results from their being holy states; holiness is happiness. On the contrary, if we cherish unhallowed motives, evil and sensual thoughts, sinful desires, and unholy affections, we are miserable; these are tormenting states of the soul; the misery results from their being wicked states; wickedness is misery. The soul, then, was made for goodness, and we infer from its very nature, that it must be holy before it can be happy even here.

Revelation teaches that the soul is immortal, and there is good reason to believe that it enters the next world as it leaves this; with all its habits of thought and feeling and affection as here formed; with all its moral character as here decided. For if the soul, when it enters the other world, loses its remembrance of a former state, it in effect is not the same soul; it is not immortal; and this world has no connexion with another. But all this is contradicted by both reason and revelation, and it seems morally certain that on beginning another existence, the soul will be the same, and bear the same character as when it leaves this. If so, and its happiness here depends almost wholly on its goodness, then its happiness must depend on the same cause there. Holiness must produce happiness, and sin misery. For God, being unchangeable, will remain the same; the principles of his government, being eternal, will remain unchanged; the soul, being immortal, will remain unaltered in its nature, and in its capacity for suffering and enjoyment, and the distinction between right and wrong, holiness and sin, will be as lasting as eternity.

Again; the nature of heavenly happiness is such that it cannot be enjoyed without holiness. Heaven is a state of purity; the abode of the spirits of just men made perfect, of an innumerable company of angels, of Jesus the Mediator of the new covenant, and of God, the Judge of all. To enjoy such society, to be happy with such beings, we must be in some degree like them; we must have similar dispositions and desires; we must be qualified for their employments and pleasures. If we live a life of active goodness, we shall be, in some humble degree, like them, and have the most ardent desires to become still more perfect. But if we pay no sincere regard to goodness, or to God, in this world, how can we find happiness in practising goodness and loving God at our entrance into the future world? How can a wicked person enjoy spiritual and heavenly society? If a man loves himself and earthly objects supremely till his very entrance into eternity, can he then

immediately transfer his affections to the Saviour and to God? Can he then immediately change all his habits of thought, feeling, and action, and bring himself, at once, to delight in the purity and occupations of heaven? Or can he, with selfish desires, earthly propensities, undisciplined passions, and evil habits, be a proper companion for those holy spirits, who love God supremely, and their associated spirits as themselves? No. Before he can be happy in the society of pure and holy spirits, he must himself be pure and holy.

The foregoing arguments are confirmed by the general scope and object of the New Testament. The most careless perusal must convince any one, that all things there contained; all the doctrines and truths there revealed; all the entreaties, exhortations, warnings, promises there given; all the instructions, labors, and sufferings of Jesus and his apostles there recorded, were designed to effect one great purpose; that of turning mankind from ignorance, error, and wickedness, to knowledge, truth, and goodness. And all this is intended, not certainly for the benefit of God, for he is a perfect being and cannot be benefited by his creatures, but for the benefit of his rational children; because ignorance, error, and sin make them miserable; punish them; while knowledge, truth, and holiness make them happy; reward them.

God is no respecter of persons, but will render unto every man according to his deeds. But is this the case in the present life? Is there an equal distribution of the means of improvement and happiness? This no one will pretend. Then there is not an equal distribution of rewards and punishments; for christian rewards consist in knowledge and goodness, and these cannot be acquired without the means. If, then, there is justice in God, if he is an impartial parent of all his children, as the scriptures assert, he will rectify these inequalities in a future existence, where sin will receive its just punishment, holiness its just reward. This impression will be left on the mind of every candid reader of the New Testament. It is therefore unnecessary to quote particular passages to confirm this statement. It is sufficient to repeat the apostolic declaration, that without holiness no man shall see the Lord.

Perhaps it may be asked, how is future misery consistent with the known benevolence of God? God, it may be said, is perfectly benevolent; he wills the happiness of all his children ; he is a perfect being; his will must therefore be accomplished;

and his rational offspring saved from any future punishment. This is not a legitimate conclusion. That God is perfectly benevolent, I grant; he is infinite love. That he wills the salvation or happiness of his children, I also grant; his perfections do not permit him to will any thing but happiness. That all his children are happy here, or will be so at their entrance into eternity, I do not grant; for the following reasons. He wills our temporal happiness as much, and in the same manner, as he wills our eternal happiness. Yet we are not all happy in this world. There are many whom sin renders miserable. They are not so because God so willed, or so made them; but because they have made themselves so; have abused their moral freedom; have followed their own perverse wills, to the neglect of the revealed will of God. Their temporal happiness, then, does not depend wholly on the will of God; but they have wills of their own, which are free; free to choose and act; and if they do not will to be holy, and consequently happy, God does not compel them to be holy and happy. But did happiness depend wholly on the will of God; were men mere machines to be moved only at his will; then I grant we should be continually happy; for a God of love wills nothing but happiness. This however is not the case. I feel that I am a free agent. My happiness or misery depends chiefly on myself; on my willing to be righteous or wicked. And I see no reason to believe that my will, which is nothing but a particular state of my mind, is to be changed by the dissolution of my body. Even if it should, my sinful habits would still remain to torment me; the remembrance of my past ingratitude and sinfulness would produce punishment. But if my character remains unaffected by death, and my soul enters the other world, as many leave this, impenitent, unreformed, unholy, what is to give me happiness? What is to save me from the punishment of my sins? Shall I not suffer so long as they remain on the soul?'

