and mediation of a Saviour; he feels that he has not abused the talents committed to his care, but he also feels that we should prove to be but unprofitable servants were our reward in another world solely to rest on our own imperfect merits. But internally supported by that God, from whom he derived his existence, he meets death more as an expected friend than as a dreaded enemy; calm and collected, he even consoles his weeping relatives; he knows that the God whom he has served is the protector of the widow and the fatherless; and though the bitterest pang of death is in the last eventful separation from objects so endeared by many a fond remembrance, faith and hope eventually triumph! and his last moments will evince the spiritual peace and resig nation of a Christian! He bears pain and infirmity with unshaken fortitude; they are even mitigated by the serenity

of his feelings. If he have arrived at a good old age, his example teaches to his children and dependents a lesson that time can never obliterate; if he be taken in the "midst of his age," the warning is more impressive, the lesson equally salutary, and they may be convinced that it is not long life, but the manner in which we have lived that

away

will bring us peace at the last." Doubtless, every created being in some reflective moment has endeavoured to consider the nature of that happiness which awaits the dissolution of the body;: but, while religion sufficiently supports our faith, that to the righteous it will be unchangeably glorious; she veils from human speculation all certainty of its nature, or of the manner in which it is to be attained. From Scripture we have every reason to believe that the

spirits of just men made perfect" will recognize one another in an eternal

Without this con

state of existence. solatory hope, how dark and desolate were our passage to the tomb! how wretched the feelings of a surviving friend! of every affectionate heart, by whatever tie it had been united or attached! Let the speculative or the unprincipled deny the probability of the soul's consciousness, when released from its earthly tenement, but let the Christian cherish the hope, through faith in Christ, and eternity shall confirm and realize what reason has suggested and Religion has avowed.

Let the uncertainty of life, and the certainty of death be ever duly and properly considered, not to cast one shade on the innocent and rational enjoyments which we are permitted to partake of, but to prepare us for that eternity we åre born to aspire to. Let the unrighteous turn from the temptations which too easily beset them, and reflect, that intemperance or accident may even

shorten the date of their present life, and that unprepared death is an evil that extends beyond the grave. Let us frequently ask ourselves "What is our "life?" and whether it shall prove as transient "as a vapour that appeareth "for a little while, and then vanisheth "away;" or, whether it be extended to the age of man, the question may lead to that self-examination so requisite in this probationary state.

Let us all be assured that vice can but momentarily triumph, and that virtue, generally speaking, will prove its own reward; that the Christian can claim, even here, every advantage over the irreligious and profligate mind, that whatever be his lot, he is the more respected character, and the happier man; and above all, that in the hour of death, and in the day of judgment, he will be supported by that Saviour, whose Religion. he has practically confessed, and be rewarded by him to all eternity!

17

ON CONTENTMENT.

"Godliness, with contentment, is great gain *."

THERE are few blessings more valuable in this uncertain life, than a contented mind; satisfied with the dispensations of God, and willing to enjoy that portion of comfort and felicity, which his providence has bestowed. But though men are often discontented with the situation in life which is allotted for them, they would rarely consent to the exchanging it with that of others. Could we investigate the feelings of those who look with an unthankful eye on the blessings with which they are surrounded,

1 Tim. vi. 6.