ment of my subject may be now briefly stated in the following summary :

The redeemed in heaven will enjoy perpetual and uninterrupted felicity-the foundation of this felicity will be laid in their complete freedom from sin, and their attainment of moral perfection-their renovated faculties will be employed in contemplating the Divine glory-the Divine glory consists in the manifestation of the divine perfections -the sensible display of these perfections will be given, (and can only be given) in the works of creation, in the intelligences which people the material world, their orders, gradations, history, and present state-in the variety of scenery which the abodes of intelligence exhibit-in the economy and moral order which prevail among them,—and in the various dispensations of Divine providence in reference to all worlds and orders of beings.

With regard to the happiness of heaven, the Scriptures convey to us, in general propositions, certain intimations of its nature, qualities, and objects, and of the qualifications which are requisite in order to its enjoyment. The discoveries which science has made in the visible creation form so many illustrations of the scriptural declarations on this subject; and it is undoubtedly our duty to direct our trains of thought, and to expand our conceptions of the felicities of the future world, by every illustrative circumstance which can be traced in the scene of nature which the Almighty has presented to our view. For the word and the works of God must always harmonize, and reflect a mutual lustre on each other. What we find to be actually existing within the visible scene of the universe, can never contradict any of the statements of Revelation; but, on the contrary, must tend to elucidate some one or other of its interesting communications. And, since we find, in our survey of the system of nature, an assemblage of astonishing objects which tend to raise our conceptions of the Supreme Being, and of the sublime and diversified nature of future felicity,-it becomes us to prosecute those trains of thought which the analogies of Nature and of Revelation suggest, in order to enlarge the capacities of our minds, to exalt our ideas of celestial bliss, and to prepare us for more expansive and sublime contemplations, in that world

where the physical and moral obstructions which now impede our progress, and obscure our intellectual views, shall be completely and for ever removed.

From the whole of what we have stated on this department of our subject, we may learn the value of the human soul, and the importance which ought to be attached to our immortal destination. What a shadow does human life appear when contrasted with the scenes of futurity! What a small point in duration do the revolutions of time present when compared with a boundless eternity! What a limited scene does this world, with all its glories, exhibit, when set in competition with the extent, and the splendours of that Empire which stretches out into immensity, and shall endure for ever! And is man to be transported to other regions of the universe, to mingle with the inhabitants of other worlds, and to exist throughout an endless duration? What a noble principle does the human mind appear, when we consider it as qualified to prosecute so many diversified trains of thought, to engage in so sublime investigations, to attain the summit of Moral Perfection, and to expatiate at large, through the unlimited dominions of the Almighty, while eternal ages are rolling on! How important, then, ought every thing to be considered which is connected with the scene of our eternal destination! If these truths be admitted, reason and common sense declare, that a more interesting and momentous subject cannot possibly occupy the mind of man. It is so profoundly interesting, and connected with so many awful and glorious consequences, that we must be utterly dead to every noble and refined feeling, if we be altogether indifferent about it.

If there were only a bare probability for the opinion, that man is immortal, and that the scenes to which I have alluded might possibly be realized, it ought to stimulate the most anxious inquiries, and awaken all the powers and energies of our souls. For it is both our duty and our highest interest to obtain light and satisfaction, on a point on which our present comfort and our ultimate happiness must depend. But, if the Light of Nature, and the dictates of revelation both conspire to demonstrate the eternal destiny of mankind, nothing can exceed the folly and the in

