THOUGHTS ON DEATH.

1. As we advance in life, and age and infirmities come upon us, the thoughts of death, and the fear of it, often take fast hold of our minds; but nothing can be more unworthy of an immortal being, than the fear of its passage to immortality; unless it arises from a deep sense of our own unworthiness.-In this case we should remember, that though the Holy Spirit has said, that in the sight of God no man living can be justified, and that before him the stars themselves are not pure; yet it also tells us, that God is merciful and good to those whose hearts are upright. Let us beseech him to grant us this integrity of heart, which is

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so acceptable to him, and we may then rely on his mercy for the pardon of our

sins.

2. When we look upon death at a distance, when, in youth, health, and vigour, we cast our eyes toward the grave, our reflections are transient, and we are unmoved by so awful a prospect: But when sickness, age, and infirmities, shew us the near approaches to the tomb, our weak nature turns with horror from the idea of dissolution. It is only through faith in the promises of God, and hope in the infinite merits of our Redeemer, that we can stedfastly look on death, and overcome the terrors, which the most perfect of mortals must feel, at putting off mortality. We need not blame ourselves, if we cannot feel joy in quitting this world: Human nature cannot be perfected in this life; we may be satisfied with ourselves, if we are entirely resigned to the will of God, with

out murmuring or repining, when he is pleased to call for us. Death is to the best an awful summons, and human nature turns from the bitter

cup; but let our spirit say with our blessed Lord→ My God! not my will, but Thine be done."

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3. How deplorable is that blindness, which shuts the mind against the con templation of death; although we know it to be inevitable, and that we cannot retard its approach by banishing reflec tion on it! The serious consideration of this awful subject would divest it of many of its terrors, and we should, by degrees, acquire the power to think of it with composure. The prospect is, indeed, terrible to us, while we are enslaved to the world, and while we place all our happiness in its enjoyments; but when we truly love God, we shall long to behold him in his heavenly kingdom. There is no way to that kingdom but by

death; and though the passage from this life to the next, is awful to our mortal nature, yet God is sufficient to support us through it. It is not from our own merits that we can derive any confidence in that hour of trial, but from an humble reliance on Him, who is our Redeemer! "who has tasted of death for us," and dispersed the darkness of the grave; even Jesus Christ," the Captain of our Salvation:" He has opened to us the gate of life and immortality: He himself has led the way, and is gone to prepare a place for us; and through faith in Him, and trust in his merits, we have a powerful claim to the mercy of an offended God. When we have died unto sin, in our spiritual nature, the death of the body is only the consummation of the work of grace, and the beginning of our everlasting happiness; and in our last conflict we shall be enabled to say"O Death, where is thy sting; O Grave, where is thy victory ?-Thanks be to

God, who giveth us the victory, through Jesus Christ our Lord." Amen.

5. We strive to stifle the thoughts of death, and to banish them from our minds, in order to avoid depression and sadness; but how great is our folly in so doing:-Death will come, whether we prepare for it or not;-and when it calls upon us to bid an everlasting farewell to all our earthly pursuits and enjoyments, we shall then clearly perceive (but, alas ! too late) the fatal error into which we have fallen; we shall then see, that the best use which we could have made of our talents, our health, or our riches, of our time, and of all the events of our lives, would have been to employ them as the means of preparing ourselves for death. Moreover, the habitual consideration of death is the most powerful restraint we can have on our conduct in this life-and we should keep Death in view as our only object and end.