sentative of another, with respect to the time and the degree in which the expected benefit shall be conferred.

The procedure of God towards the saint has been compared to the manner of proceeding under the ceremonial law, in reference to a house infected with leprosy. "The priest shall break down the house, the stones of it, and the timber thereof, and all the mortar of the house; and he shall carry them forth out of the city into an unclean place.' ."* In like manner God destroys the earthly house of our tabernacle, which is polluted with sin, and commands it to be carried to the grave. It has been remarked too, that under the ancient economy earthen vessels which had been defiled were broken, but those which were formed of a more solid or a more precious substance, were only washed with water, or purified by fire. Our souls are vessels of gold, and for this reason, although polluted, he does not destroy them, but he reduces our sinful bodies to dust. These, however, are merely illustrations, and I believe fanciful illustrations, of the fact, and they give us no assistance in discovering the reasons of it.

The death of the body is sometimes represented as necessary to the complete sanctification of the soul. To do so, however, is to commit the mistake of confounding the conjunction of two events with the relation of cause and effect, We acknowledge that the saints are not made perfect in holiness till they die; but although God has established a connexion between these two things, there is no reason to think that it is a necessary connexion. It does not follow, because he usually produces a certain effect in a particular way, that he could not produce it in a different way. What should hinder him from sanctifying believers wholly in the present life? You say, perhaps, that the present constitution of the body is an obstacle. It would not be easy, however, to explain this point satisfactorily or intelligibly; to show that, great as is the influence of the body upon the mind, almighty grace could not fully counteract it, so far as it is unfriendly to holiness. But, supposing that there is something in the present state of the body which renders perfect holiness unattainable, we may ask again, what should hinder God from now effecting such a change as would fit the body for co-operating with the soul in its purest exercises? That the separation of the soul from the body, and the dissolution of the latter in the grave, are not necessary to the complete purification of the soul, is evident from the cases of those who were translated to heaven without undergoing temporal death. There have been only two who enjoyed this privilege, Enoch and Elijah; but two examples establish the conclusion as fully as a thousand would do. They show, that it is not from any necessary connexion between the death of the body and the perfection of the soul, that believers are not exempted from the former. This position is farther corroborated by what we know will take place at the second coming of Christ. "Behold, I show you a mystery, we shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump; for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed." It is commonly said, that although some of the saints shall not die, they will undergo a change equivalent to death. I suspect that these are words without any distinct meaning; but if they do mean any thing, it is this, that upon those saints the same effect will be produced by the immediate power of God, which is produced upon the saints at present by temporal death. But this is to give up the point; it is to acknowledge that men may be fully sanctified without undergoing dissolution, for such will be the fact with respect to the last generation of the saints.

These remarks are intended to show you, that we are not able properly to assign the reason why the sentence of temporal death is not revoked in favour of the righteous. It has been said, that the design is to inspire them with abhorrence of sin, which is followed by such fatal effects; to keep them humble, † 1 Cor. xv. 51, 52.

* Lev. xiv. 45.

and to give them an opportunity to display their faith, and patience, and hope. Without inquiring whether these purposes are sufficient to account for the fact, we remark that there is one thing which, if it should not solve the difficulty, will at least show that an end is accomplished which is in unison with the general tenor of the moral administration of God. In the present state, we must walk by faith and not by sight, or, in other words, we are to be regulated in the choice and practice of religion, not by the evidence of sense, but by the evidence of testimony. It is not given to us to see the realities of the world to come; to have ocular demonstration of the glorious reward of piety, and the terrible punishment of ungodliness. Although these are subjects of infinite importance, and our whole conduct should be influenced by them, all our knowledge comes through the medium of revelation. This, as some would say, places us in a state of trial. We are put to the test, whether we will repose such confidence in the word of God, as to enter upon that course of conduct, with all its privations and difficulties, which he has assured us will lead to a happy result. What is said on this subject would require to be guarded and qualified; and therefore, laying it aside for the present, I observe, that it appears to be the will of God, that faith should be our guide in the pilgrimage of life. But it would be subversive of this design to give an open and regular declaration in favour of the good, and against the bad, in the dispensations of Providence. Were it known, exactly, who are the objects of the love, and who of the hatred of God, that is, were it known in any other way than by the testimony of Scripture, the province of faith would be greatly circumscribed, and we should then see, what we are now called to believe. Had the righteous been exempted from temporal death, it would have been known to all who they were, and that their piety was recompensed, when they were openly translated to heaven. No person could have doubted of a future state, when he saw his acquaintances and neighbours removed to it; or have called in question the truth and advantages of religion, when he was himself a witness of the performance of its promises. Hence we perceive the reason, why God has admitted into his plan the temporal death of those who are interested in the atonement of his Son. It is to preserve the consistency of his administration, to exclude any thing which would have broken in upon its uniformity, and defeated its design. He leaves them apparently in the same situation with other men. Like them they are afflicted, and like them they die.

But, although one event happens to all, there is a great difference between the death of a righteous, and that of a wicked man; a difference not in the nature of the event considered as a physical fact, but in its design and its consequences. In the case of the saint, it terminates, as we shall afterwards more fully see, his long and painful struggle with sin, and completes his restoration to the image of God, which has been carrying on, since the hour of his conversion, by the ordinances of religion and the dispensations of Providence. It closes also the scene of his sorrows; it releases the weary sufferer, and dismisses him to rest; it removes the veil which conceals the glories of the eternal world; it breaks down the partition-wall which separated him from his God. This moment he feels the agonies of expiring nature, or is lying in a state of insensibility; the next, he is full of life, and joy, and activity. We behold an heir of glory entering upon the possession of his inheritance; and death, which appears so dreadful to the by-stander, is to him the gate of life. "Mark the perfect man, and behold the upright; for the end of that man is peace.' Öften his latter end is peace in respect of his own feelings. His body may suffer pain, but his mind is tranquil, for he knows in whom he has believed, and is assured that he is able to keep the trust which he has committed to him. He is parting with those who have long been dear to him in the bonds

Ps. xxxvii. 37.

of nature and friendship; but he is going home to his Father, and to the family of the first-born; and he leaves the objects of his affection to the care of Him who has led him all his life, and will take them under his protection. Natura. affection remains in the bosom of a good man to the last, for it is the work of God, and his grace has refined and strengthened it; but he is actuated by a higher principle of heavenly love, and his soul longs for the enjoyment of his God: "Whom have I in heaven but thee? and there is none upon earth whom I desire beside thee."* But it may happen that the Christian shall not leave the world in the full assurance of hope. Death and fears may haunt his mind, and a cloud may rest upon his closing scene; yet still his latter end is peace, because it is safe. To him death has lost its sting; for its sting was sin, but through the blood of Christ his guilt is cancelled, and will not appear against him in judgment. Through the weakness of his faith, the king of terrors may wear an alarming aspect. But he is the messenger of his Father, and comes upon an errand of mercy. Angels are waiting to receive him, and as soon as his spirit has escaped from its frail and falling tabernacle, his fears will be exchanged for everlasting triumph.

The death of the righteous is sometimes described as a sleep. This is an example of euphonism, or that figure of rhetoric by which a thing unpleasant in itself is expressed by an agreeable name. It is not peculiar to the Scriptures, but was used by heathen writers, who not only call sleep, mortis simillima imago, but speak of death under the notion of sleep itself:-*

—ίερον ύπνον

Κοιμαται· θνησκειν μη λεγε τους αγαθούς.

It is proper, however, to remark, that the metaphor is sometimes employed to denote the state of the dead, without any reference to their character, as in the following passage: "And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt." Yet the more frequent use of the term in relation to the righteous, and the connection in which it is introduced, justify us in considering it as significant of the peaceful nature of their end. Speaking of the five hundred disciples to whom our Saviour appeared after his resurrection, Paul says, "of whom the greater part remain unto this present, but some are fallen asleep."§ Luke thus describes the death of the first Christian martyr: "And he kneeled down, and cried with a loud voice, Lord, lay not this sin to their charge; and when he said this, he fell asleep." And those in general who have died in the faith, are represented as sleeping in Jesus: "Them that sleep in Jesus, will God bring with him." Thus the weary labourer, when evening comes, lies down upon his bed, and enjoys profound repose till the return of day.

Before I proceed to consider the state of the righteous in the grave, or the state of their bodies, I shall inquire what change takes place in their souls, and how they are disposed of. What makes death so terrible, is not simply the termination of the present life, although, even from this event, nature instinctively recoils; but the consequences in another state of being, the apprehension of a future reckoning, and of the punishment which conscience anticipates as the just recompense of our guilty deeds. When this fear is removed, death appears in a totally different light; and a man may calmly and even joyfully submit to it, if he has the hope of exchanging this frail and troubled life for a state of endless blessedness. But it is presupposed in this hope, that the soul survives the death of the body, and carries along with it, into the new region which it is appointed to inhabit, its consciousness and its capacity for happiness. +Kallimachi Epigramm. curâ Blomfield, p. 56. + Dan. xii. 2. I Acts vii. 60.

* Ps. lxxiii. 25.

§ 1 Cor. xv. 6.

1 Thess. iv. 14.

It is necessary, therefore, to begin this part of the subject with the considera. tion of its immortality.

You all know the doubts entertained by the ancient heathens upon this subject, and especially by the learned and speculative among them. It is from them, indeed, that we know the opinion of the vulgar; but I think it probable that, as the latter felt greater reverence for the established mythology, so they were more steady in the belief of the future existence of the soul. We find that almost in every nation this belief prevails; and it is less likely to be called in question by those who do not indulge in vain reasonings, and who rest satisfied with the authority of tradition. I do not mean, that the more the subject is discussed the weaker the evidence will appear; but that, in conse quence of the disadvantage under which unassisted reason labours in investi gations of this kind, the result of its exertions has been rather an increase of doubt, than a settled persuasion. It is owing to this cause that the most celebrated philosophers of antiquity express themselves with hesitation, or vary their tone, using at one time the language of confidence, and at another that of uncertainty. The arguments brought forward by modern philosophers, in favour of the immortality of the soul, are better than those of their predecessors; but we shall greatly err, if we suppose that their superiority is the consequence of the gradual improvement of reason. It is true, indeed, that reason is improved; the advances, however, which it has made are not the fruits of its own unaided efforts, but of the assistance which it has derived from revelation. There can be no greater imposition attempted upon mankind, than when Christian divines, or Christian laymen, pretend to give a system of natural religion deduced from the principles of reason. What they call reason, is a compound of the natural suggestions of the mind and the truths of revelation; but they are not at pains to separate them, nor is it properly in their power, as men in general are not able to determine how much they owe to nature, and how much to education. It is sufficient to remind you, that such a system of natural religion as is now commonly exhibited, was never drawn up by a heathen. Christian countries give birth to the authors, and Christian instruction furnished them with the most valuable materials.

The first argument for the immortality of the soul is founded on its immateriality. It is not a material substance; and, as it does not consist of parts, it is not subject to dissolution. We learn by experience what are the qualities of matter, which is extended, divisible, inert; and we are led to believe that thought is not one of its properties, because we observe every where around us, that it exists without intelligence and without feeling. If thought essentially belonged to matter every part of it would think. There are only two ways in which it can be imagined to acquire the property of thinking; by a new modification of its parts, or by having the quality superadded to it. With regard to the latter hypothesis, although it has been adopted by some persons of great name, it is questionable whether they did or could affix any distinct idea to it. To endow matter with the faculty of thought, is to give it a new power, different from and contrary to all its original properties. We do not know the nature of substances, and can observe only their qualities; but, having ascertained these, we naturally conclude, that the substance to which they belong does not admit properties generically different from them. It seems to be as contrary to reason to suppose matter to be made capable of thought, as to suppose spirit to be made capable of figure and division. It avails nothing to appeal to the almighty power of God; because his power cannot work contradictions, or make a substance susceptible of qualities which do not essentially belong to it. He could change the nature of things; but while their nature continues, their properties are fixed and immutable. From all that we know of matter, it appears to be a substance on which the power VOL. II.-38.

of thinking could not be superinduced. The supposition that it is superadded to matter is absurd. If, then, matter could not be the substratum of a property essentially different from all its known qualities, we are necessarily led to the conclusion that where the power of thinking exists, there is a substance, dif ferent from matter, in which it inheres, or, in other words, a soul.

This reasoning is equally conclusive against the hypothesis that thought is the result of some modification of matter. "Matter," says Dr. Johnson, can differ from matter only in form, density, bulk, motion, and direction of motion. To which of these, however varied or combined, can consciousness be annexed? To be round or square, to be solid or fluid, to be great or little, to be moved slowly or swiftly, one way or another, are modes of material existence, all equally alien from the nature of cogitation. If matter be once without thought, it can only be made to think by some new modification; but all the modifications which it can admit are equally unconnected with cogitative powers.

The argument for the immortality of the soul from its immaterial nature, is thus stated by the same celebrated writer. "Immateriality seems to imply a natural power of perpetual duration as a consequence of exemption from all causes of decay; whatever perishes is destroyed by the solution of its contexture, and separation of its parts; nor can we conceive how that which has no parts, and therefore admits no solution, can be naturally corrupted or impaired. He who made the soul can destroy it, since, however imperishable, it receives from a superior nature its power of duration. That it will not perish by any inherent cause of decay, or principle of corruption, may be shewn by philosophy; but philosophy can tell no more. That it will not be annihilated by Him that made it, we must learn from higher authority."

Such is the amount of the first argument. The soul may live, and will live for ever, if such be the will of the Creator.

The second argument for the immortality of the soul, is founded on its powers, which are not only different from those that we observe in matter, but are superior to the powers of all the other inhabitants of this world. Man not only perceives what is present by means of his senses, as the lower animals do, and recollects the past, but stretches his views into the future, anticipates events to come, with greater or less certainty according to the grounds of expectation, and regulates his conduct with a reference to objects which he has not seen, His mind takes a wider range than this earth, to which his bodily presence is assigned, contemplates the phenomena of nature in the remote regions of the universe, and discovers the laws by which other worlds are governed. By a process of reasoning he rises from the effect to the cause, and ascends in thought to that mysterious Being, who, himself invisible, is seen by the reflection of his glory in his works. He traces the relations in which he stands to that Being and to his fellow creatures, ascertains the duties arising from these relations, and feels that he was made for a nobler purpose than the lower animals, which are ignorant of all those truths, and have no guide but their appetites and instincts. Is it conceivable that these high powers were conferred upon him solely for a temporary use; that these lights were kindled only to enable him to look around him during the short journey of life; that after having blazed for a few years, they are to be extinguished for ever; and that the being on whose path they shed so much brightness, and to whose eye they disclosed such sublime and interesting prospects, is to lie down in everlasting darkness, and mingle with the clods of the valley? In surveying the system of created things, we do not observe in any instance such a disproportion of means to the end. The inferior animals fulfill the purpose of their existence by their senses and instincts. Why was man made * Rasselas, chap. xlviii.