shall be in their foreheads; the Lord God giveth them light, and they shall reign for ever and ever. God forgets all our sins, and remembers all our services. We forget all our services, and remember only our unprofitableness. Oh, how full of grace is the Gospel! To assure us, the double negative (ov μn) is used by our Lord to strengthen the faith of the sinner in coming to him Him that cometh unto me I will in no wise (ov μn) cast out. John vi. 37. And to strengthen the path of all who labour for him: I will not (ov μn), I will in no wise blot his name out of the book of life. Rev. iii. 5. And to strengthen the hope of a full reward.

Whosoever shall give to drink unto one of these little ones a cup of cold water only in the name of a disciple, verily I say unto you, he shall in no wise (ov μn) lose his reward.

Reader, may you and I then be stedfast, unmoveable, and always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord. May we often put up for ourselves and others the beautiful prayer of our Liturgy: "Stir up, we beseech thee, O Lord, the wills of thy faithful people, that they plenteously bringing forth the fruit of good works, may be of Thee plenteously rewarded, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen."

CHAP. IV.

THE NEEDFUL PREPARATION NOW TO BE MADE FOR

THESE GREAT EVENTS.

SUCH a subject teaches very many practical lessons, and the author has elsewhere more at large considered them.*

A few short lessons may, however, here be given.

I. It may teach us effectually that difficult lesson to be WEANED FROM THIS WORLD. The world passeth away and the lust thereof, but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever. We learn in a thousand ways how transitory earthly things are. Labour and toil, losses, sorrows, and disappointments, vex and harass the soul. Sickness, disease, and death, invade and possess the body.

But the sure word of prophecy comes with a deeper, wider, and, when received, a more awakening warning. It tells us, that all earthly things, without exception are passing away-nay, the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat; the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up. All that we now see is but a mere preparation.

*See "the Chief Concerns of Man," and "the Promised Glory," and also the Second Part of this Treatise.

The kingdom which cannot be moved is yet to come. To be seduced and ensnared by the lusts of this world; to take our rest in it; is to forfeit endless glory, to insure endless ruin. Real Christians, therefore, are dead to the world. Their life is hid with Christ in God. It is only when Christ, who is our life, shall appear, that the deep and full wisdom of this, and the unspeakable love of God, in calling us effectually by his grace to this hidden life, will be seen, then shall we also appear with him in glory. How is it possible to receive God's testimony, given so repeatedly in his word concerning things to come, to receive this truly in our hearts, and yet to have our whole affections fastened and glued to mere earthly things? When we realise, indeed, in our minds the whole course of prophecy, and distinctly see that God has given clear predictions of what was to happen in the Christian Church, from the ascension of our Lord to his return; that a large part of these predictions have, on the most diligent investigations, in the judgment of wise and holy men, strengthening from age to age, been manifestly fulfilled, and that we are living near to the time of the sounding of the last trumpet, and the judgment of the dead, and his fearful wrath coming on the wicked, it must, it does, change the whole current of our thoughts and plans. What manner of persons then ought we to be in all holy conversation and godliness! The semblance of religion, how empty and miserable for such a time. The blending of outward

profession of doctrines with worldly principles, how utterly worthless! The zeal for external things, which are all perishing, while inward spirituality and real regeneration of heart are despised: Oh, how vain! No divided heart will do. We must be the Lord's entirely and wholly. The lording it over God's heritage under the vain pretext of an authority, which he has never given (Matt. xx. 25, 26; 2 Cor. i. 24; x. 8. ; xiii. 10; 1 Peter v. 3.), the cruel usage of fellow-servants by those living in luxurious self-indulgence (Matt. xxiv. 49), how hateful, as well as how self-destructive in such a prospect of the Lord's speedy coming. May we then, Christian reader, be thus more and more weaned from this world; may we use it, without abusing it; may we sojourn here as strangers and pilgrims, and have our affections ever set on things above.

A second lesson then distinctly set before us is, To FIX OUR HOPES ON THE COMING GLORY. Hope is the anchor of the soul, keeping it stedfast amidst the storms that blow on every side. Hope of salvation is an helmet enabling us to lift up our heads in the day of battle. After the Apostle had spoken of the shaking and removing of the present heavens and earth, he says, it is that those things which cannot be shaken may remain, and hence describes Christians as receiving a kingdom that cannot be moved. So the Apostle Peter charges us, Gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end for the

grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.

Whatever may become of the world, and of the things of the world, whatever may become of our native country, or of the visible Church, to which we belong, what is best in them all, is safe for ever, and will blossom forth in full joy and glory for ever. AS TO OUR COUNTRY, the sins which we see all around us, and of which we are ourselves partakers, may well fill us with fears for it. They will lead the children of God to sigh and to cry for all the abominations that are done in the midst of us. No Christian can be indifferent to these deep and dear interests. He cannot be unconcerned about his fellow-men. He has a real, sincere, and full love to all men, desiring their salvation. He is a real brother to all his kindred after the flesh. He is a real patriot to his country. He will like our blessed Redeemer in the last gasp of life, care for his own people, and pray for them, whatever injuries they may inflict upon him. But he has something yet dearer still, dearer than his own life: THE GLORY OF HIS SAVIOUR, HIS APPROVAL, AND THE ENJOYMENT OF HIS PRESENCE FOR EVER. He has a better country, a better home, than any on earth. He belongs to a family whose best home is above. Whatever then may become of things with which he is now conversant, he knows all is in the hands of infinite wisdom and love. It is only evil that will be destroyed, good is in its nature enduring his