in the angels, an absorption of their will in the will of God, and a readiness and completeness of their obedience to his will in all things, which no man on earth, since the fall of our first parents, ever did or ever will exemplify. But although our conformity to the divine will can never equal, yet it may have a good degree of resemblance to that of the holy angels. We ought to endeavour to imitate them; and we may possess a measure of that reverence and aptitude, that fidelity and diligence, that sincerity and pleasure, that zeal, constancy and entire devotedness, with which the superior order of happy spirits in the heavenly world, worship, obey and execute the commands of our common God and Father. The saints on earth and the glorified spirits in heaven, all belong to the same family; for as already intimated, the church on earth is a nursery for heaven. A portion of the heavenly temper must be possessed in this world, by every individual of the human race who is either prepared for, or has any right to expect, an admission to the kingdom of glory above. In a word, as has often and justly been said, heaven must commence on earth; and the more of a heavenly disposition any individual possesses now, the more happy and useful will he be while he remains in the body, and the better will he be prepared for that glorious state on which he will enter, when "mortality shall be swallowed up of life:" and he who does not now desire and endeavour to know, obey and submit to the will of God, in some good measure as the angels do in heaven, has no reason to expect that he will or can be admitted, till better qualified, to the society and bliss of angels and the spirits of just men made perfect. In the expected Millennial age, when pure and undefiled religion before God

and the Father shall be exemplified among all the nations, and kindred and people and tongues of the whole earth, the petition we consider will be answered in all its extent.

This third petition seems to be intended principally as an explanation or illustration of the second; and I shall close the present lecture with the concluding part of the note of Dr. Scott, of which the former part has already been cited. He says, "All the inhabitants of Heaven do the will of God, universally, cheerfully, constantly, perfectly, harmoniously, and without weariness, and with ineffable delight; and we are taught to pray that all the inhabitants of the earth may imitate, and emulate their example; that all men, becoming the disciples and subjects of Christ, may renounce all sin and wickedness, and obey God's commandments with constancy, harmony and alacrity, as angels in heaven do; that an end may be put to all injustice, oppression, fraud, violence, bloodshed, intemperance, licentiousness, ungodliness, malice and contention; and that righteousness, truth, goodness, mercy, purity, love of God and each other, may fill the earth, even as they fill heaven. And what a change would this be! What an extensive petition is this!-At the same time, we are taught to pray, that all men may rejoice in the sovereignty, authority and glory of God, and be contented and satisfied with his appointments respecting them, without envy or ambition; but rejoicing to see others honoured, prospered, and happy, even as the inhabitants of Heaven do. And while we ask such and so many blessings for others, we are taught to ask for this obedient, submissive frame of mind for ourselves, and to seek for it and aim at it, in our whole conduct."

The Testimony of an Infidel.

Reader, are you one of those persons who say that religion is a chimera, that the Bible is a cheat, and who felicitate themselves that they are freed (for that is the word) from the faith by which their fathers were enslaved? If you belong to this class, read the following recital, all the circumstances of which, even the most minute, are perfectly true and authentick. Many persons yet living can testify to the accuracy of this narrative.

M. B― was a resident of London. He possessed distinguished talents, great ability for business, and a considerable fortune. His society was sought after, on account of his naturally gay and frank temper. He might be called a happy man, in the worldly sense of that appellation; for he enjoyed excellent health, and a standing in society not commonly reached. Still he was, in the full sense of the words, an infidel and a blasphemer. His greatest pleasure was to make a mock of religion, and to turn the Bible into ridicule. He seized with eagerness every opportunity of exhibiting his impiety, and of overwhelming with his raillery every one who made a profession of regard to religion. He went to such a length, that not only the pious, but even those who adopted the maxims of the world, were pained by his conduct; and when his friends invited him to their social parties, they often made him promise that he would abstain from all impious discourse -a promise, which, when he had made it, he always faithfully kept.

Thus he lived for many years, always enjoying excellent health,

and every thing that could contribute to his earthly happiness. At tacked by a serious illness, and length he perceived himself atthat in a short time it had made a rapid progress-He was alarmed, and asked with earnestness if he was in danger of death. His friends who saw his fears, and who were themselves afraid that they might hasten his end by apprizing him of his true situation, concealed from him the danger in which he was, and constrained themselves to persuade him that he would soon recover. Some days passed; his illness became more serious; and he continued to make his usual inquiries. At length it was not possible to keep him longer in a false security. His friends announced to him in the gentlest manner, and with the most affectionate precautions, that but little hope remained of his recovery. From that time the wretched B opened his eyes on his state of condemnation. He cried out that his soul was lost; and for some hours, pouring forth continued groanings, he repeated the same cry. After a short interval of repose, he renewed the same declarations, adding that he was now persuaded that the Bible was true, that the Christian religion was a reality, and begging, in deep agony, that his life might be prolonged for a year, for a month, for a week only; that he might testify that his former opinions. were false. When he perceived that his end was approaching, he begged for an hour, a single hour, that he might warn others that he was condemned and lost. At last he cried "I am falling into hell; yes, I am falling there. Oh what flames! what flames! what tortures!" He continued to pour forth these exclamations for three hours, crying and groaning in so frightful a manner that his friends fled far from his dying bed. He expired three days after the dan

ger of his situation was communicated to him; and during this whole time he exhibited such a spectacle of horror and despair as no pen can describe, and no imagination can even conceive.

