dinary change, to indicate his coming, until the voice of the archangel and the trump of God shall summon them to judgment. There will be no means even of forming any probable conjecture as to the time when this will happen; in order, doubtless, that we may be kept in a watching posture. Let us then take care that we learn from the uncertainty of the event this important lesson.

And the observation is equally true with regard to death, the harbinger of judgment. The time of death is kept out of the sight of all. Few are aware of it till very near, and many are taken away without the least warning. And though the thoughts of death are habitually present with the good man; yet even to him the time may be, and usually is, unexpected. How much, then, does it concern us to be always ready, for at such an hour as we think not the Son of Man may come by judgment, at least by death, and thus place us in the same circumstances in which we shall be found at his actual coming in the last day!

13. The words of the text imply not only that the coming of Christ will be unexpected, but that we may be surprised by it in an unprepared state. This is a surprize, to which the ungodly are pecu liarly liable. A consciousness that they are not ready, joined to an unwillingness to prepare, makes them reluctant to think about dying. The same circumstances would as effectually blind them to any signs of the coming of Christ to judgment, were they to be found alive at his coming. Those, therefore, who are not habitually ready, will probably be found unprepared when the Son of Man cometh, or sends death to summon them before him. He may come soon and suddenly; but, even if he should delay long the time of his coming, the things which tempt men to omit preparing to-day will continue to tempt them to-morrow, and

probably with increased power, Whatsoever, therefore, thy hands find to do, do it immediately with all thy might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom in the grave whither thou goest, and on the brink of which thou art standing: for consider how dreadful will be the consequences of being thus surprized. Our Lord himself describes them a few verses after the text: "If that wicked servant shall say in his heart, My Lord delayeth his coming;”

the Lord of that servant shall come in a day when he looketh not for him, and at an hour that he is not aware; and shall cut him asunder, and appoint him his portion with the hypocrite; there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth." With what propriety then does our Lord again and again exhort us to be ready! May we attend to his exhortation, and be suitably influenced by the awful motive by which he enforces it! Let us take the advice he has so kindly given us, and be always on the watch, lest, coming suddenly, our Lord find us sleeping. Let us not say in our hearts, To-morrow I will examine into the state of my soul; to-morrow I will begin to prepare for eternity and for the coming of Christ to judgment. Alas! we know not what a day may bring forth. This night our souls may be required of us: then what will become of our purposes for to morrow? To-day we enjoy the means of grace: to-morrow they may be for ever hid from our eyes. To-day we are in time: tomorrow we may be in eternity, and in unchangable misery. To day, therefore, while it is called today, let us not harden our hearts, but flee from the wrath to come, and lay hold on eternal life, lest in such an hour as we think not the Son of Man should come.

Let me, in conclusion, press this subject on the serious and imme. diate attention of all who are careless and unprepared. Let me

press it upon them by all the regard they have to their present and final happiness. Your Saviour has, in mercy, warned you to be ready; and he well knew what he said. He well knew whether his coming be so certain and sudden, and in its consequences so dreadful to the impenitent as he has said. And if he do not, in mercy, convince you of it before, that great and terrible day will flash conviction upon your minds with an evidence which it will be impossible for you to resist. And are you resolved to make this dreadful experiment, and at the peril of your souls to try whether these things are true? This were indeed madness and folly, especially as even now your conscience pleads against it. Could you bear the thought of giving up all hope of heaven? Could you deliberately renounce all dependence on Christ, and challenge God to do his worst? And if you could not do this, why should you venture on his displeasure, by sinning against him, and presumptuously continuing impenitent after all his invitations and warnings? Is it the hope of a long life, and a distant opportunity of repentauce, which emboldens you thus to act? Alas! what is that life on which you build such hopes? Is it not a vapour that appeareth for a little while, and then vanish eth away? You are now, it may be, young and in health; but how soon may the Son of Man come, in a fever or a palsy, as effectually as in the judgment day, and as suddenly too? Know you not that in the midst of life you are in death; and that as death leaves you, so will judgment find you? In love, then, to your souls, make no more delays. What is become of thousands who trifled with their convictions, and made light of the calls of the Gospel, in hope of a more convenient season? Alas! those calls and convictions are now aggravating their condemnation, and ministering fuel to the fire that never shall be quenched. And

what will become of us if we act the same inconsiderate part? If the word of God be true, we also shall come into the same place of torment. Let us be persuaded, then, as we value our souls, to give all diligence to prepare for the coming of Christ. Let us flee, as for our lives, to the city of refuge which God hath appointed, lest the avenger of his broken law overtake us, and we perish for ever.

Nor would I confine my exhortation to the careless. Let us all watch and be ready. Let us keep in the fear of the Lord and the view of eternity all the day long; and, by frequent self-examination, have the great account between God and our souls in readiness. Let us daily apply to him who is mighty to save, for grace to help us, and for mercy to pardon us, through the blood of Christ. Then shall we have no need to start at the approach of death or judgment: we may view the king of terrors without dismay; nay, we may lift up our heads with joy amidst all the horrors of a consum ing world: Jesus will be our friend; and his favour will secure, from all the perils of that great day, those who have persevered to the end in his service. Let us not, therefore, be of those who draw back to per dition, but of them that believe to the saving of the soul. Let us pray, and watch, and labour, that we may always be ready to welcome our Saviour's approach. In that case, when a few more months or years, perhaps a few more days or hours, shall have passed, he that shall come will come, and his reward shall be with him. God grant that we may all be found of him in peace, and not be ashamed before him at his coming. Amen.

To the Editor of the Christian Observer. I VENTURE to send you the following questions, and shall be well satisfied if they should produce

such answers as will place a subject deeply interesting to Christians in general, in a somewhat clearer light than it has hitherto stood.

I. Do not the present extraordi nary circumstances of our country call for extraordinary exertions and duties on the part of Christians? If so,

II. What are the peculiar exertions and duties thus required, for instance, of the minister in his station; of the person of literary talents in his sphere; of private Christians in theirs? &c. &c.

To me, I confess, it appears, that the extraordinary activity of the sons of sedition and disloyalty, should shame those Christians, who

look on the present state of distress with little more than passive indfference, and be a more urgent call on those already active.

Affliction is the golden opportunity for sowing the good seed of religion. "O Lord, when thy judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness," is the language of the prophet; and it certainly becomes all classes, as far as they have opportunity, to make the practical experiment of its truth. I should not have sent these lines, but with the hope of obtaining from some of your readers, a plain, serious, answer. I am, &c.

J. W.

To the Editor of the Christian Observer. THE fever peculiar to tropical climates, has been for some time epidemic in the island of Barbadoes; and has produced great mortality, particularly among the 2d, or Queen's, regiment of foot. I have seen accounts of its ravages in that corps, which embarked at Plymouth, only in May last, 800 strong, from which it would appear, that the number of deaths had been very great. It is certain, that nine officers had been cut off before Dec. 30, 1816; since which I have no information. Among these I have heard the names of two officers, and have been informed of some circumstances respect. ing their death, which it may be useful to publish. One of them, Lieut. William Gray, was aged only 25 years. He was seized with symptoms of fever on the evening of the 6th, and died on the evening of the 8th, of November, having been previously in perfect health, He was aware of his danger from the very first, but never once shrunk from death. In his last

moments, he breathed out the tender love he bore to his parents; and expressed his sure and firm faith of a glorious resurrection, through the atonement and righ teousness of a crucified Saviour, About a year and a half before this, he first became acquainted with the truth as it is in Christ Jesus: and from that period, to the day of his death, he daily evidenced the most satisfactory proofs of Divine teaching, and progressive grace. His last words were, (addressing a brother officer, who communicated the account); "Gordon, my body is weary and weak, but there is rest awaiting me when it is over." His friend then said, "Christ has said, I will never leave thee nor forsake thee." He replied, "He hath never yet forsaken me, and I am sure he will not now." There was a smile at that time on his features which almost lighted up his countenance; and the very last sounds that could be heard. from him were "The blood of Jesus Christ cleanses from all sin.”. He had talked of the delightful conversations which he and his

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friend had had, at different times, about their Saviour. "It pleased God,"says that friend, "that neither duty nor sickness prevented any of us from being with him in his last moments. There were five of us (officers of the same regiment) present, who, I trust, are ready to nake the same declarations and testimony to the truth. We were much attached, even before our friendship had been cemented by unity of spirit, and his loss to me is almost irreparable. He was the object of the greatest respect in this truly respectable regiment, and his memory will long live in their remembrance. But he is gone to the general assembly and church of the First Born; to an innumerable company of angels; to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect.''

Such was the account, considerably abridged, of this excellent young man, contained in a letter from Captain John Gordon, sen. of the same regiment, written to his friends at Edinburgh.

