TRUE HAPPINESS: A LECTURE.

BY THE REV.

ROBERT JAMIESON, D.D.

ST. PAUL'S CHURCH, GLASGOW.

"A good name is better than precious ointment, and the day of death than the day of one's birth. It is better to go to the house of mourning than to the house of feasting; for that is the end of all men, and the living will lay it to his heart. Sorrow is better than laughter; for by the sadness of the countenance the heart is made better. The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning; but the heart of fools is in the house of mirth."-ECCL. vii. 1-4. THE design of the early part of this book is to take a just and dispassionate estimate of all the objects on which mankind are most commonly prone to found their happiness. After a very full and extensive survey of the whole field of human labours and enjoyments; after having subjected to a searching scrutiny the pleasures of sense, as well as those of taste and imagination, and last of all, money itself, to which, in the eyes of most men, the greatest importance and value are attached,-Solomon arrived at the conclusion, that, whether as regards the nature of those things themselves, or the concurrent testimony of all experience, they are incapable of affording to a being, constituted as man is, full, solid, or lasting satisfaction. The happiness after which all so eagerly pant, and which yet so few succeed in drawing from the sources at which they repair to seek for it, must consist of something not external, something not subject to the accidents of time or chance, something which is intrinsically suited to the constitution, character, and capacities of the human mind. And now, therefore, at this part of his treatise, the inspired writer proceeds to recommend several means for fortifying the mind against the seductive influence of those things by which men are so apt to be captivated and ensnared, and to shew the way in which good may be got out of the evils which so largely abound in the world. Many of the observations that he has made will appear strange and paradoxical to the unthinking, who form the largest and most numerous

portion of mankind. But a little calm and patient reflection will satisfy every intelligent mind that the course, recommended by Solomon, has not only a direct tendency to promote the good that is sought, but, as all observation and experience attest, does actually, in the ordinary course of things, secure it. He begins with the influence of a good reputation: "A good name is better than precious ointment." A good name is used here synonymously with a good character; this is a possession whose value, both as a source of happiness to the individual himself, and a means of usefulness in the world, it is impossible to overestimate. To acquire a great name-whether as the owner of a princely fortune, or the achiever of high deeds of gallantry and prowess— whether as having advanced the interests of learning and science, or as the defender of the honour and liberties of one's country— to acquire a great name, in any department of human exertion, and to have national centenaries observed in one's honour, is the lot and privilege only of a few. But it is within the reach of all to attain a good name-a name for piety and virtue: and wherever it is well known and established, it secures to its possessor, in the conscious enjoyment of the respect and esteem of the world, a source of happiness, which no wealth, however ample, no fame however brilliant, no rank however high, can ever confer. The man to whom that good name belongs may be a man of small or limited means; he may move in a humble and obscure condition; or he may have few or none of the vaunted accomplishments of the world to recommend him. Yet, if he is a man of genuine piety and hightoned virtue; if he is known to be a person whose integrity and uprightness have always preserved him, and who, in some trying vicissitudes of life, has shewn a sincere and inflexible regard to the law of God and the interests of truth and righteousness :-such a man has not only a wellspring of peace and joy in his own breast; but, in the eyes of the world, will secure to himself a measure of respect and honour which no earthly dignity, and no worldly possession, can ever give. In this view, the value and advantages of a good name are great, and are here shewn by a comparison which the countrymen of Solomon could fully appreciate : it is said to be "better than precious ointment.” That is, rich oils and sweet odours, in the use of which people in the warm countries of the East take so great delight, are not half so grateful, or so valuable, as a good reputation. In a hot and sultry climate, the languishing natives find strong or sweet-scented perfumes a great refreshment. A person who comes into a room

redolent with Sabæan odours, is sure to attract notice and collect around him delighted groups of the company; or perhaps the precious. ointment may be of that strong aromatic odour, which, on the very entrance of the individual who carries it about or upon him, will diffuse its powerful fragrance all around the place where they are met. In this respect, "a good name is better than precious ointment." For, bad as the world is, a good name diffuses everywhere an attractive influence. In this changing and uncertain scene, where vicissitude and trial are the common lot of humanity, the very best of men, as well as persons of an opposite description, must experience reverses. But, let a man be known as acting on the high and unvarying principles of piety to God,and fidelity to duty, and the conscious possession of a good name will prove to him an inward source of comfort and support, which, next to the favour of God and the approval of conscience, gives, of all things, the most grateful, refreshing, and delightful pleasure, to a well-constituted mind.

