hand. The body is returning to dust, and the spirit must appear before the throne of God. In this trying hour he trusts to the principles which had carried him through life, and he finds them a perfect preservative, from the fear and from the power of death. The same faith in a reconciled God and loving Father keeps peace in his conscience, and love in his heart. He depends upon the atonement of Immanuel, and is safe:

he

wraps himself up in the robe of Immanuel's righteousness, and is happy. He knows he shall be found in Jesus, when he stands before God; and therefore he looks upon death as his friend, and meets it with a hope full of glory and immortality.

This is the privilege of believers in Jesus. They die in peace. Their principles are mighty, through God, to support and comfort them in the hour of death. Reader, are these principles thine? Examine carefully. Come to a point in this matter for it is of infinite and eternal moment. state? Art thou prepared to haps thou art openly prophane.

What is thy

die? PerAnd what

wilt thou do upon thy death-bed, when the divine law accuses thee, justice condemns thee, and the terrors of hell take hold of thee? The stings of guilt, at such a time, will be worse in the conscience than all the tortures that thy sick body can possibly feel. But if thy conscience be asleep—O what a' dreadful death! if thou go out of the world with thine eyes shut, and open them not till thou find the flames of hell about thee !

Perhaps thou art not afraid, because thou hast a decent outside: O take care of trusting in thyself, lest thou shouldst have thy portion with the openly prophane. If thou make what thou art, or hast, any ground of thy hope before God; if thou depend on thy duties, or righteousness, or join them with the work of Christ, and meet death in this confidence; how dreadful will be thy mistake! how inevitable thy ruin! Such false hopes are thus described: "Behold, all that kindle a fire, and compass yourye selves about with sparks, walk in the light of your fire, and in the sparks that ye have kindled"-but mind the end-thus saith the

Lord: "This shall ye have of mine hand, ye shall lie down in sorrow." And together with them will the open enemy of God and his Christ lie down. A denier of revelation is brought to the bed of languishinga slow lingering distemper is carrying him off-the physician has given him over—his disease is mortal, and he is convinced of it. But, alas! he has no preparation for death and judgment. He has some Christian friends, and they talk freely to him about his eternal state, but he will hear nothing of his guilt, or of his want of a Saviour. They get a minister of Christ to visit him, and he speaks to him of sin, which is the transgression of the holy law, and of the justice of God, which is engaged to give transgressors their due, and of the impossibility of his finding mercy at the judgment-seat, until every demand be satisfied, which law and justice have upon him; he tries to persuade the dying man of the Godhead of Jesus, and of the divine work of Jesus: but in vain. He sets at nought the minister's advice, and with a hardened and impenitent

heart replies-Be it as it will with me in eternity, I'll have nothing to do with your Christ. So he died. We need not follow him to the judgment seat, to know what became of his soul. The infallible record has declared what will be the portion of the unbelieving. Their misery is as certain as the truth of God. O reader, examine thyself: for he that believeth not is condemned already: because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.

The

Perhaps thou art in name a Christian, but what thinkest thou of Christ? grand heresy of this day is about his person, and if thou art fallen into it, there is no hope in thy death. Is he Jehovah? Ο leave not this matter undetermined. The truth of his word and the glory of his work depend entirely upon this one point; so does thy peace and comfort: for if thou believe him to be any thing but the self-existent God, thou shalt die in thy sins. His sufferings cannot avail for thy pardon, nor his obedience for thy righteousness, unless he be Jehovah. Without faith in him, as

the self-existent Saviour, death will find thee under guilt, and judgment will leave thee among the enemies of God and his Christ.

Whatever evil there is in death to terrify, whatever pain to hurt, the blessed Jesus, by the grace of God, tasted it for all his. The grace of the Father gave him to be the surety for his people unto death. He died for them, and as truly tasted death as ever the nicest palate tasted meat or drink. But it was like a taste of short duration-it was not possible that he should be holden long under the bands of death. He rose again on the third day and because he lives, believers in him shall live also. They are partakers of his victory over death, and share in all its blessings. The sentence of the broken law. is repealed. They do not die to bear the punishment of sin. Christ sustained that. The pains and agonies of death fell upon him: "The sorrows of death," says he, "compassed me, and the pains of hell got hold upon me." He was a just man, who had no reason to fear death; but being found in