supposition they can possibly be, still a time must come, when they will cease. There is a day, beyond which they cannot last. When that day comes, either he will be taken from his enjoyments, or they will be taken from him. Either he will be stript of them altogether, or he will lose the power of using them, or he will be removed to a place, whither he cannot carry them; and where the having formerly had them will be of no advantage, nor the recollection of it yield any satisfaction. From this view we may form some judgment of the real value of Worldly Happiness.

II. As to the worth of the soul...

The worth of the soul will, in some degree, appear from this consideration, that it is the most excellent part of man. It is that part of him, which thinks and wills; that part of him, which governs and directs the body. The body can do nothing without the soul. It is the soul which moves the body, and tells it where to go, and what to do. It is the soul, which hopes and fears; which grieves and rejoices; which desires, and hates, and loves. If the soul be taken away, the body becomes a lifeless mass without sense or motion. But the soul can live without being

joined to the body. We are expressly told that "they which kill the body, are not able to kill the soul." The soul is a spirit, and when parted from the body, it still thinks and wills as it did before. It still 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 soul is a man's self. It is that part, which is really the man: and thus we find St. Luke saying in the passage, which in his gospel answers to the text, "What is a man advantaged, if he gain the whole world, and lose himself?" +

But there is another consideration, which shews, in a far higher degree, the worth of the soul. It is this. The soul 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 GOD himself, will never cease to be. It will live to all eternity.--My bre-thren, did you ever seriously try to consider what eternity is, or what is meant by living to all eternity? We may form some notion about time: for we reckon and compare it, and so may understand

Matthew, x. 28. † Luke, ix. 25.

something of what it is. But eternityawful word! what can we know of it? It is above our thoughts, and beyond our understanding. We may have some idea of what it would be to live for millions and millions of years. But to think, that after these are gone, still millions and millions of years are to come; that even when these are ended, eternity is still before us; to consider, that at the utmost distance of time which we can count or conceive, the soul will still be living, and thinking, and feeling; and at the same time will be no nearer to an end, than it is at this present moment. What a vast, what a wonderful idea! Of what inestimable value must the soul be! Who can compute its worth?

But there is yet a further consideration to be added: The value of a thing is oftentimes best known, when it is lost. Now the soul may be lost. The man who makes the bargain in the text, who sells his soul for the sake of worldly happiness, is said to lose his soul. What is meant by this expression? By the soul being lost, is not meant its ceasing to be; its sinking, like the body, into a senseless state, without life and feeling. In this sense the soul cannot be lost; for it will live for ever. But how

will it live? This is the main question, Will it be happy or miserable? Will it live in bliss or in pain? It may be happy. It may live in bliss. It may dwell for ever in the presence, the favour, and the service of God. It may enjoy a glorious eternity in heaven. But on the other hand, it may fail of all this. Instead of being happy, it may be miserable. Instead of living in bliss, it may live in pain. Instead of dwelling for ever in the presence, the favour, and the service of GoD, it may be driven from his presence, be cast out of his favour, and be counted unworthy of his service. Instead of enjoying a glorious eternity in heaven, it may be condemned to suffer everlasting torments in hell. And this is what is meant by the soul's being lost; its being lost to every good, and desirable, and valuable purpose; its being lost to peace, and hope, and happiness: its being plunged into an endless state of grief, despair, and misery.

Judge then, my brethren, what is the worth of the soul, and then say, Is worldly happiness well bought at such a price as this? Do these things bear any proportion to each other in value? Will worldly happiness make any amends for the loss of the soul? Surely this one consideration

that," the things which are seen, are temporal; but the things which are not seen, are eternal;"* that all worldly happiness must come to an end, but that the loss of the soul will be followed with never-ending misery-is of itself sufficient to decide the question. This one consideration_proves, beyond all doubt, the truth which I am explaining. If a man, for the sake of enjoying one day's happiness, would willingly engage to suffer pain and torture for fifty years,should we not at once condemn his folly? What then must we say to the folly of that man, who, for the sake of being happy while he lives, should consent to be miserable for ever when he dies; who, for the sake of obtaining a short, temporal, perishable enjoyment, should engage to suffer eternal torment?-Would not such a man make a most foolish bargain?-Would he not in the end bitterly lament what he had done? Let us suppose him to have gained, were it possible, the whole world; to have had as large a share of worldly honour, wealth, and pleasure, as any man ever yet had, or could have. Let us suppose him to have been as great, and wise, and rich as Solomon himself; to have possessed all the means of worldly enjoyment which he possessed; to have lived in

2 Cor. iv. 18.