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the good will and attachment of all that knew him.

As he felt his health and strength declining, which had been greatly impaired by an accidental injury which he received in February, 1816, and which almost cost him his life, he began, four or five years ago, to urge his people to obtain an assistant; which, however, they never did till last year. He continued to supply them, with some temporary assistance, till last December, when their present pastor commenced his la bours statedly with them. Dec. 23d, 1821, was the last time he attempted to ascend the pulpit stairs, though he generally attended meeting, when the weather was agreeable through the winter, and (in the deacons' seat) would take a part in the exercises. But he gradually lost the use of his limbs, and was soon unable to walk. His bodily strength continued to decline, and for three or four months before his decease, he was nearly as helpless as an infant. He still en

occasional labours in the ministry continued to employ a part of his Sabbaths till May, 1793, when the third Baptist church, being destitute by the death of their much esteemed and useful pastor, Elder Asa Hunt, applied to him to preach with them. He removed the same month with his family to dwell among that people, with whom God had designed he should spend his days. His labours were immediately owned of God, and blessed to the awakening of many souls. More than thirty were, within a few months, baptised and added to the church. In September they presented him their unanimous request to receive ordination and become their pas tor. His diffidence and humble opinion of himself, prevented his signifying his acceptance of their call till the 2d of January following; and on the 16th of the same month, he was solemnly ordained to the pastoral office. He passed the remainder of his life in the service, and enjoying the affections of his people. It has probably fallen to the lot of few men, in his call-joyed his mental faculties in their ing, to pass through life so free from the ill will of every one, as Elder Nelson has. This was not because he flattered his hearers with "smooth things," and a cry of "peace, peace," to the wicked; but because such was his meekness, gentleness and evident concern for their welfare, that, how much soever they might dislike the truth which condemned them, they could not be offended with him. Scepticks and infidels, who charged hypocrisy to the generality of professors, though they might pretend to pity his delusion, would admit his sincerity. His glowing piety, added to his native simplicity, gentleness, affability of manners, and affectionate deportment, secured to him, in a remarkable degree, VOL IV.

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full vigour, and evinced the anxiety of his mind for the good of souls, as often as opportunity presented, by giving warm and pathetic exhortations to the people.

On

The last time he attended worship in the Meeting-house, was on the 15th of June; but he continued frequently to have meetings at his own house, as long as he lived, and generally took a part in the exercises. the Friday evening before his death, after a sermon delivered by his brother, who was then on a visit to him, he added a most feeling exhortation. He, on that occasion, as on some others, stated to the people, that it probably was the last time he should ever address them. Indeed, he might with great pro

priety use the language of the istry could attend, and pay their Ap stle : “ The time of my de- last tribute of respect to this venparture is at hand. I have fought erable father in Israel. the good fight, I have finished my Mr. Nelson had been twice course,

I have kept the faith,” &c. married, and had survived the He had appeared for some time decease of his last wife twelve like one standing in the portal of years. By his first wife, with heaven, beholding both the glo- whom he lived fifteen years, ry of God and the degeneracy of be had eight children ; three of man; feeling both the joys of whom survive him; by his last, heaven and the miseries of with whom he lived twenty-one earth ; associating both with the years, he had two, who are both angels of God and the children living of men ; with one hand raised In the near prospect of death, toward heaven, and with the oth- which had, for weeks, been aper endeavouring to reach some parently at the door, he manipart of a sinking world.

fested not the slightest degree of The next evening about 8 fear; but could converse upon o'clock, he seized with the subject with as little anxiety spasms, and other symptoms of as upon going to sleep. approaching dissolution; after He has gone to rest, and has which he languished in a kind of left us the legacy of his instructorpor about 36 hours, when tion and example. He has as without a struggle or a groan he cended, and his mantle has fallen fell asleep in Jesus.

among us.

And while his sucThis was the day before the cessor in the ministry, his beWarren Association convened at reaved children, and mourning New Bedford. The Thursday church and congregation, have following, his funeral solemnities each

to exclaim, were attended.

Dr. Gano of "My father! my father! the Providence, preached on the oc- chariot of Israel, and the horsecasion, from

Psalm cxii. 6. men thereof !” may some young 66 The righteous shall be in ever- Elisha gather up his mantle of lasting remembrance."

fervent charity, and possessing a peculiarly gratifying, that his fu- double portion of his spirit, do neral was

at a time when so wonders in the name of the Lord, many of his brethren in the min- in the sight of the people.

was

one

reason

It was

Religious Communications.

