point to be observed is, that "THE LAMB IS THE LIGHT THEREOF." In HIM, the whole glory of heaven is summed up. What it must be to eat of the tree of life spoken of in the last chapter of God's Word; how healing and delicious must be the fruit which conveys immortality, no human imagination can conceive. Soon all shall be known. These sayings are faithful and true. "Whosoever will," then, "let him come and take of the water of Life freely!" Should the reader expect from me anything like a distinct view of the happiness of the spirits of those who die in the Lord, while in their state of separation, I confess my inability to give it. The texts "ToO-DAY shalt thou be with me in Paradise ;" and "the spirits of just men made perfect ;' ;" the first being our Lord's answer to the prayer of the dying thief; and the second, a part of the brief description given by the Apostle to the Hebrews, of the separate state; are perhaps the only texts which appear to me to bear upon this matter; and though I see not how those who deny the existence of the separate state of being referred to, can get over the evidence which they afford; yet, for my own part, I prefer to avail myself, as it respects the heavenly state, of the strongest and brightest light which the Scriptures supply; and that, no doubt, is to be found in the view of heaven as it will exist after the general resurrection. This is the point on which the primitive Christians. appear to have constantly fixed their eyes. More simple in faith than we, they reckoned less than we do of the intermediate scenes of time, and waited for the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ, with all the ardour of expectation with which a man expects the arrival of a much beloved friend. They placed this all-important event before them, as just at hand. It raised, or it moderated their affections, as duty required. It was, to them, the spring of hope, of patience, of comfort, of activity. It gave the law to all religious sensations, and received it from none. It strengthened and cherished their view of the Lord Jesus, as a free and full Saviour. For want of this steady view of the last day, we too often fluctuate between two opposite tides of desire; desire for this world, and for the next. We are ruled by feelings more than by faith; and we lose that delight in communion with Him who is gone to prepare a place for us, the possession of which delight is the soul of true faith, hope, and charity. The evangelical reader may pursue these hints to what length he pleases, by adverting to some particular passages of Scripture; as for instance to 1 Thess. iv. the latter end of the chapter; 2 Thess i. throughout; Heb. ix. 28; 2 Tim. i. 12. Heb. xii. 23. There are, however, four distinct advantages which the resurrection of the dead will confer on those who have died in Christ, beyond all that it is possible for them to enjoy in the separate state. First, the judgment-day, itself, will doubtless afford them unspeakable felicity. On that day they will see the Lord Jesus exalted above all his enemies, to the glory of God the Father; and displaying the equity and excellence of his ways, to the eternal confutation of all proud and blasphemous reasoners; and to the solid and eternal honour of his name, of his dealings, and of his people. Secondly; the resurrection of the body will afford new and ravishing sources of delight in the enjoyment of spiritual members; all perfect in health and vigour; employed in their true use and exercise; and for ever rendered incapable of becoming the ministers of sin. Thirdly; when Jesus shall appear, the first-born among many brethren, it is impossible to conceive the fund of exquisite bliss which must arise from the uninterrupted society which must for ever take place among the blessed; from the raptures of that precious love which will flow from the Head, and be diffused among all the members; and from the view of the veracity, power, wisdom, and goodness of God, in thus bringing together all his redeemed children, to enjoy, and serve, and praise him for ever. Fourthly; the restitution of the heavens and the earth, which has been glanced at already, will be unquestionably, whatever may be its precise import, an eternal source of sublime pleasure to the renewed mind; and might easily be here further descanted upon, were I not afraid of substituting my own imagination for the Word of God.+ Thus, O pilgrim! have I attempted to show thee a glimpse of thy heaven. It is true, that no other persons on earth are called upon to sustain thy hardships, thy conflicts, thy temptations; but neither have any others thy comforts, and thy supports; and none have anything in prospect which deserves to be compared with a prize like thine. Let us now proceed to consider what inferences may be drawn from the view which we have taken of the prospect before thee, in order that we may define, with some degree of accuracy, THE SPIRIT OF A PILGRIM. Rom. viii. 29. † See Witsius's Economy, book iii. chap. 14.