the tree falleth, there it shall be." The gates of heaven will then be shut, and he who knocks and cries, in the phrenzy of despair, "Lord, Lord, open to us, open to us!" will only hear from the lips of insulted love, the doleful sentence, "I know you not whence ye are: depart from me, all ye workers of iniquity."

Such are the terrors of death. It is a most humiliating change passed on the body; it finishes the scene of our probation on earth, and introduces us to a new state of existence; it is often preceded by nameless infirmities and sufferings; and its consequences are of a character the most solemn and awakening. Who then does not feel a dread of death? Where is the man who has not some misgivings as the event approaches, and who would not rather be spared the unknown trial? On Mr. BOSWELL informing Dr. JOHNSON that he had seen the execution of several criminals at Tyburn two days before, and that none of them seemed to be under any concern, he replied, "Most of them, Sir, have never thought at all." But is not the fear of death natural to man ?" said BOSWELL. much so, Sir," answered JOHNSON," that the whole of life is but keeping away the thoughts of it." Were an inhabitant from heaven to visit our earth, and see the myriads that teem on its surface, dividing their time between business

66

H

"So

and pleasure, he would naturally ask, Are these thoughtless busy creatures only designed, like the gaudy insect on the wing, to flutter in the beams of a summer's sun, and then retire and perish? Or are they immortal beings who have strangely forgotten their character and employment, their origin and destiny? However men may lose the thought of dying, amidst the cares of domestic life and the turmoil of the world; or forget its terrors while engaged in the gay scenes which invite the senses, and yield them a momentary gratification; the awful hour of departure will sooner or later arrive, and the longer they have deferred the consideration of it, the more fearful will be the surprise which will seize them, and the more intolerable the consequences of death, in a future world. Oh, that we knew the day of our merciful visitation; that we were disposed, by faith, to secure an interest in the atoning sacrifice of Christ, who has extracted the sting of death, and removed the terrors of the grave; and that our life was one unbroken course of holy obedience, and diligent preparation for eternity! An application of the blood of sprinkling, in all its freshness, to the conscience, accompanied with a high state of personal sanctification, can alone enable us to receive with composure and fortitude the visit of the last enemy.

However formidable death may be to human

nature, it is of indispensable necessity to the perfection and happiness of the Christian. As, under the Jewish economy, the house infected with leprosy could not be cleansed, but must be taken down and cast into an unclean place, so our earthly tenement, defiled by sin, of which it is both the occasion and instrument, must be demolished and re-built, before it can become the abode of a holy and beatified spirit. Nor can the soul be perfectly fitted for the service and enjoyment of God, nor receive its full award of blessedness, until it is freed from the bondage of corruption, and walks in light and liberty. Death is the gate of immortality; and although it may grate on its brazen hinges, it opens on scenes of unfading beauty, and endless joy. Like the tribe of Manasseh, half of which remained on this side Jordan, while the other half had their lot assigned them in the land of Canaan, our meaner nature has a lonely dwelling in the ground from whence it was taken; while the soul, released from its fetters, wings its way to a fairer world, and waits the arrival of its long-lost companion, refined and glorious, at the resurrection morn.

"Dark River OF DEATH, that is flowing
Between the BRIGHT CITY and me,

Thou boundest the path I am going,
Oh, how shall I pass over thee?

When the cold stormy waters rise o'er me,
And earth disappears from my sight,—

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DEATH-TERRIFIC IN HIS ASPECT.

When a cloud rises thickly before me,
And veils all my spirit in night:

When the hands I love dearly are wringing,
The eyes all for me wet with tears,
The hearts that surround me still clinging,
And I all misgivings and fears:

Ere the warmth of that love be departed
That binds us so closely below,
Could I bear to see them broken-hearted,
Nor feel all the sting of their woe?

O DEATH! thou last portion of sorrow,
The prospect of heav'n is bright;
And fair is the dawn of its morrow,
But stormy and dreadful thy night!

O THOU who hast broken the pow'r
Of this, the last victor of men,
Be with me in that solemn hour,
O grant me deliverance then!

The glory from Calvary streaming,

May shine o'er the cold sable wave;
And the faith that is oftentimes beaming,
May burst through the gloom of the grave.

And peace may shine cloudless above me,
When I think what my Saviour has said,
THE FATHER HIMSELF deigns to love me,
And JESUS has died in my stead!

With the prospect of meeting for ever,

With the bright gates of heaven in view, From the dearest on earth I could sever,

And smile a delightful adieu !"

CHAPTER V.

Death—unsparing and invincible in his attacks.

Each moment has its sickle, emulous
Of Time's enormous scythe, whose ample sweep
Strikes empires from the root; each moment plays
His little weapon in the narrower sphere

Of sweet domestic comfort, and cuts down
The fairest bloom of sublunary bliss.

YOUNG.

DEATH is a cruel and relentless adversary, he spares neither the delicacy of sex, nor the tenderness of age; neither does he listen to the plea of usefulness, nor of growing prosperity. Every human being may adopt the language which David addressed to his son Solomon on his deathbed, "I go the way of all the earth." There never were but two exceptions to this general rule. Enoch walked with God, and he was not, for God took him and Elijah, dropping his mantle on the gazing prophet, mounted the