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
Date: 2022-01-02T00:00:00+00:00
Keywords: Church of England -- Sermons; Sermons; English -- 19th century; Christian life -- Sermons; Owen; John; 1766-1822; Death -- Religious aspects -- Christianity -- Sermons

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Title: The Character and Happiness of Them That Die in the Lord

Author: William Dealtry

Release date: January 1, 2022 [eBook #67064]
Most recently updated: October 18, 2024

Language: English

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

*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE CHARACTER AND HAPPINESS OF THEM THAT DIE IN THE LORD ***

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,

IN

PARK CHAPEL, CHELSEA,

ON OCCASION

Of the Death of the late

Rev. JOHN OWEN, M.A.

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

BY

WILLIAM DEALTRY, B.D.  F.R.S.

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

PUBLISHED BY REQUEST.

London:

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

1822.

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.

And I heard a voice from heaven, saying unto me, Write, Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth: Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labours; and their works do follow them.

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.

Amidst the visions of the Apocalypse, St. John had just beheld an emblematical representation of the Church of Christ, and of its Almighty Protector: a Lamb, standing on Mount Zion, with a hundred and forty and four thousand, having his Father’s name written in their foreheads: the faithful followers of their Lord in a corrupt and degenerate age; the first fruits to God and the Lamb; when his attention was directed to three angels, charged severally with the high commissions of bearing the everlasting gospel to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people: of proclaiming the utter overthrow of the mystic Babylon; and of denouncing the divine vengeance upon all her adherents.  The days thus prefigured were to be days of hardship and persecution: the gospel, it is intimated, would not prevail without a conflict, nor would Babylon fall from her pre-eminence, without a hard struggle to maintain her ascendancy.  Here, therefore, as we read, is the patience of the saints; much need will there be to them that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus, to possess their souls in patience, and to cultivate that meek and enduring spirit, which shone forth in their crucified Redeemer.  In order, then, that under these trying dispensations, there may be no want of encouragement to maintain constantly the faith of the gospel; and, if necessary, to resist even unto blood, striving against sin; the inspired Apostle immediately and abruptly proclaims, I heard a voice from heaven,—a voice therefore of truth infallible, and of authority not to be controverted,—Saying unto me.  Write,—leave it as a lasting record for the instruction of all future generations:—Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth: from henceforth, probably implying, that from the period of this conflict between light and darkness, the doctrine here announced should be more generally known and understood:—Yea, saith the Spirit: the declaration is sanctioned by Him, who is the Source of all inspiration; yea, they are blessed: they are removed from this world of trial, that they may rest from their labours, and their works do follow them.

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

I.  The persons described, and,

II.  Their happiness.

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

I.  We are to consider the persons described.

These are the dead which die in the Lord.

The occurrence of similar expressions in other parts of the New Testament, [4] may serve to prove, that the person here designated under the title of Lord, is the Lord Jesus Christ.  And wherever this phraseology is found, we have a decisive testimony, in addition to that afforded by innumerable other passages, to the transcendent dignity of our blessed Redeemer.  To substitute for the term Lord, the name of any created being, of St. John for example, or St. Paul, would be to render the clause altogether destitute of rational meaning.  It is intelligible only on the supposition, that He who once suffered on the cross, and who, in the Isle of Patmos, manifested himself in glory to his beloved disciple, is, God over all, blessed for evermore.

Who then are the persons that die in the Lord?

The connexion of this passage with the description of those turbulent times, to which the vision more immediately refers, would perhaps justify the application of it, in the first instance, to those who lose their lives in the cause of the gospel: but the passage is doubtless to be interpreted in a larger sense; and must apply to multitudes in all ages, whether dying in the usual course of Divine Providence, or driven from the earth by the hand of persecution.  That such is the view taken of the matter by our Church, we are continually reminded, when the intelligence is most seasonable and most impressive.  While we are standing around the grave to discharge the last tribute of regard to those whom we loved in life, and whom we now seem to have lost for ever, then it is that she proclaims to us by the mouth of her minister, Blessed are the dead, which die in the Lord.

