of good deeds forgotten, and informed of virtues which we never suspected in ourselves?? "Whosoever shall humble himself as a little child, the same shall be greatest in the kingdom of heaven."

Seeing, then, we know that there is such a day approaching, "what manner of persons ought we to be, in all holy conversation and godliness!" Surely, it ought, above all things, to encourage us in that virtue without which no other can exist, that great virtue of sincerity. What man can quietly allow himself in falsehood or equivocation, who knows that his idle words are now recorded, and will be remembered to his confusion; that his false promises will be proclaimed before the assembled universe, and all the treachery of his social intercourse laid bare? What a motive is it to the utmost simplicity and ingenuousness of character, that God is not, for a moment, deceived by that equivocation which marks the conduct of many men who have their points to gain, but who are not otherwise absolutely corrupt!

Again; the thought of a judgment to come ought to be a restraint upon every excess of sensuality, every tendency to profligacy. Look up, O sinner, in the heat of thy passion, when the sound of mirth has lulled, and the tide of pleasure begun to ebb,-for thou hast known such moments, look up, and see the writing on the wall: "This night thy soul shall be required of thee; then whose shall these things be?" And where shalt thou be? Wilt thou go and present thyself in the robes of thy guilt before the tribunal of thy God?

Let the thought of this scene of final trial lessen our pride and vanity; for at that bar men will appear as they are, and not as we have thought them to be. What then?

Will the petty distinctions, of which we are so ambitious, the beauty, the fine form, the grace of action, the wealth, the splendor, the whole apparatus of human vanity, disappear, and leave not a fragment for our complacent regard to fix upon in that great day? What is it, then, my hearers, that so many of us are contending for, praying, sinning, living, and dying for? "The fashion of this world passeth away."

The thought of this day, when the secret sorrows of so many hearts will be revealed, should guard us against all uncharitableness; "for with what judgment we judge shall we be judged, and with what measure we mete shall it be measured to us again." Where is the man who would not shrink to have his own heart laid bare before the very meanest creature whom he has regarded uncharitably? My friends, in that day we shall indeed stand in need of favor; we shall not disdain the complacent regard of the most humble of our fellow-creatures.

If these considerations teach us charity, how much more should they teach us forgiveness! Have we ever thought how much we have to be forgiven; and can we, with a debt of a thousand talents unpaid, oppress a poor creature who has besought us to have patience with him till he could discharge his hundred pence?

Lastly, the belief of this judgment to come should not only fortify our minds against unjust accusations, and unexpected misfortunes, but it should also inspire us with the utmost submission and contentment under the changing and unequal circumstances of the present life. Especially let those take comfort, whose fond hopes in others have been blasted. This maze of events, so dark and unaccountable to human apprehension, will then be cleared

up to the eye of faith and pity. Meanwhile, let us "not be deceived; God is not mocked; for whatsoever a man soweth here "that shall he also reap" hereafter. Though the righteous be prevented by death, yet shall he be at rest," and "the sinner, though an hundred years old, shall be accused." Be not governed by present appearances; judge nothing before the time; wait the issue of this scene of probation; for "it is appointed unto men once to die, and, after this, the judgment.”

SERMON V.

1 CORINTHIANS XIII. 10.

1

WHEN THAT WHICH IS PERFECT IS COME, THEN THAT WHICH IS IN PART SHALL BE DONE AWAY.

THE contemplation of the life to come is the frequent employment of every Christian whose faith in the gospel is firm and practical. The discipline of Christianity is rendered effectual by presenting to us motives drawn from another life, adapted to overcome the temptations, and to support the trials of the present.

A subject, then, which must naturally present itself so often to the minds of the Christian, ought to be as distinctly and justly comprehended as the information of Scripture, and the suggestions of reason, will allow. It was, no doubt, intended by the Author of our salvation, to leave his followers the most satisfactory assurance of a future life; but he has furnished us with no more definite ideas of the nature and mode of that life than are necessary for the practical influence of the general truth. Still, it is permitted us to put together the scattered intimations contained in Scripture, and compare them with the suggestions of reason and the analogies to which we can have access, and thus to form some faint notions of the future world. Though the remarks, which will now be offered to you, may fall short of the indistinct and exalted conceptions you may have formed

of the future state of existence, they will not, I hope, be thought contradictory to the most obvious meaning of the Scripture language, which is highly figurative, or to the suggestions of the soundest reason.

It is, indeed, impossible for us to conceive of a future life, except according to the ideas which we have derived from our present condition, or to express them in any other words than such as convey sensible images. My object in this discourse will be, not so much to give definite conceptions of scenes which we can know only after our departure from this life, as to guard against some erroneous imaginations which may render our belief in a future existence less efficacious than it ought to be.

In the first place, then, wherever we may exist hereafter, we shall not cease to be men. Our human nature will not be changed into the angelic, nor shall we constitute a different order of beings. It is true, our Lord has said, that they, who are "worthy to attain that world, neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are as the angels of God." This change, however, in our condition, results, as we may well suppose, from our freedom from these material bodies; and the language of our Savior is rather a precaution against the sensual fancies of those who would transfer to heaven the delights of a terrestrial paradise than any specific description of the future world. We shall not, however, be transformed into a superior order of spirits, as angels are imagined to be; for, if this were to be the case, there would be no propriety in saying that we should be like them.

What, then! are not all our imperfections to be removed? Are we to continue to be frail, limited, finite creatures? Must we still be men? I hope there is no presumption in