66 "twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet, "the dead shall be raised incorruptible, " and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption,"this mortal must put on immortality. "So when this corruptible shall have "put on incorruption, and this mortal "immortality, then shall be brought to 66 pass the saying that is written, Death "is swallowed up in victory." Then shall the righteous shine forth like the sun in the kingdom of the Father, and the glorified frame, reunited to the immortal spirit, shall be conveyed to the blessed presence of the Redeemer, and admitted into the regions of unbounded love and bliss. In the fifth and last place, This eternal life, which is promised to the faithful, includes the full and everlasting possession of the joys and glories of heaven. This indeed is life, this is happiness in the highest sense and largest extent. But what, or how great these joys are, it is impossible for you to conceive, far less for me to describe. " Eye hath not seen, "ear hath not heard, nor can it enter what a bountiful God and Redeemer hath provided, and will bestow upon those who are admitted to dwell with him for ever. The perfect knowledge of these things is, for wise reasons, withheld from us while we remain in this the land of our pilgrimage. Our Creator hath set certain bounds and limits to our knowledge of the world of spirits, beyond which the utmost efforts of man cannot pass. It is in mercy to us that he hath drawn a veil between heaven and earth, through which no human eye is able to penetrate. Were the happiness of the righteous fully revealed,-were the celestial abodes laid open to our view, such a discovery would present objects too vast, and excite feelings too strong, for human nature to bear. It would overpower our weak faculties, render us discontented with our present condition, disqualify us for the duties of life, and fill our souls with the most painful longings for that happy day, when we shall be transported from this valley of tears to the regions of everlasting felicity and glory. As much, however, is revealed, as is. sufficient to convince us, that the happi C C * ness of the heavenly world shall comprehend all kinds of pure and delightful enjoyment. If even an inspired apostle, though caught into the third heavens, was so deeply impressed, so enraptured with the prospect, that "whether he was " in the body, or out of the body, he could "not tell,"-if even he found himself unequal to the task, how feeble must all our attempts be to set forth the blessedness of the future and eternal life of the saints!—a life proceeding from the Creator and Ruler of the universe, the fountain of being and happiness,-a life purchased for sinners by the humiliation, sufferings and death of one of the same nature and perfections with the Father, clothed in human flesh,—a life, to render meet for the enjoyment of which, the Holy Spirit takes up his abode in the souls of men, a life in which we shall enjoy the beatific vision of Jehovah, and stand continually in his presence, in which we shall behold the glory of the exalted Redeemer without a cloud, or any interposed veil ;-a life in which we shall bid an eternal adieu to sin and corruption, temptation and sorrow, in which we shall love and worship, adore and serve, without weariness, without imperfection, without interruption, and without end ; a life in which we shall attain continually to higher measures of holiness, and, consequently, to sublimer enjoyments, as our desires and capacities enlarge. Such a life as this must indeed infinitely surpass the most unbounded expectations and the most exalted wishes of the sons of God. How boundless are the stores of bliss, which, ever new and ever increasing, God is at all times expanding and presenting unto them! How endless the joys which Infinite Goodness can impart to the soul, then susceptible of never-ending improvement! While eternity rolls on, he will still be unfolding new beauties to their enraptured view, and tuning their hearts to loftier strains in the anthems of the heavenly choir. That river of pleasure, which runs in the midst of the paradise of God, shall continue equally full, after millions of millions of happy creatures have through as many ages been drinking of its life-giving streams. Thus have I endeavoured to explain the nature of the promise in my text; and if I have been enabled to do any sort of justice to my subject, and if you have heard with attention what has been delivered, you must surely be convinced, that it is an object worthy of your highest desire and ambition;-an object which, when obtained, will infinitely overbalance all the inconveniences and hardships which you may feel in the pursuit. So that, in point of interest, it is your deepest wisdom, as it is your bounden duty, to have immediate recourse to that all-sufficient Saviour, who alone has this inestimable gift at his disposal. The great and glorious change, from a state of wrath and misery to that of grace and happiness, from death to life, is the work of Jesus Christ. He begins by sending down the influence of his Holy Spirit. He carries it on. He completes it; for he left the bosom of the Father, and dwelt amongst men, that he might procure this life for us, and was exalted to the right hand of the Majesty on high, that he might there act as our Intercessor and Mediator, and, finally, might bestow |