you are exalted to the hope of a blessed dwelling, where no need of such things is ever felt. Let your thoughts be often upon heaven. Think of the holiness of those that dwell with God, and study, like them, to take pleasure in all that is pious and good. Think of the joy and peace of heaven, and strive to abound in holy cheerfulness and gentleness of temper, and to rejoice in the Lord with thankfulness and praise. Are hatred and unkindness utterly banished from heaven? Let them be banished now from your heart. Be prompt to do good. Deny yourself, that you may care for others. "Be pitiful, be courteous. Let love towards all rule in your heart; and when the power for active exertion fails, let your prayers be more unceasingly put up to God, the Fountain of all goodness, that he may really bestow His mercies upon all, making His saving truth known among all nations, and rescuing lost sinners from everlasting fire.

In short, in all your doings, still let your heart be in heaven-still remember your heavenly calling. Do you not "look for the Lord from thence ?" Do you not hope to see Him coming in His glory "to receive" His faithful ones "to Himself?" and when you are laid in the grave, will it not be in the "sure and certain hope of the resurrection to eternal life, through our Lord Jesus Christ?" Dwell upon these things day by day, till the thought of them mixes up with every action of your life, and gives it a holy and heavenly savour- a savour of life unto life." 3

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PRAYER.

O God, who, in the riches of thy mercies, offerest unto us, by the gospel of Christ, a sure hope of eternal happiness in heaven, let us never be insensible to such unspeakable goodness. Quicken our dull apprehensions, O Lord, with thy enlivening grace, that we may duly value our heavenly calling. 1 1 Philip. iii, 20. 2 Burial Service.

32 Cor. ii. 16.

Awaken in us a fervent and ceaseless longing to enter Thy kingdom of glory; and enable us to serve Thee in unfeigned holiness, with joy and peace, and lively hope, looking for the coming of the Lord, for whose sake we beseech Thee to hear us.

XI.-GROUNDS FOR CONTINUAL THANKFULNESS. Eph. v. 20.-Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

THIS may seem to some a strange and even an impossible thing, to "give thanks always for all things" in this present world. Do we not find abundant sorrow here? and are not even those who will "live godly in Christ Jesus," warned that they shall suffer tribulation ?" How can we then in any reason be always thankful, and for every thing?

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Consider then, that all things, as they proceed from God, are very good, and if there be any bitterness in them when they come into our hands, it is by reason of our sins. And if our sins have taken away some of their sweetness, and have even mingled wormwood with them, is not the entire fault of that our own? And ought we to think the less of God's goodness, which has only been prevented by ourselves from reaching us in full measure?

Besides, that we should still have so many comforts bestowed upon us notwithstanding our sins, and that our punishments themselves should bear so little proportion to our guilt, is itself a great and continual mercy, worthy of all thankful acknowledgment.

And then, how manifold are the favours we daily and hourly receive! Look round upon the world and see all the varieties of evil that men endure, and mark well in how many different ways you might be made to suffer, if God were to punish you as he might, or to

withdraw His protection from you. And is it not a matter of gratitude that so few of these evils have befallen you, and that you are preserved and comforted and nourished with so bountiful a hand?

Moreover, no evil befalls us but what may be turned into a rich mine of blessing to us, if we will receive it with humiliation and teachableness of heart.

But above all, consider the everlasting mercies of heaven, where there is no sorrow, or pain, or want; but perfect joy and peace for evermore. Consider the greatness of God's love to you, in purchasing this by the suffering of His dear Son; and surely you will be ashamed at making much of those sorrows and privations you may meet with here, which are so small a measure of your desert, and which are sent that they may work for you a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory. Look at yourself; see all your doings in their true light; and you will be filled with admiration at the Lord's goodness to you, an undeserving sinner. So far from thinking that there are any bounds to the thankfulness that is due to him, you will cry out with the Psalmist, "All thy works praise Thee, O Lord!" And you will say in amazement, "Who can express the noble acts of the Lord, or show forth all His praise !" 2

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And, indeed, "it is a good thing to sing praise unto the Lord; yea, a joyful and pleasant thing it is to be thankful." 3 It is a heavenly occupation; angels are continually engaged in songs of thankfulness; and so shall we be in another world, if we do not idly and wickedly disregard God's calls to salvation through Christ. We who are saved by the blood of the Son of God from the peril of damnation, have a peculiar cause of gratitude, an unceasing motive to give thanks in the name of Christ, through whose tender compassions we are brought out of darkness into marvellous light.

1 Ps. cxlv. 10.

2 Ps. cvi. 2.

8 Ps. cxlvii. 1.

Foster then in yourself a disposition to thankfulness. Be on the watch to notice the mercies of God. See how kindly and liberally He provides for His creatures, how compassionately he deals with their souls! how manifold are His spiritual helps! how unspeakable is His redeeming love in Christ Jesus! Diligently mark the dealings of God with us, and you will not need to be admonished to be thankful, for you will not know how to refrain from declaring the goodness of God while you live, and you will rejoice to think that in heaven you will still be able to sing and give thanks for ever.

PRAYER.

Almighty God, who art the fountain of all goodness, pour into our hearts, we pray Thee, a spirit of true thankfulness, that we may ever be sensible of Thy manifold mercies both to our souls and bodies, and ever be ready to declare Thy praise, both in the secrecy of our chambers and openly in the great congregation, and to glorify Thy name with a perfect heart through Jesus Christ our Lord.

XII. LOVE TO CHRIST SHOWN BY OBEDIENCE. John xiv. 15.—If ye love me, keep my commandments. "IF any man love not the Lord Jesus Christ let him be Anathema Maran-atha," said the zealous and devoted St. Paul. And truly such a one richly deserves the curse, for how hard, how ungrateful, how base must that heart be that can think of his Saviour and not love Him! For us He quitted the throne of His glory and the bosom of the Eternal Father; for us He became a man, even the servant of men; for us He endured the agonies of Gethsemane, the torture and shame of the cross, and the bitterness of death.

1 That is, rejected at the last. 1 Cor. xvi. 22.

This and more than this He did, that He might rescue us from the damnation which our sins deserved, and open the kingdom of heaven to all who would believe in Him and truly repent. What manner of persons must we be if such infinite condescension, and compassion, and love is disregarded by us, yea if it does not bind us to Him with bands of love, and make us inquire with the Psalmist, "What shall I render unto the Lord for all his benefits" towards me? 1

Our love to Him must be a real self-denying operative love, like the love of Christ towards us. It must not be confined to professions and to feelings: but enter into every action of our lives. It must quicken in us an unceasing desire to please Him by doing His will and keeping his commandments. All things must henceforth be looked upon as in reference to Christ. Is this what my Lord would have me do? Are these the dispositions which he desires to see in my heart? Are these the words that become the disciple of Christ? Am I seeking to promote his glory as I ought to be, or am I not too much studying my own selfish feelings and interests? Am I loving my fellow-Christians for the Lord's sake? Am I mindful of them in my prayers? And do I really desire and seek their good, denying myself as Christ did for me that I may the better promote their welfare, both in this world and in the world to come?

"If ye love me, keep my commandments." Such then is the token of our love to Him, which the Lord Himself requires; and it is by such a token only that we can really know that we do love Him. It is not difficult when we hear the deeply interesting tale of His woes, and see his wonderful perfections, to be moved with admiration and with pity. But as an interesting tale is read, and laid aside without leaving any abiding effect upon us, so may we hear of Christ's sufferings and death, till tears stream from our eyes,

1 Ps. cxvi. 12.