of affliction, and thy Father's hand was laid heavily on thee; but thou art now removed to an infinite distance from sorrow and disappointment, thy warfare is past, thy sufferings are ended; but far more, thy glorified spirit is for ever released from sin! It is that which swells in more exalted strains the harps of angelic choirs. O, to be eman. cipated from corruption, to join in singing the praises of the Lamb that was slain, and to sit down at the marriage supper of Jesus, our elder brother! The seraphic Milton beautifully sets forth the sinless enjoyment of the beatified saints: Then shall thy saints, unmixed and from the impure Far separate, circling thy holy mount,

Unfeigned hallelujahs to thee sing,

Hymns of high praise..

The mind is lost when the world endeavours to pourtray the glories of heaven: but is it not delightful, if we only contrast it with earth, to reflect, that there we shall no more be subject to care and vicissitude, weariness, fatigue, or dejection—that our spiritual capacity shall no longer be clouded or weighed down by the pressure of these vile bodies -that our spirits shall neither tire nor faint in the service of Jesus-but with realizing views of that blessed land whose distant prospect seems near by faith, to delight our eyes; we shall hymn with increasing melody the praises of God!

Surely there will be degrees of bliss even in heaven; for although every vessel shall be full in the presence of Jesus, yet is it not stated in God's holy word, that one star shall differ from another star in glory; and is it not reasonable also to conclude that the child of God who has been privileged to lean on the bosom of the Saviour, and to enjoy the frequent and the peculiar manifestations

of his favour while on earth, would re-echo the praises of that loved name in the realms of bliss, with a voice more sweetly and powerfully attuned, than he who (though equally safe) had received the pardon of his sins, like the dying thief, but just previous to his admission into Paradise? Whether it be so or not, enough is recorded to prove that there will be a fulness of enjoyment, and this assurance may well excite our warmest desires.

The removal of those friends on whose faithfulness, and untiring affection, we were wont to recline, is designed by our heavenly Father, to teach us some important lessons; and among others, the withering nature of earthly happiness: for so prone are we to evil, that we sometimes idolize the gifts of an indulgent God, regardless of the almighty and bountiful dispenser, who thus in mercy casts a veil of sorrows over those enjoyments which, had he allowed to remain unclouded, would have weaned us from himself; and bids the bitter tears of deeply wounded feeling to flow in much love to our souls, that the disappointments we experience below, may loosen our hold on creature comforts, and beget a willingness to flee away and be at rest.

"As those we love decay, we die in part;

String after string is sever'd from the heart,
Till loosen'd life, at last but breathing clay,
Without one pang is glad to fall away.
Unhappy he who latest feels the blow,

Whose eyes have wept o'er every friend laid low;
Dragg'd, lingering on, from partial death to death,
Till, dying, all he can resign is breath."

Like as the Egyptians drew heavily, their chariot-wheels being removed; so, through the pressure of affliction, the Lord graciously leads his

people to become weary of the world, that they may cling more closely to the cross of Jesus; and though the wound which infinite love sees needful to inflict, be too deep for human sympathy to heal, yet if it be sanctified to our souls, and we are thereby led to think more of that God whose unerring wisdom appointed the blow; we may well adopt the language of the pious Young, and with feelings like him exclaim,

"Amid my list of blessings infinite,

Stand this the foremost, that my heart has bled.""

And in reference to the departed, who lived and died in the Lord; how should the consideration of their superior happiness check the mournful sigh! Those dying strains whose chords yet vibrate on the survivor's ear, awakening all those feelings, around which memory still hovers with fond delight, are now exchanged for notes unmingled with woe; nor would we wish (were it possible) for one moment, "to constrain the liberated spirit into bonds again." Rather let the thought of meeting our departed friends in glory, and the assurance that ere long it will be our turn to endure the struggles of dissolving nature, stimulate us to increased watchfulness and prayer in our Christian course for as we are led to cultivate communion with Jesus on earth, and to live very near his footstool, with a mind deadened to the world, and thoughts frequently exercised on eternal realities; in that proportion will death be disarmed of his sting, and appear rather as an angel of light commissioned by the Father of spirits to convey our souls to glory.

And in order to promote our advancement in holiness, let us constantly cherish all those feelings

which tend very highly to exalt the Saviour, in the dignity of his person, and in the preciousness of his offices, as Christ Mediator to his people. May we be led to meditate much on his finished work; and by an appropriating faith, be enabled to realize in our happy experience, that he has for us completed the work which the eternal Father gave him to do; that nothing shall be able to separate us from his love, and that although sin may be permitted to assault us even till we arrive in glory, it shall never finally prevail against us; yet a few more revolving suns, and if interested in Jesus, we shall bid a final adieu to sorrow and temptation, and become inhabitants of those mansions which the dear Redeemer promised to prepare for all his blood-bought family.

It is indeed sweet, when the mind is rightly attuned, to reflect on the love which induced the Saviour to leave the realms of glory, and dwell in this our wretched world; but more especially that he should condescend to assume our nature, and tabernacle in clay: Ah! had he not participated in the groans of humanity, and experienced all the agonies which our nature is capable of sustaining (sin excepted), he would not, perhaps, have been touched as he now is with a feeling of his people's infirmities; it therefore "became him, for whom are all things, in bringing many sons and daughters to glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings."

If it be so sweet to think on the love of Jesus below, what shall we feel when admitted to his presence in glory? and if we delight to sound his praises on earth, how shall we rejoice when our tremulous voice, now checked by frequent sighs, shall be aided by celestial harps; and

the feeble accents of redeeming love, be strengthened by the chorus of the general assembly and church of the first-born, whose names are written in heaven! This is indeed "a consummation devoutly to be wished."

Holy Spirit, attune my heart to sing the praises of a dear Redeemer, while I sojourn in this vale of tears; enkindle a flame of holy zeal and love in my languid affections: may the fire of devotion burn more brightly on the altar of sweet and intimate communion with Jesus; that my service below may be but a prelude to that sublimer worship above, which admits of no interruption; but which will be perpetuated throughout the ages of a ceaseless eternity.

CHRISTIAN GUARDIAN.

FUNERAL HYMN.

He has gone to his God; he has gone to his home, No more amid peril and error to roam;

His eyes are no longer dim ;

His feet will no more falter;

No grief can follow him;

No pang his cheek can alter.

There are paleness, and weeping, and sighs below;
For our faith is faint, and our tears will flow;
But the harps of heaven are ringing,

Glad angels come to greet him;
And hymns of joy are singing,

While old friends press to meet him.

O honoured, beloved, to earth unconfined,
Thou hast soared on high; thou hast left us behind.