Read Ebook: The Character and Happiness of Them That Die in the Lord A sermon preached Oct. 13 1822 in Park Chapel Chelsea on occasion of the death of the late Rev. John Owen by Dealtry William

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Transcribed from the 1822 J. Hatchard and Son edition by David Price. Many thanks to the British Library for making their copy available.

THE CHARACTER AND HAPPINESS OF THEM THAT DIE IN THE LORD.

A SERMON,

PREACHED OCTOBER 13, 1822,

PARK CHAPEL, CHELSEA,

ON OCCASION

Of the Death of the late

MINISTER OF PARK CHAPEL, AND ONE OF THE SECRETARIES OF THE BRITISH AND FOREIGN BIBLE SOCIETY.

WILLIAM DEALTRY, B.D. F.R.S.

RECTOR OF CLAPHAM, SURREY, AND OF WATTON, HERTS; AND LATE FELLOW OF TRINITY COLLEGE, CAMBRIDGE.

London:

PRINTED FOR J. HATCHARD AND SON, 187, PICCADILLY.

PRINTED BY J. S. HUGHES, 66, PATERNOSTER, ROW.

TO THE PRESIDENT, THE VICE-PRESIDENTS, AND THE OTHER MEMBERS OF THE British and Foreign Bible Society, THIS SERMON IS RESPECTFULLY INSCRIBED.

A SERMON.

REVELATIONS xiv. 13.

THE solemnity with which the doctrine contained in this passage is introduced, and the remarkable way in which it is confirmed, declare loudly its value and importance.

In attempting to explain this passage more at large, I shall consider,

It will remain for me, then, to offer some remarks, more particularly belonging to the present afflicting occasion.

Tranquillity in death may arise from a variety of causes: from constitutional apathy, from weariness of the world, from gross ignorance of true religion, from a hard and unfeeling conscience: and, therefore, taken simply by itself, without any good evidence that it rests upon a right foundation, it can never be admitted as a proof, that the man who possesses it, is duly prepared for his change.

Neither can we repose with much confidence in this matter upon theological knowledge and an orthodox creed.

Neither can we lay much stress in this argument upon vehement and rapturous transports.

In many cases, they may be traced to the notions and habits of the particular class of professing christians to which the individuals concerned had previously attached themselves: and in some other cases, they are connected with high-wrought feelings or constitutional warmth of character, both totally independent of the influence of religion. God forbid that we should be supposed to throw discredit upon that holy and heavenly joy, which has often cheered the heart of the christian in the last moments of existence, as if he were already on the verge of heaven. We are careful only to guard against the delusion, which is satisfied with frames and feelings: these are not necessarily derived from the communion of the Holy Ghost: and if it were possible, under such an excitement, to give in the alleged cause of the gospel our bodies to be burned, we might still perish for ever.

From these observations concerning the description of persons mentioned in the text, I proceed,

This is represented to consist in two particulars.

There is an important sense, in which rest may be attained, even during this present life; it is the promise of Christ to all that take upon them his yoke and learn of him; and that promise is fulfilled in our reconciliation with God, in peace of conscience, and in that meekness, patience, and contentedness of mind, which are among the fruits and evidences of Christ's religion.

But the rest, of which the Spirit in this place assures us, commences at the hour of death. And how beautiful is the image! To the man wearied with labour, what prospect is so pleasing as that of repose? What sound so sweet as the promise of rest? Observe, then, the disciple of Jesus Christ; tossed amidst the waves of this troublesome world: harassed, not merely by the common afflictions of mortality, but by troubles exclusively his own: conscious, moreover, that while he remains on this stage of being, his vigilance never must be relaxed, and his warfare never can cease: how welcome to him must be the end of his probation! A deliverance from sin, and care, and temptation, and pain! An escape into that peaceful abode, where the wicked cease from troubling, and the weary are at rest!

Let it not be inferred from these statements, that life and its labours are regarded by the Christian as a grievance hard to be borne; and that there is in his mind an impatient eagerness to be released from them. Although, in this earthly tabernacle, he may groan being burthened, and earnestly long to be dissolved, yet are these feelings and desires kept within the bounds of christian resignation. Convinced that all his trials are permitted by infinite wisdom and infinite goodness, he learns to be content with his state, to run with patience the race set before him, and cheerfully to commit himself to the divine disposal. Still, however, he cannot but be painfully sensible of the perils and troubles of his earthly pilgrimage; and we may imagine with what holy pleasure he will look back, when landed in a better world, upon that dark and tempestuous ocean which he so lately traversed! With what inexpressible joy he will turn from the scene of his afflictions, to the rest which remaineth for the people of God! Where is the reasonable man among us who would not devoutly pray, according to the language of our Church, that when he shall depart this life, he may rest in Jesus? Happy to each of us will be the day which shall release us from our earthly troubles, and call us to a state unmixed with pain, and undisturbed by apprehensions of evil!