We need, however, look little farther than the expression itself, to be convinced that it must have a restricted and peculiar application; and that it can by no means include the whole body of those who are baptized into the christian faith, or who continue to make a profession of Christianity.  He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: [5] when a blessing, therefore, is pronounced upon them that die in the Lord, it must belong to those who die in the faith:—that die in the cordial belief of the great doctrines of revelation, and under the influence of their practical and renovating power.  Do you ask, What is the nature of this faith?  Our Church will return the answer.  The right and true christian faith is not only to believe that holy Scripture and all the (aforesaid) Articles of our faith are true: but also to have a sure trust and confidence in God’s merciful promises, to be raised from everlasting damnation by Christ. [6a]  This faith, therefore, is not a vague or unfounded dependence upon the mercy of God: it is a TRUE trust and confidence, and a STEDFAST hope of all good things to be received at God’s hand. [6b]  This is the true, lively, and unfeigned christian faith: and is not in the mouth and outward profession only, but it liveth and stirreth inwardly in the heart. [6c]  Here then is the great point of distinction between those who only talk about religion, and those who are the subjects of its effective influence: between those to whom the kingdom of God comes in word, and those who receive it in power.

Wherever this sacred principle is found, it is accompanied by the forgiveness of sins: by faith we are justified: the guilt of our past transgressions is taken away, and we are accounted righteous in the sight of God.  Thus then we are admitted into a new state, and a new relation to the Father of mercies.  By believing in the Lord Jesus Christ, we are brought from that state of alienation and hostility in which we had previously lived, and through the merits of our Redeemer, are reconciled to God, and become members of his spiritual household.  A person of this character belongs to the class mentioned in the text: he has come to the Friend of sinners: he is united to him as the branches are united to the vine, and dying in this state, he dies in the Lord.

Now, as a subject of the practical and renewing influence of faith, such a man will be reformed in his dispositions and conduct: if any man be in Christ, there is a new creation, he is a new creature: they, that are in Christ Jesus, walk, not after the flesh, but after the spirit.  And this is a most important consideration.  The dispositions and conduct of such a man cannot be derived from the corrupt nature with which he was born into the world; but are, in some degree, conformable to the spirit of Christ, and manifest the influence of that spirit upon the heart.  They are to be viewed, not as independent of a lively faith, but as intimately connected with it, and necessarily growing out of it.  It doth not lie dead in the heart, but is lively and fruitful in bringing forth good works: [8a] and, although distinct from the other graces and virtues of the christian character, may be considered as the root of them all.  Faith, working by love, is the grand principle of the renewed nature of man: and thus, living by faith in the Son of God, and thus keeping his commandments, being justified from his sins by the word of Christ, and sanctified from his corruptions by the Holy Spirit, he is, if faithful to his calling, advancing in knowledge, and love, and holiness, even to the end of his days.

While, therefore, we do not deny that even at the eleventh hour, a sinner may, for the first time, repent and be forgiven; and that, by faith given him of God, he may embrace the promise of God’s mercy, [8b] and die in the Lord; for he possesses that principle which, if his days were prolonged, would cause him to walk, not after the flesh, but after the spirit: yet the most satisfactory evidence that the person dies in the fear of God, and in the faith of Christ, is to be gathered from the testimony of his life: and if we want a stable confidence with respect to his future state, the question is not so much how he died, as how he had lived.

If these views be correct, it is very possible for a man to die an undisturbed and easy death, and yet not to die in the Lord.

Imagine, for instance, the case of a confirmed infidel: why should he be disturbed at the approaching termination of life?  The event was not unexpected: and, according to his notions, there is nothing to apprehend beyond it.  To betray symptoms of alarm, is virtually to abandon his principles; and, although he may tremble in his heart, the very pride of infidelity will counsel him to bear up with apparent resolution.

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.