-Note by the Author. * (To be continued.) LAYS OF THE MONTHS. MARC H.; CONFLICT. "The flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh." GAL. v. 17. THE Winter-months are gone and past, Yet not from strife and conflict free, And have not we a sorer strife Oh And Grace shall have the victory! BERTHA. INDIRECT INFLUENCES. No. III. PECUNIARY CIRCUMSTANCES. HE rich and poor meet together. I have seldom heard or seen this saying of Solomon quoted, except as associated with death and burial; but ever since I could connect my own observations of life with his maxims, -maxims which are the concentration of inspired truth practically applied,-I have been struck by its universal application. Extremes do proverbially meet in their effects; and never more so than in the case of riches and poverty; the good and evil producible by both, presenting, as it were, a graduated scale, happily equalized at that point which was the object of Agur's petition. Therefore it is well, that Fortune is but one of many influences; that physical suffering, mental distress, and domestic sorrow, are the lot of all; for though wealth can macadamize the road to knowledge, and furnish express-trains to some of the portals of the Temple of Fame, grief and trial are the only paths by which we can explore that inner labyrinth, our own heart; in the knowledge of which, combined with the knowledge of God, true wisdom consists. Those whom the possession of riches exempts from the discipline of pecuniary trial are deprived of one mode of strengthening their integrity, and their selfcontrol; and perhaps of one of the most certain tests of the existence of these qualities: for avarice is not only the vice of the maniac-miser, who, clothed in rags, seeks gold for the metal's sake; nor is dishonesty only the crime of the actual thief, who with his hand has taken the property of another. Many jewelled fingers quiver with the desire of gold; and many a worshipper of Mammon, surrounded by the luxuries of fashion and the gems of art, heeds not the voices of his children, nor the treasures of his library; being absorbed by one haunting thought, one gnawing care, the lust of gold; GOLD, the true demon of the mine, tantalizing, deluding, disappointing; GOLD, the long, unsatisfying lifedream of too many immortal beings. Are these gold-seekers wise in their generation? We have indeed seen ducal coronets and even royal crowns, abased before the monied man. For temporary purposes money would seem to command all that long lineage, exemplary character, or high culture, can command; all, in short, save the respect of those who are themselves worthy of respect. For permanent use, it supplies the source whence true culture and precious influences may purely spring; diffusing blessings as they flow. In truth, this singular metal, supposed by some geologists to be the last formed, does strangely constitute the strongest link between earth's last created and spiritual inhabitant, and the material empire assigned to him by his Creator. By gold the civilized govern those who are less civilized than themselves; and by it they are themselves more or less governed, in proportion as their earthly or spiritual nature predominates. A Diogenes triumphs over the Thessalian mines represented by the conqueror Alexander. A Demas yields to golden influence, even when the companion of the great Apostle. A Croesus vainly made gold "his strong city." Prov. xxiii. 11; but it was the "crown of the wise," Prov. xiv. 24, to our own Alfred, who neither neglected its power, nor yielded in apathy to its weakness; but who made it subservient to selfimprovement for the good of others; giving us the true ideal of the right effect of an indirect influence so potent as is the possession of wealth. In the contemplation of wealth and its owner, we have the simplest view of the influence of gold; but what heir or heiress ever stood aloof from other and more complex influence? Caressed by the servile in infancy, notwithstanding the care of wise parents; courted at school, at college, and in society; the rich deems that he has many friends, nor does he very accurately discriminate between true friends and those who are attracted solely by the magnetism of wealth. Elation, however, need not to give place to disgust, nor an over-weening self-complacency, to an unjust contempt of others, on the discovery that the wealth and not its owner has formed the attractive influence. Rather let these wholesome mortifications supply to the rich the discipline which poverty would have afforded them; rather let them hence learn their lesson; the responsibility of wealth; the true nature of their position; that of stewards; and find in that one thought, prayerfully and practically followed out, a guide to duty and happiness. In wealth, as in station, a medium condition is, generally speaking, most favourable to the healthy development of character; and to that sobriety of mind which best consists with human happiness. By different, and even by opposite means, the want or the possession of riches may aid in the formation of the same character. The sympathy of others with our wants, and |