After I left Madeley I saw less of him, though our intercourse was renewed, in some measure, when he came to Bristol, and, in the end, he succeeded me in my old curacy at Hutton, on my presentation to the living which I now hold. * * * Not many letters ever passed between us; but I have never ceased to remember him with admiration, gratitude, and love. Indeed, take him altogether, and I have never seen his equal.
With my very kind regards to yourself and family,
I remain, my dear Sir,
Very sincerely yours,
G. L. Y.
THE WATCHFUL SERVANT.
A SERMON
PREACHED AT THORNHILL CHURCH, JUNE 19, 1844,
OCCASIONED BY THE DEATH OF
THE REV. GEORGE MORTIMER, M.A.,
Rector of that Township.
BY THE REV. F. L. OSLER.
“BLESSED ARE THOSE SERVANTS WHOM THE LORD, WHEN HE COMETH, SHALL FIND WATCHING.”
On receiving an invitation to officiate on the mournful occasion which calls us together, accompanied with a request that I would also preach a sermon suitable to the afflicting circumstance, the oft-repeated encouragement of my dear departed friend, eagerly to embrace every opportunity of setting forth Christ, was brought home to my mind, and a voice from the dead seemed to say, Stand in my accustomed place, and for me tell to my bereaved family and friends, to the people of my charge and of my many prayers, that the Gospel which they have so often heard proclaimed by the lips now cold in death, is not a vague uncertainty, but the power of God unto salvation; and while they weep for one whose most earnest endeavours were to promote their welfare, that they should not sorrow as those without hope, but seek earnestly to become imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.
So suddenly was he whose loss we mourn taken from the midst of us, that the necessity and duty of watchfulness naturally presents itself to the mind; such is the injunction implied in the words of my text—to that and the blessing promised let us first direct our attention.