****CONSIDERING the end for which man is made and placed in this world, the condition of his present life, and his connexion with a future state, it is of the utmost importance to him to make a right estimate, and good improvement, of his time. It is in this life he must take a right direc­tion, if he would make a happy progress through [Page 4] eternity. It is here he must begin to live well, if he would live hereafter in the enjoyment of im­mortality. As he must necessarily look forward to that period when "time shall be no longer," when the revolutions of the earth, which now measure off his existence in stated and regular portions, shall cease, and days and nights, months and years, shall be done away, it becomes him, while they last, dili­gently to use them to the great end for which they are given—to prepare for eternity.

If man were to live here forever, his life passing on continually, without the interruption of death, it would be wise in him to make a right and dili­gent use of his time; because wisdom, which is the true glory of man, consists in using every thing to the best end; and this, as it respects the life of man, is in doing that which gives him the greatest dignity and happiness. The reverse of this is folly. For he who misuses his time, spending it in the pursuits of vice, only accumulates to himself a load of misery, which makes life unpleasant and burden­some, if not undesirable. And he who spends his time in idleness, without much employment in actions either good or bad, suffers a disease to grow [Page 5] upon him, which will finally make him in capable of enjoyment, fill him with uneasiness, and render his existence miserable.

Man was made for action; and he cannot transgress this law of his nature without injuring himself. He was ordained to seek and find hap­piness in a course of good actions. He ought not therefore to expect to find it in idleness, or the pursuits of vice. He must be active, but he must also be virtuous; otherwise he perverts the end of his being, which leads to misery.

If it be true, that, in the present state, virtue generally tends to happiness, and vice to misery, it is also true▪ that our good or bad conduct will produce much more enjoyment and suffering in the future; for this is a state of probation and trial to mankind; the other is to be a state of rewards and punishments, in which men are to receive ac­cording to the deeds done in the body.

Though, in general, happiness results from good actions, and misery from bad, in this life, yet it is not uniformly the case. Good men are sometimes permitted to suffer, even for the exercise of virtue; and the wicked are allow­ed [Page 6] to triumph, and to enjoy for a while the har­vest they reap in the field of iniquity. It is by prosperity and adversity God tries men here; but we are cautioned against being overcome by these trials, and exhorted to look to the end. We are neither to be frighted from the path of duty by the sufferings of the virtuous, nor decoyed from it by the temporary prosperity of the wicked. Mankind, in all their actions, should look forward to the fu­ture state, where virtue will be highly rewarded, and vice severely punished; and consider what ef­fect their actions will have upon their future, rather than on their present life. If the practice of god­liness be not always profitable to the righteous in giving them the good things of this life, it will give them, in adversity, that consolation and hope which are better than the gains of ungodliness; and it will finally give them the inestimable trea­sures of heaven. For the Apostle assures us, that in "the day of the righteous judgment of God, he will render to every man according to his deeds: to them who, by patient continuance in well doing, seek for glory, honour, and immortality, he will give eternal life; but unto them that are conten­tious, [Page 7] and do not obey the truth, but obey unrigh­teousness, he will render indignation and wrath, tribulation and anguish, upon every soul of man that doth evil." Seeing, then, that as the con­duct of men has been here, so will their condition be hereafter, it is necessary we should be diligent in using our time well; spending it in the faithful discharge of our duty; making the most we can of the short term of life now allotted us, by em­ploying it in good and virtuous actions.

I do not mean to assert, that every moment of our time, not necessarily employed in taking the refreshment of animal nature, must be devoted to bodily action. There are mental as well as cor­poreal employments belonging to the duty of man. The mind must be refreshed, as well as the body: it must have its food and its exercise; and our wisdom is to be shewn in the proper distribution of time between study and labour, thinking and acting. As animal beings, we must provide for the support and comfort of the body: but as ra­tional beings, our principal care must be to pro­mote the improvement and happiness of the mind. Our cares for the former should be subservient to [Page 8] those for the latter. The body is the vehicle in which the soul acts, and through which it re­ceives many pleasures; but mere sensual enjoy­ments are of the lower kind, and our animal is the least valuable part of our nature. We ought duly to prize every enjoyment God has given us; but we should prefer those of the noblest kind, and on which he has stamped the greatest value. What shall a man profit if he gain the whole world of sen­sual pleasures, and lose all the exquisite delights which belong to the soul—all that pure and refin­ed happiness an intelligent being is capable of en­joying? A part of our time, therefore, ought to be appropriated to thinking and reflecting; for without this we cannot improve the mind, lead a rational life, nor answer the principal end of our being.

