his illustrious Commander, the Christian shall never lose a hattle. The armies of the aliens shall all be put to flight.—Hail happy day of the Christian's conquest!-when Satan, the world, and sin, shall be bruised under his victorious feet!-But, ah! amid these shouts of triumph, a more dreadful enemy appears! His countenance terrific, his arm irresistible in might, his purpose mortal, and his heart relentless! - before whom conquerors have fallen, — before whom the conquerors of the allied powers of Earth and Hell have fallen, before whom the all-conquering Son of God himself once fell:-his name is Death! This, the last foe of men renewed,-this, the last to exert his hostile power to impede their highest bliss. When bad passions can no longer harrass with their turbulent operations on the heart, when sin can no longer contaminate with its impurity, when the pleasures of it have lost all their power to charm, to allure, to ensnare,when sin is perfectly destroyed, Death still reigns, still obstructs the believer's entire felicity! when the believer is placed infinitely beyond the assaults of an insidious world,-when he is no longer in danger of being fascinated with her enchanting prospects of pleasure, opulence, and power, when her frowns can no longer, in any degree, intimidate, when he is transcendently superior to insult and scorn, to the gibbet and the stake, even then, Death, with his potent arm, seizes upon the saint, and in ignominy drags his mortal part to the doleful mansions of the grave! When Satan, with his fiery darts, can harm no more the child of God, when, with his temptations, he can mar no more his peace, even then, Death succeeds in his attempts to divest the body of its powers of action and capacities of enjoyment! As Death exercises dominion over believers, after they are infinitely and for ever beyond the influence of every other foe, it is obvious that of all their enemies Death is the last. Ever since the day on which he overcame a Heaven-born Child to the present hour, Death has been employed in achieving fresh victories! You, my Christian friends, shall also fall beneath his stroke, increase the number of his slain, and add to the trophies of his power! But shall this unrelenting foe never cease to triumph? Shall the heirs of glory never be raised from the dishonours of the dust? Does no ray of hope begin to dawn 2 Yes; there does! for it is affirmed, That this last enemy shall be destroyed; this great power shall be overthrown; this mighty hero, who has conquered millions, shall himself be conquered in the persons of believers -Such an enemy vanquished must be a sublime spectacle! Let us contemplate the grand catastrophe.

The word, to be destroyed, signifies to be divested of that power of which the subject spoken of is possessed, and to be re-. duced to an incapacity of exerting it any more. Death then

shall be divested of his power to retain the bodies of the saints in the grave: then they shall instantly spring out of the dust! Jesus Christ is the Achiever of this important victory. Jesus, once

in close conflict with this determined foe, fell beneath his awful stroke; but, in dying, he destroyed him that had the power of death, and of course death itself also received a mortal wound. As an evidence that his power over the Son of God in human nature was now completely broken, Jesus rose in triumph over Death, and ascended in glory, there to enjoy immortal life, there to reign till he put all enemies under his feet, till he shall destroy Death, by rescuing the bodies of all his people from his iron grasp, and by liberating them from the fetters of the tomb. This destruction of Death will include in it, not only deliverance from his power, but a transcendent and eternal superiority over Death. The advantages which they will acquire upon this day of final victory will be numerous, grand, and everlasting!

That there will be a resurrection of the dead, has the uniform attestation of Scripture. Many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake; some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.' The hour is coming, in". which all that are in their graves shall hear the voice of the Son of God, and shall come forth: they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation.' From these passages, then, it is evident that there shall be a resurrection of the dead. This wonderful and stupendous effect will be produced by the voice of the Archangel and the trump of God. When the trumpet shall blow, its sound shall penetrate the caverns of the earth and the recesses of the sea! the ears that have been deaf to ten thousand thunders, shall be unstopped when the voice of Life and Power shall call Awake, ye dead, and come to judgment!'-the living shall start and be changed, and the dead shall suddenly arise at the resistless voice. Then the souls of the saints shall retake possession of their former much-loved habitations! and then they shall be caught up to meet the Lord in the air. Again,

6

If the bodies of the saints are not only raised from the tomb, but endowed with more glorious qualities than they formerly possessed, Death will be overcome, more than overcome.

