my life is to serve Christ, for whom I spend it; and the consolations of his Spirit are my support during its continuance. 4 But even death, death itself, is ours, if we be true followers of Christ. Oh how this mysterious privilege marks the distinction which separates believers from the men of the world! To all but the sons of God death is a sad and hated subject. He is their enemy, and their terror. They would not only put off the approach of death, but even, if possible, would bribe him to return his shafts to their quiver. But this can not be. For them he still retains his sting; and the grave still expects its victories. Yet this very object of their dread and abhorrence is ours, because it puts an end to all our sorrows, and all our sins. Partakers of our common nature, we are liable to pain, disease, accident, and all the hardships of our present state; to distress of mind, from domestic and social afflictions; and to the other various sources of human misery. Nevertheless, this anguish is not to us as it is to others. We have learned to endure it, and in patience to possess our souls. But let us wait a little longer, and death shall be ours; our release from all which mingled life's blessing with a curse. Death will unlock the prison door, and bid us go free. Sin itself, the heaviest burden, the chain which, in the prison house, bound us fastest to its walls, shall be eternally removed. The gulf is now passed. When St. Paul said, "To me to live is Christ," he added, "to die is gain" for by death he obtained all he wanted. His living to Christ was a grea privilege; but how inferior to his actually being with Christ! Indeed, the great happiness of death is not its release of the soul from the penalties of sin in this world, but its introduction of the soul into the paradise of God. The death of Jesus Christ, by opening the kingdom of heaven to all believers, removed the sting of death. Thus it became ours. Not but, that we must meet it, and endure one last struggle; but to this succeeds an everlasting triumph... It is farther true, that death is ours, even when it happens to the wicked. Their miserable end may be improved as an awful warning. But if a Christian can gather wisdom from the dying bed of a sinner, much more is the death of the saints his. Death is ours when we approach the couch, and witness the parting hour of a believer. The exercise of his graces seems to awaken, and refit, and confirm, our own. We exult over him as another conquest gained by Christ over the grave; and we have a fellow-feeling that the same Conqueror will triumph in ourselves. We view in him a pledge and pattern of the blessedness in reserve for many, many others; even for all who are already gathered within the mystical church, and are prepared by the grace and mercy of Jesus Christ for the perfect communion of saints in his presence and glorious kingdom. 5. Things present are also in the catalogue of the true Christian's possessions; since the general state of things below is ordered to his best advantage. In times of war and tumult, he has the privilege of the warnings then proclaimed of the changing nature of this earth and all its greatness; and his soul is raised above the world's prosperity, while it is not cast down by the falls of human power. In a period of peace, he is reminded of the everlasting rest of heaven, and has leisure to attend upon God with less distraction; though he is at the same time alive to the danger of relaxing his vigilance when the general calm around him tempts him to sleep as do others. Commercial distress or failure, accidents from the violence of the winds and waves; or, on the other hand, success in worldly pursuits, security from evils affecting others; all these are his. Public events, no matter sublime privilege even to "God, the Judge of all," and to "Jesus, the Mediator of the new covenant." So then, the Lord God Almighty condescends to connect himself with us. it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know, that when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is." To us also belongs the blood of sprinkling in all its atoning and purifying effects, particularly as those effects reach into eternity, and accordingly may be regarded as "things to come." whether favourable or otherwise, may, in their various degrees, tend to make him wise unto salvation. In all he hears it said, "Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. The world is crucified" Now are we the sons of God, and unto me, and I unto the world. All things work together for good to them that love God. Set your affection on things above. Here we have no continuing city, but we seek one to come." These are the truths which, as interpreted by the actual state of the world, are always repeating in the ears of true Christians, "Things present are yours." The course of human affairs is directed for their advantage; and the dispensations of Providence are arranged in their favour; while irreligious persons depend for their happiness on objects of a perishable nature, though they are wearied and discontented while they hold them, and when they lose them meet with wretchedness in some new form. ་་ 6. I proceed to another source of the Christian's wealth. Things to come" are yours. Of all the truths declared in