deep exhausted, and the earth shaken to her centre. The hour rapidly approacheth, that shall efface the splendour of the firmament, and extinguish the glory of the sun. Then shall "the heavens also pass away with a great noise," and this diminutive globe of ours, after a few rounds more, start from its sphere of action, and perish amid dissolving worlds. Thus perishable and transitory is nature in all her parts and productions; the material scene we occupy is, like us, temporary and changeable, and all our possessions, save Religion, are shadowy and unsubstantial. Let us, then, beware of trusting to-morrow, with the duty of the present day: let us deeply impress our minds with the consideration, that our days are fast flying away, and that we shall soon be numbered with those who are now in the land of forgetfulness. Here, the inpenitent are within the reach of mercy, and the unconverted are solicited to repentance. Here, the golden sceptre is held out, and the door of salvation is opened. But it is our duty to take heed to our ways-for, although the merciful God now "waiteth to be gracious," there is a period approaching, when he will appear as an avenging Judge. Life is the longest date of the Gospel Proclamation; when that is terminated, our state is irreversible; and when the Almighty summons us before Him, we must obey.—“ Behold, He taketh away, who can hinder Him? Who will say unto Him, What doest thou?" From the uncertainty, therefore, of our departure out of this life, we should earnestly resolve to prepare

B

for another. For when the mighty is fallen, shall not the feeble tremble? Shall not the death of a Monarch, the death of the King of Britain, constrain his subjects to realize the prospect of their own mortality and spread abroad that universal seriousness which such an event is calculated to inspire. To Princes, and to the great ones of the earth, the mournful circumstance we are now lamenting, reads a most instructive lesson. It teaches them, that the noblest birth, the most elevated rank, are no more exempted from the evils incident to mortality, than the meanest origin, or the humblest condition. What, then, are high descent and noble birth, that mortal man should value himself upon them? Rich and poor, Monarchs and their subjects, are all made of one blood. "It is appointed unto all men once to die." Alas! death is no flatterer. He spares not the palace any more than the cottage. The Prince and the peasant are alike to Him-the indiscriminate victims of his deadly aim. When once his bow is bent, neither the sympathy of friends, the skill of the physician, the glare of state, the purple robe, nor costly diadem, avail to ward off the fatal shaft. BRETHREN,-These unwelcome, but unquestionable truths, may be forgotten amidst the variety of worldly objects; yet are they proclaimed in palaces by such a voice as cannot be misunderstood, and we trust so powerful as not to be disregarded. Happy will be the rulers, and happy the people, to 'whom the warning voice shall not be proclaimed in vain!

Such is THE INSTABILITY OF HUMAN GREAT"Behold! He taketh away, who can hinder Him? Who will say unto Him, What doest thou?"

NESS, AND THE POWER OF GOD OVER US.

Let us, who are in subordinate stations in society, learn to acquiesce with more cheerfulness in our situation, and repine not at the distinctions and advantages of our superiors, when we see it so plainly declared, that no condition, however exalted-no character, however illustrious-is secure from the pains and difficulties of life, or from the unsparing hand of death. Above all things, let us consider what a Judge we have to meet after death. HE IS A JUDGE OF INFINITE DIGNITY: FOR HE IS THE KING OF GLORY; THE GREAT God, our SAVIOUR; THE MIGHTY GOD; THE EVERLASTING FATHER; KING OF KINGS, AND Lord of LORDS; THE TRue God: a Judge, as much transcending in dignity all earthly judges, as the heavens surpass in glory the earth, or the sun in the firmament the twinkling stars, which all disappear when he ariseth: a Judge, at whose footstool the kings of the earth shall prostrate themselves, in either cheerful or compelled adoration; and before whose tribunal all mankind shall stand: a Judge, whose eyes are so keen, as with one glance, to survey the universe, to pervade the thickest darkness, to penetrate the depths of unseen worlds, and to search the heart: a Judge, whose arm is irresistible; and whose power, no mortal can control. He shall be seated on a "great white throne:" WHITE in un

cess of sorrow. This is sometimes occasioned by contemplating the affliction with every circumstance of poignancy, without attending to what is calculated to alleviate. No man suffers affliction with less patience than he who overjoys his comforts. If "Jonah had not been exceeding glad of his gourd," he had not lamented so unreasonably when it withered. The affliction of Job was confessedly great, but his sorrow exceeded; and he spake unadvisably with his lips, when he said, "Let the day perish wherein I was born, and the night wherein it was said, There is a man-child conceived." To dwell only upon that which occasions our grief, without attending to the circumstances which are able to sooth, is like contemplating an object in a wrong position, or by an improper light. The Heathen wise man called the adversities of the world, tributa vivendi, the taxes of life The Christian wise man ought to know and bear them as the tributes of offending. And, "why should a man complain, a living man, for the punishment of his sins?" In viewing the Divine procedure, it becomes us to remember, that the understanding of Jehovah is infinite; and that "all his paths are mercy and truth, unto such as keep his covenant and his testimonies." A present occurrence may be too mysterious for our investigation; but let us be patient, and wait to the end. When the light shines out of obscurity, we shall be able to comprehend that which is at present incomprehensible; and shall pronounce that an act of mercy and tender com

passion, which our unbelief would now suggest to be an instance of severity. It will frequently occur, that the painful things by which we are assailed, will be so enveloped in mystery, as to evade every attempt of ours, to form even a conjecture of the end to which they are ultimately directed. A wise and good man will not, however, entertain exclusive and contracted views of Providence, and draw gloomy and distressing conclusions from outward appearances, and the occurrences of the passing day; but will consider insulated events as connected parts of one vast and comprehensive scheme, which is gradually advancing towards completion, under the direction and control of that divine Being, who is the independent, the righteous, and merciful Governor of the world ; "Whose way is in the whirlwind, and in the storm; who sees the end from the beginning." "Who hath prepared his throne in the heavens, and whose kingdom ruleth over all." "Behold! he taketh away, who can hinder him? Who will say unto him, What doest thou?"

A third reflection suggested by these words, Is,

THAT WE OUGHT NOT TO PLACE DEPENDANCE ON EARTHLY ENJOYMENTS; FOR WE CANNOT long POSSESS THEM; AND WHEN DEATH COMES THEY MUST BE RESIGNED.

This world, indeed, has nothing to recommend it, but the hopes and expectations it gives us of another: and this life should be esteemed chiefly as introductory and preparatory to a better. The consideration