Further; the pure in heart also perceive and acknowledge the hand of God, in every particular instance of His goodness to themselves; and even in the afflictions they meet with in this vale of tears;relying with the firmest confidence on that gracious promise of their heavenly Father, that He will make all things work together for good to those whose great ambition it is to bring their natures to as near a conformity as possible to His own. They see Him likewise in his ordinances, and rejoice in every opportunity afforded them of meeting Him in His house, where they listen with reverence and thankfulness to the message there delivered to His people; and in their secret retirement, where no eye can see them, but His, they draw near to Him with humble and sincere devotion, desiring earnestly and above all things, as their greatest possible happiness, that he will draw nigh to them, and appear to them as their reconciled God and Father in Christ Jesus.

But a still higher privilege remains to be mentioned. The pure in heart shall see God, face to face, as one man beholdeth another. When they have fought the good fight, and finished their course, holding fast their faith and integrity to the end of it, they shall then be put into possession of the highest felicity of which finite creatures are capable. They shall be cleansed from all remainders of corruption, made perfect in purity, and introduced into the immediate presence of God, where there is fulness of joy, and at whose right hand there are pleasures for evermore. The Scriptures inform us, that it is far

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above human ability to form any adequate conception of the greatness of this happiness. We find it there represented under various figures, signifying such things as we usually account the most excellent and desirable; such as, an inheritance incorruptible, undefiled, and that fadeth not away,—an incorruptible crown, an eternal weight of glory,-a treasure which neither moth nor nor rust corrupteth,—and others of the same kind; all adapted to impress our minds with the highest possible ideas of its excellence, and thus to excite our desires and animate our endeavours to obtain it. But in the text, and in some other passages of the New Testament, we are told, without any figure, that the future felicity of the pure in heart will chiefly consist in seeing God, in being with their God and Redeemer, and enjoying the company of angels, and of the spirits of just men made perfect. Nothing, surely, can be wanting to the happiness of those who are admitted into such an august presence, and such a blessed society; and what ought fully to satisfy us of this, is the consideration, that the promise and the power of the Creator and Ruler of the universe, are engaged to render it complete and perpetual. The pure in heart enjoy many advantages, many invaluable privileges in the present life; but it is their future prospects, that they contemplate with the greatest satisfaction; and any thing of this world, even the best things of it, they do not judge worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed hereafter. "Now," say they, in the words of the

Apostle John, "Now are we the sons of God, -the objects of His Fatherly care and affection,—and it doth not yet appear what we shall be; but, this we know, that when He shall appear, we shall be like Him; for we shall see Him as He is; and every man, that hath this hope in Him, purifieth himself even as He is pure." Amen.

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SERMON VIII.

ON PEACEABLENESS.

MATTH. V. 9.

Blessed are the peace-makers; for they shall be called the children of God.

IMMEDIATELY after the angel had announced the birth of our Saviour to the shepherds of Bethlehem, there was suddenly with him a multitude of the heavenly Host, praising God, and saying, "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good-will towards men." This song of the angels gives a most just and comprehensive, and, at the same time, a most exalted view of the Christian dispensation, and is well adapted to move us to contemplate with wonder, gratitude, and delight, that glorious and beneficent manifestation of the Divine mercy, by which reconciliation and peace, and every blessing, are brought down from heaven to the children of

men.

The Gospel of Christ is frequently called the Gospel of peace;-and most justly; for it publishes the glad tidings of peace and reconciliation with God; it bestows on those who sincerely receive and obey it, a peace of mind which passeth all under

standing; and the spirit and tendency of it is to introduce and establish peace and friendship, harmony and good-will upon earth.

It was foretold by the prophet Isaiah, that the Messiah's name should be called, Wonderful, Counsellor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace; that of the increase of his government and peace, there should be no end; that he should judge among the nations, and should rebuke many people: and the prophet adds, as the happy effects of his government, "They shall beat their swords into ploughshares, and their spears into pruning-hooks, nation shall not lift up sword against nation; neither shall they learn war any more." And his heart glowing with affection for his countrymen, and anxious that they should partake of the inestimable blessings of the Messiah's kingdom, of which by Divine inspiration he had a clear view, he then beseeches them thus: "O house of Jacob, come ye, and let us walk in the light of the Lord."

The same prophet, in the eleventh chapter, describes, in the sublime strain of eastern poetry, the peace and innocence which should prevail under the Messiah's reign: "The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf, and the young lion, and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them. And the cow and the bear shall feed; and their young ones shall lie down together. And the lion shall eat straw like the ox. And the sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp; and the weaned