warmth, and activity, never revisit them to scatter the night which closes over their silent dwelling? Brethren, extend your views beyond the short term of terrestial existence, and behold the innumerable multitudes of ransomed saints celebrating their triumph over death and over hell. The hopes of heaven and the promises of Jesus, overcame their fears of death. “For I know that my Redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth; and though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God."*"I am the Resurrection and the Life," saith the Lord; "whosoever liveth and believeth on me shall never die." "In my Father's house are many mansions. I go to prepare a place for you. Because I live, you shall live also."+ "For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead. "For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive." This is the doctrine-these are the hopes; and these the promises which brighten the prospect of futurity. Under the influence of these, pious men in every age have seen the approach of death without concern: and you, believers in Jesus, you shall one day feel their sacred energy dispelling many of those poignant griefs which infest the chamber of death, and preparing you to resign the dearest joys of earth for the superior joys of heaven. The grave, to others the dreaded receptacle of corruption, shall present itself to you as the refuge of the unhappy. Once it was consecrated by the presence of your Lord and Master, whose steps you follow; and sacred in his sight is the dust of his servants. In this peaceful asylum you shall rest safe from the storms of time, and in the full assurance of a happy immortality. As God liveth, who hath revealed the glorious truth, that body which was once the residence of a regenerated soul, and the temple of the Holy Ghost, shall not be forever in ruins. For "the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and you shall be

* Job, xix. 25. †John, xi. 25. John, xiv. 2. 19. §1 Cor. xv. 22.

C

thanged." You shall leave in the grave, disease, pollution, sin, and sorrow. "That which was sown in corrup tion, shall be raised in incorruption; that which was sown in dishonour, shall be raised in glory; that which was sown in weakness, shall be raised in power; that which was sown a natural body, shall be raised a spiritual body." Yes; "there is a time appointed when the year of the redeemed shall come; when the everlasting morning shall dawn; when ́ the voice of the Son of God shall pierce the caverns of the tomb; shall be heard over the dominions of the dead; shall reanimate the ashes of all that ever lived upon the earth; and raise a glorious and immortal army from the bosom of corruption."+ Whilst the rest of the world, whose sins are ripe for the just retribution of the Almighty, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone, which is the second death; those who have Christ, shall be received up to meet their Lord in the heavens. They shall live and reign with him forever in as high a state of glory as the human understanding can conceive. That renewal of their nature which was begun in this life, shall then be com pleted; and by the second Adam they shall be crowned with far greater felicity than they forfeited in the first. The curse of disobedience shall not poison the springs of their joy. Sin shall not retard them in their progress to perfection. Repentance shall have no office in that world where all is holy, harmless, and undefiled. "There shall be no more death-no more sorrow-no more pain-for the former things are passed away." "Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoiceth; my flesh also shall rest in hope; for thou wilt not leave me to perish with the impenitent; thou wilt shew me the path of life; in thy presence is fulness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures forever more."|| The lapse of everlasting ages shall not diminish the duration of my felicity; for "the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord."§ Visions of horour, that have so often •1 Cor. xv. 42. †1 Cor. xv. 42. #Logan's sermons. ¡Psalm, xvi. §Rom. vi. 23.

appalled the heart of unhappy man, where are you now? Be fore the cross of our Redeemer you vanish. Where now,

O! Death, is thy sting? By his Almighty power who hath led captivity captive, thy sceptre is broken-thy throne subverted--and thy dominions shaken to their centre. "How hath the oppressor ceased! Is this the mighty one that made the earth to tremble; that did shake kingdoms; that made the world as a wilderness, and destroyed the cities thereof; that opened not the house of his prisoners?"* Hear, O heavens! and give ear, O earth! He who smote the people in wrath with a continual stroke; he who ruled the nations in anger; he who carried desolation through the works of God; is "swallowed up in victory"-his glory is departed→→ his empire is no more-Thanks be to God who giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ."+