Their value we mean not to disparage; but they cannot stand in the place of true religion.  So decisive on this subject is the great Apostle of the Gentiles, as to assure us, that although a man understood all mysteries and all knowledge, and could speak with the tongue of an angel, these distinctions alone would profit him nothing.  It is indeed to be feared, that all knowledge on religious questions, which is purely speculative, instead of humbling and improving the mind of him that possesses it, tends rather to puff it up; and with whatever confidence we may rest in a dying hour upon the correctness of our views, it is possible for us to be as far from the kingdom of God and his righteousness, as the most ignorant of our species.

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.

In various instances, from the diseased state of some parts of the bodily frame, so fearfully and wonderfully made, it becomes physically impossible for the most devoted christian to bear his testimony to the truth on the approach of death: the tongue, which had perhaps announced to others the glad tidings of the grace of God, may be silent: the eye may be dim: the intellect, apparently failing with the flesh and the heart, may have sunk into hopeless lethargy: and yet, with the evidence before us of his christian life, we are persuaded that such a man dies in the Lord.

We should not hesitate to come to the same conclusion in many cases, where, while the senses are still comparatively perfect, and the mind is still capable of expressing its feelings, there is little manifestation of inward joy.  It is doubtless refreshing to stand by the bed of a dying man, who can declare, “I am at peace with all men, and God is at peace with me: and from this blessed assurance, I feel that inward joy, which the world can neither give nor take from me:” [12a] but who shall presume to dictate to the Spirit of God in what manner the faith of his servants shall be tried, or how they shall be made ready for their change?  It is recorded of one of the most eminent divines of the last century, that, as the time of his departure drew nigh, whenever any questions were directly put to him concerning his prospects of eternity, his answer usually was, “I cannot say much.”  “I rely,” he observed, “on the promises for strength in time of need.  There was a time when I should have been very unhappy to have had so little of sensible comfort; but I have seen reason to believe, that one of the most acceptable exercises of true christian faith consists in patiently waiting God’s time, and in relying confidently on the written word.  For many years, I have been endeavouring to live from day to day, as a pensioner on God’s bounty: I learn to trust him, and he sends the manna without fail.” [12b]  And why should we not hope favourably of many others, who are tried even by strong doubts and fears concerning their spiritual state?  Is it not affirmed concerning our compassionate Saviour, that a bruised reed he will not break, and the smoking flax he will not quench?  Has he given the invitation of mercy to all that are weary and heavy laden, and assured us, him that cometh unto me, I will in no wise cast out?  Where there is a truly broken and contrite heart, these promises will undoubtedly be fulfilled.  Let us have the evidence of poverty of spirit, of hungering and thirsting after righteousness, of earnest and unremitted appeals to the Saviour of sinners for that mercy which he offers to all that ask it; and we will indulge the persuasion, that this contrite spirit shall not be despised, that this humble penitent dies in the Lord.

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

II.  To consider their happiness.

This is represented to consist in two particulars.

1.  They rest from their labours.

2.  Their works do follow them.

1.  They rest from their labours.

The word labours may include all the harassing occupations and afflictions of the world.  Man, by the condition of his birth, is of few days and full of trouble: every rank in society, and every period of life, have their several trials; and we shall not be released from them till we find a shelter in the tomb.  To all the ordinary afflictions of mortality, the servants of Christ are as fully exposed as the rest of mankind: and we know that they have likewise troubles peculiar to themselves.  For, look into the New Testament; examine the representation there given of the nature of the christian calling; consider the exhortations, precepts, promises, so abundantly scattered through the sacred pages, to stimulate and encourage us to fight the good fight of faith: observe yet further in what manner the Apostles prosecuted the work of their salvation; with what zeal, vigilance, self-denial, perseverance, they encountered the hostility of the world, the evil propensities of their own nature, and the spiritual adversaries of their peace: with what energy they pursued their race, with what armour they were girt for the christian conflict; and then judge how arduous are the labours which belong to that heavenly calling!  We grant, that in many respects, those were days of singular hardship; but the spiritual enemies, and the spiritual trials of the child of God, are in all ages essentially the same; and with regard to the world, according to the scriptural use of that term, while the great springs of human action remain unchanged, and so long as there is a visible distinction between the children of this world and the children of light, the christian will always find himself in a hostile land; and will prove, in his own person, that through much tribulation he must enter into the kingdom of God.  For, observe any individual of exemplary piety; how stands the world affected to him?  Does it favour his principles?  Does it follow his example?  Does it rejoice in his light?  Only let him be as heartily in earnest on matters of religion, as sober reason must itself admit that he ought to be: only let him abound in the work of the Lord with a spiritual as well as with a temporal object in view: only let him seriously and conscientiously endeavour to walk worthy of his vocation, and sooner than he shall be exempt from troubles, his foes shall start up, as it were, from his own household; he will find enemies among those with whom he might hope to take sweet counsel, and walk to the house of God as friends.

