Burlington free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1827-1865, 1841-11-19

| ness thereof as the Hover oil the heid. :
The listening PsaImst heard the same theme
and the same response, and he too has re-
peated and recorded them. GAS for man,
his days are are as grass as the flower Of
the field, so he nourished; for tho wind
passcth over it, and it is gone, and the place
4 thereof shall know il no more.'
Blu, does the psalmist, or the prophet, or
the apostle, stop at these melancholy words,
and close his lips after the utterance Of such
plaintive tones Neither of them does so.
How could inspired faithful men, servants of
God, proclaimers of truth and religion, stop
at the boundary of decay? They pass i'm
mediately from the truth of death, to the
truth of life. But the word of our God"
says the prophet, =" shall stand forever. -
But the word Of the Lord" says the apos-
tie, " endureth forever" But the mercy
of the Lord" sings the royal bard," is from
everlasting to everlasting upon them that
fear him." Happy will it be for us, if,
while we feelingly perceive the transform
ness Of nature, and of mans mortal state,
we acknowledge the steadiastness of Gods
word, and the everlasting mercy of his prov
idence. That which passeth away should
speak to us of that which remains. The
constant ROTATION of decay is an intimation
of the being who ever lives and dies to ST.
perntend it; whose throne decay cannot
harm, because decay is itself his ministcring
servant. the certainty of death reveals an
eternal word which commands death, and
which both klleth and maketh alive. Let
that word he our trust, as it was the trust of
those " holy men of God, who spake as they
were moved by the Holy Ghost;'" and as
il always is the trust of those who behold the
operations of that same Spirit in all the
signo of tho universe, and feel its promptings
in all the nobeaspiratlon within them. If
we cannot trjStcih verdure, freshness, beau
ty. which soon anguish and fail, in goodness
and glory which fade and pass away, let us
trust in the word which ordans their vanish
ing and departure, for that word is above
them, and must endure. If the soul has any
trust-and o how it wrongs its nature and
neg lects its endowments, when it has no
trust-t must place that trust in something
which abides. What is abiding but the word
of God "The grass withereth, the flower
| forever"
The very grass itselfas it wthers, and the
flower as it fades, seem to express such a
trust, in their humble manner, and inculcate
it on their whitening and fading human
brethren. How quietly the grass withers !
How submissively the flower bows its head
on the stalk; how swcetly it exhales its last
odors how peacefully it fades Mature
dies gently.-Listen Do you hear any dis
cordance in her parting signs : They arc oil
harmonious ;-as musical, though with "a
different character, as the melodies of spring
You may be affected with sadness as you
listen, but it is a sadness which sootlls and
softens, not disturbs and terrifies. can
sympathise with the man who relieves his full
heart by weeping amidst the aulumnal en-
blems of human dissolution; but must only
wonder at him if he weeps tears of anguish
or despair. | could not weep so, surround
ed by such mid and accomplishing monitors.
perceive hat the honorsare resigned with
out struggle.
Wherever | turn, all is acquicscence.
There is no questioning the will of Heaven.
There are no cries when the leaves part
from their stems, and sink to the ground
How can l do violence to the spirit of SUBJ
mission and trust which is dffused about me
1t rebukes my mIsgivings, if have INDUCED
any; it scnces my repnings, if unthnkingly
have uttcrned any it steals into and bushes
my heart. Why should we not receive the
lessons which nature is, even though I'M
consciously teaching Why sFould we break
the general peace! Let us trust in the word of
turn, though it sends forth the decree, ere
God, yc children of men !''-Frail, fading,
perishing,- are we without trust The
support of the soul is trust in God trust in the
eternal, undecaying word of God.
And in natures decline at this season, it
may be observed further, there is not only
the expression of quiet submission, but of
hope and Joy-which joy as they should feel,
who, though in extremity, know that the
word of the Lord endureth forever. There
are no richer hues than those Of autumn.
Leaves wlher, shrivel, and turn to darkness
and dust, they wear their brightest colors
before they die. The trees are not clothed
in mourning but in triumphal robes; in scar
let and gold, like kings. Do they not pre-
figure the deep and solemn joy which may
invest and Undue the soul-trusting soul in the
prospect of the last change The trees can