Christ. Keep the memorials of their piety in view; wear those bright ornaments which will be as pearl bracelets to your arms, and as golden chains about your necks.

Let each of us now be excited to hear Abel and the saints in glory speak. The heavenly, uncorrupted, undefiled, and unfading inheritance is not to be obtained by disobedience, indolence, and sloth. Lazy wishes will never carry a person to heaven. The work of a Christian is represented in the sacred volumes by the most painful and laborious exercise, and as running, wrestling, fighting; these certainly require the most vigorous exertions. And for our encouragement, let us consider that we are not the first adventurers in this glorious enterprise. Myriads have gone before us, and are in possession, and that proves its practicability; if it were not so, might we despair and abandon the pursuit as being too arduous for feeble depraved nature? The work, truly, is great, difficult, and painful; but many have bravely entered themselves, combated every danger, and have seen a happy end to all their

toil.

But some may reply to this, the saints in glory were strong in the faith, and richly partook of the Spirit of Holiness. Be it so, they did; but all of them were persons of like passions with ourselves, the sons and daughters of fallen Adam. They were included under the same sentence of condemnation with us all; were defiled with the same corruptions; in a word, not a whit better by nature than any, and some of them by practice worse. Paul is there, and possesses an elevated seat, who was once a fierce persecutor of Christ and His cause. Magdalene is there, and so is Manasseh, and many others that we might mention.

Let none of you be discouraged and say, "The inheritance is too rich and glorious a portion, the blessings are too great for you to aspire to." Only follow the saints the way they have gone, and your title will be as firm as theirs ; imitate their faith and patience, and you will surely join them in bliss.

But did they gain the prize in and by their own strength, skill, and power of their right hand? In no wise; they gained it in and by Jesus Christ, the King and Captain of salvation; it was by faith in Him they were conquerors, yea, more than conquerors. The same all-sufficient Jesus offers himself to us as the object of our faith and hope, and surely His hand is not shortened that it cannot save, neither is His ear heavy that it cannot hear. He then speaks by Abel, yea, by His glorious self, "Come unto me, and I will give you rest and salvation."

You are called to imitate Abel's faith and the faith of the saints; and was that a fruitless, dead, inactive principle? It was not; their faith wrought by love, and was the foundation of a holy life. You have read and heard of the anguish of David in his bitterness of soul under a sense of guilt; you have read the cries and supplications of Manasseh, and Peter has spoke to you in unfeigned

tears. These were the steps by which these holy men arose from the depths of guilt and defilement; and a real faith will produce similar effects in similar circumstances; where the seeds of faith are sown, the fruits of holiness will be produced, and the works of righteousness will be practised. The heirs of heaven inherit the prize, and they ran for it; and to acquire the crown which they obtained, they fought the good fight of faith; but by an indolent temper and practice, who did ever win a race, gain a crown, or obtain a victory?

Again: the most powerful motive to urge to duty, and fire you with ardour in the pursuit, is the unspeakable richness and transcendent excellency of that glory which eye hath not seen, ear heard, nor hath it entered into the heart of man to conceive, and which God hath laid up for those who hear and obey the Gospel. Words fail to describe, and imagination to paint those scenes of bliss. The language of inspiration itself is unequal to the stupenduous theme. This is a far more eternal and exceeding weight of glory; if so, judge ye, is it not worth your most eager pursuit and supreme regard? Can any possession come in competition with it? Surely, none. All the pomp, powers, riches, and honours of this world shrink before it into nothing. Ransack creation, explore universal nature, and bring all that the world calls good and great before it, and they are lost in its infinitely superior blaze. Was any one in possession of this world, could such a one lay claim to all created nature, all would leave an immense void in the soul; an infinite good we need, an infinite good is offered us; the inheritance is a possession purchased at an immense price, and just for such beings as we are; sinners! for sinners! the greatest of sinners! to such it is freely tendered, and if any of you do not obtain an interest in it, the only reason is because you will not. This is a possession that does not descend to us by inheritance, it must be acquired, and that by faith, patience, and the practice of universal holiness.

Lastly, this inheritance cannot be far distant. A few revolving suns and moons, at most, will bring you in actual possession, O believer. If the labor be great, it cannot last long; all that divides between you and that happy state is this thin veil of flesh; death will soon demolish it, and disclose these scenes of bliss to view. The time is short, then improve it well, and expect the period when the curtain of mortality shall be drawn, the scenes of eternal bliss and glory open, and angels and the spirits of just men made perfect, solace you with celestial harmony.

MISCELLANEOUS MEDITATIONS.

FREDERIC THE THIRD.

THE name of Frederic III, of the Palatinate, will ever be precious in the memory of the Church of God. This prince profoundly studied, and greatly loved, and boldly confessed the truth as it is in Jesus. He caused that admirable compend of Christian truth, the Heidelberg Catechism, to be composed, and required it to be thoroughly taught to the youth in all the schools of his realm and in the University of Heidelberg. He was forewarned that this bold confession of evangelical truth would expose him to great peril from the Emperor and the Popish princes. He replied, "If my Lord Jesus Christ should count me worthy to lose not my crown only, but my life, for his truth, it would be an honour too great for me to aspire to." When the Imperial Diet met, a storm seemed to be gathering over his head. He was formally required to set aside and reverse all that he had done. But he appeared before the Diet, attended by his son Casimir (who shared the faith and piety of his illustrious father), bearing a large copy of the Bible, and respectfully but firmly, offered to the Emperor and assembled princes to prove the truth of those doctrines he had caused to be taught out of that holy book, the authority of which they all acknowledged. A profound silence ensued. Instead of the storm which had been anticipated, the Emperor was so affected by his calm and noble bearing that he shed tears, and one of the princes approaching him, laid his hand on his shoulder, and said, "Frederic, you have more religion than any of us!" The revivifying influence of true religion was seen in the prosperous condition of his estates. In private life he took every occasion to commend the grace of God. An ambassador to his Court relates that, in his last audience of the Prince, the latter took him kindly by the hand, and spoke to him impressively and earnestly on the salvation of his soul. On one occasion, when he had entertained the Emperor and his Court with great magnificence, he presented to the Emperor, on his departure, a copy of the Bible, begging him to accept it as a token of his regard, and adding, "It is the treasury of all wisdom, by whose guidance alone, emperors, kings, and princes, can learn to govern well." The Emperor, who greatly respected the uprightness and ability of Frederic, received the book kindly, and promised to read it diligently.