But it is the happiness of them which die in the Lord, that they rest from their labours.

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!

2.  The second ground of happiness to them that die in the Lord is this, that their works do follow them.

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.

The phrase, their works, must be understood of that entire course of conduct, which has its foundation in christian principles; of well-doing, whether it respects the duty which we owe to God, to our neighbour, or to ourselves; of obedience to the commandments; of the exercise of all christian dispositions, and especially of that love and of those works of mercy, which our Saviour has so strikingly inculcated, both by his precept and example.

These works, it is said, do follow them.  All that the world calls great, or pursues with avidity, we are doomed, at the hour of death, to leave behind us.  Our wealth will not follow us; our dignities and honours will not follow us.  In this sense we brought nothing into the world, and it is certain that we can carry nothing out; but if we die in the Lord, the works which we have done for his name’s sake, will go as witnesses on our behalf, to testify the grace of God which was in us, and the manner in which we dedicated our talents to his honour and praise.

The meaning of the expression is, that although we are justified “freely, by God’s mercy, without our deserts, through true and lively faith,” [19] yet shall we receive, at the last day, a gracious recompense according to our works.  To this purport, many passages might be cited from the sacred writings; and these, not merely of a general nature, but referring to particular instances of piety, both in doing and suffering according to the will of God.  Do men, for example, revile and persecute us, and say all manner of evil of us falsely for Christ’s sake?  Rejoice, saith our Lord, and be exceeding glad, for great is your reward in heaven.  Do we sow plenteously?  We shall reap also plenteously.  Are we diligent in the work and labour of love?  God is not unrighteous to forget it.  Do we turn many to righteousness?  We shall shine as the stars for ever and ever.  We may state it as the fair inference from these, and a variety of other considerations, that the more faithfully we improve the talents committed to our trust, by employing them to the end for which they were given, the more patiently we endure tribulation, and the more zealously and perseveringly we devote ourselves, in the spirit of christian love, to the glory of God, and the good of our fellow-creatures, the greater, in some mysterious sense, shall be our reward at the resurrection of the just.

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. [21]  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.

The conviction, indeed, that there exists a directing providence, over-ruling for its own high purposes the pursuits and occupations of men, when they, perhaps, little suspect it, might lead us to observe, with some interest, the way in which he had previously become qualified for this particular appointment.  It is of great importance to the welfare of the Society, that its Secretary should be well acquainted with modern languages.  Your deceased Minister had not only a singular facility in acquiring this knowledge, but it so happened, that in his early travels, he had cultivated that talent, and had made himself familiar with the manners, and habits, and modes of thinking, which prevail in different parts of the Continent.  Little did he anticipate, when engaged in these pursuits, to what account they would be turned!  And little would any one have imagined, while looking at the youthful traveller, that he was thus training, however unconsciously, to be the effective agent of a Society, which should, ere long, arise to embrace, within the sphere of its benevolence, every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people: and that in the very countries which he now visited to gratify a laudable curiosity, he should hereafter appear as its accredited representative.

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.

