portioned to the influence of his master's doctrine upon him. The sentiment I am now advancing cannot be more strongly expressed, than in the following words of St. Paul: "Our "rejoicing is the testimony of our conscience, "that in simplicity, and godly sincerity, not "with fleshly wisdom, but by the grace of "God, we have had our conversation in the "world." At the close of life, may the consolation, thus expressed, be experienced by us all! To this end, as disciples of Christ, let us now sit at his feet, and, by his grace, may the habits of sin be destroyed, the practice of holiness promoted, the image of God restored, and our preparation for the heavenly kingdom and glory advanced. (2.) As the happiness of an old disciple is connected with a review of the past, so is it increased by his expectation of what is future. "This," said our divine Lord, "is life eternal, "that they might know thee, the only true "God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast "sent." How trifling are all the advantages which literature can boast compared with this. Well might the apostle say, I count all things but loss, for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord. The distinctions. created by human science, the honors it confers, and the benefits it secures, all terminate in the grave; there the wise and ignorant as well as the rich and poor meet together. But the school of Christ is a seminary for heaven. The disciple, who sat at his master's feet below, shall stand before his throne above. Indeed the end proposed, by all his instructions, is to form him to a meetness for the inheritance of the saints in light. "If (therefore said Jesus) any man serve me, let him follow me, " and where I am there shall also my servant "be: if any man serve me, him will my father 66 "honor." With such prospects before him, permit me to congratulate every old disciple, present on this occasion. You cannot have much, to attach you to this world. Perhaps you have survived most, if not all, the companions of your youth, you experience a daily abatement of your activity, you find less power, (whatever may be your disposition,) to be useful. Whilst then I exhort to an increasing weanedness from this world, encourage a thankful temper, for all the comfort you have found in it, and rejoice in the expectation of what is promised, when you leave it. Adopt the language of the holy apostle, and say, "Blessed "be the God and father of our Lord Jesus "Christ, the father of mercies, and the God "of all consolation, who, of his abundant 66 mercy, hath begotten us to a lively hope, by "the resurrection of his son, of an inheritance, ❝ which is incorruptible, undefiled, and which ❝fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for us." Ye disciples of Christ, how favorable will this exaltation be to your advancement in knowledge, and in holiness! No longer will you see through a glass darkly, but face to face. No more will you labor under the influence of prejudices, nor be drawn aside by wrong biasses, in your enquiries after truth. No longer will you find the body a check to the activity of the soul. No more will you need an apology for fatigue, like that which the Savior so kindly pleaded for his drowzy disciples, "the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak." Your powers will be strengthened, and, with superior means, you will experience will compreenlarged capacities, so that you hend, with all saints, what are the heights, and depths, and lengths, and breadths of the love of Christ. O glorious hour! O bless'd abode! Let us congratulate our honored father, on his advancement to this glorious world of light. The old disciple has obtained admission to the presence of his master, and that thirst after divine knowledge, which attended him through this world, he is now gratifying under circumstances the most favorable to intellectual improvement. There he drinks of the river of the water of life, clear as chrystal, springing from the throne of God. Truth, unmixed with error, and holiness, without the slightest taint of sin, constitute his happiness, and his reward. Blessed are the dead, who thus die in the Lord! Should I enter into a few particulars, respecting the life and character of this excellent man, perhaps I shall not be charged with abusing your patience, even though I should transgress the limits of your time. The Rev. Isaac Toms* was born in London, Aug. 22, 1710, and had the honor to be descended from ancestors eminent for their learning and piety. Amongst them he reckoned three noble confessors, who, for conscience toward God, took joyfully the spoiling of their goods, knowing that in heaven they had a more enduring substance. At nine At nine years of age he was sent to a grammar-school at Duckenfield, near Manchester, where he continued four years, and discovered abilities of a very promising nature. During his residence in this place, his mind was very deeply impressed by a conviction of the importance of religious truth, and with a sense of his state as a sinner *Peter Toms, his grandfather, was a mercer at Plymouth, who left three sons, Peter, John, and Philip. Peter, was a messenger to King William the third, and much noticed by him. He also left three sons, of whom, one was an admiral in the royal navy; another a captain in the same department and died after fifty years service; the third was an engraver, King William was his god-father. John, was a mercer in London, and left a son in the same business. Philip was also a mercer in the Royal-Exchange London. He mar ried Elizabeth Kempster daughter of the Rev. John Kempster, M. A. of Christ's Church Oxford, and chaplain of the College. He left a daughter, and two sons, John, and Isaac. John was a druggist in London, and Isaac 57 years pastor of the protestant dissenting church in Hadleigh. |