128.

O what a senseless fool is man to swallow
The bubbles of the world, so light and hollow;
To drink its frothy draughts in careless mood,
And live upon such empty, airy food!

Life is, at best, a transitory glow;

A momentary breath of weal and woe:

Our moments pass as though we did despise them, And when we cannot have them, then we prize them.

Wouldst thou reverse this sinful strange behaviour,

Then call thou on thy Guardian and thy Saviour: Repentant, at his feet adoring fall;

Make him thy Lord, thy God, thy hope, thy all.

129.

As a lowly follower of his Saviour he adorned the doctrines of the Gospel: he visited the sick, comforted the afflicted, and went about doing good to the souls and bodies of men. He proclaimed the glad tidings of salvation, and warned sinners to "flee from the wrath to come." Through all his pilgrimage, he cast his burdens on Him who had promised to sustain them; and calmly passed the dark valley of the shadow of death, fearing no evil, being comforted by the rod and staff of his Redeemer.

130.

Were there no monuments but such as stood To mourn the wise, the tender, and the good, Though many a marble tomb might disappear, Yet this rude stone would still be standing here.

131.

"Die!" said the Justice Adam first
Provok'd by disobedient pride:
Sprung from a parent so accurs'd,
He paid the penalty and died.
But "Live!" eternal Mercy said ;

For life the second Adam gives,

Who suffer'd in the sinner's stead:"

He heard, believ'd, and now he lives.

132.

By all belov'd, and full of love to all,

Death shock'd her friends, but could not her ap

pal:

She pass'd serenely to the realms above,

Upborne by arms of everlasting love.

133.

Bethink thee, Reader, all are born to die.
How many underneath these hillocks lie!

Their lives are past, and thine will soon be o'er;

Think now, if thou hast never thought before.

134.

They who labour for the world shall receive the wages of the world, in temporary honours and riches that "make to themselves wings," and "fly away." They who serve God shall be recompensed by God;-here with "a peace that passeth understanding," and hereafter with "an exceeding and eternal weight of glory."

135.

He pass'd a life of mingled cares,
Such is the lot of man below,
Till age's grey and silvery hairs
Were thinly scatter'd on his brow.

He liv'd through many a grief, to prove

That God could guard and guide him well;

He died to find that God is love,

And with him evermore to dwell.

136.

The brightest earthly hope is but a brilliant bubble bursting against a tombstone.

137.

Bethink thee, sinner, wandering wide astray,
Of the dread horrors of the judgment-day:
Better that now the thought oppress thy soul
Than floods of wrath for ever o'er thee roll.

Will God, indeed, pronounce, with changeless ire,
"Depart, ye cursed, into quenchless fire?"
Read for thyself; take not from me the token :
I only speak the words that God has spoken.

138.

Reader, if thou thinkest lightly of the happiness and misery of another world, remember that millions of ages crowding on millions of ages-millions of ages crowding on millions of ages-and again, millions of ages crowding on millions of ages are but the beginning of eternity.

139.

I heard a fearful voice, and fell supine:

'Twas Death that spoke-" The sons of men are mine!"

140.

Believer, shrink not from thy body's doom,
For Christ thy Saviour slumber'd in the tomb:
Take courage then, and Faith shall comfort give-
Sure as he died, so sure thy soul shall live.

141.

A child of Adam,-" dust to dust"

His body here was given;

A child of Jesus,—with the just

His spirit lives in heaven.

F

142.

Give not sleep to thine eyes, nor slumber to thine eyelids, till thou hast sought that hope of eternal life which is freely offered in the Gospel of the Redeemer. This hope shall animate thy soul, give thee peace in the troublous storms of life, and, amid the fears and darkness of expiring nature, rush as a flaming angel to rescue thee from destruction.

143.

Gaze on his Grave, thou passer-by,

Who paths of trouble trod ;

And learn from him, in all thy woes,
To put thy trust in God.

Then, wading through thy sorrows deep,

They shall not thee o'erflow;
And all uninjur'd shalt thou pass
Where fiercest trials glow.

Fear not the flood; despise the flame;
Thy God through Christ adore:
He was, he is the Sinner's Friend,
And will be evermore.

144.

I sought from sickness to be free,
But Death was stern and steady:
They dug this darksome grave for me,
And thine is almost ready.