my soul, through the door of death, shall escape from this clay prison, in which I daily groan, and pass through the confines of time, I shall rise at once into eternity itself, look round on fields of light, on floods of glory, and, with the overflowings of an holy joy, see felicity, in its infinite plenitude, measure with eternity above.

What matter, then, though my dust mingle for a while with the earth, and my memory perish among the sons of men, if mine immortal soul, all activity and life, be going out unweariedly in praising the Fountain of glory, and well-spring of salvation? If my death be happy, mine eternity shall be blessed; if his beams dispel the darkness of death, I shall walk in the light of his countenance for ever. In that state of bliss, all my bliss shall be according to the state of the King. I shall live in his smile, and be ravished with his emanations; I shall walk in his light, and be conformed to his likeness. I shall drink of his pleasures, put on his strength, and partake of the divine nature! O how every power of soul shall burn in his beams, brighten in his glory, and kindle in his love! Then will this dying worm begin to live after the manner of angels; then shall this lukewarm soul love in a degree a-kin to seraphim, and join in the raptures of the harpers before the throne. Here, in his sanctuary, have I seen some of his steps of majesty, but there shall I behold him in all his glory, and my soul shall have, through his own amazing condescension, such refined apprehensions, such a clear and lively knowledge of him, that I may be said to " face to face, and to know as I am known." shall walk in white in the presence of the undivided Trinity, and shall enjoy communion with Father, Son,

see him

There I

and Holy Ghost, for ever. I shall admire all his dazzling glories, adore all his divine perfections, and be possessed of pleasures large as my wish, pure as the bliss of angels, immortal as my own soul, and liberal as the bounty of the glorious Giver. Again, whatever glorious things and sacred bliss I am possessed of, this adds to its excellency, that it is eternal; while my toils shall all dissolve in endless rest, my griefs in everlasting joy, and my sorrows in eternal songs.

Surely, when I see such a state before me, I am astonished that my state below, whatever it be, should trouble me, more than a bad day or dirty way should incommode a king going to his coronation; and that happiness of which I am an expectant as much transcends his, as his does that of the most wretched galleyslave. Then, at that day when the world shall say of me, He is no more, I shall begin to be what will crown my highest aim, and satisfy my whole desires, even an abiding inhabitant in the world above, where I shall enjoy God, the inconceivable good, in an inconceivable manner, through endless ages. Then, a few moments, and in this world I am no more; and again, a few moments, and, if my hope deceive me not, I am there for evermore.

MEDITATION CXLVII.

A GLANCE AT THE GLORIES ON THE OTHER SIDE CREATION.

ALL at once I find myself in an unbounded flood of bliss, a spacious sea of glory; lost in wonder amidst ineffable divinities, and transported with the raptures of seraphic harmony,

The first and reigning glory is, that Jehovah keeps his royal court in person here. His dwelling-place is enriched with the richest profusion of his love, with the brightest displays of his goodness; and, while all his saints rejoice in his excellent glory, what ardour glows in every soul, what rapture swells in every song! O the adorable displays of his perfections! the manifestations of his goodness, the outlettings of his love! and the intercourse that is between him and his hidden ones! The fulness of the Father, treasured up in the Son, dispensed by the Spirit, is the crowncharter of the kingdom above, where the royal privilege of every inhabitant carries him to the utmost extent of communicable glory.

What buildings are these? They be the palaces of the great King, the mansions of our Immanuel, of which there are many in his Father's house; and they are all magnificent, founded in grace, and furnished with glory: "The beams of our house are cedar, and the rafters are fir." Age shall never enter here, and nothing shall decay: "The King is held in the galleries." What a beautiful city is the NewJerusalem, the mother of us all! of which the Lord God and the Lamb are the light! How glorious are its gates, where pearls of essential beauty sparkle! and all the attributes of God blaze divinely bright!

There trophies of eternal victory lie beneath Immanuel's feet. He is our elder brother, our near kinsman, and our husband. This is the relation from which our grandeur springs, our being married into the high and honourable family of heaven. What a blessing is it to be brethren to the Son of God, and hear him to us in that capacity declare his Father's name! O the assimilating beams of glory that dare

! We ray from his and shoot likeness with the eyes, see him, and are like him; we are like him, and love him, and are eternally happy! No wonder that the world was such a waste and howling wilderness, such a dry and thirsty desert, such a land of heat and drought, compared to the heavenly Canaan, where the rivers of pleasures overflow their banks for ever. Our mortal Why did we expect joys on earth? frame could not have borne the transports of eternal day; yea, here it is all we can to bear the brightness of his beams. O love! O rapture! O ecstatic joys! O everlasting heaven! The general assembly, now met on the holy Mount Zion, the joy of the whole heaven, is an assembly of gods, all sons of the Highest, and the Lord God of gods, the Lord God of gods, dwells among them! O ineffable glory! to dwell for ever in the royal pavilion of heaven, in most intimate communion with the King eternal, immortal, and invisible !

What rapturous notes are these I hear? The song of Moses and the Lamb. My soul dissolves in praise, my spirit pours out in sweet hosannahs, all heaven is O the charming melody, angels accent the song. anthems of glory! O the high strokes of the harpers Found the throne! The song of the redeemed is the song of We will sing to thee while we live, songs. while we have our being we will bless thee. Weeping endured for a little, through the short night of time, but joy is come in the morning of the resurrection; and we have a song in this solemn assembly, and gladness, being come into the house of the Lord. Our happiness shall utter hallelujahs, our glory sing inhabitants thy praise, and never be silent. Sing ye of eternity, shout from the mountains of myrrh, and

hills of frankincense, where ye rest, and are refreshed for ever. And shall these ravishing hosannahs never end, these songs of love never cease? O life of angels! O warbles of eternal noon! for we rest not day nor night to sing of all thy glory.

Say, was I ever sad? What although? since now my sackcloth is loosed, and I am girt with gladness. Here, to the glory of the bounteous Giver, we have all things common. This God, this glory, this upmaking all, my fellow-saints, without my loss, is yours, and, without any prejudice to you, is also wholly mine. Here we drink at life's immortalising stream, and with eternal joy draw water out of the wells of salvation. From the rivers of thy pleasures, O God! thou wilt make us largely drink: "Eat, O friends! drink, yea, drink abundantly, O beloved! for in my presence there is fulness of joy, and at my right hand are pleasures for evermore.”

O thou that art as my brother, I have found thee; not within the promise, not in the ordinances, as in the days of my flesh, but without, in the most ample displays of thy eternal love, in the open fields of glory, and shall kiss thee, and not be despised. I have found thee, and shall hold thee, and not let thee go through all eternity.

Here we receive out of his fulness, and grace for grace, and glory for glory. Our possession is worthy of our liberal Giver. We have a kingdom which cannot be moved, an inheritance undefiled, and that fadeth not away; a city that hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God. We have garments of glory, a crown of righteousness, a crown of life; the tree of life to feed upon, the fountain of life to drink of, and the garden of God to walk in. We have life