fect character of goodness, as might extort from him an acknowledgment of its excellency, and force him to contrast with it his own past history and present condition. Whilst his mental eye is held in fascination by this glorious vision, he cannot but feel the anguish of remorse; he cannot but feel that he is at fearful strife with some mighty and mysterious being, whose power has compelled even his own heart to execute vengeance on him; nor can he hide from himself the loathsomeness and pollution of that spiritual pestilence which has poisoned every organ of his moral constitution. He can hope to escape from this wretchedness, only by withdrawing his gaze from the appalling brightness; and, in this world, such an attempt can generally be made with success. But suppose him to be placed in such circumstances that there should be no retreat-no diversity of objects which might divert or divide his attention-and that, wherever he turned, he was met and fairly confronted by this threatening Spirit of Goodness, it is impossible that he could have any respite from misery, except in a respite from existence. If this should be the state of things in the next world, we may form some conception of the union there between vice and misery. Whilst we stand at a distance from a furnace,

the effect of the heat on our bodies gives us little uneasiness; but, as we approach it, the natural opposition manifests itself, and the pain is increased by every step that we advance. The complicated system of this world's business and events, forms, as it were, a veil before our eyes, and interposes a kind of moral distance between us and our God, through which the radiance of his character shines but indistinctly, so that we can withhold our attention from it if we will: The opposition which exists between his perfect holiness and our corrupt propensities, does not force itself upon us at every step: His views and purposes may run contrary to ours; but as they do not often meet us in the form of a direct and personal encounter, we contrive to ward off the conviction that we are at hostility with the Lord of the Universe, and think that we may enjoy ourselves in the intervals of these much-dreaded visitations, without feeling the necessity of bringing our habits into a perfect conformity with his. But when death removes this veil, by dissolving our connexion with this world and its works, we may be brought into a closer and more perceptible contact with Him who is of purer eyes than to behold iniquity. In that spiritual world, we may suppose, that each event, even the minutest part of the whole system of government, will bear such an unequivocal stamp of the Divine character, that an intelligent being, of opposite views and feelings, will at every moment feel itself galled and thwarted and borne down by the direct and overwhelming encounter of this all-pervading and almighty mind. And here it should be remembered, that the Divine government does not, like human authority, skim the surface, nor content itself with an unresisting exterior and professions of submission; but comes. close to the thoughts, and carries its summons to the affections and the will, and penetrates to those recesses of the soul, where, whilst we are in this world, we often take a pride and a pleasure in fostering the unyielding sentiments of hatred and contempt, even towards that superiority of force which has subdued and fettered and silenced us.

The man who believes in revelation, will, of course, receive this view as the truth of God; and even the unbeliever in revelation, if he admits the existence of an almighty being of a perfect moral character, and if he see no unlikelihood in the supposition that the mixture of good and evil, and the process of moral discipline connected with it, are to cease with this

stage of our being, even he cannot but feel that there is a strong probability in favour of such an anticipation.

We

We see, then, how vicious men may be happy to a certain degree in this world, and yet be miserable in the next, without supposing any very great alteration in the general system of God's government, and without taking into account any thing like positive infliction as the cause of their misery. And it may be observed, that this view gives to vice a form and an extent and a power very different from what is generally ascribed to it amongst men. are here conversant chiefly about externals; and therefore the name of vice is more commonly applied to external conduct than to internal character. But, in the world of spirits, it is not so. There, a dissonance in principle and object from the Father of Spirits, constitutes vice, and is identified with unhappiness. So that a man who has here passed a useful and dignified life, upon principles different from those of the Divine character, must, when under the direct action of that character, feel a want of adjustment and an opposition which cannot but mar or exclude happiness. Thus,

also, the effects of pride, of vanity, or of selfishness, when combined with prudence, may often be most beneficial in the world; and yet, if these principles are in opposition to God's character, they must disqualify the minds in which they reign for participating in the joys of heaven. The joys of heaven are described in Scripture to consist in a resemblance to God, or in a cheerful and sympathizing submission to his will; and as man naturally follows the impulse of his own propensities, without reference to the will of God, it is evident that a radical change of principle is necessary, in order to capacitate him for that happiness.

It was to produce this necessary and salutary change, that the gospel was sent from Heaven. It bears upon it the character of God. It is not, therefore, to be wondered at, that those whose principles are opposed to that character, should also be opposed to the gospel. Christianity thus anticipates the discoveries of death: It removes the veil which hides God from our sight; it brings the system of the spiritual world to act upon our consciences; it presents us with a specimen of God's higher and interior government; it gives us a nearer view of his character in its true proportions, and thus marks out to us the points in which we differ from him; it condemns with his authority; it smiles and invites with his uncom