worth their anxiety, "the means of grace and the hopes of glory." And the poorest of earthly sufferers, that "has not where to lay his head,” may yet be possessed of that " pearl of great price," which the rich would cheaply purchase by the sale of their earthly possessions." And what are all the possessions of this world, and what is our life? It is even a vapour that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away!"-At best, it is but a troublesome journey and, at the close of the last stage, it matters not whether it has been rough or smooth: when we sum up our great account, the question will not be, whether our lives have been happy and prosperous, but whether they have been virtuous and useful? and our past sor * James iv. 41. rows will then only be felt, as a source of rejoicing; for they that sow in tears, shall reap in joy: "*He that now goeth on his way weeping, and beareth forth good seed, shall doubtless come again with joy, and bring his sheaves with him." In all our sorrows and trials, it is a worldly spirit that embitters them to us. -If we could constantly keep in mind, what a dream this life is, and what trifles they are which usually excite our interest, and disturb our minds, we should fix our anxiety more on those joys, "which no one can take from us." This world offers little less to our contemplation than the bustle of an ant-hill; a perpetual contention about trifles; none of which could be material to us, many years; and some that even * Psalm cxxvi. 6, 7. a few months, days, or hours, would render of no importance. Nay, more than that: quarrels and unhappiness have ensued from mere difference of opinion, which, if established, would not add in the smallest degree to the comfort, or respectability, of the victor in the argument. It is a heavenly mind, as well as a Christian temper, that we want; a superiority above the trifles that occupy worldly people; a constant desire to attain, and a longing after, that "inheritance incorruptible and undefiled, and that fadeth not away. The longest life appears short, when it is past; and no middle-aged person can look back on the last twenty years, without fancying it the dream of a * 1 Peter, i. 4. H night. Can any one, at any age, presume to look forward to twenty years more of existence? Is any one, beyond the prime of life, so secure in health and strength, as to expect to be spared for so long a period? Certainly not! But granting it likely, can any one know, that twenty years only await them, of such rapid flight as the last, and not feel awfully impressed with the idea, that this is all that shall be granted, for the immense work that is to be performed;-repentance, and its only beneficial consequences, reformation; for subduing the passions that have hitherto misled them; for repairing the injuries their unchristian tempers have caused; for establishing pious habits, and weaning themselves from a world, which has hitherto held them in such abject slavery? For such a work, the labour of |