He who reflects properly on his nature and con­dition, must soon perceive, that the intention of his Creator in placing him here, was not merely that he might enjoy the sensual or social pleasures of the present life. His views and expectations are necessarily carried forward to another state: his hopes and fears connect him with it, and he feels [Page 9] himself bound to act with reference to it. Reve­lation teaches him to contemplate the future state of immortality as a spiritual state of purity and ho­liness; full of wisdom and love, as well as of un­speakable happiness. He will therefore see the necessity of a diligent improvement of his time, to become qualified to enjoy it. In many things it is the contrast of our present condition: and if we would obtain the qualifications for it, we must oppose every thing in ourselves we per­ceive contrary to it. We shall find we have much to do in time to prepare for eternity. We have the evil propensities of our nature to restrain and subdue, the passions to control and regulate, sin to mortify and conquer. We have knowledge to acquire, of our duty, of the best manner of resist­ing and overcoming temptations, and of perform­ing good and virtuous actions. We must watch with vigilance, and pray with fervency, that we be not overcome by our spiritual enemies. We have many and various talents to improve; and time, which is not the least important talent, em­braces all the others. How many duties have we to discharge which respect ourselves! how many [Page 10] social duties which regard others! We have much to learn and practise, if we would "abound in the work of the Lord." And, though we have the grace of God to assist us in this christian course and warfare, we need to use great diligence to make progressive improvement in it. Our passions will sometimes get the advantage over our reason and judgment, and a sense of our duty—impede our progress towards heaven, and throw us back upon the world. It requires every aid of exertion, cir­cumspection, diligence and firmness, "to persevere in the ways of well doing"—to lead that life of piety and virtue which will fit us for the enjoy­ment of immortality.

I mean not to suggest, that we can merit eternal life by our own works. This is the free gift of God to men through Jesus Christ. But he has not promised it to any who continue in disobedi­ence, who spend their time in idleness, or employ it in the works of iniquity. He requires the qua­lification of holiness to fit us for it. "Ye shall be holy," says he, "for I am holy;" and, "with­out holiness no man shall see the Lord." By the use of the means of grace, God has appointed, we [Page 11] may become holy; but we must be diligent in the use of them, to make progress in a holy life.****

Enough has been said to shew the importance of time to us, and the necessity of making a right use of it, that we may be prepared for that final, though uncertain, period when time shall cease, and eternity, as it respects us, begin; and when all, who shall be counted worthy to obtain the gift, shall enter upon the enjoyment, of eternal life.

I have been led to this subject, my hearers, by that transition of time which has brought us near the close of the present year. At the end of two days it will be no more. Another year of our lives will have rolled away, and brought us nearer to that important period "when time will be no longer;" when the apparent revolutions of the sun, and other heavenly bodies, shall no longer divide the portions of our existence. For then the present constitution of this world will end. "The heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat; the earth also, and the works that are therein, shall be burnt up." The measurers of time will no longer per­form [Page 12] this office: the revolutions by which our years have been determined will then cease: the present beautiful scene of nature, and all the works and monuments of human labour, art, and ingenu­ity, will be gone. But the soul of the good, the righteous man, shall remain unhurt, amidst this dissolution of nature, this "wreck of matter, and this crush of worlds." He is taught to look for, and expect from the Lord, "new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness. Where­fore, beloved," says the Apostle, "seeing that ye look for such things, be diligent, that ye may be found of him in peace:" be diligent in the im­provement of the present time, that ye may be prepared for that great event. And let us, my hearers, reflect seriously on this truth, that we know not the time when this decree of the Al­mighty, pronounced by his angel, shall be fulfilled. As it respects ourselves it cannot be farther distant than the remainder of our lives: for, when death closes the present scene of our existence, to us "time will be no longer." And who can count with certainty upon a future hour? Let us then improve the present time in the important duties [Page 13] of life, to secure the blessings of eternity. As one mean of improvement, as a stimulus to diligence and activity, let us reflect on the year that is past; and, while the scenes of it are fresh in our minds, select from them that useful instruction they afford.

In this, as in every other year, we may trace the progress of good and evil in the world. We may see the unhappy effects of a state of imperfection, in the sufferings produced by sin. And we, my hearers, have seen, and realized, many of the bles­sings of a bountiful Parent, in our own preserva­tion, and the enjoyments he has furnished to us. We have heard of wars, and the rumours of wars, in distant parts of the world; while we have en­joyed the blessings of peace. We have read of the slaughter of the field, and of the sword drunk with the blood of its enemies; while our fields have only teemed with the blessings of life, and our swords have rested in their scabbards. We have heard of the devastations of war, and of the de­struction of thousands of our fellow-men; while our lives have been protected from the weapons of vi­olence, the rage of ungoverned passions, and the mad career of ambition and disorganization. Our habi­tations [Page 14] now shelter us from the inclemency of winter; a blessing, at this moment, denied to ma­ny, who have been deprived of it by the ravages of war. We also are enjoying the fruits of a plen­tiful harvest, while many, on the theatre of the war in Europe, are suffering with hunger. While some parts of our own country have been visited with pestilence, we, in this part of it, have been blest with a remarkable degree of health. No epidemic disease has come nigh our dwellings, or touched the lives of our citizens. Some indeed have been called to quit this scene of existence in the past year; but the number has been small, compared with many other years. It is the common lot of humanity, and what must be ex­pected in its present state.

