likewise particularly described by Paul in the fifteenth chapter of the first epistle to the Corinthians. "It is sown," or committed to the grave "in corruption; it is raised in incorruption," ‚”—liable_no more to decay, disease and death, but immortal as its Creator. "It is raised in Power,”—endued with strength and vigour incapable of being weakened or exhausted, and fitted to accompany the mind in its most vigorous activities.-"It is raised in glory"-destined to flourish in immortal youth and beauty, and arrayed in a splendour similar to that which appeared on the body of Christ when "his face did shine as the sun, and his raiment became white and glittering."—"It is raised a spiritual body"—refined to the highest pitch of which matter is susceptible, capable of the most vigorous exertions and of the swiftest movements, endued with organs of perception of a more exquisite and sublime nature than those with which it is now furnished, and fitted to act as a suitable vehicle for the soul in all its celestial services and sublime investigations.

Such is a brief summary of the disclosures which the Christian Revelation has made respecting the eternal destiny of mankind—a subject of infinite importance to every rational being--a subject of ineffable sublimity and grandeur, which throws into the shade the most important transactions, and the most splendid pageantry of this sublunary scene-a subject which should be interwoven with all our plans, pursuits and social intercourses, and which ought never for a moment to be banished from our thoughts.—I shall, therefore, conclude this department of my subject with a remark or two

On the practical influence which the doctrine of a future state ought to have upon our affections and conduct.

When we look around us on the busy scene of human 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, statesmen 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 unchangeable, 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 tharr 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 indifference, 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 employment, for a slight affront, or for some imaginary reflection on their reputation and honour!

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 be 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 after places and pensions, fawning upon his superiors, and whose whole life is a continued course of treachery, adula. tion and falsehood-believe that "all liars shall have their portion in the lake that burneth with fire and brimstone ?" Can that thoughtless debauchee believe that future punishment awaits the 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 regard. ed them as unsubstantial phantoms, or as idle dreams.

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 and 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