In stating that he consecrated his talents to the glory of God, and the benefit of his fellow-creatures, I tacitly assume that he was influenced by christian motives.  It is, indeed, difficult to conceive by what other motives he could possibly be influenced.  By becoming a gratuitous Secretary to the British and Foreign Bible Society, all worldly views he seems deliberately to have renounced.  Had he thought it right to employ his great abilities with a view to secular interests, there can be little doubt that he would have been eminently successful: but he had a higher and a nobler aim; and the motives by which he was guided were, as I am well persuaded,—and I know that I speak the sentiments of those who were most intimately conversant with him,—among the best and purest that can enter into a human bosom.  The principle which carried him on in his laborious career, through evil report and good report, till his frame was worn out and exhausted, was the divine principle of love to God and love to man.  This principle, and this alone, could have sustained him under his manifold difficulties, and have kept him stedfast and immoveable in the work.  And did he ever express any concern that he embarked in this cause?  Was it a source of regret to him, that he had left out of sight his worldly interests, and on account of his devotedness to the Society had exposed himself to discomforts and disquietudes, which assailed him even to the last?  Every person who was acquainted with him will bear witness to the contrary; and a short record of his own, subjoined to some notes concerning the progress of the Institution, and written apparently within the last few months, will, by most persons, be deemed conclusive as to the same fact.  The sentence runs thus:—

“How sweet to have toiled in this work!  And, if wasted with labours more abundant, he is compelled to withdraw —.  I have done.”

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.

“I have witnessed with no little pleasure,” observes a common friend, “his conduct and demeanour when he was provoked into,—I should rather say, for it is that I mean, when he bore, with unperturbed and inexhaustible good humour, what would have provoked almost any other man; and when he suffered to remain in the quiver arrows which he could have sent forth with unerring aim and vigour.”  I have, myself, seen him on many such occasions, and a harsh or unbecoming word never, in my presence, fell from his lips.  The only feeling, I am persuaded, that he ever entertained towards his most determined opponents, might be expressed in the words of our Liturgy;—“That it may please thee to forgive our enemies, persecutors, and slanderers, and to turn their hearts: We beseech thee to hear us, good Lord.”

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. [30]

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.

In admitting the propriety of this remark, I cannot allow that it is applicable in the instance before us.  I might refer to the unaffected humility of the deceased as often manifested in his ready deference to others: “I have seen him yield,” says a near observer, “with the simplicity of a child, to persons inferior to himself in understanding and knowledge.”  I might advert to his unshaken trust and confidence in God.  When difficulties were more than usually formidable, he was frequently heard to repeat, “If God be for us, who can be against us?”  This was not, as repeated by him, merely a well-sounding quotation; he acted upon the principle; he staked upon it his ease, his prospects, his reputation, and his life.—I might appeal to the impression of his friends concerning the habitual seriousness of his character, and the pleasure which he took in conversing with them upon sacred things.  Christian conversation was at all times delightful to him; and by him was always conducted in a becoming spirit.  Whatever, indeed, might be his vivacity upon other subjects, and however unrestrained within the limits of innocent mirth the course of conversation, if any observations were introduced of a religious tendency, he instantly checked his imagination, and restrained the sallies of his wit.  This circumstance is more particularly worthy of remark, because he possessed, naturally, a cheerfulness and liveliness of disposition, which, in his early days, might seem almost to border on volatility: and, till disease had weakened his frame, he continued through life to have such a flow of animal spirits, that it must have required no ordinary check to keep them within regular bounds.  But on serious subjects he was always serious.  I speak, here, of the whole period within which I was honoured by his acquaintance.  Of late years, this feature in his character appears to have been particularly remarked.  “Ever since his severe and tedious illness in 1818,” says a correspondent, “I observed in the whole of his conversation and deportment increased gravity and seriousness.  He seemed to have death and eternity most deeply impressed upon his mind; and, on many public occasions, he repeated with great emphasis those striking words; Work while it is day; the night cometh, when no man can work!”

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. [35a]  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.” [35b]  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!

On one occasion, when much depressed by very painful intelligence, he writes; “I sought comfort from meditation on the word of God; particularly, I was much relieved by reflecting on the passage; In the multitude of sorrows that I had in my heart, thy comforts refresh my soul.  Oh, for faith in the divine promises, and the faculty of applying them wisely and effectually to my own condition!”  At another time, being greatly afflicted, and finding that a friend was yet more troubled than himself; “The comparison of situations,” he observes, “threw me upon my knees, and made me bless God for the kind proportion in which he had measured out my chastisements.”