As this great and good man felt his end approaching, he said to those who stood around his bed, "I have lived here long enough for you and the Church; I am now called to a better life. I have done for the Church what I could; but my power has been small. He who possesses all power, and who has cared for his Church before I was born, still lives and reigns; and He will not forsake

us. Neither will he allow the prayers and tears, which I have so often poured forth to God upon my knees in this chamber, for my successors and the Church, to prove without fruit."

What a noble example to rulers and magistrates, of whatever grade! Whether they derive their office from natural descent or from the suffrages of a free people, they are "ministers of God." (Rom. 13: 6.) If every magistrate regarded himself as a minister of God, accountable to the Supreme Ruler for the discharge of his functions, and placed in his official position to be the steadfast advocate of righteousness, truth, and piety, what a blessing would he prove to the people over whom he bears rule; what a name would he leave in the history of his country; what a reward would be his "at the resurrection of the just!" Does Washington ever appear more truly great and honorable than when, in his first army orders, at Cambridge, he forbade all profaneness in the American camp, and acknowledged the dependence of his country's arms for success on the blessing of God; or when, at Valley Forge, he was overheard secretly imploring that blessing on the cause in which he was engaged? May God send to our country and to all nations, magistrates of all ranks animated with the spirit of the illustrious Washington and of the wise and pious Frederic! "Happy is that people that is in such a case!"

SELF-DENYING LOVE.

"Therefore doth the Father love me," says Christ, "because I lay down my life." Self-denying love! So beautiful and admirable is it, that it commended and endeared even the well-beloved Son to the Father. Let us, then, cherish this divine virtue. In this, as in all things else, Christ "has set us an example that we should walk in his steps.'

COMPENSATION.

The Christian never has a season of anguish, whether from bodily pain or outward trials of any kind, but he has a season of joy and peace, and increased nearness to God, to support him under it, or to compensate and refresh him after it. O, it is when the wind whistles sharply through the rigging, and the waves are breaking fiercely around him (sometimes it may be over him), that he is cleaving this troubled sea with the swiftest motion towards his heavenly harbour. Such is the compensation which God gives his dear children for sorrow. The sharper the anguish, the sweeter and purer the consolation. The nearer the source whence the earthly trouble comes, the nearer does God draw with the arm which supports the fainting soul, and the voice (heard only by the believing ear) which says, "Fear not, I am with thee." Why is this? Because trouble drives us to prayer, and prayer brings us

near to God, and near to God-is not that heaven, even on earth? Where God is, there is impregnable security and heavenly serenity and joy, which the world cannot take away, and as little can it give. So you will see the brood of the fowl rambling every way so long as the sky is fair; but when the storm lowers or the ravenous bird stoops over them, they run to the shelter of their mother's wing. Even thus does God shelter his threatened and trembling ones "beneath the shadow of his wings."

DELIVERANCES.

Those are the best deliverances which come wholly from the hand of God. The sweetest and most wholesome fruit is that which of itself drops from the tree. So those are the best deliverances which fall unplucked from the tree of Providence, the ripe fruit of prayer and patience. David understood this when he said, "My soul, wait thou only upon God;" and the Apostle, when he advises the afflicted and persecuted, "In your patience possess ye your souls." Very different are the deliverances which we seem to obtain by struggling desperately with our own troubles, and clambering over the barriers of Providence, in our impatience to escape from them. "Call upon me;" "Wait on the Lord;" "Let Israel hope in the Lord;" "I will seek unto God, and unto God will I commit my cause;""I will look for Him ;" these, and the like divine words, furnish the best clew for finding our way out of the labyrinth of adversity.

THE BEST PRAYER.

The Count of Egmont, one of the bravest and most accomplished generals of his time, was cruelly put to death, after the mockery of a prejudged trial, by Philip II. On the scaffold, he said to the Bishop of Ypres, who attended him, "What prayer can a dying man offer up, with the best hope of success, to that Eternal Judge before whom he is about to appear?" "My lord," answered the Bishop, "no prayer can be so effectual as that which was taught us by our blessed Lord himself." The Count immediately turned, fell on his knees, and fervently offered up the Lord's Prayer, and was in a moment in eternity. O how happy are we that we have, in all circumstances, in joy and sorrow, sickness and health, life and death, so short, so complete a prayer as the Lord's Prayer, divinely taught, dictated by the great Intercessor himself, whom "the Father heareth always," and therefore sure of acceptance! What great blessings we ask for, every time we repeat the Lord's Prayer, for ourselves and for the whole world! It is the best prayer. It takes a very strong faith, and very enlarged and spiritual desires, to offer it aright. But once offered up sincerely, it is a saving act; for it includes the acts both of repentance and faith, and that, too, as divinely taught and dictated. It is said that