CHAPTER V.

FUNERAL SERMONS FOR THE RAJAH,

RAMMOHUN ROY,

BY

REV. DR. CARPENTER, REV. ROBERT ASPLAND, REV. DR. DRUMMOND,

REV. J. SCOTT PORTER AND REV. W. J. FOX.

Ir is probable that in many pulpits there were notices of the mournful event of the Rajah's death. The Rev. Dr. KENNEY, of St. Olave's, Southwark, whose ministry RAMMOHUN ROY had frequently attended, preached a funeral sermon for him at the request of his parishioners; he also wrote a letter to Mr. J. HARE expressive of his warm attachment to the Rajah and high appreciation of his character. Five sermons were printed, and though now out of print, copies are before us; from these we now proceed to give such extracts as will illustrate the character of the Rajah, and show the estimation in which he was held.

The first is from DR. CARPENTER, preached in Lewin's Mead Chapel, Bristol, Oct. the 6th, 1833. It contains a

full review of the labours, opinions and character of the Rajah, and was printed with a number of extracts from his writings, and with the Biographical Memoir at the commencement of this volume. From this pamphlet large extracts have been already made.

Daniel VII., 13, 14.

I SAW IN THE NIGHT VISIONS, AND, BEHOLD, ONE LIKE THE SON OF MAN CAME WITH THE CLOUDS OF HEAVEN, AND CAME TO THE ANCIENT OF DAYS; AND THEY BROUGHT HIM NEAR BEFORE HIM: AND THERE WAS GIVEN HIM DOMINION, AND GLORY, AND A KINGDOM, THAT ALL PEOPLE, NATIONS AND LANGUAGES, SHOULD SERVE HIM: HIS DOMINION IS AN EVERLASTING DOMINION, WHICH SHALL NOT PASS AWAY; AND HIS KINGDOM THAT WHICH SHALL NOT BE DESTROYED.

"This sublime declaration of the prophetic spirit cannot be fulfilled till all the nations of the earth shall form a part of the kingdom of the Messiah; and it will be fulfilled in its completest extent, for it proceeded from HIM who is almighty, eternal, and unchangeable. The Christian believer who has cordial faith in this and other related prophecies, must have the settled unwavering conviction, that the day will come when the knowledge which is 'life eternal' shall be diffused into every region, and received into the heart of every rational being, on the face of the earth.

"No one who has a just sense of the value of the Gospel, can be indifferent to the spread of its divine truths, or to the increase of their influence where they are already received. Let the question be fairly put to any who have imbibed its sacred principles; who have seen how it communicates light and guidance, how it raises and refines the

purposes and desires, strengthens in weakness, supports in sorrow, heals the contrite heart, cherishes the best affections, is continually expanding, invigorating, and elevating the understanding, and directing the soul heavenward;whether they can conceive a more inestimable treasure, or can think it a matter of no moment whether or not others share it with them. He who prays that the kingdom of God may come, and his will be done on earth as it is done in heaven, must, if he pray with the spirit and with the understanding, be solicitous to promote the practical reception of the Gospel; and if, in any good degree, he bear the image of his Lord, he will decline no exertion, nor shun any difficulty or sacrifice, where he has a reasonable prospect that he may thereby promote the great end of God's moral government, the virtue and happiness of his rational offspring. From him whom he views with gratitude as his benefactor, and reverences as his sovereign and judge, he has learnt, that to know, with the knowledge of the heart, 'the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom he hath sent' 'is life eternal': and if he have himself, as a sinful, dying, accountable creature, experienced, in godly sorrow, its precious promises of divine mercy, its strength in temptation, its guidance in spiritual perplexity, its consolations, its warnings, and its hopes-hopes full of immortality— he will love much; and grateful to him who suffered and died to extend and assure the gracious blessings of the Gospel, and to Him from whose tender mercy they sprang, he will deem it an imperative duty to do what in him lies to enable others to share in those privileges and blessings, and to become faithful subjects of the Messiah's kingdom.

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"There can be no doubt in the mind of him who has

duly considered the declarations of prophecy and the genius of the Christian religion, that it is designed to be universal, both in extent and in duration. Men of the highest intellect have perceived its disclosures expanding as they have themselves advanced in comprehension of mind. As they have ascended the heights of human intelligence, they have discerned more and more of the glories of 'the light of the world'. And it is not conceivable that any period shall arrive, in this state of being, when the Gospel can be regarded, by those who possess and understand its principles and its hopes, as other than the pearl of great price', beyond all other gifts of our Heavenly Father of inestimable value.

"In proportion, too, as the minds of men are cultivated with sound knowledge, Christian truth is more readily discernible, and its influences are more effective. Ignorance suits not the spirit of the Gospel, which is 'the spirit of power, and love, and of a sound mind'; and where to ignorance is added the debasing influences of sordid selfishness and pollution, scarcely any thing can raise above the mire of earth. On the other hand, where the understanding is exercised, truth is found to be its best nourishment; and sound knowledge, the healthy food of the soul. The mind is thus prepared for light from heaven; and that light 'shineth more and more unto the perfect day.'

Many parts of the prophecies are still obscure. To the eye which can only partially discern even the present, that which respects things to come must commonly have something of the darkness or the dimness of futurity. Even those portions which respect things long past, seem full of mystery to those who are little acquainted with the ancient periods of the world, and have not considered the appro

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priate language of prophecy. But if there is any thing clear, explicit, and certain in prophecy, it is, that the time shall come when the knowledge of Jehovah shall cover the earth as the waters do the channels of the deep'; when, 'from the rising of the sun to the going down of the same, his name shall be exalted among the Gentiles'; when, 'in every place shall be offered to him incense and a pure offering'—the offering of the heart, the sacrifice of the

life. The anticipation of this great and glorious result was one of the habitual sentiments of our Lord's prophetic spirit. He looked through darkness, and through evil, towards good unbounded, and in its influences eternal. And this anticipation can scarcely fail to be fixed in the Christian's heart. His Lord 'must reign till all enemies are brought under his feet'. The Heathen have been given him for an inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for a possession'. The words of the prophet in my text are singularly impressive and decisive; and they are the more important, because whenever our Saviour applies to himself the appellation the Son of Man', we may reasonably understand a tacit reference to them.

"While many of our Christian brethren were contemplating with intense earnestness, and costfully promoting, the efforts made by Missionaries of their own denomination to spread the Gospel among the Hindoos-as it appeared to us with little success, or, on the system they adopted, well-grounded hope,-the attention of the Unitarians in England and America began to be arrested by the information which came to us from various quarters, that in the British capital of Hindostan a highly-gifted Brahmin had been, for some time, with little knowledge of the Gospel,