Perhaps it will be said, he that is dead, is freed from sin. But what is the meaning of the apostle? He that is dead to sin, is freed from sin, the power of sin, the punishment of sin, the hell of sin. This is precisely the doctrine of the apostle; and precisely the doctrine I am advocating. When the scriptures speak of God as willing the salvation of all, let it be remembered that he first wills they should come to a knowledge of the truth, to repentance, holiness; and whenever they repent, and form christian characters, they will be saved, and not

until then. It would be as much a miracle for God to make a wicked person happy, either in this world or the world to come, as to raise the dead. So long, therefore, as misery in man, either here or hereafter, is the fruit of his own choice, it can offer no objection to the perfect benevolence of God.

It may be asked again, how can those who die in infancy and childhood, be happy in the future world, since they were not born holy, and have not lived long enough to acquire holy characters? I answer, that an infant, though not a moral agent and of course without any moral character, is still a subject of the kingdom of heaven, as expressly affirmed by the Saviour of all. He is innocent, having committed no sin; and pure, for his soul, being spiritual, must proceed directly from God, the father of spirits, from whom no impure thing can proceed. And because innocent and pure, just as he came from the hands of his Maker, he is an object of divine complacency and love, and at death, is conveyed to mansions of eternal blessedness. There he can suffer nothing; for his soul is free from sin, the only cause of suffering in a spiritual world. Nor can he ever suffer; he has no evil in himself and no temptations around him; he sees none but good examples to imitate, and hears only the language of truth and piety; he receives none but holy instructions, and associates with none but holy beings; of course he will commit no sin; and consequently can suffer no punishment. Though he suffers nothing, nor ever can, neither can he enter immediately upon perfect spiritual happiness. For he enters the other world as ignorant as he leaves this; his existence is but just commenced; he has not acquired the full exercise of his faculties; he has formed no moral character; of course, he is no more prepared for perfect spiritual happiness than an infant in this world. But in this state he cannot long continue; for he has entered the kingdom of heaven; he is in the society of the spirits of just men made perfect, who will delight in instructing him in the duties and enjoyments of the spiritual regions; he is received into the mansions of Jesus, who, while on earth, took little children into his arms and blessed them as the lambs of his fold; he is in the more immediate presence of God, who is love, and who loves all the works of his hands. Under such instructers, and with such examples, his progress in knowledge and holiness must be incalculable, and in exact proportion to his increase in these, will be his increase in unalloyed happiness. Thus, though destitute of personal

holiness, when borne by angels to Abraham's bosom, he soon acquires a character altogether holy, and quickly becomes qualified for complete heavenly happiness.

This speculation on the future condition of all infants and children, seems to me both rational and scriptural, and perfectly consistent with the necessity of personal holiness as a preparation for future happiness. I must therefore conclude, from considering the nature of the soul, the nature of heavenly happiness, and the general scope of the New Testament, that christian goodness is absolutely essential to the soul's salvation; to its present and future happiness. Thus have I shown the nature and necessity of holiness; and answered such objections as might naturally be supposed to arise in the minds of many readers. The truth of my statements, and the correctness of my reasoning, every one must try by the test of his own experience, his own observation, and his own understanding of Christianity. But for one, I am persuaded, that there are no substitutes for christian goodness. We may talk of the mercy of God, or the atonement of Christ, or the doctrine of election; unless we have christian characters, we cannot enjoy real happiness in this life; we cannot expect to enjoy the happiness of heaven.

W.

Collections.

Death and Sleep.

THE Angel of Sleep and the Angel of Death were journeying arm in arm on the earth. Evening drew on. They seat ed themselves on a hill not far from the habitations of men. A solemn silence reigned around, and the evening bell in the distant village ceased to be heard.

Tranquil and silent as it is their nature to be, these two benefactors of mortals sat in fraternal embrace, and night already approached.

The Angel of Sleep then rose from his mossy seat, and strewed with delicate hand the invisible germs of slumber. The evening breezes wafted them to the peaceful habitations of the weary husbandmen. Sweet slumbers now fell upon the inmates of the rustic dwellings, from the aged, whose tottering steps are supported by a staff, to the infant in the cradle. The