believer, and his hopes beyond the tomb. As Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him, when he shall come to be glorified in his saints, and admired in all them that believe. Very sad and dismal is the change, to mortal eye, which passes upon the body of the believer in the hour of death. The eyes cease to sparkle; the bloom upon the cheek is gone; the features are haggard; the ears are heavy; the tongue is dumb; the heart is cold; the frame is motionless! That countenance, upon which we were wont to gaze, perhaps, with admiration and delight, is now so changed we can scarcely recognize it; and that form, once so lovely, is now wrapped in the windingsheet, and fit only for the grave, and for the worm! How sad is this change! How deep is this humiliation! But wait, another change is to come: that body is to rise again; those eyes are to sparkle again; an immortal bloom is to be upon that cheek; those features are to have a divine beauty; and that countenance is to be lovely as an angel's! Yes, as the poet

says:

"Arrayed in glorious grace,

Shall these vile bodies shine,
And every shape, and every face
Look heavenly and divine."

"We would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which sleep," says the

apostle, "that ye sorrow not as others which have no hope; for, as Jesus died and rose again, even so, them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him; for the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and the trump of God, and the dead in Christ shall rise first." They shall rise in beauty and splendour. They shall leave their dusty beds, and appear as angels coming out of the ground! Yea, they shall rise in the likeness of the Son of God. For thus teaches the apostle:-"Our conversation is in heaven, from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself." O how wonderful is this! and how cheering to those who have looked, in sadness and grief, upon the pale, cold, and motionless form of some beloved one, who has fallen asleep in Jesus. Has this dear friend fallen under the power of death? And was not even the great Redeemer himself once under the power of death? Did you see the loved form of your friend wrapped in the winding-sheet, and laid in the grave? And was not the body of your Lord also thus arrayed, and laid in a tomb? Ah! my brethren, this has sanctified death, and the

winding-sheet, and the grave. If Jesus died, why should we not be willing to die? And if he was laid in the tomb, why should we not be willing to have the same bed of repose?

"The graves of all his saints he bless'd,
And softened every bed,

Where should the dying members rest
But with their dying Head?"

I must say, my dear brethren, that this association of the tomb of Jesus, is to me one of a peculiarly sacred and pleasing character. It does much to strip death of its sting, and the grave of its terror. Shall the servant be greater than his Master? ciple, in this particular, be willing to be as his Lord? and, especially, as he is to share with his Master in the triumphs of a glorious resurrection. It is enough! Amen. So let it be!

Shall not the dis

"I would not live alway; no, welcome the tomb, Since Jesus hath lain there, I dread not its gloom; Then, sweet be my rest, till he bid me arise

To hail him in triumph, descending the skies!"

Blessed be God! the Lord is risen-is risen indeed! Come, see the place where the Lord lay!

SERMON X.

CHRISTIAN MORALITY.

Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.-PHILIPPIANS iv. 8.

can.

TRUE religion, unquestionably, elevates and improves the human character; gives it a mingled sweetness and dignity, a perfection and excellence, which nothing else possibly Great talents and heroic achievements may add splendour to a name, may secure the admiration of a world. But, after all, ""Tis moral grandeur which makes the man." And what is moral grandeur? What gives it beauty and charm, and body, and soul, but true religion? This is the sum and perfection of whatsoever things are true, and honest, and just, and pure, and lovely, and of good report. Look at our blessed Redeemer: no laurels of the conqueror encircled his brow; no triumphal arches commemorated his victories; and yet, even as a man, Jesus Christ stands first on the rolls of fame! And wherefore? Not merely because he spake as never man spake; not merely because he wrought stupendous miracles-No, nor even because of this and that distinguished trait of moral character, but

it was because of the assemblage of all virtues; because of the clustering of all graces;-it was because of the finished beauty of his whole character; for in him, as one well observes, was "all light, without a shade; all beauty without a spot." Now, such as our Saviour was, in all his imitable perfections, should we be. The standard is high-I know it—it is exceeding high, but it is good for us to have a high standard, that we may be thoroughly sensible of our own short-comings, and convinced that we do need a better righteousness than our own, and must have it, or where God is, we cannot come-where heaven is, we cannot dwell. And now, I wish to lay before you, for your serious consideration, the points of Christian morality presented in our text. "Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things."

I. "Whatsoever things are true."-Truth is a cardinal virtue, and like the name of the everblessed God, it is most sacred, and must in no form or fashion be trifled with. Truth has reference to two things-veracity and faithfulness. By veracity, I mean the speaking as we think, and feel, and desire; and by faithful