But as for those who have had opportunity to form their character in this life, we say, that it is the clear doctrine of revelation, that he, who sows to the flesh, shall of the flesh reap corruption; and he, who sows to the spirit, shall reap of the spirit a harvest of life and glory; and, whether we sow sparingly or bountifully, we are assured, that, with what measure we mete, it shall be measured to us again,

How can you expect to enjoy an eternal season of rest by any other means than those, by which you know the enjoyment of every moment of rest must be earned in this present life, faithful and persevering labor? How can you expect to enjoy the society of those excellent minds, of all ages, who have been great by their goodness? How can you gain admission to the society of Jesus, and be recognised by him as a friend?

Then

Learn it from his own lips; "For I was an hungered, and ye gave me meat; I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink; I was a stranger, and ye took me in; naked, and ye clothed me; I was sick, and ye visited me; I was in prison, and ye came unto me.? shall the righteous answer him, saying, 'Lord, when saw we thee an hungered, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink? Or when saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee? Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee?' And the King shall answer, and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.'

Do you think yourself a fit companion of any excellent mind, if you have loved only the distinction, the outward glory, which his excellence has obtained for him?

Do you think yourself fitted for the immediate presence of God, if you have disfigured his image within yourself, and dishonored it in others, your fellow-men?

If either ignorance, or poverty, or sin, have hidden from your sight a fellow-spirit destined for the same immortal state, how can you expect, that the eye of your mind will pierce through the thick veil of your own ignorance and sins, to behold the invisible glory of a God of infinite purity.

Do you hope to meet again those whom you have loved best in this life, for whom you would gladly have sacrificed all you possess, for whom you would have laid down your lives to redeem them from the grave? Do you hope to meet, to embrace your parents, your children, your best and dearest friends? Reflect on the true grounds of union and separation of hearts and minds in the present life.

Removed to a higher stage of existence, a greater course of improvement is opened to them. Hasten to overtake them, and walk on with them from strength to strength, from glory to glory.

SERMON XI.

MATTHEW V. 48.

"Be ye perfect, even as your Father, which is in heaven, is

perfect."

IN these words the Teacher of mankind declares

Men are

the design of God in the creation of man. destined by their Creator to be perfect, even as he, their Father in heaven, is perfect. Although no creature can equal God in his absolute perfection, his power, wisdom, and love; yet every thing, whether mineral, plant, or animal, may be perfect in its kind. So man, also, may be perfect according to his nature, if he wills to be so, if he faithfully uses all his faculties constantly to improve in power and wisdom, virtue and happiness. It is this perpetual growth in excellence, this infinite advancement toward perfection, in which human perfection consists, and by which we all may become like him, in whose image we are created.

This doctrine of man's eternal destiny and duty, which lies at the foundation of gospel morality, reveals, at once, the fitness and harmony of that mysterious assemblage of incalculable powers and unaccountable desires, which we call human nature.

The

animal is guided and enabled by its instincts and by the appropriateness of its own faculties, as well as by the circumstances under which it is placed, to support itself and to supply its wants. But man, without that blind but certain guidance in his own nature, born into this world in utter helplessness, with faculties and desires which assign to him an endless existence, while they do not enable him to support his present state without the precarious assistance of his fellowmen; man is at the same time the most destitute and the most gifted of all created beings. For that very helplessness, which seems to rank him below the other animals, is calculated to awaken the dormant freedom and exhaustless energy of his nature. This inability to find, in the present state, sufficient means to supply his infinite wants, reminds him, that he is not made to depend on outward means of subsistence, and to find a competency for himself on earth; but that he is destined to live upon the eternity of his own nature, and the unfailing assistance of Him, who has given him, in his very being, a pledge of its imperishable destiny. Without this revelation of ourselves, would not our own nature appear to us as a strange compound of beginning and preparations without end and object; as a record, drawn up in mysterious signs, without a key to decipher its meaning? It would be to us what an instrument is in the hand of him, who, without musical talents or skill, can draw from it nothing but a chaos of discordant sounds; while it is a source of endless harmony to the gifted mind.

The doctrine of the gospel, that man is destined for Godlike perfection, was not a new doctrine peculiar to Christianity. The ancient sages and lawgivers in Asia, and the greatest philosophers of Greece, had recognised the same sublime object as the destiny of man. They, indeed, could hardly help arriving at this truth, when they contemplated the state of perfection that is so evident in the various kinds of beings. When they compared the dead stone with the growing plant, the moving and living animal, and the free and comprehensive mind of man, how could they help perceiving, that all these various beings showed forth, in different degrees, the perfection of the Author of all, who has impressed his image most fully upon all.

But, though the contemplation of nature led the most eminent sages of old to descry from afar the sublime destiny of man, it was not given to them to complete their discovery. For, though it is easy to perceive the superiority of human nature to that of other beings in general, it still remains difficult to determine which of its various powers it is that constitutes the element of human perfection. It is natural for men whose moral ideas are not sufficiently developed, to recognise the divine energy of human nature chiefly in the striking and successful exhibitions of power and talent, by which some gifted individuals rise above the rest, and make themselves the disposers of the affairs and opinions of men. It is the idolatry of power and genius, which, in ancient times as well as in ours, has induced men to become un