THOUGHTS ON DEUT. xxxij. 13, 14. “And of Joseph he said, blessed of kinds of precious things. But the Lord be his land, for the precious from the connection of the word, things of heaven, for the dew, and for the deep that coucheth beneath,

with the land of Joseph, and beAnd for the precious fruits brought ing associated with the dew of forth by the sun, and for the precious heaven, and the deep that couchthings put forth by the moon.

eth beneath, there can be no It is on the latter verse only doubt but that the fruits and prothat we shall make any remarks ductions of the earth are intendat present. The word rendered ed. How these are produced by fruits in this verse, means all the sun is easily understood ;

6

ure,

un

but the question is, what influ- is an expression made use of in ence has the moon on the fruits of the sacred volume, to represent the earth? Some writers have perpetuity; and by a figure of contended that the moon has speech very natural, the sun and great influence on certain pro- moon may be used for day and ductions.

night. 66 Those fruits (says Dr. Gill Again. The word rendered in loc.) which the moon helps moon, also means a month, and is forward by its coolness and moist in the plural : would it not be

are these, cucumbers and better to say, 'the precious things gourds.And he observes, from put forth, or brought forth in Dalechamp, that onions when the the months, (in each revolving moon waxes oid, increase, and month) than to say, the precious flag when it is young ;' and that things put forth by the moon, or Pliny says, 6 that at the increase

moons ? of the moon all sorts of corn The cold influence of the grow bigger and larger.' moon must certainly be as

Parkhurst, in his Hebrew Lex- productive as the oblique rays icon, under the word Geresh, is of a winter sun; and could afconfident that the moon has great ford but cold praise of the influence on vegetation. And fruitful soil of Ephraim and Mathis he calls a point of true phi- nasseh. But if we consider the losophy, and says that the effect holy prophet as saying, such shall of the lunar light in vegetation is be the fertility of their soil, and sung by the ancient poets, both such the excellent temperature Greek and Roman. He produces of their climate, that they shall quotations from the Orphic hymn, have an increase of all precious from Horace, Virgil, &c. to shew fruits, not only annually, but that they invoked the influence even monthly ; we shall discover of the moon under the appella- not only a propriety, but a beaution of Ceres.

ty in the phraseology. But after all it is very

doubtful I consider, therefore, the exwhether this influence of the pression as a poetic figure, as if moon on the vegetable kingdom he had said is sufficiently manifest to be known to the tillers of the ground Abundant harvests every year shall generally; and it is equally ques. And every moon shall some choice tionable, (at least in my mind)

blessing show. whether Moses, even if he knew

Lector, this nice point of philosophy, would have spoken of it in his farewell address to the tribes of Israel. But let us attend to the words.

One of the highest excel. Moses is speaking prophetically lencies of any work of art,

In the of the land which the tribes of is, Unity of Design. Joseph should possess ; and he

case of painting and of poetry, gives them to understand, that

this has long been considered an

One of the their land should be the choicest established canon. of the promised inheritance - acutest critics of antiquity, after That all the rich productions of mentioning that the poet and the the earth should be theirs, and painter are both amenable to the these they should enjoy in a rich

same laws, observes, abundance, and that constantly. Day and night, it is well known,

a

:

ON UNITY IN A SERMON.

,

“ Denique sit quidvis simplex duntaxat et unum."

Be the subject what it may, let your design be onique

In examining a painting, we look constantly before him, and so not upon the gilding of the frame, presenting the subject, as to pronor the glare of the colouring, duce that effect. Destitute of but we inquire what was the ob- object, a speaker may amuse or ject of the artist; and we decide astonish bis hearers. They may upon the question of his success admire the volubility of his or failure, by considering whether tongue, or be amazed at the vigo or not he has accomplished that our of his lungs; but his words object. And if the painter had are to them only like a sounding not in his mind's eye, one single brass, or a tinkling cymbal. effect which he intended to pro- The same rules which apply duce; or if, notwithstanding his to publick speaking in general, efforts, that effect be not discern- apply equally to addresses from ible, the man of taste instinctive. the pulpit. Nay, we here require ly passes upon his work the

a more rigid obedience to them; sentence of disapprobation. and we do this with reason, for

The same rule applies with the preacher is permitted to equal force to poetry of every choose bis subject, and is allowkind, but especially to epic and ed to select the manner in which dramatic compositions. Homer, he will exhibit it. in the commencement of the Iliad, A sermon has been defined a announces that he shall narrate religious oration.

