sustain; the extensive efforts which they make for the evangelization of the West; the great number of their children who, with a self-sacrificing devotion, have gone to distant lands to convert the heathen to Jesus, with the distinguished success which has followed their labors.

Remember the high position we occupy among the kingdoms of the earth; how the eyes of all Europe are upon us; with the great influence which we are exerting upon them by our free and popular institutions, and our voluntary method of supporting and diffusing religion.

Remember, also, the great numbers who are now coming to this land to find a home, with the morally sublime position which, if we are faithful to God, we shall soon occupy; for, if our population continues to increase as it has done till now, it will, in fiftyfour years from the present time, amount to five times its present number, or one hundred and one millions five hundred and fiftythree thousand three hundred and seventy-seven. Yes, before the infants now in the arms of some of you shall have reached the ordinary age of man, this vast number of immortal souls shall dwell in this land, and from the institutions we are endeavoring to sustain and perpetuate, receive the impress of their eternal destiny.

Is it possible to contemplate these things, and not discern the hand of God in the revolution we this day commemorate? Was it not necessary to the accomplishment of his kind designs, in relation to this nation and the world? Could those designs have been so well achieved without it? Oh! let us never forget that that great event did not result from human foresight, energy or skill, but that it was the ordination and the act of God. He delivered the people from the hand of the mighty, and set them on high among the nations. And it becomes us this day to say, "Ebenezer; hitherto the Lord hath helped us."

Ch, that the nation would prayerfully and obediently watch the manifestations of God's gracious hand; that they would honor him as their imperial President and Benefactor! Then would every cloud in our political horizon depart. Then would every thing which threatens the stability and growth of our institutions be removed. Selfishness, oppression, vice and error, would cease. The land would every where yield her increase, and God, even our own God, would bless us.

Then we should understand and fulfil the designs of Jehovah in

our national existence. We should cultivate affection for the vast brotherhood of man. We should be ready to liberate the enslaved, and receive and bless whomsoever he may send to our shores. Then we should labor to spread the knowledge and blessings of his gospel, guard against whatever is displeasing to his mind, and hasten the blissful millenium of the nation and the world. Then, to use the words of the lamented Everts, "as the sun rises, on a Sabbath inorning, and travels westward from Newfoundland to Oregon, he will behold the countless millions assembling, as if by a common impulse, in the temples with which every valley, mountain and plain, will be adorned. The morning psalm and the evening anthem will commence with the multitudes on the Atlantic coast, be sustained by the loud chorus of ten thousand times ten thousand in the valley of the Mississippi, and prolonged by the thousands of thousands on the shores of the Pacific. Throughout this wide expance not a discordant voice will be heard. If, unhappily, there should be here and there an individual, whose heart is not in unison with this divine employment, he will choose to be silent. Then the tabernacle of God will be with men. Then it will be seen and known to the universe, what the religion of the Bible can do, even on this side of the grave, for a penitent, restored, and rejoicing world." Happy is that people that is in such a case; yea, happy is that people whose God is the Lord. May it be so with us.

PRAYER.

"PRAYER-prayer-prayer-the first, second, and third element of the christian life-should open, prolong, and conclude each day. The first act of the soul in early morning should be a draught at the heavenly fountain. It will sweeten the taste for the day. If you can have but ten minutes with God at that fresh, tranquil, and tender season, make sure of those minutes. They are of more value than much fine gold. But if you tarry long so sweetly at the throne, you will come out of the closet as the high priest of Israel came from the awful ministry at the altar of incense, suffused all over with the heavenly fragrance of that communion."

SERMON CVI.

BY REV. PAUL A. M. WILLIAMS.
PASTOR OF THE M. E. CHURCH, SOUTH, WINSBORO', SOUTH CAROLINA.

DEATH DESIRABLE.

I would not live alway. Job vii. 16.

"SKIN for skin; yea, all that a man hath will he give for his life," was the reply of Satan to "the Lord," with respect to the perfection and uprightness of Job. Satan, in this interview, uttered a truth which has been thousands of times illustrated amongst men, and which is corroborated by the experience of all the living. Men love life, and will go almost any lengths in the range of possibilities to preserve it. The living know that they must die, and yet they cling to life to the very last, and are exceedingly reluctant to yield themselves up to the universal decree of Heaven. This love of life, and aversion of death, are not alone confined to those who are "without God in the world; " they often seriously affect pious and devoted christians. With this fact before us, how can we reconcile the doctrine or wish of the text, with truth and reason? The "good man, full of faith and of the Holy ghost," can fully appreciate the choice of the "man of Uz;" and we propose in this discourse, to assign a few reasons why the good man. "would not live alway."

