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comes a lifelefs mafs without fenfe or motion. But the foul can live without being joined to the body. We are exprefsly told, that they which kill the body, are not able to kill the foul*." The foul is a fpirit, and when parted from the body, it ftill thinks and wills, as it did before. It ftill feels and remembers, and is conscious of what it is, of what it has done, and of what it is doing. So that in fact a man's foul is a man's felf. It is that part, which is really the man: and thus we find St. Luke faying in the paffage, which in his gofpel anfwers to the text, "What is a man advantaged, if he gain the whole world, and lofe himself."

But there is another confideration, which fhews in a far higher degree, the worth of the foul. It is this. The foul not only lives, and thinks, and feels, even when parted from the body: but it will live, and think, and feel for ever. It is immortal. It will never die. It came forth from GOD, and like Gop himself will never ceafe to be. It will live to all eternity.-My brethren, did you ever feriously try to confider, what eternity is, or what is meant by living to all eternity? We may form fome notion about time; for we reckon, † Luke, ix. 25. •

* Matthew, x.

28.

and compare it, and fo may understand fomething of what it is. But eternity→→→→ aweful word! what can we know of it? It is above our thoughts, and beyond our understanding. We may have fome idea of what it would be to live for millions and millions of years. But to think, that after these are gone, ftill millions and millions of years are to come; that even when these are ended, eternity is still before: to confider that at the utmoft diftance of time, which we can count or cons ceive, the foul will ftill be living and thinking, and feeling; and at the fame time will be no nearer to an end, than it is at this prefent moment. What a vaft, what a wonderful idea of what ineftimable value muft the foul be! who can compute its worth?

But there is yet a further confideration to be added. The value of a thing is oftentimes best known, when it is loft. Now the foul may be loft. The man, who makes the bargain in the text, who fells his foul for the fake of worldly happiness, is faid to lofe his foul. What is meant by this expreffion? By the foul being loft, is not meant its ceafing to be; its finking, like the body, into a senseless state, without life and feeling. In this fenfe the foul cannot be loft for it will live for ever. But bow

will it live? this is the main question. Will it be happy or miferable? will it live in blifs or in pain? It may be happy. It may live in blifs. It may dwell for ever in the prefence, the favour, and the fervice of GOD. It may enjoy a glorious eternity in heaven. But on the other hand it may fail of all this. Inftead of being happy, it may be miferable. Inftead of living in blifs, it may live in pain. Inftead of dwelling for ever in the prefence, the favour, and the fervice of GOD, it may be driven from his prefence, be caft out of his favour, and be counted unworthy of his fervice. Instead of enjoying a glorious eternity in heaven, it may be condemned to fuffer everlasting torments in hell. And this is what is meant by the fouls being loft; its being loft to every good, and defirable, and valuable purpofe; its being loft to peace, and hope and happinefs; its being plunged into an endless state of grief, defpair and mifery.

Judge then, my brethren, what is the Worth of the Soul, and then say, Is worldly happiness well bought at fuch a price as this? Do thefe things bear any proportion to each other in value? Will worldly happiness make any amends for the lofs of the foul? Surely this one confideration-that,

the things, which are feen, are temporal; but that the things, which are not feen, are eternal* :" that all worldly happiness must come to an end, but that the lofs of the foul will be followed with never-ending mifery, is of itself fufficient to decide the queftion. This one confideration proves beyond all doubt the truth, which I am explaining. If a man, for the fake of enjoying one day's happiness, would willingly engage to fuffer pain and torture for fifty years, fhould we not at once condemn his folly? What then muft we fay to the folly of that man, who, for the fake of being happy while he lives, fhould confent to be miferable for ever when he dies: who, for the fake of obtaining a fhort, temporal perishable enjoyment, fhould engage to fuffer eternal torment? Would not fuch a man make a moft foolish bargain? Would he not in the end bitterly lament what he had done? Let us fuppofe him to have gained, were it poffible, the whole world; to have had as large a fhare of worldly honour, wealth, and pleafure, as any man ever yet had, or could have. Let us fuppofe him to have been as great, and wife, and rich as Solomon himself; to have poffeffed all the means of worldly enjoyment which he poffeffed, to have lived in * 2 Cor. iv, 18.

the full poffeffion of them for the greatest number of years, which any child of Adam has ever lived, yet what will all this profit him, when he fhall die, and fhall" lift up his eyes in hell, being in torments?" Afk him what he then thinks of his bargain, and of his wifdom in making it afk him, whether his past pleasures make up for his prefent fufferings? Whether, in gaining the world,, and lofing his foul, he has done well for himself? Whether, in cafting up the whole. account, in balancing his gains against his loffes, he is fatisfied with what he has done? What anfwer will. he make to thefe enquiries? He will furely fay,

Ah! no. I have miferably deceived myself. I have made a moft foolish bargain. I gain⚫ed indeed the world; but what does the "world. now profit me? What am I the bet"ter. for all Ihrad, and all I enjoyed on earth? "Nothing of my pleafures, or my poffeffions now remains.. Not even a drop of water is left. to cool.my tongue.. Had Eten thoufand, thousand worlds, how readily would "I give them all, that I might he delivered from this place of torment.. I have caught at a fhadow, but have let go the fubftance.. Ithought only of time. I forgot eternity, O that I had been wife: that I had under-