The object the wrath of Achilles and the of a preacher may be to illusconsequences

which resulted trate something that is obscure, from it. The critics have long to prove something that is doubtsince remarked that the whole ed, or to exhort to something work is summarily comprehended that has been neglected А within this announcement. Vir- good sermon may have either of gil proposes to sing the woes and these objects in view; and it the wanderings of Eneas, and to

can have but one of them. Nay, this subject he rigidly adheres. more, it requires not only a gen- . The immortal author of Paradise eral, but also a particular unity. Lost, confines himself to the story If its design be to illustrate, it

must illustrate but one single topic. If it be argumentative, it

must prove only one doctrine. And the reason for such a rule is ' If it be hortatory, it should exalmost intuitively evident. The hort to only one duty. And it mind of the writer cannot be sus- matters not what other excel. tained in a tone of vigorous exer

lence a sermon may possess; tion, unless a single object be destitute of this, considered rheto constantly presented before it. orically, it is radically and capAnd, on the contrary, the mind of itally defective. the reader, distracted and per- We are well aware that this plexed by a continual shifting of rule would sweep from purpose, at last, abandons a

shelves many volumes which guide whom he in vain endeav- have been preached and read ours to follow,

with considerable commendation. Equally important is this re- We are also well aware that at quisite to the character of a good the present day, no one dictate oration. Every man who speaks of common sense is more frein publick should have in view a quently departed from, than the definite effect which he designs one in question. Either because to produce. The perfection of his

a syllogism must consist of three art consists in keeping this object terms, or because a sentence

« Of man's first disobedience, and the fruit Of that forbidden tree, whose mortal taste Brought death into the world."

our

66

more

our

must consist of an agent, an ac- the subject, they are summoned tion, and an object; or, for ought away by the ominous phrase, we know, because there may be " let us consider secondly,” to some peculiar virtue in the num- follow a totally different train of ber three, or from some other thought. By the time the first cause equally significant, the fact impression is effaced, and the almost universally is, that every second subject is fairly before man, who attempts to compose a the mind's eye, it in turn is sermon, feels himself as much snatched away, and they are inobliged to divide it into three vited to contemplate “the third heads, as he does to take his and last particular." The attext from the bible. Frequently tention so often baffled cannot be these heads are perfectly insu- regained. The speaker has lost lated topics, and have no more

his hold

upon his audience. connexion with each other, than They go away certain that many with any other topic in theol- good things have been said, that ogy In most cases they are they were for the time much in. so adroitly selected, that the terested; but what was the obleading idea of the text is wholly ject of the preacher, or what his avoided, or, to an almost inevi- sermon was about, they cannot table certainty, it is no

for the life of them tell. than incidentally glanced at in

Instances to illustrate one of them.

meaning might be produced in We might mention in passing, abundance. We shall select that this is one of the reasons only one. Let us take the text, why preaching ordinarily pro- “The wicked shall be turned duces so feeble an effect. The into hell, with all the nations that attention of an audience is di- forget God." Upon this text the vided, and thus the effect is di- division probably would be, first, minished, if not absolutely des. To show the character of the troyed. The preacher has wicked. Secondly, To consider

, three distinct and insulated top- what was meant by being turned ics, and each of them, perhaps, into hell; and, Thirdly, To of primary importance The prove the doctrine of the text, brief limits of a discourse allow That the wicked shall be turnhim to spend but a few minutes ed into hell. This, perhaps, upon each of them. He is of might be considered a very natcourse obliged to treat them all ural and happy division of the cursorily, and only say the things, subject. A very slight attention, and say them almost in the very however, would convince us, that same words which he and every instead of three divisions, we one else had said a thousand have here, in fact, three sertimes before. The hearer dozes

A preacher might, propaway the time of service, and erly enough, construct a diseither returns in silence, care- course on the subject, Who are less and unaffected, or else loud- the wicked? His object would ly venting his complaints that his then be to make every man feel minister indulges so much in in his own bosom, that he was repetition.

a sinner.

Could this be accomOr let us take a more favour- plished, the result is self-eviable case.

Suppose the preach- dent; conscience would make er has produced some effect by the application, and he would be the discussion of the first head of alarmed for the consequences of his discourse. As soon

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his sin. Or, a preacher might take audience is fairly interested in as a subject, The future punish

as an

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