hind the dregs of their nature; and exchange this confined and gloomy apartment of the universe, for the glorious mansions of their Father's house. Blessed, surely, are the dying in this hope, and blessed the dead in this fruition, resting from their lalabours, and followed by their works. Good men are detained at present in the outer court of the temple: Death admits them into the holy place. As yet, they sojourn in the territories of pilgrimage and exile. Death brings them home to the native land of Spirits. In this world, they are divided from one another, and mingled with the worthless and vile: Death unites in one assembly all the pure and the just. In the sight of the universe they seemed to die, and their departure was taken for utter destruction. But they are in peace. Their reward also is with the Lord, and the care of them with the Most High.* -O Death! where is now thy sting? O Grave, where is thy victory! Where are the terrors with which thou hast so long affrighted the nations? Where are thy dreary and desolate domains, the haunts of spectres and shades, the abhorred dwellings of darkness and corruption? At the touch of the divine rod, the visionary horrors have fled. The spell is broken. The dawn of the celestial morning has dispelled thy dismal gloom; and, instead of the habitations of dragons, appears the paradise of God.

BUT supposing both the regret of quitting life, and the dread of entering into a future state, to be overcome, there is still one circumstance which renders death formidable to many; that is, the shock which nature is apprehending to sustain at the separation of the soul from the body. Formidable, I admit, this may justly render it to them whose languishing spirits have no inward fund whence they can then draw relief. Firmness and strength of mind are peculiarly requisite for the support of nature in its last extremity; and that strength is supplied by religion. The testimony of a good conscience, and the remembrance of a virtuous life, a well-grounded trust in the divine acceptance, and a firm hope of future felicity, are principles sufficient to give composure and fortitude to the heart, even in the midst of agony. In what a high degree they can suspend or alleviate the feelings of pain, has been fully demonstrated, by the magnanimous behaviour of such as have suffered death in the cause of conscience and religion. How often has the world beheld them advancing to meet that supposed king of terrors, not with calmness only, but with joy; raised by divine prospects and hopes, into an entire neglect and contempt of bodily suffering?

It is not without reason that a peculiar assistance from heaven is looked for by good men at the hour of death. As they taught to believe, that in all their emergencies of their life

* Wisdom of Solomon, iii. 2, 3.-v. 15.

divine goodness has watched over them, they have ground to conclude, that at the last it will not forsake them; but that, at the season when its aid is most needed, it shall be most liberally communicated. Accordingly, a persuasion so congruous to the benignity and compassion of the Father of mercies, has been the comfort of pious men in every age. My flesh and my heart faileth; but God is the strength of my heart. In the valley of the shadow of death I will fear no evil, for thou art with me. When the rod and staff of this Shepherd of Israel are held forth to his expiring servants, declining nature needs no other support. The secret influence of his reviving Spirit is sufficient for their consolation and strength, while the painful struggle with mortality lasts; till at length when the moment arrives that the silver cord must be loosed, and the golden bowl be broken, their Almighty Protector carries off the immortal spirit unhurt by the fall of its earthly tabernacle, and places it in a better mansion. How respectable and happy is such a conclusion of human life, when one in this manner quits the stage of time, honoured and supported with the presence of his Creator, and enjoying till the last moment of reflection, the pleasing thought, that he has not lived in vain! I have fought a good fight; I have finished my course; I have kept the faith. Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord the righteous Judge shall give me at that day.*

AFTER the view which we have taken of the advantages possessed by good men for overcoming the fears of death, the first sentiment which should arise in our minds, is gratitude to Heaven for the hopes which we enjoy by means of the Christian religion. How depressed and calamitous was the human condition, as long as the terror of death hung, like a dark cloud, over the inhabitants of the earth; when, after all the toils of life, the melancholly silence of the grave appeared finally to close the scene of existence; or, if a future state opened behind it, that state teemed with all those forms of horror which conscious guilt could suggest to a terrified imagination! The happiest change which ever took place in the circumstances of the human race, is that produced by the discoveries with which we are blessed, concerning the government of the universe, the redemption of the world, and the future destination of man. How much dignity is thereby added to the human character, and state! What light and cheerfulness is introduced into our abode! What eternal praise is due to Him, who, according to his abundant mercy, hath begotten us again into a lively hope, by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance incorruptible, undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven!