Of a somewhat similar description are the following extracts:—

“April 23.  Humbled myself before God many times this day, having been astonished to find such powerful corruptions within me.  I betrayed a great hastiness of spirit yesterday evening; this is a sign that the grace of God has not been improved as it ought to have been.  I will, by God’s assistance, watch against this propensity.  And, oh, that I may never again offend him, or wound my conscience by falling into that snare of the devil!  Let every one of you be slow to wrath.

“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.”

It ought to be recollected, that the writer was a man of remarkably fine temper.

My next extracts respect his ministerial duties:—

“August 9.  Endeavoured to put Dr. A.’s advice into execution, to bear the people to whom I was about to preach, fervently to the throne of grace.

“April 22.  This day I performed a very interesting service in baptizing two adults, (young ladies) * * * * * I pray God, that the beneficial memory of it may continue with me, and with them, till the day of our death.”

At a somewhat later period, he again expresses the affectionate interest which he took in their welfare, and the hope which he entertained of their progress in true religion.

Most, if not all of these passages, were written many years ago.—What, it may be asked, was the state of his mind as he approached the termination of life?

Just before he was taken ill, his family read to him, by his own desire, the Book of Job, with Scott’s Observations; and being placed at that time under certain outward circumstances of discomfort, he was in the habit of applying what was read to his own case.  The progress of disease presently incapacitated him, either for reading much himself, or of giving his attention to others.  But I learn, from different friends, who had sometimes the opportunity of speaking to him, that his mind was always most awake to subjects of religion; and that, whenever he could be roused to mental exertion, these were the subjects which recalled, for a time, his decaying energies.  The Sunday-week after his seizure, when one of his daughters was sitting with him, he laid his hand upon a book on the table, and asked what it was.  Being informed that it was the Life of Hooker, he immediately began to repeat, in the words of that excellent man; “I have lived to see this world is made up of perturbations; and I have long been preparing to leave it; and gathering comfort for the dreadful hour of making my account with God,—and though I have, by his grace, loved him in my youth, and feared him in mine age; and laboured to have a conscience void of offence to Him and to all men; yet, if thou, O Lord, be extreme to mark what I have done amiss, who can abide it?  And therefore, where I have failed, Lord, shew mercy to me; for I plead not my righteousness, but the forgiveness of my unrighteousness, for his merits who died to purchase a pardon for penitent sinners!  And, since I owe thee a death, Lord, let it not be terrible, and then take thine own time; I submit to it: let not mine, O Lord, but thy will, be done!”  This passage, it seems, he was much in the habit of repeating, doubtless from its expressing the views and feelings which he habitually entertained.  In one of his last letters to the same daughter, he writes in these terms; “My frame has been so shattered, that I must not expect it to be speedily, perhaps, never thoroughly repaired.  There is nothing I wish to live for, but the service of my Divine Master; and if I may but be favoured with the testimony of having pleased him, and possessing an interest in his love, I shall be willing to live or to die, as to him may appear best.  Oh, my dear daughter, this should be our first, our last, our invariable object; we cannot dispense with its consolations in sickness, or its support in death.”

The only remaining paper to which I shall refer, was written when he was deprived by sickness of the privilege of public worship. [40]

“What a mercy it is,” he observes, “that, as well from the nature of God, as from his condescension, and the tenor of his promises, we can have access to him in privacy and solitude, when precluded, by sickness or other impediments, from worshipping him in public, and with the congregation of his saints.  Of this mercy, I, who during many months have been confined to my bed, my chamber, or my house, desire to be deeply sensible, and to make it the subject of my most devout and grateful thanksgiving:—Pray to thy Father which is in secret:—ask,—seek,—knock,—draw nigh unto God; and every other direction of a similar tendency are of unlimited application; and the promises annexed to them may be depended on, as engaged to be made good as often as the direction is spiritually complied with, and faithfully performed.

