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obedience to his revealed will. Here again particular description is impossible; for eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither "have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them "that love him." Enough, however, is said in the gospel, one might well imagine, to induce every reasonable soul to labour after righteousness and its rewards, with zeal unquenchable, and perseverance unconquerable; with a courage that will brave every terror, and a patience that will endure every trial, opposing or befalling us in our way to Immanuel's land. A change of the perishable earthly tabernacle, in which the soul now dwells, for a glorified and imperishable body, will be the introduction of the redeemed, through Jesus Christ, into life eternal; a clothing to render them meet associates for saints and angels; and duly garmented for "the marriage of the "Lamb." Adieu then, for ever adieu, to the pangs that torture, and the infirmities that enfeeble, this form of clay; to the painful days, and "wearisome nights," allotted to mortal dust and ashes;" to the weakness of infancy, and the decrepitude of age; to the fading strength, and the failing intellect; to the sorrows of sickness, and the agonies of dissolving

nature; for then shall "this corruptible "put on incorruption;" "this mortal put "on immortality;" and "death be swal"lowed up in victory."

"The resurrection of life" will ensure everlasting peace to the redeemed soul. That the spirit of man is liable to be wounded through a variety of channels, is a fact familiar to the experience of all those who have advanced far on the road of life; for since the entrance of moral and natural evil into the world by the fall of Adam, its path has been so choaked with noxious weeds, as well as garnished with beauteous flowers, as fully to justify the inspired writers in their affecting representations of its general aspect. When considered,

indeed, as an introduction to an immortal state; as the threshold of the temple of eternal rest, life is a boon of the highest value, and the greatest consequence; but it may well be doubted, whether, under many circumstances, it would be "good for

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us to be here," had we not to look forward to a better and more enduring state hereafter, purchased for "the people of God," by the blood of the atonement ;" to "a city which hath foundations, whose "builder and maker is God."

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"We are fearfully and wonderfully

"made," and the complicated piece of mechanism is continually liable to disorder and destruction; to "sore disease," and incurable agony; to a failure of the corporal organs; and a shipwreck of the intellectual powers.

We are endowed with strong and tender affections, (the sources, it is true, of high and holy joy,) which link our souls with the souls of others, the objects of our friendship or our love. But ah! how often is the chain abruptly broken, and the heart desolated, by the inevitable law of nature, or the fluctuations of human caprice; by unexpected death, or treacherous profes sion; when we follow " our beloved ones" to the grave; or mourn the falsehood of those with whom we were wont to take "sweet counsel," and "walk in the house "of God as friends."

We are endowed with conscience; a principle of inestimable value, the monitor to tell us of our sins, and warn us of their consequences. But how often does this principle, when neglected as the counsellor, become the executioner of "the wounded

spirit;" planting within it "the arrows "of the Almighty;" and pursuing it to the last hour with "whips and scorpions;" with "a certain looking-for of judgment

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"and fiery indignation," that dries up spring of life, and withers all its satisfactions.

"The resurrection of life," however, will bring with it an eternal cure for all these mortal evils. More healing than the waters of Jordan, or the pool of Bethesda, it will give ever-blooming health to the glorified body, and undecaying freshness to the purified spirit; it will sanctify and strengthen all our best affections; it will renew and perpetuate all our virtuous attachments; and shed abroad upon the sorelysmitten heart that " peace of God which passeth all understanding" "God shall wipe away all tears from our eyes; and "there shall be no more death; neither sorrow, nor crying; neither shall there "be any more pain; for the former things" will be passed away.”

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Finally, "the resurrection of life" will crown the redeemed with unfading and everlasting glory.

How false are the estimates of man! How frequently is his praise lavished, and his admiration fixed, upon the worthless and the vile! upon external qualities, which,

like painted sepulchres," "appear beau"tiful outward," but conceal beneath them the most hideous principles; and on actions

which charm, indeed, the sickly fancy, and captivate the wayward passions, of the misjudging multitude, but are stamped in the Book of God with the mark of condemnation! While the humble and the meek of the earth, they whose "meat and drink it "is" to do the will of their Father which is in heaven, and to promote the best interests of their brethren upon earth, are too often neglected or despised; pointed at by "the finger of scorn, or regarded as the objects of ridicule. But "the hour is "coming," when all these moral irregularities will be rectified; when "the crooked

shall be made straight;" religious and moral worth find its proper level, and receive the stupendous reward of "that "honour which cometh from God alone;" when humiliation shall be exchanged for glory; and the humble, practical Christian "shine as the stars for ever and ever :" for it is the promise of inspiration to all patient "doers of the word," that "when Christ," their "life, shall appear, then shall they also appear with him in glory."

It is the question of an Apostle, my Christian brethren, claiming and deserving our deepest attention, "if these things be "so," "what manner of persons ought we "to be in all holy conversation and godli