Though our bodics, at the resurrection, will be substantially the same; yet as matter is capable of exquisite refinement, they may be changed in a most amazing manner. The bodies of believers will be raised, incorruptible, glorious, powerful, and spiritual bodies. The body will be raised in incorruption; it will then be incapable of pain, sickness, and death; it will be raised in glory; it will then be adorned with a visible splendor, brighter than the sun in his meridian lustre; it will be raised in power, endowed with almost angelic degrees of strength, vigour, and activity.

Then will it be able to bear up under the exceeding great and eternal weight of glory! It will be raised a spiritual body, formed to a noble superiority to the mean gratifications of this imperfect state, and fitted to be the instrument of the soul in the most exalted services of the heavenly and divine life.

The glorified body of Christ, which is undoubtedly carried to the highest perfection of which matter is capable, is the pattern after which the bodies of the saints will be formed. He shall change our vile bodies, that they may be fashioned like unto his glorious body. The bodies of the just, thus completely repaired and highly improved, will be fit mansions for their immortal spirits to inhabit. Being thus rescued from the powerful grasp of Death, being raised transcendently superior to all the disbonours of the dus', death, as to the Christian, is completely destroyed. But again,

If the body, in union with the soul, shall enjoy for ever the perfect felicity of Heaven, of which Death had so long deprived them, then we must acknowlege that death is vanquished, completely and eternally vanquished.

The bodies of the righteous, in union with their souls, shall receive the sentence of the divine approbation; after which, we are told, they shall go away into life eternal; and so they shall be ever with the Lord. Then those very bodies, over which death exerted such power as to detain for ages in the mansions of the tomb, shall, jointly with the souls, be blessed with that fulness of joy which the divine presence imparts, and participate of those streams of pleasure that flow at his right hand for evermore. Then the breast that was wont to heave with penitential sighs, and from which happiness had long been exiled, shall swell with celestial joys! The tongues that had for many generations been bound in the silence of death, shall shout forth the praises of the Lamb! Those eyes which had long been vailed by the grave against the blissful scenes above, shall behold the King in his beauty, and all the surpassing glories of Heaven! In short, every organ, every member shall be employed in the most noble services, and constituted avenues of immortal pleasures for ever and ever! The former things are passed away, and the days of their mourning are ended!

Rejoice, rejoice, ye children of immortality! your greatest and last enemy, Death, shall be eternally destroyed! Your bodies may fall, for a season, beneath his power; but be assured, as he has no right, so he will not be permitted to detain them for ever in the grave. They shall be wrenched from his mortiferous grasp, and all-gloriously improved and fitted for participating the joys of the world above :- - they shall be raised - Thus will Jesus, by his conquering power, 'swallow up death in victory!'

Let all the friends of Jesus be exhorted to take the comfort of this doctrine! Let it dissipate all your fears, and inspire you with courage for your conflict with this last foe! Let it disperse every cloud, and brighten up your prospects of a glorious resurrection and happy immortality! Live by the faith of the Son of God; especially, let his death be the basis on which you ground all your hopes, and you shall never be disappointed.

Remember, the ransomed of the Lord shall return and come to Zion, with songs and everlasting joy upon their heads: they shall obtain joy and gladness; and sorrow and sighing shall for ever flee away. To cheer your spirits, now anticipate the songs of final victory, secured through the blood of the Lamb, 'O, Death! where is thy sting? O, grave! where is thy victory? The sting of Death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law; but, thanks be unto God, who giveth us the victory, through Jesus Christ our Lord.' ELLOH.

1

ON LOW SPIRITS.