“Private worship, which consists in acts and offerings of prayer and praise, is the peculiar and spiritual duty of the invalid; and the privileges annexed to it are peculiarly his property.  In this worship he ought to abound; he cannot perform it too frequently, and in proportion as he abounds and perseveres in the performance of it, may he expect the promised blessing.  He may confess his sins, and supplicate the mercy of God in Christ, as frequently as he feels the guilt of the former, and his need of the latter;—he cannot confess or supplicate too often, he cannot ask too much, or with too great importunity; if he apply for spiritual things, and apply in faith, God’s ear is ever open to his cry; he will hear those that call upon him; he giveth liberally; and on those who ask abundantly, he will bestow abundantly, that their joy may be full.

“Nor is the invalid tied down to any particular form of words or mode of service.  Having only God and himself to consider, he has no other concern than to make known his wants, and give expression to his feelings in such terms as are best adapted to lay open his heart to that God, who, he knows, seeth in secret, and who requireth to be worshipped in spirit and in truth.  He may, therefore, consider himself at full liberty to contemplate the mercy of a reconciled God, in all the variety of its boundless dimensions; the privileges of acceptance, justification, and adoption, the unsearchable riches of Christ, and the immeasurable consolation of the Spirit, as a property of which he is invited freely to partake: he may come boldly to the throne of grace, he may obtain mercy and grace to help him in every time of need, and look up continually with unfeigned hope and increasing confidence to that God who, over and above the future inheritance of the saints in light, will here supply all our need, according to his riches in glory, by Christ Jesus.” [42]

In contemplating a man of this character, of piety so scriptural, and of talents, which, for variety and power, are rarely to be found; we might perhaps have expected, that he would long be spared to assist in carrying on that work of mercy, which, through the divine goodness, had already prospered so wonderfully in his hands; but,—God’s thoughts are not our thoughts, nor His ways our ways:—he has been taken away in the midst of his usefulness.  We might have expected, that in his last hours he would have been permitted to testify of that Saviour whom he served, and of the power of that gospel which he had laboured to spread throughout the world.  But, such was the mysterious appointment of Providence, his vigorous mind seemed to sink under the weight of the disorder which was fatal to the body.  Would it not have been better, we are ready to ask, that he should be called away by a sudden death?  No; for to God it seemed otherwise: and, although he was for several weeks previous to his dissolution able to say little, and although it was difficult, towards the close of life, to excite in him any sensible apprehension; yet since, if ever he was roused to any portion of his former energy, it was when the chord of religion was touched; since there was something within which answered to that sound, when all besides was silent, the testimony thus given was neither unsatisfactory nor unimportant.  How strong in his mind must have been the influence of that heavenly principle, which, amidst the wreck of his mental, as well as bodily powers, could still survive, and still give proof of its existence!

And shall we be sorry, as men, without hope, for them that sleep in Jesus?  I heard a voice from heaven, saying unto me, Write, Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth;—Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labours, and their works do follow them.  It becomes us to be thankful, in the behalf of our brother, that he now rests from all his anxieties; that the cares, and conflicts, and vexations of life, can disturb him no more.  Some of these trials were deeply painful; but if we could ask what now are his thoughts of them, and what are his present sentiments of the course which he pursued, would he tell us, think you, that he repents of his devotedness to the cause of piety and truth?  That, if his days could be recalled, he would be less active, less zealous, less persevering?  Does he wish that he had listened more to the voice of man, and less to that of conscience?  That instead of consecrating his talents to the highest purposes, he had employed them to secure worldly distinctions and worldly emoluments?  Did he, while yet struggling with the evils of mortality, record, in the very midst of his trials, how sweet it was to have toiled in this work?  And does he repent of his exertions, and his sacrifices, now that he rests from his labours, and his works do follow him?  If it were no subject of regret to him in this world, is it such in the world to which he is gone?  Oh, if we could at present perceive, as we shall know hereafter, the vanity and emptiness of all earthly things, when contrasted with those which are spiritual and eternal; how earnestly should we seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness!  And how trifling would all other objects appear, when compared with that great object of promoting the glory of God!