Alas! before these accounts, dat ed November 16th, were received, he had himself fallen by the same fatal disease. At the time of his death, he was 37 years of age. He did not enter the army till his 24th year; having been an advocate at the Scotish bar for some time previously. But the natural ardour of his mind, and some predilection also for a military life, led him, though not deficient in talents or knowledge, to desert a profession, the emoluments of which are seldom rapidly attained. He saw a good deal of hard service in the Irish Rebellion, and in Portugal and Spain, at Vimiera, Talavera, Oporto, and the retreat from Burgos, where he attended Lord Dalhousie as his aid-de-camp. His health and constitution, never very vigorous, were gradually impaired by the hardships which he then underwent; and he was also subjected to more then one course of exhausting medicine, which left him much

enfeebled, though relieved from the symptoms which made it necessary. Dangers, however, and sickness, did not teach him to apply his heart unto wisdom. The religious instruction which he received in infancy and youth, in the family of his widowed mother (for he lost his father, when very young, by the sudden stroke of apoplexy) seemed to have had no effect in directing his regards to the Gospel. As little benefit seemed to attend the subsequent admonitions and example of the Reverend Mr. Thomason at Cambridge (now of Calcutta), in whose house, and afterwards at Trinity College, he spent more than a year after he had finished his studies at the University of Edinburgh. Though well esteemed among his companions, and the object of warm attachment to his family and friends, which, indeed, on his part, was reciprocal; he continued, till within two years and two months of his latter end, unimpressed by the truths of the Gospel, a slave of divers lusts and pleasures, and ambitious only of distinction and happiness upon earth.

It pleased God, however, about that time, to draw his attention to the importance and reality of things unseen. The impressions made by these were silent and gradual, through the conversation and example of a friend whom he highly and deservedly esteemed. By that friend he was brought into the society of some of the excellent of the earth, and persuaded to attend on the preaching of the Gospel, as well as to study the word of God. From about that period, (October, 1814), to the moment of his death, the change in his principles and pursuits was abiding and progressive. It soon appeared that he was renewed in the spirit of his mind; and in no long time he was marked by his friends aud former associates, as the opposite of what he had been. From thenceforward he added to faith, fortitude, knowledge, self

government, patience, piety, bro therly love, and benevolence. Confiding in the word of his grace, he walked in the fear of God, and in the comforts of the Holy Spirit. His zeal for the salvation of others, kept pace with the ardour and perseverance with which he wrought out his own. God honoured him, both in the regiment and, it is hoped, out of it, to bring not a few, not only under instruction, but to render that and his example effectual for the salvation of some of them. The state of his mind may in some degree be judged of, by the following extracts from the preamble and conclusion of his last will and testament, dated on 3d July, 1816:

"I, John Gordon, impressed with the awfulness of the uncertainty of human life at all times, but more particularly in this quarter of the globe, will thank the Major of the regiment to consider these few lines as my last will and testament, with regard to my effects in the West Indies. Should it please God to call upon me suddenly, to appear before him as my Judge and Creator, I desire to plead for mercy, for my manifold sins and daily transgressions, through the blood and righteousness of him, who, though without sin, became sin for us, that we might be clothed with his imputed righteousness; and thus committing myself to him, who is able to keep to the last that which is entrusted to him, I die in the hope of a joyful resurrection." "And now I have only to pray, that I may, through faith in Christ Jesus, leave a testimony behind me, that religion is no vain thing; and I pray that the kingdom of Christ may be advanced daily. I die in peace and goodwill towards all my dear brother officers, and if, in duty or otherwise, from a zeal for the ser

*Being eldest captain, he had been in command of the regiment, while in the West Indies, his superior officers being

absent.

vice, I have been hasty, I trust they will attribute it to the true cause. Above all, I recommend unanimity among all ranks; and I trust you may all prepare for this last scene which awaits all men."

(Signed) JOHN GORDON, Sen. ' Capt. Queen's.

Immediately before his attack with the fever in which he expired, he had, in his too great zeal for the service, exposed himself to the heat of the sun, and had undergone excessive fatigue. This, doubtless, predisposed him for the influence of the contagion, which attacked him on the 19th of December. Though attended by a surgeon, much at tached to him for the truth's sake, of good professional talents and education, and regularly visited by the physician to the forces, and the inspectors of hospitals, he sunk under the fever on the 22d, at 3° A. M."During the short period," says his friend, Mr. A. I. Ralph, assistant surgeon of the regiment, "in which he was confined to a sick bed, he manifested the calmest resignation, and informed his medical attendants on their first visit, with humble cheerfulness, that he was quite prepared for the event, whatever it might be. The sting of death had been taken away, and through our Lord Jesus Christ he had obtained a victory over the grave. A confusion of intellect, not amounting to a total privation' of reason, shortly appeared in the progress of the disease; and although rendered by it incapable of conversing, he appeared much refreshed by the prayers of a clergyman of the Establishment who visited him.

On his dissolution appearing to be near at hand, it was repeated by a friend, Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord, for they rest from their labours. He said, 'he would rather,' but could” not utter another word. He gradually sunk, not appearing to be enduring much pain, and died with a placid smile on his countenance....