Faith, working by love, as we have already remarked, is the characteristic distinction of the children of God; and it is here expressly assumed, that they adorn their profession by the performance of good works.

Among the individuals who have been raised up in these latter days, for the benefit and consolation of mankind, few can be mentioned who have either been engaged in works more important, or who have brought to the task abilities more remarkable, integrity more perfect, and devotedness more entire and unremitted, than your lamented Minister. In speaking of him to his own congregation, to those who, besides being acquainted with his public labours, enjoyed the advantage of his personal ministry, and beheld him amidst the charities of private life, I may be supposed to address myself to a partial audience; but the very circumstance of the following observations being delivered in the place where he was best known, and where his character could be most fairly appreciated, will be some pledge, at least, for their general truth and correctness.

My first recollections of your late Pastor carry me back to the early period of my residence in the University of Cambridge. At that time, I had no personal acquaintance with him; but it was impossible even then to listen to his sermons without being impressed with the persuasion that he was a man of no common abilities, and of no ordinary character. The history of many following years in which he discharged the various and important duties of a parochial Minister, warrants the assertion, that had he continued in such a situation with competent leisure, he could not have failed to stand in the first rank among his brethren. So long as the opportunity was afforded him, his parochial labours were indefatigable; and there are many individuals still living who can bear witness to his success.

But he was called to appear chiefly in a different character: and, by a course of circumstances, which it is here unnecessary to detail, his name has, for the last eighteen years, been associated with some of the most extensive operations of christian benevolence. In ceasing to be the minister of a parish, he became more entirely the servant of the public.

When his ardent and charitable mind first interested itself in the cause of the British and Foreign Bible Society, he little anticipated, I believe, either the formidable nature of the service which he undertook, or the continually growing demand which it would urge upon his time and attention. Happily, however, if it required extraordinary endowments, it found in him a person suited to the task, and willing to spend and be spent in the promotion of its christian object. I know of no qualification demanded by that Institution of its Secretary, which he did not remarkably possess; nor of any emergency that befel it, in which he did not rise to the level of the occasion: and when to this it is added, that the progress of the Society afforded ample scope for his various powers, and that, perhaps, in no other situation could they have been so fully called forth, or employed so beneficially to mankind; it seems reasonable to conclude, that Providence smiled upon his undertaking, and sanctioned the prosecution of it.

Those who may hereafter furnish us with a complete description of his character and talents, will have much to tell, which, in this brief sketch, I can scarcely notice. They will speak of the fertility of his imagination; of the quickness of his perception; of his lively and innocent wit; of the soundness of his judgment; of his almost intuitive knowledge of character; of his extemporaneous and commanding eloquence; of the facility with which he could turn his mind to any subject proposed to him; of his unwearied diligence and unconquerable resolution: and, particularly, of that cheerfulness of disposition, and that frankness, candour, and urbanity, which seemed to be interwoven with his nature. But upon these and similar topics I have no leisure to dwell. The great excellence in his character to which I would most particularly advert, is the consecration which he made of all his talents to the best and noblest objects.

In early life he had shown no disinclination to lend himself to pursuits unconnected with religion: and it is said, that, like many of his young contemporaries, he took a strong interest in political questions. But from the period of which I now speak, and for some years previous to it, he had ceased, in any sense of the word, to be a party man. To the king he was a loyal subject, and the radical and blasphemous spirit of the day he beheld with feelings of serious concern: but on questions purely political, I know not that I ever heard him deliver an opinion: he was occupied by higher things: he determined to have nothing else in view than the glory of God, and the benefit of mankind.

For this object he lived; and it is not too much to say, that for this object he died. Nor can we be surprised, that his strength eventually proved unequal to the abundance of his labours.

When I consider how deeply his mind was often affected by a sense of the responsibility connected with his official situation; when I reflect upon the many important discussions, both private and official, in which the concerns of the Society necessarily engaged him: when I look at his numerous journies, on its behalf, into all parts of the kingdom; at the multitude of crowded meetings in which he poured forth the treasures of his powerful mind; and at the extensive correspondence which he maintained with the agents and friends of the Institution in every quarter of the world; not to mention the valuable publications, which, during that interval, he found leisure to compose, and his weekly ministrations in this sacred place; it is to me matter of surprise, not that he finally sunk under his exertions, but that, for a period of eighteen years, he could bear up under those incessant and overwhelming occupations.

The last words occurring at a short distance from the other: as if, after a pause for reflection, he had felt himself convinced that his strength was already worn out, and that in this great cause he should labour no more.

