here the perfect man, and behold the upright; for the latter end of that man is peace." I would not, my friends, make too much of these things. I am well aware that the wicked are sometimes without bands in their death, and that the sun of the Christian does not always set unclouded. Still, in the death of every good man, there is much upon which to hope there is enough to give testimony to the gospel. It may not be the triumph of Paul,-" I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure draweth nigh ;”— or the assurance of Simeon,-" Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace ;"-or the holy tranquillity of Stephen, when, amidst the stones that bruised and battered his body, "he fell asleep." Still I say, that in the dying hour of a good man, there is hope-good hope, through grace-hope, full of immortality. God is with him in the dark valley—he imparts grace for his dying hour-he enables the departing spirit to catch some glimpses of the light of heaven through the chinks of the dissolving tabernacle, and to taste a little of the happiness beyond, whilst as yet he is on this side the confines of Immanuel's land. The latter end is peace; and what has done it? The Word of God's grace. We thank God and take courage. Will not that Word which, to all the cloud of witnesses, has shed the sunshine of immortality athwart the darkness of the grave, do the same to us? Yes; and whilst we find the sacred volume our guide and support through the dark valley, we, too, shall add our testimony to its heavenly excellence.

Precious gospel! May we value thee as our safest guide through the journey of life; and in death leave it upon record, that not one thing has failed of all that the Lord hath promised.

What has been said from these words may excite gratitude. The gospel so admirably adapted to the necessities of mankind, and so wonderfully blest in the moral renovation

of the world, is the Word of God's grace. No man, whose mind is properly constituted, but must reflect with pleasure on the changes which, in this land, by the gospel, have been effected. At the time the words of the text were written, it was covered with swamps and forests, and tenanted by savages and beasts of prey. Lift up your eyes, and witness the contrast! And when you contemplate our cities and harbours, our schools and churches, our orchards and corn fields, our smiling villages and thriving manufactories, give thanks to the Gospel. But should not this lead to inquiry? There has been a change outwardly has there been a change within ?—has the heart been renovated?—has that desert smiled-has that wilderness been beautified? Melancholy, my friends, must it be, if, to you, gospel blessings are all outward—if even, whilst you hear the glad sound, and handle the bread, and drink from the wine cup, you are strangers to that peace which brought salvation! God's Word, be assured, will not leave you where it finds you. It will prove either the savour of life unto life, or the savour of death unto death. And if now ye witness not for the gospel, by living under its power, by and bye it will be a swift witness to your everlasting destruction.

And if you have tasted that the Lord is gracious, are you giving testimony to the truth? Are you manifesting there is a reality in religion? Are you moving others to say, We will go with you, for the Lord is with you? The Christian should be a living testimony to the truth-a living epistle of Christ, known and loved of all men.

And, finally, should not this subject lead to sympathy. How many are without the gospel? The slaves of lust, the dupes of superstition, the victims of idolatry-idolatry which is always licentious, blasphemous, and cruel. We do not say that the doom of a heathen shall be as dreadful as that of the man who wilfully shuts his ears to the sound of gospel grace. Still, however, the heathen are perishing.

They are living without God; and in this state, by hundreds and by thousands, are passing into a hopeless eternity. Christians! Ye know what it is to be without hope, and ye have felt also how inexpressibly sweet is the gracious hope of the gospel. Pity them as God has pitied you. Freely ye have received, freely give. Limited as the diffusion of the Word of God has been, it will forthwith cover the earth, and, in the fullest and most unqualified sense, the grace of God will appear to all men bringing salvation. And what Christian would not co-operate in the missionary cause ?—what man whose heart the grace of God has touched, but would strive together with his fellow Christians-by precept and example-by property, and talent, and prayer, that the Word of the Lord may have free course, and be glorified! May the Lord give testimony to the Word of his grace; and, according to the promise of that Word, lay on the top-stone with shouting-grace, grace unto it. Amen.

SERMON VIII.

THE HOPE OF DAVID RESPECTING THE RESURRECTION OF THE JUST.

BY THE REV. J. S. TAYLOR, COLDSTREAM.

PSALM Xvii. 15.

"I shall be satisfied when I awake with thy likeness."

THAT the child of God does not excel other men in worldly prosperity, is a fact which the experience of every age has attested. There is one event to the righteous and the wicked; from hardship and calamity neither are exempt; or rather, in addition to the common ills of humanity, the saint is often pressed with trials all his own; hated and suspected for his most admirable qualities; and deprived of his just rights by irresponsible oppressors, who turn the power which they should use for a very different purpose, into an instrument for aggrieving the deserving and the well-disposed.

But has the religious man, you may ask, chequered as his lot is, no advantage over the multitude who make the earth their portion? In many things, my brethren, does he enjoy the superiority; and not least in this, that he can look forward to a recompense calculated to satisfy all the aspirations of his soul. In this world he knows he must have his measure, of chastisement, his toils, his illnesses, his injuries, his sins. But, oh! he is also sure that there will come a blessed day when his nature shall be perfected; when he shall b

without stain and without sorrow; and in the anticipation of that day he can smile amid the wretchedness, and in the spirit of devout and magnanimous calculation, reckon "that the sufferings of the present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in him."

The circumstances and the consciousness of David, when he penned this Psalm, agreed exactly with the representation we have made. At that time he was dogged by the jealous king of Israel, and was in imminent danger of falling into his hands. But because he was banished from the sweets of home, and proscribed as an outlaw, and pursued from fastness to fastness as they would hunt a beast of prey,—on that account, did he wrap himself in sullenness and gloom? No; the thought arose that whatever might be his present fortune, however cruelly he might be treated, or however soon he might be cut off, he had a reversion beyond the grave which no enemy might snatch, a noble estate of which he would be put in possession, and which, when it was attained, would leave him nothing to long for. The goods of this life are coveted by many, and to many they are given in a much larger proportion than to me: but I do not envy their situation,' said the heroic wanderer, I do not wish to change places with them; I have far deeper reason to be thankful. For their delight being sought in sublunary things must necessarily perish with them; but as for me,' lifting up his eyes to the great Being he was addressing, as for me, I will behold thy face in righteousness; I shall be satisfied when I awake with thy likeness.'

The latter of these clauses is the subject of discourse; and in speaking from it we shall have occasion to notice three points-The awaking to which David in this instance referred→ The likeness he is to wear when that event shall have taken place- and, The satisfaction which is to be the sure and abiding consequence. This is the division into which the words naturally fall; and I proceed to take up the particulars in