Elizabeth-Town gazette. [volume] (Elizabeth-Town, N.J.) 1818-1821, 1820-05-30
From the New-England Galaxy.
THE PREACHER.
/" What is uour life 2n

u
Ask the aged to look back upon the
scenes through which they have passed
upon the years which they have spent
intreat them TO tell you 10 what light they
see iiieu--attend to their answer, for with
the aged there is wisdom. What is il they
reply? They confirm the Oracle Of God
The weaver's shuttle, they say, is moi
more swift, the shooting star is not more
momentary, evanescent and unreal. Some
Of you may consult your children instead
OF advising with your fathers; and all may
ash their brethren if tiie lime be uoi very
short. The registers of the dead are not
unfaithtul; they cannot err; they are mol
interested; consult then the registers Of
the dead. Look upon the tombs--are
their inhabitants all old? No; not ALL
Many? No; not many. The aged are a
tbinly scattered number. Infants there
are, who have been born TO weep and die !;
babes there are, who, in all their sportiye
innocence, have gone down into the grave;
youths there are, who, in their gayest
hours, and amidst the most pieasurabIe
scenes, have been recalled to lie down in
darkness and the dust. Numbers too are
there, who, in the pride OF manhood, The
maturity Of life, in the full career Of bust
ness and hope, have been eased of all
their anxieties and defeated of all their
expectations, and fast bound 10 the fetters
of death. The young lie thick as dew
drops on the ground; here and there only
do We find monument erected unto years
and wisdom; We wonder when we find it,
and yet this our wonder does not cure us
of our security and confidence. Perhaps
even now the scyihe of time is lifted up 10
cut down those who little think of it, who
are expecting the departure oftheirfriends
or preparing TO carry their fathers to the
tomb. Tomorrow, that idol deity, in
which the world have agreed TO place their
trust TO morrow, that hair-spun thread,
on which they hang the weighty concern
ments Of eternity,-what is tomorrow /?
No part Of our possessions, no part of our
inheritance; il is part in the great chain
of duration, but perhaps no part of orr
present being. Clear, and bright, and stea-
dy, as it shines to-day, some sudden bias
may blow out the lamp of life; and to
morrow may have conveyed US into othe
company aud settled us in other scenes
Boast not OF tomorrow, till you have vi
rolled the book of fate, and learnt what
to-day shall bring forth. Last night, it is
probable, many gay youth threw himself
on the bed whence he shall arise no more;
and many busy head reposed itself upon
that pillow, where it shall sleep now and
take its rest. How sad aud serious are
many now, who, but last night,were giddy,
thoughtless, presumptuous and vain: how
terrible has this tomorrow proved to ma
ny, who but yesterday said unto them
selves, that il. was yet soon enough to re
pent aud be converted. Thou fool, THIS
night thy soul shall be required Of thee,
was severe, yet gracious warning. La
every breeze that blows there is flight Of
human fates; in every breath we breathe,
We may drink in the deadly poison; ever,
hour we stand in jeopardy; then verify
every man at his best estate is altogether
vanity. In every walk we take, death
treads upon our steps; he watches us in
our retirements, he follows us 10 our bust
ness; he mingles with the angels that
stand round our beds in that very moment
when our hearts are more attached to this
world; in that very moment, when we are
least apprehensive Of our fate, then the
tyrant springs upon his prey, rejoicing to
add TO his native horrors, the necessary
terrors of surprise. 10 the midst of life
we are 10 danger Of some fatal blight; in
the highest health, We may be nearest to
some mortal malady. What then is your
life ? Is it not fleeting cloud, an evapo.
rating smoke, an exploding meteor, paint
ed bubble? Break that bubble must in
its greatest beauty it will break, and ii
may break ere night.