To him, whom we now bear in our affectionate recollection, we are well persuaded that to die was gain.  Ours is the loss: and how deeply it is felt, this present assembly can witness.  But shall we mourn then for the great cause to which his labours were devoted?  And especially for that Institution, which is now deprived of his services?  Did the success of it depend upon human talent or human energy, the loss might indeed be irreparable: but whatever becomes of the agents of the Society, if it have the sanction of God, it cannot fail to prosper.  Whatever be the fate of the Society itself, the work which it has so successfully laboured to promote, will eventually triumph.  The ways of God will, ere long, be known throughout the earth, his saving health among all nations.  For, from the rising of the sun, even to the going down of the same, my name shall be great among the Gentiles: and in every place incense shall be offered unto my name, and a pure offering; for my name shall be great among the heathen, saith the Lord of Hosts.  Already, as we may venture to hope, has an impulse been given, which shall not be destroyed till it has reached the farthest nations of the globe.  Amidst all the conflicts and disappointments of the world, Divine Providence is still steadily accomplishing its plans of mercy and benevolence, and in due season they shall all be fulfilled.  In expressing our gratitude for having been permitted to see the progressive advancement of the kingdom of Christ in our own days, and to share in the privilege of making known more extensively the glad tidings of salvation, let us recognise our duty and zealously discharge it.  Let the death of those that have toiled in this service, stimulate the industry of them that survive: let every event of this kind be felt as a call to increased energy and activity in all good works: that when this world of strife and perturbations shall close upon us, we too may die in the Lord: and, finally, with all his faithful people, may have our perfect consummation and bliss, both in body and soul, in his eternal and everlasting glory.

THE END.

FOOTNOTES.

[4]  See, particularly, 1 Corinthians xv. 18.  1 Thessalonians iv. 14, 16.

[5]  John vi. 47.

[6a]  Homily on Salvation.

[6b]  Homily on Faith.

[6c]  Ibid.

[8a]  Homily on Faith.

[8b]  Homily on Salvation.

[12a]  Life of Hooker.

[12b]  Life of the Rev. Joseph Milner.

[19]  Homily on Salvation.

[21]  It was about this time that the report of his remarkable qualifications as a minister attracted the attention of the late excellent Bishop Porteus, under whose patronage he accepted the curacy of Fulham, and to whose unalterable kindness, during all the remaining days of that venerable Prelate, he ever professed himself to be deeply indebted.

[30]  A premature report of Mr. Owen’s death having been spread upon the Continent, letters have already arrived, expressing the deepest concern and sympathy at the distressing intelligence.

[35a]  For instance:

“There is no wisdom, nor understanding, nor counsel, against the Lord.”  Proverbs xxi. 30.

“The just man walketh in his integrity: his children are blessed after him.”

“No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper: and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn.”  Isaiah liv. 17.

“I, even I am he that comforteth you: Who art thou, that thou shouldest be afraid of a man that shall die, and of the son of man, that shall be made as grass?” &c.

[35b]  Such as:

“Nevertheless, though I am sometime afraid, yet put I my trust in Thee.”  Psalms lvi. 3.  Prayer Book version.

“Or, what time I am afraid, I will trust in Thee.”

“Commit thy way unto the Lord; trust also in Him: and he shall bring it to pass.”  Psalm xxxvii. 5.

“My soul, wait thou only upon God, for my expectation is from Him.”  Psalm lxii. 5.

“Trust in him at all times: ye people, pour out your heart before Him.”  Psalm ii. 8.

“Let him take hold of my strength, that he may make peace with me: and he shall make peace with me.”  Isaiah xxvii. 5.

[40]  Probably in 1818.

[42]  I cite the above passages, under the conviction that they express the genuine feelings of the writer.  In some cases, I should be disposed to consider extracts from journals, &c. when taken alone, as of rather questionable authority.

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Table of Contents

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

- A SERMON.

- FOOTNOTES.

- THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE