and of Chaldea, and some of them in the country of Mesopotamia, which lay at a considerable distance from the land of Canaan. The true meaning must therefore be, that he was " gathered" to the assembly of the righteous, to the blessed society of those congenial spirits, eminent for their piety, who had passed before him into the invisible world. Hence, says the Psalmist, "Gather not my soul with sinners."Hence, says Job, when describing the miseries of the wicked, "The rich man shall lie down" in the grave," but he shall not be gathered;" and the prophet, when personating the Messiah, declares, "Though Israel be not gathered, yet shal! I be glorious in the eyes of Jehovah."

These remarks may suffice to show, that the doctrine of a future state was known, and generally recognised, by the venerable patriarchs and other illustrious characters that flourished under the Jewish dispensation.

That this doctrine is exhibited in the clearest light in the Christian Revelation, has never been disputed, by any class of religionists, nor even by infidels themselves. In this revelation, however, the doctrine of immortality is not attempted to be proved by any laboured arguments or supernatural evidences, nor is it brought forward as a new discovery. It is evidently taken for granted, and incidentally interwoven through all the discourses of our Saviour and his aposles, as a truth which lies at the foundation of religion, and which never ought for a moment to be called in question. In elucidating this topic, it will be quite sufficient simply to quote a few passages from the New-Testament writers.

Paul, when looking forward to the dissolution of his mortal frame, declares, in his own name, and in the name of all Christians-"Our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh out for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory; while we aim not at things which are visible, but at those which are invisible; for the things which are visible are temporary, but those which are invisible are eternal. For we know, that, if this earthly house of our tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens." When the time of his departure from the body was at hand, he declared, "I have fought the good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith: henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the righteous Judge shall give me at that day; and not to me only, but to all them that love his appearing." The apostle Peter dec'ares, that believers " are regenerated to the lively hope of an inheritance incorruptible, undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for them." "When the chief Shepherd shall appear, we shall receive a crown of glory, which fadeth not away." Our Saviour declares, in reference to his servants, "I give anto them eternal life, and they shall never per

ish."

"In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And I will come again, and receive you to myself, that where I am there you may be also." And again, "Many shall come from the east and the west, and shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven." "Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father."

While these and similar passages clearly de monstrate the certainty of an eternal world, and the future happiness of the righteous-the apostles and evangelists are equally explicit in asserting the future misery of the wicked. "The unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God," but shall go away into everlasting punishment," "The Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven, with his mighty angels, in flaming fire, taking vengeance on them them that know not God, and who obey not the Gospel: who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power." "At the end of the world, the angels shall come forth and sever the wicked from among the just, and shall cast them into a furnace of fire, where she be weeping and gnashing of teeth." "The fearful and unbelieving, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone. There shall in nowise enter into the heavenly Jerusalem any thing that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh aboinination, or maketh a lie."

The way by which happiness in the future world may be obtained is also clearly exhibited. "Eter nal life is the gift of God, through Jesus Christ our Lord." "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting life." "This is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his son." "The God of all grace hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus."-The dispositions of those on whom this happiness will be conferred, and the train of action which prepares us for the enjoyment of eternal bliss, are likewise distinctly described. "Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. He that soweth to the flesh, shall of the flesh reap corruption, but he that soweth to the spirit, shall of the spirit reap life everlasting." "To them who, by patient continuance in well-doing, seek for glory, honour, and immortality, God will recom pense eternal life." "The pure in heart shall see God." "He that doeth the will of God abideth for ever." "Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go no more out." "Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have a right to the tree of life, and may enter through the gates into the city."

ON THE PRACTICAL INFLUENCE WHICH TRE

DOCTRINE OF A FUTURE STATE OUGHT TO HAVE UPON OUR AFFECTIONS AND CONDUCT.

When we look around us on the busy scene of numan life, and especially when we contemplate the bustle and pageantry which appear in a populous city, we can scarcely help concluding, that the great majority of human beings that pass in review before us, are acting as if the present world were their everlasting abode, and as if they had no relation to an invisible state of existence. To indulge in sensual gratifications, to acquire power, wealth and fame, to gratify vanity, ambition and pride, to amuse themselves with pictures of fancy, with fantastic exhibitions, theatrical scenes and vain shows, and to endeavour to banish every thought of death and eternity from the mind, appear to be in their view the great and ultimate ends of existence. This is the case, not merely of those who openly avow themselves "men of the world," and call in question the reality of a future existence; but also of thousands who regularly frequent our worshipping assemblies, and profess their belief in the realities of an eternal state. They listen to the doctrines of eternal life, and of future punishment, without attempting to question either their reality or their importance, but as soon as they retire from "the place of the holy," and mingle in the social circle, and the bustle of business, every impression of invisible realities evanishes from their minds, as if it had been merely a dream or a vision of the night. To cultivate the intellectual faculties, to aspire after moral excellence, to devote the active powers to the glory of the Creator, and the benefit of mankind; to live as strangers and pilgrims upon earth, to consider the glories of this world as a transient scene that will soon pass away, and to keep the eye constantly fixed on the realities of an immortal life—are characteristics of only a comparatively small number of individuals scattered amidst the swarming population around us, who are frequently regarded by their fellows as a mean-spirited and ignoble race of beings. Though death is making daily havoc around them, though their friends and relatives are, year after year, dropping into the grave, though poets and orators, princes and philosophers, s'atesmen and stage-players, are continually disappearing from the living world; though sickness and disease are raging around and laying their victims of every age prostrate in the dust, and though they frequently walk over the solemn recesses of the burying ground, and tread upon the ashes of "the mighty man, and the man of war, the judge and the ancient, the cunning artificer, and the eloquent orator,"-yet they prosecute the path of dissipation and vanity with as much keenness and resolution, as if

every thing around them were unchangeante, and as if their present enjoyments were to last for ever.

If this representation be founded on fact, we may assuredly conclude, that the great bulk of mankind have no fixed belief of the reality of a future world, and that more than the one half of those who profess an attachment to religion, are as little influenced in their general conduct by this solemn consideration, as if it were a matter of mere fancy, or of " doubtful disputation." It is somewhat strange, and even paradoxical, that, amidst the never-ceasing changes which are taking place among the living beings around us, men should so seldom look beyond the grave to which they are all advancing, and so seldom make inquiries into the certainty and the nature of that state into which the tide of time has carried all the former generations of mankind. If a young man were made fully assured that, at the end of two years, he should obtain the sovereignty of a fertile island in the Indian ocean, where he should enjoy every earthly pleasure his heart could desire,-his soul would naturally bound at the prospect, he would search his maps to ascertain the precise position of his future residence, he would make inquiries respecting it at those travellers who had either visited the spot or passed near its confines; he would peruse with avidity the descriptions which geogra phers have given of its natural scenery, its soil and climate, its productions and inhabitants; and, before his departure, he would be careful to provide every thing that might be requisite for his future enjoyment. If a person, when setting out on a journey which he was obliged to undertake, were informed that his road lay through a dangerous territory, where he should be exposed, on the one hand, to the risk of falling headlong into unfathomable gulfs, and, on the other, to the attacks of merciless savages,-he would' walk with caution, he would look around him at every step, and he would welcome with gratitude any friendly guide that would direct his steps to the place of his destination. But, in relation to a future and invisible world, there exist, in the minds of the bulk of mankind, a most unaccountable apathy and indifference; and not only an indif ference, but, in many instances, a determined resolution not to listen to any thing that may be said respecting it. To broach the subject of immortality, in certain convivial circles, would be considered as approaching to an insult; and the person who had the hardihood to do so, would be regarded as a rude, sanctimonious intruder How unaccountably foolish and preposterous is such a conduct! especially when we consider. that those very persons who seem to be entirely regardless whether they shall sink into the gulf of annihilation, or into the regions of endless perdition, will pass whole days and nights in chagrin and despair for the loss of some einploy.

ment, for a slight front, or for some imaginary reflection on thei: reputation and honour!

workers of iniquity, who runs from one scene of dissipation to another, who wastes his time in folly and extravagance, and whose life is but one continued crime? Or can we even suppose that that clergyman, who is unremittingly aspiring after preferment, who is mercilessly fleecing his flock, yet neglecting their instruction, and engaged in incessant litigations about some paltry tythes, seriously believes, that the treasures of this world are unworthy to be compared with that "exceeding great and eternal weight of glory which is about to be revealed in the life to come?". Such conduct plainly indicates, whatever professions certain descriptions of these characters may make, that the solemn realities of the eternal world have no more practical influence on their minds than if they regarded them as unsubstantial phantoms, or as idle dreams.

Were it necessary to bring forward additional proofs that the greater part of mankind have no belief in a future state, or, which amounts nearly to the same thing, that it has no influence whatever on the general tenor of their thoughts and actions-the prominent features of their conduct afford abundant evidence of this melancholy truth. Would a man, who firmly believes that he is destined to an everlasting state, pass fifty or sixty years of his life without spending one serious thought about that unknown futurity into which he is soon to enter, or making the least inquiry respecting its nature and employments? Would he toil from morning to night, with incessant care, to lay up a few fleeting treasures, and never spend a single hour in considering what preparations are requisite for an endless existence? Would he spurn at that book which has unveiled the glories and the terrors of eternity, and " brought life and immortality to light?" Would he sneer at the person who is inquiring the way to a blessed immortality, and count him as an enemy when he wished to direct his attention to the concerns of an unseen world? Can that man be supposed to believe that a crown of glory awaits him in the heavens, whose whole soul is absorbed in the pursuits of ambition, and who tramples on every principle of truth and justice, in order to gain possession of a post of opulence and honour? Can those parents believe that in heaven there is "a treasure that fadeth not," while they teach their children to conclude, that the acquisition of a fortune, and the favor of the great, are the grand objects to which they should aspire? Can that old hoary-headed votary of pleasure consider himself as standing on the verge of an eternal world, who still indulges himself in all the fashionable follies and frivolities of the age, and never casts an eye beyond the precincts of the grave? Can that hard-hearted worldling, who shuts his ears at the cry of the poor and needy, and who grasps his treasures with eagerness even amidst the agonies of dissolution-believe that "a recompense of reward" awaits the benevolent "at the resurrection of the just?" Can that man Se impressed with the solemnities of the eternal world, who, the moment after he has committed the remains of a relative to the grave, violates every humane and friendly feeling, and for the sake of a few paltry pounds or shillings, deprives the widow and the orphan of every earthly enjoyment? Can that courtly sycophant, who is continually hunting af er places and pensions, fawning upon his superiors, and whose whole life is a continued course of treachery, adulation and falsehood-believe that "all liars shall have their portion in the lake that burneth with fire and brimstone ?" Can that thoughtless depauchee believe that future punishment awaits the

The doctrine of a future state is not a mere speculative proposition, to serve as a subject of metaphysical investigation, or to be admitted merely to complete a system of philosophical or theological belief. It is a truth of the highest practical importance, which ought to be interwoven with the whole train of our thoughts anɩ. actions. Yet how many are there, even of those who bear the Christian name, who are incessantly engaged in boisterous disputes respecting the nature of faith, who have never felt the influence of that faith which is "the confident expectation of things hoped for, and the conviction of things which are not seen," and which realizes to the mind, as if actually present, the glories of the invisible world! If we really believe the doctrine of immortality, it will manifest itself in our thoughts, affections and pursuits. It will lead us to form a just estimate of the value of all earthly enjoyments. For, in the light of eternity, all the secular pursuits in which men now engage, appear but as vanity, and all the dazzling objects which fascinate their eyes, as fleeting shadows. A realizing view of an eternal state dissipates the illusion which the eye of sense throws over the pageantry and the splendours of this world, and teaches us that all is transitory and fading, and that our most exquisite earthly enjoyments will ere long be snatched from our embrace. For, not a single mark of our sublunary honours, not a single farthing of our boasted treasures, not a single trace of our splendid possessions, nor a single line of the beauty of our persons, can be carried along with us to the regions beyond the grave. It will stimulate us to set our affections on things above, and to indulge in heavenly contemplations "Where our treasure is, there will our hearts be also." Rising superior to the delights of sense, and to the narrow boundaries of time, we will expatiate at large in those boundless regions which eye hath not seen, and contemplate, in the light of reason and of revelation; those scenes of felicity and grandeur, which wil