But though we have been thus remarkably fa­voured, and have many reasons to be grateful to God for his goodness to us in the year past, yet we have also to acknowledge his judgments, and to mourn under the afflicting hand of his providence. As individuals, some of us ^* have been called to part with near relatives and friends, which has agi­tated [Page 15] our bosoms, and called the tear of sorrow from our eyes. For these losses we could mourn in silence and solitude, and confine, within our own domestic walls, the expressions of our grief. But God in his wise providence has, in the course of the past year, afflicted us with bereavements as a people, and called us to public mourning, by taking from us good and valuable men in public life—men high in station—eminently useful—con­spicuous for public and private virtues—orna­ments of religion and society—and greatly beloved by their country and particular acquaintance. It is not six months since a SUMNER died, and the gloom of public grief overspread our countenances for the loss of a most excellent Chief Magistrate of this Commonwealth—a man who was beloved and respected wherever he was known; and who, as far as the duties of his office extended, evinced what advantages a people enjoy when blest with a wise and good governor. Short was the time this blessing was lent to us in him; but long will his virtues and usefulness remain in our remembrance.

As the year has drawn nearer to the close, God has seen fit to afflict us with a more extensive loss, [Page 16] in taking from us our beloved WASHING­TON; ^* our country's pride, our nation's greatest prop; the man whom he had raised up to be the instrument of his providence in working out our political salvation. This is a distressing national event; it demands, and has, a nation's tears. For we cannot part with one who has been so eminently useful to us, and is so justly universally beloved, without deep-felt affliction. That he was the Father of his Country, we all have experienced, in the protection he afforded us in the time of dan­ger; in the wisdom, courage and prudence with which he led our armies, and presided in our na­tional councils. That he had a sincere affection for his country, is evident from his numerous ac­tions to serve it. This affection, guided by a mind endued with wisdom and integrity, always led him to seek his country's good. That he was not ambitious of power, is seen by his resigning that power which had been delegated to him in the field, into the hands of the people again, when he had accomplished the purposes, and secured the object, for which it was given to him. That his [Page 17] country was dearer to him than riches, is evident from the pecuniary sacrifices he made to serve it.

Few, if any, good and virtuous patriots have been so fortunate in doing so much for theirs, as WASHINGTON has done for his country. Few have, like him, begun and conducted a revolution through to independence. He was the only com­mander in chief of our armies, through a long and hazardous war, which he terminated with success and glory to himself and country. He then resigned his sword to a grateful people, and soon after re­ceived from them the helm of the national govern­ment, to conduct in peace our political bark, which he had so ably guided amidst the tempests of war. He continued at the head of our coun­cils till our government was established in safety and prosperity. He then retired from the burden of office, so long and so well sustained, to enjoy domestic ease and tranquillity. Those who were acquainted with his private life, and shar­ed his intimacy, speak of him as exemplary in the walks of religion; in the practice of piety and vir­tue; and declare that he was great, good and ami­able in his domestic circle, as he was in the public sphere of life.

[Page 18]I do not mean to attempt to give you his full and complete character. It is far above the powers of my pen to describe it, which is too inadequate to express the feelings of my own heart. You are acquainted with all his virtues and worth; you know how valuable he has been to his country; and your grateful hearts, I doubt not, will appre­ciate all his merits. What I have said, or may say, of him is not with any expectation of exalting his merit with you; but because it would be improper that a person so great, good, and valuable, should be taken from us, whose death so justly excites universal mourning, without noticing some of the virtues which endeared him to us. In our hearts he has erected a monument of love and respect, which will be as durable as our lives. His con­temporaries, who were the witnesses of his actions, need no higher eulogy than to recollect them. To posterity many men of genius, observation, and judgment, will transmit his name and virtues, which will live as long as this American nation exists, at whose birth he presided, whose infancy he nourished, over whose childhood he watched with a parent's care and solicitude, and which he [Page 19] never left till it had attained the strength of man­hood.

Perhaps the world never saw an instance like this, of a young nation advancing with such rapid and sturdy growth. Let us look back to the time when this country was a wilderness, an un­cultivated scene, and compare it with the present. How soon do we behold it filled with inhabitants, with populous cities, and numerous towns, flou­rishing under an increasing commerce, and im­proving agriculture, beyond example! This na­tional prosperity, under the fostering hand of Pro­vidence, is to be attributed to him whose death we now lament, more than to any other man.