1. The desire of knowledge seems to be a universal principle in the constitution of man, and it is, to a very considerable extent, wrought in his very nature and habits.

"The eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor the ear with hearing;" hence, men are continually in search after truth; and the mind, in this present life, is not content with any degree of knowledge, however useful and important, that can be conveyed to it. This desire of man after knowledge has no limits; yet our individual knowledge, from causes not necessary to enumerate here,

is very limited, and confined to very narrow bounds. This limitation of human knowledge is a very strong intimation that there must be some future state of existence with which we are at present unacquainted, wherein that insatiable desire will be fully and perfectly gratified, and the powers and faculties of the mind will be completely developed. How pleasing is this reflection to the christian philosopher, who studies men and things in reference to the glory of God and the salvation and happiness of his own soul! To the ungodly and the sinner, it is calculated to afford no comfort and satisfaction, for they seek not those "things which endure unto eternal life." Under the feelings and reflections which this subject is calculated to inspire, Job, under the Patriarchal dispensation, could say, "I would not live alway;" and this sentiment is adopted as part and parcel of the creed of every pious man; for, in this world, our views of Christ and his atonement, of heaven, the happiness and employments of the redeemed in glory, are even limited. The apostle Paul, says, 1 Corinthians, xiii. 12, "Now we see through a glass darkly, but then (in eternity,) "face to face; ""now I know in part, but then shall I know even as also I am known. For we know in part, and we prophecy in part," or in other words, we understand, find out, learn, and enjoy in part. "But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away." From this passage we may reasonably infer, that our divine knowledge and spiritual enjoyment are, and must continue to be, in a state of imperfection, whilst we remain in a probationary state; and it is only "when that which is perfect is come," that it will be otherwise. St. John tells us, first Epistle iii. 1, "Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God; and it doth not yet appear what we shall he: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is." It does not now appear what we shall be, (that is to us,) but we have an assurance, that when he shall appear, we shall be like him-all heavenly and immortal-and see him as he is, and enjoy his presence forever. What a precious hope is this? It produces a strong inclination in the pious bosom "to depart and be with Christ;" "for we know in whom we have believed, and are persuaded that he is able to keep that which we have committed unto him against that day." And it is written, "eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither entered into the

heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him." The day of eternity alone can reveal this, and make it plain.

"Then shall I see, and hear, and know,

All I desired or wished below;
And every hour find sweet employ,
In that eternal world of joy."

The anticipated joys of heaven, and the sublime pleasures of that eternal state, often ravish and delight the soul of the believer, and he strives to leave the things which are behind, that he may press forward to those which are before. How pleasant is it, in this life, to enjoy the comforts of love divine, and the influences of the Holy Ghost upon our hearts. But there we shall see him as he is, and enjoy him perfectly. The mind then, freed from all the incumbrances of mortality, will cast abroad its energies, in bold and novel strains of inquiry. The luxuriant fields of the celestial Paradise will furnish subjects and scenes of undying interest; and the beatified spirit may trace, with exquisite delight, those pleasant scenes of knowledge which will rise in endless succession for the improvement and gratification of the immortal mind.

We are informed, by the apostle Peter, that the angels of God desire to look into the mysterious plan of human redemption; and what must be the felicities and exalted privilege of men, if angels have only a partial knowledge of "the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow;" who have been made acquainted with, and enjoyed the benefits of the death and passion of our adorable Immanuel.

This subject is alone inexhaustible in its resources. It begins with the creation of the world, and ends where? With the funeral knell of time? No-eternity shall witness its endless duration, interest, and variety. For the theme of the redeemed in glory will be, "Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood, and hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father: to him be glory and dominion forever and ever, Amen." "We are come unto mount Zion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels, the general assembly and church of the firstborn which are written in heaven, and to God the judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect." These spirits are not only just, but perfect in the sight of God, and serve him day