Human life is not only exposed to misery and affliction, bat also to moral evil, which is much more to be feared than all the evils of suffering, of which it is the source. Christians, though delivered from the power of sin, are still exposed to its assaults. They are assailed, on all hands, by the motions of the flesh, by the solicitations of the wicked, by the contagion of evil example, by the temptations of the world and of the devil. This life, therefore, is one of conflict; nor can they maintain their consistency and hope but by strenuous exertions. An apostle compares the christian life to that which requires the strongest efforts. The christian is to be armed from head to foot, and "to fight the good fight of faith." He is opposed in the career of holy duty, and must wrestle not only "against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against spiritual wickedness in high places." A race is set before him, and he is to " forget those things

which are behind, and to reach forth unto those which are before ; " he must press towards the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. Such a state is incompatible with complete enjoyment. It is a state of happiness, but the enjoyment is not perfect. Can that be a state of complete happiness in which you are to watch every moment lest your heart depart from the living God? in which the heart requires so many motives to keep it right, and which after all leaves us to lament over so many defects? in which we are every where in danger; in speaking and in silence, in solitude and in society, in health and in sickness, in prosperity and in adversity, in riches and in poverty? But shall we have to struggle with those evils in heaven? Ah, no! temptation shall never enter there. The heart will then move upwards towards God by its own nature; there will be no flesh to render nugatory the pious volitions of the spirit. Satan, though he could ascend to the top of the temple of Jerusalem, shall not be permitted to enter the temple of glory, or

the heavenly Jerusalem. Sin shall have no place there, and shall be no longer able to make use either of our own flesh, or of the evil example of others, to seduce us. Then our struggles will be all over, our conflicts for ever ended. Enemies can no more assault, error no more mislead, temptation no more harass. O, happy they who thus rest in the presence of their God! Where there is temptation, there is also fear, -a fear of falling away from God, of which we ought never to divest ourselves in this world. This is the guard of our piety, and hence it is said, "blessed is the man that feareth always." "Let him that standeth take heed lest he fall." No fear, however, is consistent with perfect enjoyment. Our present state, whatever be the measure of our piety, is not one of absolute safety, and therefore not one of perfect enjoyment. "I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection," says the apostle, "lest by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway." "Pass the time of your sojourning here in fear." Who can but fear when his immortal spirit is trembling between heaven and hell? The grace of God in the soul is compared to seed sown in the earth: to how many hazards is it exposed before it becomes rooted in the ground; and after it has sprung up, -from the blade to the full corn in the ear,-how many threatening dangers keep our fears alive; nor are those fears removed until it is gathered into the garner. This is the state of the blessed in heaven;- they are safely housed ;-no longer in the field endangered by storm and blight, but gathered into the garner, where fear cannot enter; and where, secured from all possibility of falling, they may give full scope to their joy. Their residence in heaven will be permanent; -they shall no more go out. The gates of the celestial city shut the wicked out, and the righteous in. Freed, therefore, from every source of distress, from all occasion of toil and of fear, there will be no drawback upon their felicity,—no coun

teracting influence to diminish, or to interrupt the tide of their bliss.

A concurrence of all positive excellencies is essential to perfect blessedness. Here our views must necessarily be feeble and contracted. We can think of the excellencies of heaven only according to the poverty of our understanding. Sufficient, however, may be known to sweeten all the bitterness of this world, and to render insipid all its sweetness. What, then, are we allowed to reckon upon as the grand component parts of this exalted state, as to positive enjoyment? reckon upon

You may

The perfection of your nature. To begin with the soul. There are three general operations of which the soul is capable, and which constitute sources of action and pleasure almost innumerable. These are knowing, living, and feeling. In this world, these operations are either obstructed, or misapplied, by the influence of sin and imperfection; and, consequently, the happiness which might result from them is impeded or destroyed; but, in the heavenly state, the soul is renewed to a state of absolute perfection; its natural faculties are strengthened and enlarged, and its moral powers refined and purified, to the highest degree imaginable; the result must be the enjoyment of perfect felicity. Observe the effect as to knowledge. "Now we know but in part; " this is owing to that defectiveness of vision, and that blindness of understanding, which have followed as the consequences of sın. Such is the slowness and obscurity of our conceptions, such the feebleness and fallibility of our judgment, and such the weakness of our memory, that much labour is necessary to acquire a small degree of knowledge. Effort attends every acquisition, and doubts and uncertainties diminish the value of every possession; and the wiser men are, the more readily will they confess that all they know is but little in comparison of what remains to be known. But in heaven all

these defects and obstacles will cease to exist. What then will be able to hinder the activity of the soul, or to cloud its perceptions? Its intellectual powers will then receive such an accession of strength and vigour, as will add quickness, facility, and pleasure to all their operations. There will be no dulness of apprehension, no difficulty of judging, and consequently no painful investigation of truth, no perplexed reasonings, no false conclusions. Our moral nature being perfectly restored to order by the eradication of every thing unholy, will leave the intellect to act in perfect freedom, while the subjects of thought will be presented in all their variety and vastness. How delightful the anticipation! Is it not certain that an understanding thus purified and extended,— continually occupied in discovering new objects,—always in a state to form just ideas,—always at the fountain of truth,— always receiving the direct unobstructed beams of the divine glory, always capable of considering truths in connexion with their causes and effects, and in relation to God, and his works of creation, providence, and grace,-and which shall always make use of these truths and objects to raise itself to God, to admire him, to praise him, to adore him; is it not certain that an understanding, thus enlarged and occupied, must be a source of the most exalted joy. Observe the effect as to love. That is a great change which takes place on earth when a sinner is converted to God; for then the enmity of the carnal mind to God and the things of God is subdued; then the affections which had been placed solely on things base, sordid, and earthly, are changed and purified, and fixed on things above. By that change he is translated from a state of guilt and misery into a state of grace and happiness; but another transition is necessary to perfect his blessedness, he must be translated from a state of grace into a state of glory. In the former his sanctification is imperfect; his love is languid, it is in his heart but as a feeble flame, its happy

influence is impaired by infirmity and sin; but in heaven it will be perfect, free from any alloy. We shall love what we ought to love, and our love will be always delightful, always calculated to afford us new pleasure. O, how free shall it be, when it shall have neither distraction, nor conflicts, nor obstacles! O, how pure shall it be, when it shall no longer be mixed with any carnal motives! O, how extensive shall it be, when we shall love in proportion to our knowledge, and shall "know even as we are known!" Then shall we see God in all his excellence,—the supreme object and end, the only felicity of the soul; and the sight will excite and draw forth all its powers, and fill the utmost capacity and expansion of the spirit with pure and rapturous affection. Can we form a fuller conception of bliss than to be perfectly loved by the best and most blessed being, and perfectly to love him, thus reflecting in ourselves the glories of the divine image? Observe the effect as to enjoyment. The soul is capable here of a great number of pleasing sensations; and great is the happiness which we are made to enjoy when we taste that the Lord is gracious, and know the things that are freely given us of God. In communion with him the christian is often filled with all joy and peace in believing, and experiences pleasures which he would not exchange for all the pleasures of the world. But we may easily conceive that in heaven the soul may have an infinity of pleasures more agreeable, more lively, and less limited, than those of this life. And who can say how much a bountiful God, who shall no longer be prevented by sin and defect,-a God who shall take pleasure in making us as happy as our capacities will admit,―a God who shall act upon the ground of his love to Jesus Christ, his Son, and in reference to his infinite merit ; who can say how far he can cause pleasures to spring up within us? Now he bestows upon his people the honour of being his sons, the graces and comforts of his Spirit, the pre