fatuation of those who trifle with their everlasting interests, and even try every scheme, and prosecute every trivial object, that may have a tendency to turn aside their thoughts from this important subject. Yet, how often do we find, in the conduct of the various classes of mankind, the merest trifles set in competition with the scenes of happiness or of misery that lie beyond the grave. The groveling pleasures derived from hounding and horse-racing, balls, masquerades, and theatrical amusements; the acquisition of a few paltry pounds or shillings, the rattling of dice, or the shuffling of a pack of cards, will absorb the minds of thousands who profess to be rational beings, while they refuse to spend one serious hour in reflecting on the fate of their immortal spirits, when their bodies shall have dropped into the tomb. Nay, such is the indifference, and even antipathy with which this subject is treated by certain classes of society, that it is considered as unfashionable, and in certain cases, would be regarded as a species of insult, to introduce, in conversation, a sentiment or a reflection on the eternal destiny of man. "The carelessness which they betray in a matter which involves their existence, their eternity, their all, (says an energetic French writer) awakes my indignation, rather than my pity. It is astonishing. It is horrifying. It is monstrous. I speak not this from the pious zeal of a blind devotion. On the contrary, I affirm, that self-love, that self-interest, that the simplest light of reason, should inspire these sentiments; and, in fact, for this we need but the perceptions of ordinary men.-It requires but little elevation of soul to discover, that here there is no substantial delight; that our pleasures are but vanity, that the ills of life are innumerable; and that, after all, death, which threatens us every moment, must, in a few years, perhaps in a few days, place us in the eternal condition of happiness, or misery, or nothingness."

It is, therefore, the imperative duty of every man who makes any pretensions to prudence and rationality, to endeavour to have his mind impressed with a conviction of the reality of a future and invisible world, to consider its importance, and to contemplate, in the light of reason and of revelation, the grand and solemn scenes which it displays. While the least doubt hovers upon his mind in re

lation to this subject, he should give himself no rest till it be dispelled. He should explore every avenue where light and information may be obtained; he should prosecute his researches with the same earnestness and avidity as the miser digs for hidden treasures; and above all things, he should study, with deep attention and humility, the revelation contained in the Holy Scriptures, with earnest prayer to God for light and direction. And if such inquiries be conducted with reverence, with a devotional and contrite spirit, and with perseverance, every doubt and difficulty that may have formerly brooded over his mind will gradually_evanish, as the shades of night before the orient sun. "If thou criest after knowledge, and liftest up thy voice for understanding; if thou seekest her as silver, and searchest for her as for hid treasures-then shalt thou understand the fear of the Lord, and find the knowledge of God. For the Lord giveth wisdom, out of his mouth cometh knowledge and understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths. Then shall thy light break forth in obscurity, and thy darkness shall be as the noonday."

In fine, if we are thoroughly convinced of our relation to an eternal world, it will be our constant endeavour to culti vate those heavenly dispositions and virtues, and to prosecute that course of action which will prepare us for the enjoyments of the heavenly state. "For without holiness no man can see the Lord; and we are assured that "no unclean thing can enter the gates of the New Jerusalem," and that neither "thieves, nor extortioners, nor the covetous, nor the effeminate, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor idola. ers shall inherit the Kingdom of God,"

PART IV.

ON THE MORAL QUALIFICATIONS REQUISITE TO THE ENJOYMENT OF THE FELICITY OF THE FUTURE WORLD.

THERE is scarcely an individual who admits the doctrine of the immortality of man, who does not indulge a certain degree of hope, that he shall be admitted into a happier world, when his spirit wings its way from this earthly scene. Even the man of the world, the profligate and the debau chee, notwithstanding their consciousness of guilt, and of the opposition of their affections to the Divine Law, and the duties of the Christian life, are frequently found buoy ing themselves up, in the midst of their unhallowed courses, with the vain expectation, that an All-Merciful Creator will not suffer them ultimately to sink into perdition, but will pity their weaknesses and follies, and receive them, when they die, into the joys of heaven. Such hopes arise from igno. rance of the divine character, and of that in which true happiness consists, and from fallacious views of the exer cises of a future state, and the nature of its enjoyments. For, in order to enjoy happiness, in any state, or in any re gion of the universe, the mind must be embued with a relish for the society, the contemplations, and the employments peculiar to that region or state, and feel an ardent desire to participate in its enjoyments.

What pleasure would a miser whose mind is wholly ab. sorbed in the acquisition of riches, feel in a world where neither gold nor silver, nor any other object of avarice is to be found? What entertainment would a man whose chief enjoyment consists in hounding, horce-racing, routes,