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proved that the quiet and silence of the night is, in some circumstances, favorable to private devotion; the gay world is then at rest; the dissipation of mind, to which we are all more or less subject through the day, has then left us, and attention and fervor of spirit are not interrupted by noise or by spectators. But, this devotion was not private and at a late hour, while Paul was preaching, Eutychus fell asleep. O, how shameful is the conduct of those persons, who, without any of the pleas of exercise, with which our text furnishes us for Eutychus, indulge in unhallowed repose in the temple of God! There, drowsiness is sinful; there, indulgence of it is hateful in the sight of God, and calculated to provoke his displeasure. But since we are composed of flesh as well as a spirit, hinderances to devotion, of some kind or other, must be expected while we remain below; but while I have opportunity, allow me to drop two remarks on the influence of the body in interrupting pure devotion.

It is an effect which greatly distresses the minds of God's people; and it is an effect which shall soon be completely done away.

1. It is an effect which greatly distresses the minds of God's people. For they who really love to draw nigh to God, to profit by what they hear, and to have a rich foretaste of heaven below, do feel, and feel most keenly too, because they are chained down to earth. The consideration that here they are liable to grow cold, or feel fatigue in devotion, because that, though the spirit is willing, the flesh is weak, often makes them exclaim, "O that I had wings like a dove, for then would I flee away, and be at rest!" While I am glad that I can remark,

2. That it is an effect which shall soon be completely done away. Those of us who believe shall hereafter serve God, without weariness, day and night in his temple.

Our bodies will be refined as well as glorified; all sluggishness, and every thing of an earthly nature, will be for ever done away. Then, indeed, will our devotions be pure, our strains exalted, and our engagement in the service of God uninterrupted and eternal. The worship of heaven will not be too long for us: there is no fear that we shall grow weary of immortality, and those holy employments in which we shall be engaged for ever; there will be nothing there to occasion languor; but every thing will be calculated to increase our joys, to make us more ardent, more earnest, in our celestial worship.

But O, before we arrive there, we must pass the bitterness of death! and even while I discuss this text, I must call upon you,

III. To behold an affecting instance of the uncertainty of human life. For Eutychus sunk down with sleep, and fell down from the third loft, and was taken up dead. Here I may remark, that no age exempts us from the stroke of death,-and that no place can exempt us from his attacks.

Did Eutychus die? then-

1. No age exempts us from the stroke of death; for Eutychus was a young man. O, my young hearers, what an appeal is here made to your feelings and your hearts! He was a young man, but he died; so true it is, that in no stage of our lives can we consider ourselves as unexposed to the approach of that grim tyrant, who reigned from Adam to Moses, and from Moses even until now. Eutychus died; and O, shall those of us who are but

just rising up into life, presume on length of days, and dare to expect a continued succession of pleasures here? Ah! he may weaken our strength in the way; he may shorten our days; and how many are there as young, and younger than ourselves, who, from time to time, are called to quit the busy scenes of the present life, for the solemnities of the world to come! My text seems to call upon me to say to the young people, in the presence of God, "Be ye also ready, for the Son of man cometh in an hour when ye think not." But remember, that you cannot be ready for death and judgment, without an interest in the Redeemer. Flee then to Jesus, or early death will be to you a transition to hell. But if Christ be found in your hearts the hope of glory; if in the fountain of his blood you have washed away the stains of sin, death itself is your friend: and should you live long, or die early, the same blessing awaits you. You shall come to your grave in peace, and not see all the evil which God shall bring upon the world. But young people, with all their amiableness, their vivacity, their health, their prosperity, are liable to death, long before the evil days come, when they shall say, I have no pleasure in them.

2. No place is secure from the attacks of death. Eutychus had, probably, heard of the eloquence of the apostle, and therefore went to this place to hear him; but little did he expect that there he should give up the ghost. Do you think that it ever entered his mind that mortality should tri umph in a Christian assembly, or that death should enter the house of God?

Often, indeed, does he frequent the haunts of dissipation; he comes up into our windows, and

enters into our palaces, to take the children from without, and the young men from the streets; he makes inroads upon the domestic circle; he goes into the court, the cottage; yea, here you see he enters the church, and selects a trophy of his dominion from the worshipping assembly. Let us never, then, suppose that we can be in any place where death cannot reach us, till we get to the New Jerusalem, where he cannot enter, where there shall be no more death. It is, indeed, the glory of that worshipping assembly, of that holy society, that death cannot diminish its numbers; it is constituted and ordained to live for ever and ever. Then all the saints shall unitedly exult over death itself, and be lost in wonder at the triumphs of" Him who liveth, and was dead, and behold he is alive for evermore, and hath the keys of hell and of death." And till introduced into that happy land, let us be always watching, ever attentive to our Lord's command, and constantly vigilant in seeking for glory, honor, and immortality. But to proceed

IV. I would have you look at the conduct of the apostle, as emblematic of the grace of Jesus; for when Paul found that he had fallen down dead, he "went down, and fell on him, and embracing him said, Trouble not yourselves; for his life is in him." Divine power acccompanied the means he used; the young man was brought back again to life, and they were not a little comforted. How tender was the apostle's compassion! how noble, how generous his conduct! He appears to imitate the prophet Elijah, who stretched himself upon the child of the woman of Zarephath, and said, "O Lord my God, I pray thee, let this child's soul come into him again;" the same success,

too, attended his exertion, as was kindly afforded to Elijah. The God of our lives raised up Eutychus again to health and strength, who had been just before dead. From contemplating the conduct of Paul, however, let us turn to admire the grace of the great Apostle and High Priest of our profession, Christ Jesus." Let us see how he displays his condescension and mercy, in seeking dead sinners, in raising them to spiritual life, and in having them introduced to his saints.

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1. He seeks dead sinners. Paul went down to see this dead man; he broke off his discourse, and went down to him, that he might afford him assistance. But, O! what did Jesus do for those that were dead in trespasses and sin? I say, it is true, that "the Son of God is come to seek and to save that which is lost." How cheerfully he left his exalted state in heaven, where he stands the chief wonder of the holy angels! How readily he left the bright robes he wore above, that he might take upon him, not the nature of angels, but of the seed of Abraham! He seeks out, even now, the lost, the miserable, and the dead, that he may call them heirs of heaven; his eye is upon those to whom he has designs of love, even while they are in nature's darkness, in the grave of sin; and he also sends his gospel, to discover to them their true character, and declare to them his own grace. Great Shepherd of the church, search out the dead in this congregation; let them hear thy voice and live to thee.

2. He raises them to spiritual life. Through Paul's instrumentality, the young man was restored to life, and its concomitant blessings. And you hath Jesus quickened: it was he that breathed upon the dry bones, so that they lived; his power

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