were as much affected as though it had been a literal fact that Jesus in person was passing by. Nor is it strange the sermon should be so powerful. It is a most graphical description of the scene referred to in the evangelist. The sermon itself was conceived in a happy moment, which the author could never forget. When settled in New Hartford, he went over to visit his pious and excellent friend, the Rev. Mr. Hallock of Canton, the latter part of the week. From some indications of the presence of the Spirit, Mr. Hallock was induced to appoint a meeting in one neighborhood, and pressed Dr. G. to preach. He, at first, declined, as he had no sermon with him, and nothing occurred to his mind. But he was constrained to remain; and the subject of Jesus of Nazareth passing by, was suggested to him. He sought help from God. He commenced preaching,-the subject opened to him as he proceeded. The effect was beyond his expectation; many were deeply impressed with a sense of sin. As he returned home, the subject dwelt upon his mind; the scene he had just witnessed quickened his thoughts; he determined to arrange his ideas as well as the limited time would allow, and preach from that text on the next Sabbath. With his heart full, and encouraged by the recent manifestation of the Divine presence, he preached, when lo, the Spirit of God descended upon his people, and an interesting revival of religion commenced.

His typical sermons are peculiarly happy. He avoids the common fault of fanciful allusions and tedious particularity, while his fine imagination sheds over the whole such an air of reality that the scene is present to the eye of the mind. His sermon on the text, "Where is the Lord God of Elijah?" is a most felicitous effort. His heart is so deeply enlisted, that he pleads with his hearers, as the patriarch did with the angel of the covenant. He cannot let them go without securing for them a blessing. Take the following paragraphs:

"Time has been (I would not dismiss the pleasing remembrance though it is fraught with pain), when the voice of Jesus of Nazareth was heard in these streets,-when his majesty sat enthroned in our assemblies, when the interests of the soul were more regarded than paltry pelf,-when Christians lived,-when sinners trembled,when the new-born delighted to lisp the name of Jesus. As we cast our eyes over this assembly we can descry those who will not

soon forget the scene. Yes, we have seen the day when some of you were trembling in near view of the eternal judgment,-when you verily thought there was but a step between you and death. We have seen the blessed hour when heavenly light broke in upon your despair, when your eyes opened upon eternal day,-when your transported souls dropped the calculation of endless sorrows and hugged the hope of immortal joy. I live, I live, you cried, as your grave-clothes dropped at your feet. We have seen a parent's eye glisten with a trembling tear as his child looked up to thank his Deliverer. We have seen the solemn hour when, with palpitations before unknown, you stood in companies before the Lord to enter into covenant with him. We have seen the dear youth delighting to speak to each other of a Saviour's love, when tenderness melted in every eye, and their societies were full of the presence of Jesus and of love. Let me cleave to the fond remembrance. Tear me not from a scene to which my soul clings as to life itself. But ah, it is gone, and what do these distressed eyes now behold? One general waste of stupidity and death. No child is revived; no parent's heart leaps for joy; none are conscious of their guilt and danger; none experience the joys of their espousals. Their divine Deliverer, whose love, in that hour, they thought they never could forget, is forgotten and neglected. The world has rivalled him. The world has carried away the Christian, the convert, and the sinner. The world, the world, the world: this is the object which engrosses every care; this is the supreme deity that is adored. 'Buy and sell and get gain: out with the thoughts of death: away with judgment and heaven: name not a Saviour's love: my farms and my merchandize I will have, though the earth trembles under my feet and heaven weeps blood upon my head.' And is it thus? Yes, and it is an evil beyond our power to cure. We have done and said all we can do, and it alters not the case. Where then is the Lord God of Elijah? Where is the Lord God of our former sabbaths and sacraments? Where, O where is he? Look down from heaven, and behold from the habitation of thy holiness and of thy glory where is thy zeal and thy strength, the sounding of thy bowels and of thy mercies?—Are they restrained?' I do know that it depends solely on the sovereign pleasure of God whether there shall ever be another revival of religion in this place, or whether they who are dead shall remain dead to eternity. One look from him and our sleeping friends shall revive; one frown from him and every unregenerate soul in this congregation shall die in his sins. Men and angels cannot change the decree. Ministers may preach, Christians may pray, parents may weep, and a thousand pious hearts may break; but if the Lord God of Elijah do not revive us, the dead will not revive. This sentiment, though it has dwelt upon our tongues, I fear has never sunk deep enough into our hearts. In days of revival we have ascribed too much of the praise to men and means; and now perhaps we look too much to men and means for the relief desired. We never shall be revived until we realizingly feel our absolute and entire dependence on God,-until we can heartily and without reserve say, 'My soul, wait thou only upon God, for my expectation is from him. O for this dependence, that

we may go forth in a body and lift our eyes to heaven as the eyes of one man, and cry, as though the salvation of a world hung upon our prayer, Where is the Lord God of Elijah? O that I knew where that I might find him, that I might come even to his seat.' Alas, can he not be found? While thousands lie dead around us, can we not find the only Being who can raise them to life? Where is he? Can we not find him?"

