hoped he was at rest; what do you mean by his being at rest?

P. Why, Sir, you know he endured great pain for many days, but now that he is dead he feels it no

more.

C. If that be all, I fear we can scarcely call it rest; it is true, that the body is now at rest, but you must remember that the soul is the principal part of the man. Suppose your body, James, was in perfect health and ease, but your mind overwhelmed with care, vexation, remorse, and despair, should you be at rest?

P. O no, Sir, quite otherwise; and now I remember a text from which you once explained this: "The spirit of a man will sustain his infirmity, but a wounded spirit who can bear *?”

C. Then, if a wicked man dies, his body is at rest, it is true; but it is the soul which feels joy or grief, happiness or misery; and therefore the man is not at rest, but indeed in great and hopeless misery. You remember, in the 16th chapter of St. Luke, the rich man died, and was buried, but, it is said, he was in torments. And the beggar died, and was also buried, but he went into Abraham's bosom.

P. I perceive it, Sir; I see we are wrong in supposing that a person must be at rest when he is dead. He may be in greater misery than ever; and it is a very awful thought.

C. It is indeed, James, and I wish all people would reflect, that as the soul does not die, it must hereafter feel happy or wretched. If persons who are tempted to destroy themselves would think of this, they would not, for the sake of avoiding present trouble, rush into eternity, where they are sure to undergo infinitely greater and endless misery. And if parents would reflect, that the children whom they have brought into life, and whom they love, must live for ever, they would

*Proverbs xviii. 14.

be more anxious to bring them up "in the nurture and admonition of the Lord," that they may be eternally happy, than merely to teach them how to provide for the present life, which is so short and uncertain. But you also said, you hoped your neighbour had had "his sufferings in this world." What is the cause of all the suffering, sickness, and misery in the world? P. The will of almighty God, I suppose, Sir.

C. But God made man innocent and happy, and pronounced every thing he had made very good. God is a God of love, and he can therefore take no pleasure in the sufferings of his creatures.

P. Explain the cause, then, of man's sufferings, if you please, Sir.

C. Sin brought death into the world, with all our woe. The wages of sin is death, and sorrow, and pain. Now, if you saw a person suffering greatly in consequence of drinking or gluttony, or indulging any base appetites, would you say that his sufferings atoned for the sins which produced them? Or, if you saw a criminal enduring anguish and pain on the gallows, could you properly say that these atoned before God for his sins.

P. No, Sir, I should say they were the consequences of them.

C. Very true; and instead of being an atonement, they are awful intimations, that the full weight of Almighty wrath will fall upon the sinner, unless he truly repent and believe in Christ Jesus, and receive him as the only atonement, in the same way as the thief on the cross did. Sufferings may lead to repentance, and an earnest application to the Saviour, but they can make no atonement to Almighty God.

P. I understand you, Sir; but I hope, in the case of our neighbour, they did produce repentance, for he was very much alarmed,-owned how wicked he had been,-shed many tears, and promised a great reformation if he should recover.

C. As I have already observed, I do not mean to

judge your deceased neighbour; but as to all the marks of repentance you have mentioned, they may be, and often have been, produced by the terrors of an awakened conscience, and the fears of death and judgment, without any sincere repentance, or real sor row for having offended God. I have met with many such cases. I once visited two persons, whose lives were in considerable danger. They both expressed great remorse at their past conduct; one of them trembled exceedingly; and they both made solemn promises of amendment if their lives should be spared. I intimated, that their lamentations arose from fear, and their vows were made in dependence upon their own strength; and I much feared, in case of recovery, they would return to their sins. The result proved that my fears were well grounded;-they both did recover, and returned, "like a dog to his vomit, and like the sow that was washed to her wallowing in the mire." Let, then, these truths be impressed on your mind :First, That the sinner who dies unpardoned and unchanged, instead of finding rest, enters upon a state of eternal misery. Secondly, That our sufferings here are the fruits of sin; and so far from preventing future punishment, are only the forerunners of more awful judgments, unless they lead to true repentance. And Lastly, that true repentance beginning with a deep conviction of the crime of sinning against God, produces godly sorrow and abhorrence of sin, and leads a man to Jesus Christ, as the only hope and Saviour of sinners, that through him he may find pardon, and may receive the gift of the Holy Spirit to sanctify his heart, and prepare him for eternal happiness, if he should depart hence, and should lead him to a love of God, and a constant desire to serve him, if he should be continued longer upon earth.

Sp-.

ON THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN.

nor

SOMETIMES in my visits to the sick and afflicted amongst my cottage friends, they finish the sad tale of their sufferings, by telling me, "that they hope it may please God to take them to heaven." My poor neighbours, I sincerely pity your distress, and though no chastisement "for the present is joyous, but grievous," I would pray God, that afterward, "it may yield the peaceable fruit of righteousness, in all you who are exercised thereby." Yet, with regard to the wish you have above expressed, suffer me affectionately to ask you each individually, whether you have good reason to believe that you should be happy were your wish now granted? Perhaps you may be rather astonished at my question; you say, "Yes, to be sure; is not heaven a place of the greatest bliss, where there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, crying, neither shall there be any more pain?" True, my friends," Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither hath it entered into the heart of man to conceive," the happiness of heaven. With God there is fulness of joy, and at his right hand there are pleasures for evermore." But, nevertheless, it is possible that you would not be happy there. And as this is a point of great importance, you would do well seriously to consider my question. As far as the things of this world are concerned, you will all allow, that what would make one person very happy, would be the occasion of discontent, or even misery to another, whose tastes and disposition are different; and you have, doubtless, seen instances of people, whose condition in life was suddenly raised, so as to excite the envy of those below them; and yet these very persons have not been happy by the change. In order, then, to discover whether heaven would now be a place of happiness to you, you must consider, in

On the Happiness of Heaven.

23

what heavenly happiness consists, and whether you have a capacity and disposition to enjoy it. Of its pleasures and employments we can know no more than what we are told in the Word of God; but, in the book of Revelations in particular, we shall find information on the subject. In the seventh chapter, you see what the blessed above are represented as doing: "They are before the Throne of God, and serve him day and night in his Temple," " ascribing salvation unto our God, and unto the Lamb." In other places we are told, "That they rest not day or night, saying, Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, which was, and is, and is to come,"-"That they sung a new song, which none could learn, but those who were redeemed from the earth;"-they are described as pillars in the Temple of God, who shall go no more out," as "following the Lamb whithersoever he goeth." Such is their character, and such are represented to be their unceasing employments, day and night, without interruption or fatigue. Now, how could the drunkard, the licentious, the covetous, the revengeful, bear to live, and that for ever, in a place where they should neither have the means, nor opportunity of indulging those evil passions, the gratification of which had been their chief delight here below? Such an abode as Heaven is described to be would be misery to them. You are willing to allow this; but perhaps you will say, "This does not apply to me, I am not of the number of those persons; my cha racter has always been good." Well, it may be so; then let me ask you, Is the Sabbath "a weariness," or a "delight" to you? Though you may go constantly to church, what is the language of your heart? Do you feel as David did, "I was glad when they said unto me, Let us go unto the House of the Lord"-" One day in thy courts is better than a thousand" elsewhere? Or were you not secretly saying, "When will the Sabbath be gone," that we may pursue our schemes of worldly business or pleasure? Do you never indulge