of his enjoyment, and eternity its only limit; this is the blessedness of those who die in the Lord. Upon them, through all succeeding ages, sin shall no more exert its power. To them temptation shall be unknown, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away. Clothed in immortal and spiritual bodies, admitted unto Mount Sion, they are come unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels, to the general assembly and Church of the first born which are written in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect. Nothing shall there be wanting to complete their felicity; for Christ himself has declared, that eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither hath the heart of man conceived, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him. Upon such a scene do the righteous enter, at their departure from this mortal state-a scene in which there shall be no more death, neither sorrow nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain, for the former things are passed away. They shall be before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple; and he that sitteth on the throne shall dwell among them. They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more, neither shall the sun light on them, nor any heat; for the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall VOL. II.

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lead them unto living fountains of waters; and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes.

My brethren, who that considers these prospects of the dying Christian, does not acknowledge how just is that admonition to those who survive, that they sorrow not for the departed, even as others who have no hope! Who would recall from that world of felicity to this world of sorrow and of sin; those who, in Christ, have gone to their reward! Who, beholding their tranquillity in the dying hour, or looking beyond it to the possession upon which they have entered, would not rather desire to be with them there. And if we set in contrast with their peaceful end, and glorious prospects, the miserable death of the wicked, their insensibility, and their hopelessness at the best; and when duly awakened to their danger, their terrors, their agony, their forebodings, and their despair; who, upon the evidence which would then be afforded of the advantage which the Christian enjoys, would not find reason to pray to God, that whatever storms may toss him upon this ocean of life, whatever troubles and adversities may vex him here, his may at last be the peacefulness of the Christian's death; that he may depart in the confidence of a certain faith, in the comfort of a reasonable, religious, and holy hope, in favour with his God, and in perfect charity with the world; that he may “ die the death of the righteous, and that his s last end may be like his !"

My brethren, if this be the wish of any who hear me, you cannot be ignorant what diligence is necessary to make it effectual. That blessed volume which has spread out to our view these glorious scenes, which has opened before us the prospect of a better world, has also marked out the path which will lead us to their possession. Straight is the gate, and narrow is the way.

But I ask, Is not the prize which awaits you worthy of the exertion? Irreligious man, wilt thou not repent to gain it? Thou who art living in sin, wilt thou not reform thy life to secure it? Is the sacrifice too great for the lover of pleasure to seek it? Or is the self-denial excessive, and disproportioned to the reward? Say, votary of this transient and deceitful world. I appeal to the indifferent and the careless, to the covetous and the profligate, to the unholy and the profane, to the intemperate and the passionate, to the dissodute and the revengeful, to all who are indulging in what the Scripture forbids, or neglecting to do that which it commands; and ask them to consider what must be their latter end. To all who are capable of being influenced by motives, I suggest the consideration of the oertainty of death. present it to them as approaching. I press

it upon them as being near at hand. And I urge them, if there be any force of reason, if there be

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any persuasiveness of affection, if there be any sense of duty, if there be any regard to interest and self, if any love of goodness and of God, not to let that hour overtake them unprepared. I exhort them not to be deluded out of their salvation by inoperative intentions, and unpractised resolutions. I beseech them not merely to desire to die the death of the righteous, and there to relinquish all their solicitude and all their efforts, but by faith in Jesus Christ, and unreserved devotion of themselves to his service, to rise nobly to the character of the righteous, and to make sure their calling, and certain their reward. And if the high advantages in death and beyond it, which the Gospel presents, be ineffectual to excite them to diligence in their pursuits, I would point them to that dread alternative which it threatens, indignation and wrath, tribulation and anguish, death eternal, and everlasting contempt, all which are but the wages and consequences of sin, and all which, if God be true, shall assuredly be realized by every soul of man that doeth evil. Timid disciple of Jesus Christ, thou who, working out thy own salyation with fear and trembling, art sometimes startled at the thought of dissolution, and hast not courage to contemplate the ravages of the grave, let the brightness of thy prospect cheer and uphold thee. Let it carry forward thy views to the scenes which await thee beyond the tomb. Let thy faith penetrate the shadows which overhang the valley of death, and disclose to thy view in the opened heavens the Saviour who stands waiting to receive thee there. His promise is sure, that as thy day is, so shall thy strength be; and to his throne thou art invited to come, boldly to obtain grace to help in time of need. Sustained by his power, thou shalt meet calmly the last enemy; and more than conqueror through him that loved thee, shalt participate in the victory which for thee he has achieved. Upon thy brow shall be placed that crown which the Lord himself shall give you in that day. Glory, honour, and immortality, shall be the garments with which he shall invest thee; and in that better land where thy sun shall no more go down, thy portion shall be with the patriarchs and prophets, with the apostles and martyrs, and all the holy saints, in the arms of Christ, in the bosom of felicity, and in the kingdom of God for ever. Therefore, my beloved brethren, ye who aspire to the character and rewards of the righteous, be ye steadfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord. Be ye faithful unto death, and he will give you a crown of life.