* 2 Tim. iv. 7, 8.

THE next effect which the subject we have considered should produce, is an earnest desire to acquire those advantages which good men enjoy at their death. The road which leads to them is plain and obvious. A peaceful and happy death is, by the appointment of Heaven connected with a holy and virtuous life. Let us renounce criminal pursuits and pleasures; let us fear God, and keep his commandments; let us hold faith and a good conscience, if we hope for comfort at our last hour. To prepare for this last hour every wise man should consider as his most important concern. Death may justly be held the test of life. Let a man have supported his character with esteem and applause, as long as he acted on the busy stage of the world, if at the end he sinks into dejection and terror, all his former honour is effaced; he departs under the imputation of either a guilty conscience or a pusillanimous mind. In the other parts of human conduct, disguise and subtlety may impose on the world; but seldom can artifice be supported in the hour of death. The mask most commonly falls off, and the genuine character appears. When we behold the scene of life closed with proper composure and dignity, we naturally infer integrity and fortitude. We are led to believe that divine assistance supports the soul, and we presage its transition into a happier mansion. Mark the perfect man, and behold the upright; for the end of that man is peace."

*

THE last instruction, which our subject points out, respects the manner in which a wise and good man ought to stand affected towards life and death. He ought not to be servilely attached to the one. He has no reason abjectly to dread the other. Life is the gift of God, which he may justly cherish and hold dear. Nay, he is bound by all fair means to guard and preserve it, that he may continue to be useful in that post of duty where Providence has placed him. But there are higher principles to which the love of life should remain subordinate.— Wherever religion, virtue, or true honour, call him forth to danger, life ought to be hazarded without fear. There is a generous contempt of death, which should distinguish those who live and walk by the faith of immortality. This is the source of courage in a Christian. His behaviour ought to show the elevation of his soul above the present world; ought to discover the liberty which he possesses, of following the native sentiments of his mind, without any of those restraints and fetters which the fear of death imposes on vicious men.

At the same time, this rational contempt of death must carefully be distinguished from that inconsiderate and thoughtless indifference, with which some have affected to treat it. This is

* Psalm xxxvii. 37.

Human

what cannot be justified on any principle of reason. life is no trifle, which men may play away at their pleasure. Death, in every view, is an important event. It is the most solemn crisis of the human existence. A good man has reason to meet it with a calm and firm mind. But no man is entitled to treat it with ostentatious levity. It calls for manly seriousness of thought. It requires all the recollection of which we are capable; that with the proper disposition of dependent beings, when the dust is about to return to its dust, we may deliver up the spirit to Him who gave it.

SERMON XXIV.

ON THE HAPPINESS OF A FUTURE STATE.

[Preached at the Celebration of the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper.]

After this I beheld, and, lo! a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands.-REVELATIONS, Vii. 9.

IN this mysterious book of Scripture many revolutions are foretold, which were to take place in the church of God. They are not indeed so foretold as to afford clear and precise information concerning the time of their coming to pass. It would have been, on many accounts, improper to have lifted up too far that awful veil which covers futurity. The intention of the Spirit of God was not to gratify the curiosity of the learned, by disclosing to them the fate of monarchies and nations, but to satisfy the serious concerning the general plan, and final issue of the divine government. Amidst those distresses which befel Christians during the first ages, the discoveries made in this book were peculiarly seasonable; as they showed that there was an Almighty Guardian, who watched with particular attention over the interests of the church which he had formed, who foresaw all the commotions which were to happen among the kingdoms of the earth, and would so overrule them as to promote in the end the cause of truth. This is the chief scope of those mystic visions with which the Apostle John was favoured; of seals opened in Heaven; of trumpets sounding; and vials poured forth. The kingdom of darkness was to maintain for a while a violent struggle against the kingdom of light. But at the conclusion, a voice was to be heard as the voice of many waters and of mighty