The situation which he so long held in the Society required a man of a large and liberal mind; and such he was in the best sense of the word. His was not that spurious liberality which looks upon all creeds with equal indifference, and regards all as equally unimportant; his own views were clear and decided: he was in heart, as well as by profession, cordially attached to the doctrines and discipline of that Church, of which he had the honour to be a Minister. But upon matters of inferior moment he loved not to dwell: his delight was, without compromising any of his principles, to contemplate the points upon which Christians can agree, rather than to provoke debate on those in which they may differ: and instead of indulging a spirit of harshness, even towards those whose sentiments he totally disapproved, his conduct was uniformly that of candour, and kindness, and benignity.

I have hinted at certain painful circumstances, which, in addition to the weight of his ordinary labours, very frequently came upon him from some hostile quarters. This is not the place in which I could persuade myself to enlarge upon such a subject; and were not the fact too notorious to be entirely overlooked, I should have passed it over in silence. It is consoling, however, to observe, that the hostility which your valued Minister was called to sustain, arose entirely from his attachment to the important work in which he was so assiduously engaged, and from the diligence and success with which he pursued it: and if he had a personal enemy, that enemy had most assuredly a friend in him: in his mind no feeling of harshness could ever remain.

The pain arising from this unremitted hostility was doubtless much alleviated by the kindness of his numerous friends. There was, indeed, something in his character and deportment peculiarly suited to gain the affections of all that approached him; and seldom has any man, within the circle of his acquaintance,--a circle, which included some of the most distinguished individuals both in Church and State,--been more highly esteemed, or more generally beloved. The regard entertained for him on those parts of the Continent, which he visited a few years ago, and from which he transmitted to this country so much interesting and important religious intelligence, is well known to many of my hearers: and there is reason to believe, that the friends of the Bible Society abroad will feel his removal, in common with ourselves, not merely as a public loss, but as the loss of a friend and a brother.

But the great source of his consolation, and the crown of his rejoicing, was the wonderful progress of his beloved Institution. Was every successive year charged with new troubles and additional anxieties? But the great work was also steadily advancing. Were there many adversaries? But a great door and effectual was opened; kindred Societies, both in the Eastern and Western world, were not only rising in rapid succession, but were effectually communicating their own spirit to many subordinate Associations, within the sphere of their respective influence: and testimonies were continually pouring in, from all quarters, of the moral and religious effects consequent upon this increased diffusion of the Holy Scriptures. These things abundantly compensated him for all his anxieties; and he dwelt with especial delight upon the prospect now apparently opening before the face of all people, of life and immortality brought to light by the gospel.

Does any person then demand where are the works that shall follow him? The appropriate answer would be, Where are they not? They are to be found in every region of the globe: wherever the word of God has run, and been glorified through the agency of this Institution, or of the Societies to which it has given birth: and into whatever lands the gospel of Christ shall, by these means, be extended, there will be recognized the effect of that mighty influence, to which, under the divine blessing, he so largely contributed.

Let it not be supposed, that in connecting his name and exertions so intimately with the progress of that great work, which is now carrying on throughout the earth, I detract from the honour which is due to other labourers in the same ample field; they also will have their reward: and there are none who would join more heartily in every sentiment which I have here ventured to express, than those who have toiled with him in the same service, and borne, in common with himself, the burden and heat of the day. Were I merely to transcribe their own recorded declarations, transmitted to me within the last few days, they would confirm the strongest statements which have hitherto been made of his important services.

We are often reminded, that, amidst the bustle and tumult of public occupations, there is great danger lest personal religion should be forgotten, and lest, even while endeavouring to promote the salvation of others, we should be tempted to neglect our own.

It must be acknowledged, that even the most judicious friends may form an incorrect estimate of the religious character and christian virtues of those who stand high in their affectionate regard. To see the interior of a person's mind, we should follow him into retirement; and by doing so, as far as it is possible in this case, we shall, I think, discover much evidence of a mind devoted to God.

Among the papers of our late valued friend, I find one which he kept for some years suspended in his study, containing a few verses of Scripture, calculated to give him courage and confidence when in great hazard of being tempted to unfaithfulness in his ministerial duty. In another paper are several passages, from which, as it is stated in his own hand-writing, he was "accustomed to derive the greatest relief, support, and direction." What an instructive lesson would it have afforded to behold him, in his many afflictions, thus casting himself upon the goodness of God, and reposing in the comfort of his exceeding great and precious promises!

Of a somewhat similar description are the following extracts:--

"Sunday, April 24. Have humbled myself before God, this morning; and do resolve to watch and pray that I enter not into temptation. May the Lord pardon all my sins, and secure me, by his grace, from falling into them again! Amen."

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