Page:Opening of the Connecticut Asylum Sermon 1817.djvu/5

. It should be matter, therefore, of encouragement to us, that the establishment, which is now ready to receive within its walls the sons and daughters of misfortune, however humble may be its sphere of exertion, is not overlooked in the economy of the Redeemer's kingdom; that its probable influence is even shadowed forth in the sayings of prophecy; and that it forms one link in that golden chain of universal good-will, which will eventually embrace and bind together the whole family of man. Let it awaken our gratitude to think, that our feeble efforts are not disregarded by the great Head of the church, and that we are permitted thus to cast our mite into his treasury.

In the chapter, from which the words of my text are taken, the prophet has described the blessings of the Redeemer's kingdom, in the richest colours of Oriental imagery. He portrays, by the strongest and boldest figures, the joy that will be diffused throughout the earth, when the Gospel of Jesus Christ shall have been proclaimed to all people, and its principles made the universal rule of thought and conduct. He would thus teach us the intimate connexion, even in this world, between holiness and happiness, and excite our efforts towards hastening on the latter day glory of the church, by placing before us the advantages that will result from it. Every exertion, then, of christian benevolence, which forms a part of the great system of doing good, is entitled, so to speak, to the encouragements which the prophet holds forth. I shall not, therefore, depart from the spirit of the text, if, on the present occasion, I attempt to describe some of the benefits which will result from the exertions which are making for the improvement of the deaf and dumb, and thus show how it will happen, that in this department of christian benevolence, "in the wilderness shall waters break out, and streams in the desert."

The whole plan of my discourse, then, will be to state several advantages which will arise from the establishment of this Asylum, and to propose several motives which should inspire those who are interested in its welfare, with renewed zeal, and the hopes of ultimate success.