Moreover, a good name is better than precious ointment, inasmuch as it diffuses itself far and wide, and confers upon its possessor an extensive means of usefulness. Who needs to be told, that the good name which Joseph had earned, by the exhibition of the purest and rarest virtue, was a great means, under God, of his being invested so rapidly with irresponsible power, and of the king of Egypt placing unbounded confidence in the wisdom of his plans, and the benevolence of his administration ? Who needs to be told that the good name for piety and unpretending valour which the son of Jesse had early established, led, in the course of Providence, to his securing the devoted affections of a youthful band, by whom he was successively raised to the thrones of Judah and of Israel? What reader of the New Testament needs to be told that the good name, possessed by the Roman centurion in Capernaum, as a sincere and disinterested worshipper of God, was the true reason why the elders of that city, sinking all their prejudices as Jews, went in a body to Jesus, and implored his sympathy and aid for recovery of the dying servant of the devout soldier? And,—to adduce only one other Scripture example,-who needs to be told that the good name for judicious and active charity, which Dorcas had gained in Joppa by her labours of love, was the occasion of the deep and unfeigned regret which her sudden removal had produced? The same value is attached to a good name, and similar advantages accrue to its owner still.

Who, that reflects but a few moments, can find any difficulty in drawing abundant illustrations from the records of modern or contemporary history, to confirm the truth of the statement before us, that "a good name is better that precious ointment?" Have we not had many, many instances, in the church as well as the world, among the laity as well as the clergy, in private as well as public life, of individuals who, having been known and distinguished for their piety and genuine worth, found it verified in their own experience that "a good name is better than precious ointment?" The tradesman who, in the limited circle of his acquaintances and associates in business, is known for his amiable disposition, and by his habits of strict, unbending uprightness, and integrity in speech and conduct, has gained the character of an honest man; the private individual, who, with time and ample means at command, is ever ready to devote them to the cause of benevolence and charity; the magistrate who is zealous in employing the official influence he possesses in promoting the interests of truth and righteousness amongst the people over whom he presides; the minister, who is the honoured and successful instrument of enlightening the minds of men in the mysteries of divine truth, in cheering the hearts of multitudes who are weary and heavy laden, and in diffusing the odour of sanctity in many a family, where he is known and valued as a preacher of the glorious gospel; the christian lady, who visits in the huts and hovels of the poor, and who, by her active beneficence, clothes the naked, or feeds the hungry, and by her pious conversation, comforts the mourner, or animates the sick and the dying:—that friend in the social circle; that magistrate in the city where he resides; that minister in the hearts and homes of his people; that lady in the huts and hovels of the poor,-all know, feel, and exemplify, in their own experience, the truth of the declaration, that "a good name is better than precious ointment." They know, and feel, and exemplify it in the respect and esteem that is cherished for them while living, in the deep and unfeigned sorrow that was expressed for their loss when they die, and in the extent to which their children, long after their decease, feel how valuable is the inheritance of a good man's name. Let it be our care and ambition, in dependence on Divine grace, to aim at the establishment of a good name for Christian wisdom and virtue among the wise and good; and it will impart a far higher enjoyment to the mind, it will open a far larger opportunity of usefulncss it will reach farther and last longer than the influence of

And when we are gone,

either worldly rank or worldly wealth. it will be a never-failing source of pleasing and grateful recollection to our families, that, though they may not boast of a long and illustrious line of ancestry, they have the inheritance of a good man's children-they are the children of parents who have passed into the skies.

"Better," says Solomon, "is the day of death than the day of one's birth." Of course, it is with reference to a good name that this statement is made, and it is only in connection with such a name that the statement can be considered as holding true at all. For, every dictate of reason as well as every doctrine of revelation tells us, that, if there is a world beyond the present, it will be well there only with the righteous; and that, as death is the medium through which we are ushered into that other state of being, it can be viewed with feelings of welcome only when there is the good hope of its being the precursor of a happy change.

It is, however, somewhat paradoxical,—nay, not a little at variance with the prevailing and ordinary sentiments of mankind,-to assert that the day of death is better than the day of one's birth. Is it not reckoned a subject of joy and congratulation among families, when a child is born into the world; and are we not in the habit of observing, or at least remembering, the day of our birth, as an event worthy to be held in happy and grateful memorial? True. And, seeing that life is an inestimable blessing, a gift of our bountiful Creator, who has sweetened and enhanced its value by the addition of other nameless and numberless blessings, it would betray but a small sense of obligation, if we could ever think of our birth without feelings of gratitude and joy. Looking, however, at the beginning and end of the present life in a religious point of view, and especially through the glass of the Gospel, it is a great and glorious truth, that, to every man who, through faith in Christ, has got a good name, the day of his death is better than the day of his birth. The day of our birth introduces us into a world of sin and sorrow, of trial and suffering, of pain and uncertainty-a world where change reigns over every person, every object, and every scene-where we are in a state of constant, often painful discipline; and objects the most valued, friends the most dear, ties the most close and sacred, are liable at any time to be severed, and pierce our hearts through with many sorrows; whereas, in that higher state into which the good man is ushered at death, the course of things is altogether different. There, there is no sin, no suffering, no sorrow, no separation of friends, no law but