Ir has been frequently observed, That nervous complaints are much more prevalent now than formerly in this country. Increas ing wealth, as multiplying the artificial gratifications of life, and deducting from the necessity of corporeal exertion, may be assigned as the general occasion, of this unfavourable change; but to see how this universal cause operates in particular cases, and may be most effectually counteracted, are the objects of the present Essay.

Low spirits originate in the body, in the mind, or in both. That a weak relaxed habit of body is a source of frequent and painful depressions to some, is too evident to require formal proof. They inherit, from their parents, an enfeebled constitution, susceptible of every impression from external changes. Not the mountain oak, but the trembling aspin is emblematic of their feelings and frame: but imprudent or vicious indulgence will produce similar effects with constitutional debility. Indolence enervates the whole mass, especially when accompanied with the unrestrained gratifications of a plentiful table. He who will doze away ten or more hours upon his bed, confine himself in a warm room through the greater part of his short day, and pamper an appetite unused to restraint, must expect an impost levied on his animal spirits, far more rigorous and grinding than all the taxes of the nation together.

Low spirits are sometimes occasioned by the state and feelings of the mind. The frequent recurrence of violent passions; thoughts overstrained with needless anxieties and worldly cares; dwelling too long and too minutely on the dark side of divine dispensations, regardles of the all-comprehending wisdom and infinite compassions of God; the conscience burdened with the guilt of wiliul sin, sin condemned by the judgment, but cherished in the heart; superstitious misconceptions of the character and requirements of our Maker, Governor, and Judge: fears of approaclring death, succeeding judgment, and eternal torments : these, cach, or all of these, may prove the fruitful sources of painful and inexpressible depression.

XVII.

Y

Both body and mind may contribute largely to the effect now described. Their impressions are mutual: they act and re-act on each other; and, in many cases, it may be impossible exactly to ascertain the proportion of their respective influence.

Now, there are many false methods of cure for low spirits: methods which invariably aggravate the disease, or induce another, more alarmingly dangerous. These operate as opiates, whose favourable influence is momentary, but whose abiding ef fects are pernicious. They are like Job's friends, physicians of no value; and, under their regimen, the drooping patient grows worse and worse. Such are,

1. Gay companions. These are adepts in banishing from their giddy circle every thing like serious religion. God is not in all their thoughts, nor his venerable name upon their tongues, unless under the ebullitions of passion, the flippancy of wit, or the vacancy of rational discourse. The faces of these triflers affect a perpetual, but, in reality, a hollow smile. Themselves the subjects of chagrin and vanity, how can they administer relief to the mind torn with anxiety and sinking in dismay? Alas! miserable comforters are they all; and unhappy is that soul that seeks a cure in their society!

2. Some fly to fashionable amusements to relieve their care. The card-table, the assembly-room, or the theatre are pleaded for, and recommended as the most rational and innocent expedient to recreate the drooping spirits, and chace away the melancholy of the soul. These are indeed admirably calculated to kill time, and to carry away the mind to the remotest distance from every thing serious; but what is there in the transient pleasures of sin that is able to yield solid enjoyment? Or how can those lying vanities afford living satisfaction, over which we see the finger of God inscribe The end of these things is death?

3. Others seek ease under the anxieties of life, by a method still more fatal than those already mentioned, by resorting to the use of ardent spirits and cordials. These are first taken, under the specious name of necessary medicines. They are repeated in small quantities, from time to time, till they are relished; and considered by the deluded party as wholesome and necessary. For a season, these murderous extracts procure a suspension of the more urgent symptoms; but the truce is short and deceitful. they return with redoubled force, and demanding larger supplies. The glass of mixture is superceded by the simple dram, and the hard drinker is formed. The wheels of the vital machine are fired, and the infatuated suicide drops into the grave and Hell*.

* An eminent minister of the gospel, remarkable for his strong and nervous expressions, once called spirituous liquors Distilled Death! Liquid

Damnation !

ED.