the sentiment which sustained his heart under his overwhelming agony in the garden, and under the piercing torture of the cross? Was it not from the consideration of the joy set before him, the joy of imparting eternal happiness to myriads ready to perish, that he endured the cross, despising the shame? Is not this the sentiment which he still retains and cherishes on his throne of glory, disposing him to grant the most ample and gracious communication, from his mediatorial fulness, to every member of his mystic body resident on earth, and rendering it still more delightful to his benignant spirit, to pour the full tide of ineffable delight into the hearts of the redeemed above? Admitted to his presence, "they shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more; for the Lamb that is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of water: and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes." Rev. vii. 16, 17. If then it be the design of God to make a human being happy, and to raise him to the highest happiness of which his nature is capable, he does it by producing a moral resemblance to himself; he renders him capable of taking delight in the communication of happiness, by establishing in his heart the reign of love. In order to this he brings the soul under the impression of Divine love. He opens the eyes of the understanding to discern that love; he sheds abroad in the heart a sense of that love; and he directs the heart into the love of himself. Under

this influence of the Spirit of God, we shall be prepared to say, with the apostle John, "Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God. Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another." 1 John iv. 7, 10, 11. Animated by this love, we shall be qualified to act on the generous and elevated principle enforced by our Divine Master, when he said, "Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, and do good to them that hate you; that ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust. Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect." Matt. v. 44, 45, 48.

2. A disposition to communicate happiness is a direct source of the most pleasurable feelings.

From the prevalence of selfish feelings proceeds the greater part of human misery. The maxim, whether concealed or avowed, on which the majority of mankind appear to act, is simply this, "Let us obtain from others as many advantages, and return as few, as possible." Now this desire, ever restless, ever insatiable, and often disappointed, must, of necessity, be a scourge and a tormentor to the bosom in which it dwells: and in so far as this desire is developed in social intercourse,

it becomes the occasion of those clashing interests, angry collisions, resentful feuds, and horrid wars which distract and devastate the world. Whatever then eradicates from the heart the feelings of selfishness, and implants the principles of benevolence, must be conducive to enjoyment. Now it has been justly stated to be a law of intelligent nature, from its highest to its lowest gradation, "that we love those to whom we do good even more than those who do good to us. Thus God loves his intelligent creatures incomparably more than they can love him. Thus the Saviour loved mankind far more intensely than his most faithful disciples ever loved him. Thus parents regard their children with a strength of affection, unknown in children towards their parents. Thus friends love

those whom they have befriended, more than those who have befriended them. According to this undeniable scheme of things, he who seeks his happiness in doing good, is bound to his fellow-creatures, and to the universe, and will be eternally bound, by far stronger and tenderer ties, than can otherwise exist. Even in this world he will thus multiply enjoyment, in a manner unknown to all others, and in the world to come will, in a progress for ever increasing, find springing up in his bosom, the most pure and exquisite delight."

There is a delight in imparting relief to the necessitous, and succour to the distressed, even should their sufferings constitute their

only claim; how much more if their character be such as to excite our complacency and our confidence? If you would form a vivid conception of the delight of benignant love, when its object is most deserving, attempt to imagine the emotions of that angelic messenger, who was commissioned to descend with rapid flight to the scene of the Redeemer's anguish in Gethsemane, and to strengthen him for the endurance of his agony. With what veneration, with what tenderness, with what assiduity, with what gratitude, with what delight, must he have rendered the best services of an angel excelling in strength! Must not the honour and the happiness thus enjoyed have had the effect of inspiring that seraph with a still warmer attachment to the Redeemer than he could possibly have cherished before, and with a still deeper interest in every part of that wondrous and glorious enterprise which angels delight to contemplate; thus expanding his capacities of delight, and augmenting the blessedness of his eternity? A kindred delight we may suppose to have been tasted by those female disciples of Galilee, who, `with attached and devoted hearts, ministered to the Lord Jesus of their substance. Highly favoured were they by their Saviour when he received the offerings of their love; and perhaps it was one part of his generous intention, in being thus indebted to their aid, that they should thus taste of that pure and refined delight which was the aliment of his soul of

love, and that, under circumstances most endearing, they should learn that "it is more blessed to give than to receive."

3. A disposition to communicate happiness is peculiarly adapted to the state of the world in which we live.

This is a world of sin, and, by inevitable consequence, a world of sorrow. "Man is born unto trouble, as the sparks fly upward." Job v. 7. We see around us every species of distress, and hear every tone of lamentation. There is no escape from scenes of poverty and calamity, of sickness and dissolution. In order to guard against becoming ourselves the victims of depression and wretchedness, shall we inhumanly endeavour to deaden our sensibilities; or with the apathy of selfish feelings, shall we withdraw as much as possible from sights of woe? On the contrary, shall we not seek relief from the pains of sympathetic emotion, in the active pleasures of beneficence? It is a most morbid symptom of a diseased heart, if its tender susceptibilities are allowed to subside without any energetic efforts to relieve distress. We can have no fitness of character for the world in which we live, unless, by the mitigation of the sorrows of others, our aching hearts obtain relief. Our tenderest sensibilities were designed to give excitement to our most efficient activities, and thus to open a source of happiness even in scenes of sorrow and distress. To these generous impulses let us habitually yield our hearts,