the text. this seems hitherto to be the most obvious. Heaven itself, the great thing to come, is actually prepared by Jesus Christ for his true disciples: "I go to prepare a place for you." This then is doubly ours, if we be of the number first, by purchase, as bought by the most precious blood of Christ; secondly, by inheritance, since we are coheirs with Christ. --The inhabitants of the heavenly country are ours. If they are angels, they are ministering spirits commissioned to be the guardians of our happiness, till we become eternally their companions in bliss. If they are the spirits of the just, they shall welcome our arrival, and assist in our everlasting praises. St. Paul speaks of our upion with them as already begun "Ye are come to an innumerable company of angels, to the general assembly and church of the first born, which are written in heaven, and to the spirits of just men made perfect." He extends this 7. The apostle repeats the assertion in the first clause of the text by declaring, "All are yours," perhaps to mark his anxiety to assure the saints at Corinth of the firm and unshaken nature of their divine privi leges. As though he had said, "There is not one in this heavenly list of mercies, but what is absolutely your own. This is the list of your treasures, either in possession or reversion. Your mortal and immortal state, the sceue of your pilgrimage and the promised inheritance, the frame of nature and the house not made with hands,' the limits of time and the immeasurable period of eternity, all are yours.' Each has its peculiar blessings; and every blessing is for you. Do not imagine that the measures of the lov ing-kindness of God are scanty. Christ's own words were, Not as the world giveth, give I unto you.' He was unlike the world, both in the manner in which he distributed his bounty, and in the nature of the bounty itself. 8. "And ye are Christ's." The treasures of time and eternity having been described as belonging to believers, the owners of these treasures are then mentioned as themselves belonging to Jesus Christ. It is the mark of devout souls that they are ever willing to surrender all they have and are into the hands of their Lord. To them, as their Redeemer, he has indeed an undoubted right. The time was, when neither Paul, my life is to serve Christ, for whom I spend it; and the consolations of his Spirit are my support during its continuance. 4 But even death, death itself, is ours, if we be true followers of Christ. Oh how this mysterious privilege marks the distinction which separates believers from the men of the world! To all but the sons of God death is a sad and hated subject: He is their enemy, and their terror. They would not only put off the approach of death, but even, if pos-sible, would bribe him to return his shafts to their quiver. But this cannot be. For them he still retains his sting; and the grave still expects its victories. Yet this very object of their dread and abhorrence is ours, because it puts an end to all our sorrows, and all our sins. Partakers of our common nature, we are liable to pain, disease, accident, and all the hardships of our present state; to distress of mind, from domestic and social afflictions; and to the other various sources of human misery. Nevertheless, this anguish is not to us as it is to others. We have learned to endure it, and in patience to possess our souls. But let us wait a little longer, and death shall be ours; our release from all which mingled life's blessing with a curse. Death will unlock the prison door, and bid us go free. Sin itself, the heaviest burden, the chain which, in the prison house, bound us fastest to its walls, shall be eternally removed. The gulf is now passed. When St. Paul said, "To me to live is Christ," he added, "to die is gain" for by death he obtained all he wanted. His living to Christ was a grea privilege; but how inferior to his actually being with Christ! Indeed, the great happiness of death is not its release of the soul from the penalties of sin in this world, but its introduction of paradise of God ours. Not but that we must meet it, and endure one last struggle; but to this succeeds an everlasting triumph. It is farther true, that death is ours, even when it happens to the wicked. Their miserable end may be improved as an awful warning. But if a Christian can gather wisdom from the dying bed of a sinner, much more is the death of the saints his. Death is ours when we ap proach the couch, and witness the parting hour of a believer. The exercise of his graces seems to awaken, and refit, and confirm, our own. We exult over him as another conquest gained by Christ over the grave; and we have a fellow-feeling that the same Conqueror will triumph in ourselves. We view in him a pledge and pattern of the blessedness in reserve for many, many others; even for all who are al ready gathered within the mystical church, and are prepared by the grace and mercy of Jesus Christ for the perfect communion of saints in his presence and glorious king dom. 5. Things present are also in catalogue of the true Christian's p sessions; since the general things below is ordered to his advantage. In times of war tumult, he has the privilege of warnings then proclaimed changing nature of this earth its greatness; and his soot above the world's prosperite it is not cast down by the human power. In a p he is reminded of rest of heaven, and h tend upon God wither though he is at the to the danger of lance when th him tem Gospel, mankind e two parties of st's, and such as n the rival kingdarkness, there is 1. We are either ainst him. If with shall all things be Searchable, crowns est everlasting. May 15 such riches, such st, through the enand abundant merits ! Amen. the Christian Observer. e pleased to insert a uch I some time since you, of the different shop Wilson and Bion the same passage ew, I beg leave now to ..nilar observations. out by disclaiming the Speaking evil of dignipecially of mitred digtheless, when I discover d most important divertion between those wriOur Established Church, hority we are accustomed, ersally called on, to respect, ture to point out that diwith a view to our deterwhich opinion is the true d embracing it. It is consias no disrespect to the most nt writers on the sciences or sophy, to trace the discordance rinciple which appears in the is they have offered to the rld. On the contrary, such a easure is approved, as indispensable the removal of those errors which ould obscure the light of scientific or philosophical knowledge. That truth should be pursued by similar means, in so high a subject as religion, scarcely requires to be established brgument. C WŁ the statement of the of " regenera the Bishop of ation of Calvin nor Apollos, nor Cephas, were theirs; and at that period they were not Christ's. The world was not theirs; nor life, nor death; neither things present nor to come; none of these things belonged to them, and they were not owned by the Son of God. But things are now changed. Their possessions embrace every thing within the range even of eternity; and as these possessions are enlarged, they feel an increasing eagerness to humble themselves be fore Him who bought them at the costly price of his own blood. Thus the benefits which originally flowed from Him may be said to return to Him. Thus, in the mystical intercourse subsisting between Christ and his church, salvation is imparted to them from him; and all the glory (and the glory is great) is ascribed to him. Whatever they gain, they willingly give back, with a fervid but humble hope, that whatever heavenly fruits of salvation are to be seen in their spirit and character, may all go to advance his glory. If the world be theirs, they wish all it gives them to contribute to the exaltation of Christ. How lively was the impression made upon an apostle's mind by this view of the spiritual life, when he said, "I live: yet not I, but Christ liveth in me!" and when he so solemnly declared to the Colossian converts, "Your life is hid with Christ in God!" Most certainly, if any humbly judge them selves to be partakers of the redemption which is in Christ, they assume no jot nor tittle of merit to them-liness, "God manifest in the flesh," selves, but confess, "Thou art worthy; for thou hast redeemed us to God by thy blood." If they are preserved from wickedness, they re collect that He "redeemed them from all iniquity." If they are unhurt by the influence of the world, this is because "He gave himself for their sins, that he might deliver them from this present evil world." Every professor of Christianity should try and examine his religion by inquiring how far he attributes his salvation to the power and grace of the Son of God; and whether he considers his attainments in godliness to proceed from the quickening power of the Holy Ghost, which Christ promised to all believers. The Holy Ghost is Christ's advocate in the souls of men. In this character the Divine Spirit secures the exaltation of Christ's glory by the increase and establishment of the universal church, as shewing forth the triumph of the cross; and by the final majesty of the Redeemer's kingdom in the heavenly state. 9. St. Paul closes his summary by declaring, "Christ is God's." Ít appears that the whole system of the universe, natural and moral, olti mately advances the Divine glory. Christ, considered as a Mediator, as one who, for a season, obscured his godhead in human nature, as a peacemaker between the Father and sin ners, is God's; since in all he did for mankind he acted throughout with a view to secure and magnify the Divine attributes. The apostle says, "The head of Christ is God;" and he asserts, in reference to the close of Christ's mediatorial kingdom, "Then cometh the end, when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when he shall have put down all rule, and all authority, and power; and when all things shall be subdued unto him, then shall the Son also himself be subject unto him that put all things under him, that God may be all in all.” This branch of the subject connectsitself with that deepest mystery of god which cannot be otherwise than dimly seen by any human eye, and in contemplating which it is our best wisdom not to try to know what an gels themselves may not know nor desire to know, but to wonder and adore. Christ gave us a warning against undue curiosity, when he silenced an inquiry about the fewness of the elect by answering, "Strive to enter in at the strait gate: for many, I say unto you, will seek to enter in, and shall not be able.” The passage I have thus endea |