FIRST SERMON.
ON THE CONSIDERATION OF OUR LAST END.
Subject.
Where shall man go? 1. His body shall go into the grave; 2. his soul into eternity.—Preached on the fourth Sunday after Easter.
Text.
Nemo ex volis interrogat me; Quo vadis?—John xvi. 5.
"None of you asketh me: Whither goest thou?"
Introduction.
A general and at the same time a rare question: Whither goest thou? A useless and at the same time a most important question: Whither goest thou? It is a general question; for whenever one acquaintance meets another in the street, the first word is: where are you going to? A rare question; for you seldom find one who says to himself: where am I going to? It is a useless question when proposed to others; for as a general rule it is prompted by mere curiosity, and deserves no better answer than: what is that to you? It is a most important question when one proposes it to himself; for the answer to it brings before us the most weighty, useful, and fundamental truths of our faith, the neglect of which causes the loss of most souls. I will now, my dear brethren, consider them in the form of a quiet meditation, for your good and my own; and since man consists of two parts, body and soul, I shall propose them in a twofold question and answer, namely: