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of the felicities of glory. Considerations these of immense worth,-' compared to which all other is to man, condemned, as he is, shortly to die, but puerile amusement, a house of cards, a bubble blown up into the air, and displaying deceitful colours in a momentary sunshine.'

What strong encouragement, therefore, what sublime pleasure must it afford the weary pilgrim, labouring under the infirmities of decaying nature, to reflect that the period is fast approaching when the soul, released from the bondage of corruption, shall be completely sanctified; all its faculties enlarged; all its powers invigorated; when every perplexing doubt, every anxious fear, every distracting care, shall be banished for ever; when nothing shall divide his heart, or interrupt his worship; but, having entered into rest, he shall joyfully unite in singing with all the ransomed of the Lord, Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood, and hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father: to him be glory and dominion for ever Amen.'

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and ever.

But, though the saints of the Most High be now despised and rejected; though they be accounted by the wicked as the refuse and offscouring of all things, and their end to be without honour, this will not always be the case. No; when put into possession of the new Jerusalem, it may be said with an emphasis, they shall no more be termed forsaken-for God, their everlasting Father, will dwell with them, and they shall be his people. He will wipe away all tears from their eyes. There shall be no more sorrow, neither shall there be any more pain, for the former things are passed Then shall they review with grateful hearts, all the way in which the Lord led them in the wilderness; the way in which they were frequently discouraged; in which they had enemies powerful and numerous to encounter, and concerning whom it shall be sung with triumph, "We are more than conquerors through him that loved us.'

away.

We are, it is true, in the present state, absent from the Lord; we walk by faith, not by sight. God hath put a distance between the

promise and the performance, so that it may be said, in a comparative view, that the present life is rather a life of hope than of enjoyment; and that the good things he gives relate more to the future than the present.' But in the realms of glory and of blessedness, the saints will see face to face, and know even as also they are known. The glories of the celestial city are viewed through a glass darkly; but in the full fruition of God, their eyes shall see the King in all his beauty. They shall exult in the full display of his infinite perfections, and stand astonished at the breadth and length, the depth and height, of the love of Christ; while they joyfully experience the accomplishment of his own prayer, 'Father, I will that they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am; that they may behold my glory, which thou hast given me.'

The felicity of the saints on earth is frequently interrupted, and always imperfect.But in the heavenly world it will be perpetual, vigorous, and complete. For could their happy souls look forward to a moment that should

terminate their bliss, the prospect would strike a damp on every enjoyment-it would fill them with horrour. But a thought like this can never enter the mansions where perfection reigns and glory triumphs. Their happiness will be unspeakable, immutable, and eternal. They will be subjects of an everlasting kingdom. Their inheritance will be incorruptible. They will be ever with the Lord, in whose presence there is fulness of joy, and at whose right hand there are pleasures for evermore.'

Such are the prospects and such the pleasures exhibited by the scriptures to invigorate faith and inspire hope with confidence. 'For what is death to that mind which considers eternity as the career of its existence ? What are the frowns of fortune to him who claims an eternal world as his inheritance? What is the loss of friends to that heart which feels, with more than natural conviction, that it shall quickly rejoin them in a more tender, intimate, and permanent intercourse than any of which the present life is susceptible? What are the fluctuations and vicissitudes of external things to

a mind which strongly and uniformly antici pates a state of endless and immutable felicity? What are mortifications, disappointments, and insults, to a spirit which is conscious of being the original offspring and adopted child of God; which knows that its omnipotent Father will, in proper time, effectually assert the dig nity and privileges of its nature? In a word, as earth is but a speck of creation, as time is not an instant in proportion to eternity, such are the hopes and prospects of the christian in comparison of every sublunary misfortune or difficulty. It is, therefore, in his judgment the eternal wonder of angels, and indelible opprobrium of man, that a religion so worthy of God, so suitable to the frame and circumstances of our nature, so consonant to all the dictates of reason, so friendly to the dignity and improvement of intelligent beings, pregnant with genuine comfort and delight, should be rejected and despised.'

That there remaineth a rest to the people of God, the christian has no doubt. O happy state! Surely the hope of enjoying it must administer

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