their repetition; what, though it has been read an hundred times over, yet it is still a welcome truth, and one that will ever call forth the thankful adoration of the christian, "Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord." Rev. xiv. 13. But from whatever source it may be derived, whether the inscription be divine or human, in verse or prose, it is of the utmost consequence that it should be as free as possible from all flattering commendations, which only tend to excite painful reflections, and perhaps lead to the mention of some circumstances connected with the life of the deceased, which but for the folly of friends, blinded by their affection, would probably have never been mentioned. It may, therefore, be laid down as an axiom "that it is better to say a great deal too little than one word too much," leaving it to the judgment of others to supply any omission." And here let me advise that no clergyman be discouraged from attempting to reform his churchyard, because through the negligence of his prede cessor, he may find many epitaphs of a very exceptionable kind, for it is the more necessary to counteract their influence by some of a better character. As it respects some which ought not to have been admitted, there is this consolation, that time will soon obliterate them, and it is easy to prevent their being restored; and thus after a while they may all be superseded by inscriptions, the excellency of which will insure their perpetuity, and reward our fidelity. How delightful is it to the serious Christian to enter a churchyard, and find that the vigilance and care of the clergyman has made it auxiliary to the work of the ministry, by inscriptions which warn the young-alarm the thoughtless guide the devout-cheer the disconsolate, and teach all, as they mourn the dead, to seek their happiness in the living God! Why should not the retired cemetery or the sequestered churchyard, be rendered one of the most inviting places for devotional retirement and serious meditation? Why should not every churchyard "become a book of instruction, and every gravestone a leaf of edification?" Why should not the monumental stone, as well as the pulpit, direct us to "behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sins of the world?" We are all dying creatures; the sentence of death has been passed on all why then should not the memorials for the dead point us to Jesus, "the life of them that believe, and the resurrection of the dead?" And while the sculptured stone records the vanities of earth, and the shortness of time, why should it not also make mention of the glories of heaven and the joys of eternity? that those who delay or linger in their course, may be excited" to press towards the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus," and "so to run that they may obtain." Let the ministers of our church awake to a sense of their responsibility in this matter, and then we may confidently anticipate that each memorial to the dead will be a suitable address to the living. INSCRIPTIONS. DESIGNED TO MEET THE EYE, AND ARREST THE ATTENTION, ON ENTERING A CHURCHYARD. 1. Stranger! welcome to this sacred spot; the last In nature's course, the first in wisdom's thought. 2. Stay thy foot, who wand'rest here, When thou in dust must moulder here! |