to his release "from the burthen of the flesh," he has only to mourn over the approaching loss of the only objects which have laid hold on his attention, or awakened his feelings. He sees the time drawing near when he must quit this world, and he has made no preparation for the next. Like a man, who has laid out his whole property to purchase advantages which are only to last for a season, he knows that he must soon give up all that his heart has sought after. He must soon be stripped of all that belongs to this life, and go forward to the unknown world, without any hope of favour from Him, " to whom all power is given in heaven and earth." To say that the scene before him is a howling wilderness, is to speak of it in its least frightful view; for there is much more than mere gloom and darkness; there is "the worm that dieth not, and the fire that is not quenched;" there is, as I have said before, the withering prospect of a society with those evil spirits, whose delight is in spreading misery around, who, being wretched, and past all hope of any change,

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are eager to make others as miserable as themselves.

To live for ever with such companions, from whom there is no power of escape, and to know moreover that this has been brought on us by ourselves, is a state of suffering, which no man, from what he has endured on earth, can fully conceive. Let us all, by timely repentance, and a faithful discharge of the duties which we owe to God and our Saviour, strive to save ourselves from so dreadful a portion-a portion, where the sufferers, from the bitterness of their pangs, will give vent to their feelings "in weeping, and wailing, and gnashing of teeth."

And he spake this parable unto certain which trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others:

Two men went up into the temple to pray; the one a pharisee, the other a publican.

THIS parable, or short story, will be rendered most instructive to you, if I first go through the different parts of it, and then point out to you such considerations, arising out of the subject, as I think best calculated for your improvement. May God's blessing attend my endeavours, by putting it into my mind to make those remarks which are likely to do you the most good, and by inclining you to listen to me with serious attention!

"Two men went up into the temple to pray; the one a pharisee, the other a publican."

The pharisees are described as those, who made a great shew of reverence to God, and zeal for his honour. But it was

in too many mere shew; they "drew near to God with their lips, but their hearts were far from him." In all their actions they sought "to be seen of men," loving "the praise" of their fellow-creatures "more than the praise of God."

The publicans were an order of men, who collected, and some of them perhaps farmed, the customs and other taxes which the Roman emperors claimed from the Jewish nation. They were all, or some of them at least, Jews. But because the Jews in general considered these taxes as a heavy burden thrown upon their nation, they conceived a very bad opinion of these publicans, as persons employed by the Romans to oppress them, and adding to the evil perhaps by their own behaviour:

* See Family Bible, by Dr. D'Oyley and Bp. Mant, Matt. v. 46.

on this account, they always spoke of them as sinners. They were held to be infamous among the Jews, because they dealt and conversed much with the Gentiles, by the necessity of their trade; and also, because, hiring the taxes at a price, they were in the habit of raising gain to themselves, by making the people pay largely.

"The pharisee," we read, "stood and prayed thus with himself: God, I thank thee that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican. I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess. And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes to heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner!" The pharisee meant this to be considered as an offering of praise to God: but was it indeed such? Who can be so mistaken as to think that he felt any real thankfulness to God? it is plain that he was full of himself, puffed up with spiritual pride; or, in the words of the text, trusted that he was righteous, and therefore looked down upon others, as if they were unworthy to be named with