burst upon the disembodied spirit, when it has dropped its earthly tabernacle in the dust. Like Seneca, when he contemplated, in imagination, the magnitude and beauty of the orbs of heaven, we will look down, with a noble indifference, on the earth as a scarcely distinguishable atom, and say, "Is it to this little spot that the great designs and vast desires of men are confined? Is it for this there is such disturbance of nations, so auch carnage, and so many ruinous wars? O folly of deceived men! to imagine great kingdoms in the compass of an atom, to raise armies to divide a point of earth with their swords! It is just as if the ants should divide their molehills into provinces, and conceive a field to be several kingdoms, and fiercely contend to enlarge their borders, and celebrate a triumph in gaining a foot of earth, as a new province to their empire." In the light of heaven all sublunary glories fade away, and the mind is refined and ennobled, when, with the eye of faith, it penetrates within the veil, and describes the splendours of the heaven of heavens.

Again, if we believe the doctrine of immor tality, we will be careful to avoid those sins which would expose us to misery in the future world, and to cultivate those dispositions and virtues which will prepare us for the enjoyment of eternal felicity. Between virtue and vice, sin and holiness, there is an essential and eternal distinction; and this distinction will be fully and visibly displayed in the eternal world. He whose life is a continued scene of vicious indulgence, and who has devoted himself to "work all manner of uncleanness with greediness," becomes, by such habits, "a vessel of wrath fitted for destruction;" and, from the very constitution of things, there is no possibility of escaping misery in the future state, if his existence be prolonged. Whereas, he who is devoted to the practice of holiness, who loves his Creator with supreme affection, and his neighbour as himself, who adds to his faith "virtue, knowledge, temperance, patience, brotherlykindness, and charity," is, by such graces, rendered fit for everlasting communion with the Father of spirits, and for delightful association with all the holy intelligences that people his immense empire. Again, the belief of a future

world should excite us to the exercise of contentment, and reconcile our minds to whatever privations or afflictions Providence may allot to us in the present world. "For the sufferings of the present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which is to be revealed." If we believe that the whole train of circumstances connected with our present lot, is arranged by Infinite Wisdom and Benevolence, every thing that befalls us here must have a certain bearing on the future world, and have a tendency to prepare us for engaging in its exercises and for relishing its enjoyments. In short, if we recognise the idea of an immortal life, we will endeavour to acquire clear and comprehensive views of its nature, its pleasures, and its employinents. We will not rest satisfied with vague and confused conceptions of celestial bliss; but will endeavour to form as precise and definite ideas on this subject as the circumstances of our sublunary station will permit. We will search the Oracles of Divine Revelation, and the discoveries of science, and endeavour to deduce from both the sublimest conceptions we can form of the glories of that" inheritance which is incorruptible, undefiled, and that fadeth not away, which is reserved in heaven for the faithful."

In a word, if our minds are as deeply impressed with this subject as its importance demands, we shall experience feelings similar to those which affected the mind of Hyeronymus when he contemplated the dissolution of the world, and the solemnities of the last judgment. -"Whether I eat or drink, or in whatever other action or employment I am engaged, that solemn voice always seems to sound in my ears, 'Arise ye dead and come to judgment!'—As often as I think of the day of judgment, my heart quakes, and my whole frame trembles. If I am to indulge in any of the pleasures of the present life, I am resolved to do it in such a way, that the solemn realities of the future judgment may never be banished from my recollection."*

• Sive comedam, sive bibam, sive aliquid aliud faciam, semper vox illa in auribus meus sonare videtur: Surgite Mortui, et venite ad judicium. Quotius diem judicii cogito, totus corde et corpore contremisco. Si qua enim præsentis vitæ est læ titiæ, ita agenda est, ut nunquain amaritudo futur judicii recedat a memoria.