To feel all the force of this appeal, we must bring to our aid the tones of his voice, the tears he shed, his noble appearance, the soul he threw into his sermons. There were tones in his voice which never failed to melt his hearers into tears.

His sermon on "The Worth of the Soul," is confessedly one of the most splendid efforts of human genius. That on "The Knowledge of God," evinces great powers of mind, and deep Christian experience. That on the text, "How can I put thee among the children?" is considered by many exceedingly able. It is a subject well suited to his powers; and it must be confessed he has so completely exhausted the topics, that he has left nothing for any one who should afterwards attempt to preach from it.

Although we are so ready to bestow upon Dr. Griffin high praise as a sermon writer, and as a preacher of the first order, we are far from thinking him a faultless model. It is known that he often failed. If he preached many great sermons, he often preached very common-place ones. His constitutional temperament led him, sometimes, to dwell upon subjects at greater length than was profitable. He was so much in the habit of viewing things through a bright medium, that he often misjudged, and was in advance of his hearers. Then again he was occasionally dull. He needed a great subject, a great occasion, and a great audience, to arouse him to a great effort. When fairly aroused, few men could do so well.

These sermons now published, with some forty or fifty more left in manuscript, besides his works previously printed, are the labor of his life. He has done well to prepare them for the press. This was his last work; he lived to finish all his corrections. We bless God for sparing him so long to the church, and for grace given him to accomplish so much. He was not always wise in the selection of his subjects. He often suffered his feelings to bias his judgment. Perhaps he aimed too much at effect.

In the ardor of his zeal, he sometimes transcended the bounds of sound discretion. On one occasion, when settled in Boston, he took this method to expose a groundless rumor which had been circulated to his prejudice. It had been reported that he preached the doctrine of "the damnation of infants." One Sabbath afternoon a child was presented before the altar for baptism, according to the views of his denomination; he arose in the pulpit, and stood silent for some time,-the parents waited, the silence became painful,-every eye in the house was turned to him; when he exclaimed in his emphatic manner, "There are infants in hell not a span long "—"So I am slanderously reported to have said." He then refuted the calumny and proceeded to the service before him.

At other times he was equally felicitous in his allusions. In his Memoir we have an affecting account of the dangerous illness of his eldest daughter, and of his trials connected with it. Some years afterwards, when by marvellous grace that daughter was brought into the kingdom of heaven, and had become the mother of children, she came forward, with her husband, "to offer them to the Lord;" he stood for a moment before he uttered a word, and then, with deep emotion, said, in a way that affected to tears every person present, "I had not thought to see thy face; and lo, God hath showed me also thy seed." Notwithstanding these incidents relate to views and practices which the Baptists do not adopt, they illustrate so admirably the character of the man, that we were unwilling to omit them.

Dr. Griffin's sermons have not the sameness of structure with those of Dr. Emmons, nor do they evince the same fertility of invention or richness of resource. In some instances, he has failed in the plan of his discourse. In fact, he does not appear to have been remarkably happy in this part of sermonizing. Nor was the celebrated Robert Hall. Every one must have been struck with the absence of all invention in the eloquent English preacher, while he evinced so much genius and eloquence in the filling up of his sermons.

The late Dr. Dwight, also, was deficient in the plan of his discourses. His formal manner of laying out his subject gave a stiffness to the whole structure, which dimin

ished very much the interest and power. So far as method and execution are concerned, leaving out of the account the peculiar views of truth, the late Dr. J. M. Mason, of New York, was far superior to both. He was prodigiously powerful. For style and arrangement, for majesty and strength, for completeness and execution, there are few such sermons in any language as his "Messiah's Throne." As an expositor of the Bible and an instructive preacher, he has had no equal in this country. Still he was unsuccessful in winning souls to Christ. Dr. Griffin sacrificed every thing to the desire of doing good. He would strike out a figure that would gain applause, if it would not save a soul. They who write and preach to be popular, have their reward, but our author had other aims.

We have said, some of his sermons were defective in the plan. We will refer to one to illustrate our idea, viz., the twenty-first sermon of the second volume, styled, "The Pilgrim," from Heb. 11: 13. These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having scen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. In his division, he says, "I shall

I. Inquire what it is to feel and conduct ourselves as strangers and pilgrims on the earth.

II. Suggest some reasons for doing this.

III. Urge the duty of believing and trusting in the promises of God."

The plan is evidently confused. The inevitable effect of such an announcement after reading so rich a text, would be to strike a damp upon the feelings. The inference, drawn at once by the hearers would be, we shall have a long didactic sermon. When a text seems to divide itself, we lose the freshness by a stiff division. How much more interest would have been given to the discussion, if he had preached what is called a textual sermon. We remember to have heard, many years ago, that Dr. J. M. Mason preached from this text with great power. He just explained it in the order of the apostle, described in strong and glowing colors the faith of the ancient believers, and applied it to Christians now. It presents a delightful view of faith and its practical effects. A subject connected with history, as this is, is divested of its life and vividness, by reducing it to a didactic form.

VOL. IV.-NO. XV.

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