God, to answer the great, wise and good designs of his government of the world, always provides adequate means to accomplish his ends. To in­corporate the people of this part of America into a nation, and establish them in prosperity, he gave them a WASHINGTON for their leader, who was equal to the mighty work. And, having ful­filled his purpose by him, he has, in his own time, taken him again. In this afflictive dispensation to us, his goodness to our departed Father and [Page 20] Friend is seen, and ought to be acknowledged. For it is worthy of remark, that, as this good man died when at the summit of earthly greatness, so he died without imbecility of body or mind. He neither outlived himself, by withering in age, and sinking into second childhood, or doing any one action, through the infirmity of years, that might cast a shade over his former glory. He died as he lived, with all the honours he ever acquired by his great and good actions bright upon him; and in possession of all that affection and veneration he had impressed, by those actions, upon the hearts of a grateful people. The Sovereign of the world, having exhibited him here in so eminent and use­ful a character, has, by a timely death, exempted him from the common frailties of age, which might have diminished his greatness in our view: per­haps that his example, as a true patriot, might not, in any part of it, be less perfect than it now is; and that the recollection of it may, through future times, be a useful lesson to others. In his death, then, as in his life, he may be useful to his country. He has fallen "like a shock of corn fully ripe," in the best time for himself. And [Page 21] in this event we may consider him as a favourite of Heaven. This we often noticed in the course of his public life. We then saw conspicuously the hand of Providence shielding him in danger, and crowning his military actions with success▪ and the spirit of wisdom directing him, in our na­tional councils, to those measures which have se­cured our national glory.

And in him we have an example also of what has been offered in this discourse, on the advan­tage of a wise and diligent improvement of time. Without this he never would have been so great, good and useful as he was. For we are not to un­derstand, by what has been said above, he was im­mediately inspired by God. By deep reflection and study, and by a social and active walk in life, he acquired that wisdom to judge rightly, and that prudence to act cautiously, for which he was emi­nent; and that knowledge of the world, which enabled him to manage our affairs with so much address and advantage. His death has secured his earthly fame—his political immortality; and we trust he is gone to reap the reward of his illustrious labours in the kingdom of his Redeem­er, whom he loved and served.

[Page 22]Though he might have been longer highly serviceable to us, and it would have delighted our hearts to have had him dwelt among us while he could have been useful, and enjoyed life, that we might have given him the tokens of our gratitude, as we grew in greatness and prosperity; and felt the benefits of his patriotism; and have received his sage advice and fatherly blessing: yet, as the great Parent of all, the wise Governor of the world, has denied us this gratification and favour, let us humbly submit to the dispensation; let us gratefully thank him for having continued his valuable life so long, and made him so useful to his country.

And let us remember, that though our beloved friend be dead, and his tongue silent in the grave, he yet speaketh to us in that valuable legacy he has left behind him for our perusal and direction. In his Farwell Address, on quitting the office of President, he is still our counsellor. And while our hearts are oppressed with grief for this separa­tion from him, let us seriously resolve that we will attend to his instructions, and follow his counsels, which have so often saved us in the [Page 23] time of danger, and have led us to unexampled prosperity.

And though I would say nothing to lessen the praise which is due to the great and good friend we have lost, yet let us always remem­ber, that he was but the instrument in the hands of God to effect what has been done for us. It is to Him, "who rules in the kingdoms of men," we are primarily indebted for all we have and enjoy, in a national, as well as private, view—To him let us give the tribute of thanksgiving and praise—To him we must look for future blessings. Though our hopes are in some measure cast down by this event, they are not destroyed. Our chief trust and confidence is in God, who will still be "the light of our countenance," and preserve our national independence and prosperity, if we do not forsake him. We have good reason to presume, that he, who gave us a WASHINGTON to make us a free and prosperous nation, will not suffer this work of his hands to be destroyed by the arts of wicked men; unless we forfeit the in­valuable blessing of freedom, by becoming the slaves of vice, and prostituting, to the service of sin, the bounties of his providence.

[Page 24]Let us remember, that though God has taken our WASHINGTON from us, he has left us many great and good men, wise and virtuous pa­triots, to conduct our national affairs. And let us resolve to unite in harmony with them to promote our country's good. Let us solemnly declare, we will always revere, love, and support, the constitu­tion God has given us, and be obedient to the laws of the government founded upon it. Let us diligently improve our time through the years which may be to come, in the faithful discharge of all duties, religious and civil, patriotic and social— in the exercise of all public and private virtues. And by our prayers to the great Ruler of the world, the Father of all blessings, by mutual good coun­sels and actions, let us endeavour to give a stability and prosperity to our nation and government, which shall last, through succeeding ages, till the angel of God shall again "stand upon the sea and upon the earth" to perform the oath he has sworn, "THAT TIME SHALL BE NO LONGER."

AMEN.