you also appear with him in glory. This will

bring us,

II. TO THE GLORIOUS AND ANIMATING PROMISE, "I will give thee a crown

of life."

There are various meanings attached to the word crown in the Sacred Volume; someti nes it may be considered to represent the great transition from our filthy state of sin to a participation of the blessings of divine grace, as in Ezek. xvi. 6-12, which is compared to a beautiful crown upon the head. It is called a crown of righteousness. 2 Tim. iv. 8, referring to the imputed righteousness of Christ, in which the Church of God stands completely justified before the throne of his love. It is called a crown of glory, referring to the triumphant state of the Church over sin and Satan, death and hell; and in my text it is called a crown of life. In its primary meaning it is properly taken for a state cap, worn on the heads of sovereign princes as a dignified ornament to distinguish them from their subjects. Hence all the heirs of heaven are sovereign princes, and legitimately entitled to a kingdom of glory that shall never have an end. But the wisdom, power, and glory of this kingdom is derived from Him who hath loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood, and hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen. The children of Zion's King are not to be put into possession of their kingdom until they have fought a good fight of faith, in which they shall be more than conquerors through him who hath loved them and given himself for them. But they will feel many severe blows, and receive many painful wounds from their enemy, who goeth about seeking whom he may devour, before they come into the purchased possession; yet they will many times be constrained, like the great Apostle of the

Gentiles, to cry out in the bitterness of their soul, "O wretched man that I am, who shall deliver me from the body of this death?" Remember, beloved, that in the world you must have tribulations, and God will put a difference between his people and the world; you may sometimes be full of tossing to and fro upon the tempestuous ocean of life, driven to your wits-end with distressing doubts and fears, and feeling the mighty warfare raging with all its malignant force within, so that you may conclude in your own mind that you shall finally fall by the hand of Saul, or become a cast-away.

But what says my text? "I will give thee a crown of life." But who shall deliver me from the darkness of my mind-from the hardness of my heart--from the power of the tempter-from the appalling sin of unbelieffrom the body of this death? I thank God through Christ, for that he has said, "Fear not, thon worm, Jacob, I will help thee, be not afraid, for I am with thee, and will deliver thee for my name's sake; and whatever may arise to prevent it, I will give thee a crown of life." But let me beg you to remember, that every step you take towards the heavenly possession will be disputed by Satan, but the saints of the Most High shall take the kingdom, and possess the kingdom for ever and ever; and then, beloved, you shall be crowned with glory, immortality, and eternal life. That crown shall never fade away, the gold thereof shall never tarnish, the gems thereof shall never lose their lustre, but there shall you wear it triumphant, and reign with Christ for ever and ever.

66

Beloved in the Lord, it may not be uninteresting to you to know how the Lord was pleased to call my dear friend to be a faithful minister of the Gospel of Christ. He was riding through the parish of Brewham (of which place he was the minister) when his carriage suddenly broke down; in consequence of the accident he repaired to an adjoining cottage, and while waiting there to have it repaired, he entered into conversation with a good woman who resided in the house. Among other things he asked her the reason why she did not attend at church? she replied, "Because the Gospel is not preached there." This remark, together with her subsequent observations, were powerfully applied to his mind by the Holy Spirit, and became the instrumental means of his conversion to God. Here we have a blessed exhibition of the wisdom, power, and glory of God, in the fulfilling of his own word. Therefore, ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called: but God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty; and the base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought the things that are: that no flesh should glory in his presence (1 Cor. xxvi. 29). From that period he began seriously to reflect upon the awful responsibility he was placed under, as a minister: so that he was constrained to cry unto the Lord, "What shall I do to be saved?" So completely was the fountain of the great deep of sin broken up in his soul, that he was led by the Spirit to see and feel that without an interest in Christ he must be eternally lost. Thus the Lord began a good work upon his soul, and, blessed be his glorious name, that his promise was fulfilled in his carrying it on even to the end.

From that time he began to preach very differently from what he had been accustomed to do; it was (as a good man observed to me who went to hear him) something like the Gospel, but without the power thereof accompanying the word. He continued thus to labour in his own strength till the year of our Lord 1823, when it pleased our covenant God to send that blessed man, his beloved servant, the Rev. Dr. Hawker, to preach an

very

occasional sermon at Yeovil church. Mr. Dampier having heard of it, was
induced to go and hear him; and while he was opening up the truths of the
everlasting Gospel in their purity, his doctrine dropped in his heart like the
fructifying showers of rain upon the tender grass, and his speech distilled
upon his mind as the dews of Mount Hermon; so that he was brought
under that sermon, through the Spirit's teaching, to see the necessity, and
feel the importance, of preaching the doctrines of the everlasting Gospel
without any mixture. Hence he soon began to discover the enmity of the
carnal mind against these great and glorious truths; professors were every-
where up in arms against them, but, blessed be God, that none of these
things moved him from the foundation laid in Zion. No! He continued to
proclaim Jehovah in his Trinity of Persons as the Alpha and Omega of his
people's salvation. He grounded all his discourses upon the eternal pur-
poses of him who worketh all things after the counsels of his own will. He
united the doctrines of election with the necessity of an experimental par-
ticipation of their blessed realities in the heart, and he the
gave
best
proof to the church and the world, that his heart was right with God in
its practical operation. He was called like all the sent servants of the
Lord to pass through much tribulation, being fully acquainted with the
plague of his own heart, but amid them all he was enabled to take comfort
like David, from the pleasing fact, that God had made with him in Christ
an everlasting covenant, ordered in all things and sure; and therefore he
believed that all the promises of God were yea and amen in him, to the
praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the
beloved; in whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness
of sins according to the riches of his grace. He had the most humiliating
views of himself as a sinner in the sight of God, and the most exalted and
sublime views of the finished work of Christ, in whom his eternal all was
treasured up, and out of whose fulness he received grace for grace, which
caused him to rejoice in Christ Jesus, having no confidence in the flesh.
Finally, he was a most faithful and indefatigable minister unto death, and
entered into the joy of his Lord, from whom he has received a crown of life.

Ah! what a loss the Church below sustains!
But what a prize the Church triumphant gains!
A great Apostle bids the earth farewell,

And soars to glory with his Lord to dwell.

With love to Christ and souls that dwelt around,
His warm affection knew, I say, no hound;
All knew his worth who rightly knew the man,
His foes may speak, deny it if they can.

DAMPIER, a friend I'll universal call
To poor, to rich, to saint, to sinner, all.
Such a friend and pastor Petcombe never knew,
As this their teacher, who is dead-Adieu.

C. D. GAWLER.

OUR PORTRAIT-REV. B. H. DRAPER.

MR. DRAPER has laboured for many years over a Baptist chapel at Southampton. As he is well known to the public by his numerous writings, it is needless for us to say much respecting him. His works are principally of a juvenile character, but abound with information of