As we are all candidates for immortality, there cannot be a more interesting question than that which the text naturally suggests: are we entitled to the character expressed in those inspired words, "He that hath the Son?" We can be at no loss to discover that to have the Son, in the sententious and energetic style of this Apostle, is to believe saving. ly in Jesus Christ. If God, in his providence, hath brought into the congregation of his people any to whom this char acter does not belong, they will not be offended, if we address a few words to them in all charity and brotherly kindness. Fellow-travellers with you through a valley of sorrows, we cannot be indifferent to your fate. It matters not as to the present question, whether, unrestrained by the checks of conscience, you avowedly reject all faith in revealed religion; or whether, which is more probable, you have a name to live while you are dead, and are to be ranked with that numerous class of men, whose religious belief is at best but speculative, and unproductive of the fruits that flourish in the soil of vital christianity. Your prospects in either case are alike gloomy. Undisguised infidelity, and

Isaiah, xiv. † 1 Cor, xv. 57.

unproductive faith, however the last may surpass the other in certain particulars which need not be noticed here, are equally foreign to that eternal life to which our text alludes. Future misery is your inevitable portion. And can you be happy in the anticipation of future misery? Can you be happy even under the surmise of which you cannot divest yourselves that you may be miserable hereafter? What constitutes the balm of existence? It is hope. Hope guides the wanderer through this world's wilderness, and as the darkness of the night increases, emits a brighter beam to illuminate his path. But what is your hope? It is even as the giving up of the ghost. After a life spent in toil and anxiety, or exhausted by the repetition of cloying pleasures; a life embittered by the pains and diseases of a dying body, and the pangs of an accusing conscience; death puts an end to all your expectations, and the clods of the valley cover you. Hope never dispels the shades of midnight which enwrap the grave of the impenitent. The silence of that abode is interrupted only by the voice of the Archangel calling the dead to judgment. But what emotion, think you, will that signal excite in your breasts? Shall it be hope? Ah, no! At the sound of the last trumpet, despair commences his everlasting reign; and none who reject the counsel of God now; none who lightly esteem the mystery of the cross; none, but true believers, shall escape the retribution of despair. Do you mistrust this representation? "He that hath not the Son, hath not life." They are the words immediatlely following the text--the words of the venerable John. "He that believeth not, shall be damned."*--They are the words of the Son of God.

But from a theme so melancholy, I turn with pleasure to congratulate the faithful disciples of the crucified Jesus.

Wisdom will be justified of her children. "He that hath the Son, hath life." Yours are the sceptres and the palms of Paradise. Let not fears agitate-let not doubts perplex * Mark, xvi. 16.

you. Know in whom you have trusted, and be persuaded that he is able to keep that which you have committed to him, till that day. Happy Christians! "Who shall lay any thing to your charge? It is God that justifieth. Who shall condemn you? It is Christ that died; yea, rather that is risen again; who is even at the right hand of God; who also maketh intercession for you. Who shall separate you from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? Nay, in all these things you are more than conquerours through him that loved you."* Exposed to the malignity of hell, to the temptations of the world, and to the remains of that body of death from which you are, in this state, but partially delivered; faithful memory will upbraid you with many an unguarded trespass, with many good deeds omitted, and many evil ones perpetrated. But be not disquieted or cast down. Let faith unfold the gates of the Temple, and shew you the Priest-the Altar-and the Holy Victim. Look forward Christians. A few more struggles, and your enemies perish: a few more storms, and the sun shall break forth: a few more clouds, and all will be serene forever. The day is fast approaching "when your warfare shall be accomplished; when sin and sorrow shall be no more; when the sackcloth of the penitent shall be exchanged for a robe of glory, and every tear become a gem in his crown; when sighs and groans shall give place to the hallelujahs of the blest, and faith shall be resolved into the vision of the Almighty."

* Rom. viii. 33, 34, 35, 37. † Bishop Horne.