Reader, have you reflected that you also must die? Ask yourself "Will the opinions which I profess comfort me on my dying bed?" I entreat you, think seriously of this. Repent, and be take yourself to Christ, the only Saviour of the soul. "Flee from the wrath to come."

rather holy joy with which he spoke of the change that awaited him.

Indeed, long before his last illness he had expressed his readiness, and even his desire, to depart and to be with Christ; and the death of a believer he ever regarded as a subject, not of condolence, but of devout congratulation. When I communicated to him, on his own dying bed, the decease of a beloved and pious member of my own family, whom he knew and esteemed, he broke out into a strain of grateful adoration"Praise be to the Lord! Praise be to the Lord!"-and expatiated on her happy deliverance from a

GAMBIER.

Immediately after reading the foregoing article in the Archives, we took up another religious periodical, and the first thing that met our eyes was the following extract from the London Missionary Register for June, taken from a sermon, preached on occasion of the death of ADMIRAL LORD GAMBIER, by the Rev. Edward Ward, of Bucks, in whose parish, after a residence there of several years, Lord Gambier finished his course on earth-What a contrast! How striking! and how instructive, both for the infidel and the Christian believer!

unmixed joy which she was then experiencing in being forever with the Lord!-He truly rejoiced, whenever told of any one being brought near to God; and, having heard of the recovery of a near relative from a dangerous sickness and the spiritual benefit which she had derived from the visitation, he expressed his joy that she had come purified out of the furnace, adding, "She was dear to me before-she is still dearer now."

It cannot be uninteresting, and I trust it will not be unprofitable, if I communicate to you some fragments of the conversations which

I was privileged to hold with this dying saint, shortly before his departure.

In one of my early interviews, he said to me, "My confidence in the Lord Jesus Christ is unshaken"

and then repeated after me, with peculiar animation, those plain and precious promises, which he ever grasped with so firm a hand-Him that cometh to me, I will in no wise cast out-I know in whom I have believed; and am persuaded that He is able to keep that which I have committed unto Him against that day-Neither death nor life, nor things present nor things to come, shall be able to separate us from the

love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Speaking of his enjoyment of the Scriptures, he exclaimed, with something of rapture, "Those glorious Psalms! and that blessed Gospel of St. John!" and, in reference to a Bible meeting in the neighbourhood, at which he had usually presided, he said, "Tell them, they have my best wishes! and tell them that, while I was able, I felt it my bounden duty and delight to support that blessed cause to the utmost of my power, assured that in so doing I was advancing the kingdom of the Redeemer."

On my expressing my grateful recollection of the spiritual communion which I had enjoyed with him, and my hope that it would be renewed in a better world, he replied, "Yes, among the spirits of just men made perfect, and where all tears shall be wiped away." He then, in a very distinct and solemn manner, said "When I am deposited in the ground, you will have to perform the service: YOU WILL SAY SOMETHING OVER ME; PRAY, LET IT BE AS CONCISE AS POSSIBLE; but remember these words-God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life: THAT is my hope: THAT is my Rock of Ages, in the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Ghost."

His sufferings, which were indeed severe, never extorted from him the slightest murmur, nor even a look of repining. "They interrupt my quiet," he said; "but they do not disturb my peace""I cannot say, in my debilitated state, I have a lively exercise of faith, but I have constant communion with my Saviour." And when, on a subsequent occasion, he had repeated the assurance that his mind was kept in peace, and I had prayed that his peace might be as a river, he cried out with joyful

emphasis, "Amen! So be it! and so it will be, to God's glory, and to my peace."

A few days before his decease, the Holy Sacrament was administered to him, together with his sorrowing family. He partook of the sacred rite with marked devotion, audibly repeating a large portion of the service, and adding an expressive "Amen" at the close of almost every prayer; and, on retiring, he said, in his exquisitely kind and endearing manner, "Thank you most kindly, most kindly, for this!"

At length the time of his departure drew nigh; and his relatives, shortly to be bereaved of one so ininestimably dear, assembled for the last time, late in the evening, round his dying bed: prayer, earnest prayer, was offered up, commending his soul into the hands of his Redeemer; and beseeching Him, who has promised never to leave nor to forsake those who trust in Him, to be graciously present with his dying servant, and to let him depart in peace according to his word."

Before the morning dawned, his spirit had winged its flight from this land of darkness and of death, and had become partaker of the inheritance of the saints in light.

Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints, was the exclamation which burst forth from his medical attendant, as he saw him expire.

SKETCH OF HIS CHARACTER.

Let us briefly glance at the character of him, whose well-regulated and well-spent life was crowned by such a peaceful death.

And, first, let me beg you to remark his real unaffected humility -a humility, which shed a pleasing lustre over the other excellencies of his character. Though he had attained the very highest