The Voice of Jubilee

the will of God may defy all the powers of darkness to quench his immortality!

Life for evil or for good, is the criterion of a man ; its memories of duty, done or undone, will pervade all the duration of his being. And let us also remember that all time lost or misspent, though never so truly repented of, though never so fully pardoned, will turn to loss throughout eternity.

"Thousands of men pass off the stage of life, and are heard of no more, because they have done no good, have benefited none of their fellow-creatures; never sought their salvation, never spoke a word that was worthy of remembrance. Their light went out in darkness, and they are not remembered more than the insects of yesterday."*

If, then, time is so short, and the tenure of life so uncertain-if very soon every opportunity of honouring our Lord and Saviour will have passed away, never to be recalled-if our accountability to God will be proportionate to the talents committed to our trust-then, next to our anxiety for the salvation of our own souls, how earnestly ought we to employ every opportunity in our power for doing good in our day and generation. If regret could be felt in the world of glory—if there the tear of grief could ever flow, or the harp of praise be silent, it would doubtless be at the recollection of opportunities lost in glorifying God in the promotion of this sacred cause.

XII. THE PROSPECT OF THE DAY OF FINAL RECOMPENSE urges us to renewed exertion.

"Go where glory waits thee," says the man of the world. So may the Christian say, Go where glory waits thee." Not the glory of the warrior, a scene of confused noise, and garments rolled in blood-not the

*Dr. Chalmers.

glory of seeking to trample on the rights of nations, and cementing your monuments of fame with the blood of the slaughtered, and with the tears of the widow and the orphan-not the glory of ruling in the empire of depravity and sin. "Go where glory waits thee;" the glory that boasts of the number of the saved, not of the slain-the glory of aiding to ransom enthralled and onslaved spirits and bringing forth the captives into the glorious liberty of the children of God; the glory of planting the trees of righteousness in place of the poisontrees of sin; of calling forth the joy of angels over multitudes of sinners brought to repentance, and of hastening the coming of the period when the children of God with one acclaim shall celebrate the arrival of the liberty wherewith Christ makes his people free,

"Go where glory waits thee," and if you die you will fall (to use the phrase of the world's warriors, alas! how desecrated and abused) "covered with glory." glory beyond the reach of mortality will await you; for "they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament, and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever." Christ will grant them to "sit with Him on his throne, and will give them power over the nations, even as He received of his Father, and will give them the morning star." This will not be a reward of merit; it is a prize to stimulate exertion a crown of glory which Christ will place upon the head of such as labour diligently and faithfully, and which they will voluntarily cast at the feet of Jesus, acknowledging themselves to have been unworthy and unprofitable ser vants. "God is not unrighteous to forget their labour of love."

In accordance with the doctrine of degrees of glory and happiness in heaven, it is supposed that the crowns which missionaries wear are bright above the rest; that

thrones of superior dignity are reserved for them, and that they will have more exalted honour, while it is also reasonable that the greater the sacrifices they have made for the poor and miserable, the more they have abounded in works of righteousness for Christ,* and the greater the number of souls they have been instrumental in saving, the richer and more glorious should be their crown of rejoicing in the day of the Lord. "Behold, I come quickly, and my reward is with me, to give to every man according to his works." In the gradations in glory there are seats near the throne, and to each one is apportioned according to his works. Yes, you who are now faithfully and ardently aiding in the glorious though arduous work of converting sinners to Christ, persevere. Crowns of glory, estates incorruptible, treasures which neither moth nor rust can corrupt, which thieves cannot steal-all these await you. Greater than all, you will be distinguished by the plaudit of the Judge at the last great day. Who would not be ambitious of the highest honours of the heavenly world? Can we conceive more powerful motives to stimulate our exertions? Can we ever adequately correspond in zeal, devotedness, and labours, with such a recompense ?

Nor shall the faithful, earnest, devoted labourer in God's vineyard be without his recompense even on earth. He shall have a hundredfold in this life. Nor will his labours ever be forgotten. You may fall in the field, Christian brother; no monumental marble may record your name or your successes; no historian may embalm your memory, although your powers and perseverance may claim the highest panegyric, irrespective of your noble deeds and godlike work. Yet your record is on high, and your reward is sure.

Yes, and though you may labour through a long and

* Isaiah lviii. 10, 11; Luke xiv. 14; Matt. iii. 42.

arduous life, and your friends, and the very Society which sent you forth may forget you, and you dio undis tinguished or despised-all honour, nevertheless, will be to your memory. The fruit of your labours will remain and continue to grow not only till these heavens and this earth shall be no more, but all time itself shall be forgotten. Your names will be inscribed on a monument where they will shine in living characters to all eternity.

The memory of any good man lives longer even in the minds of his survivors than one whose talents were unemployed, or used for evil and not for good. The names of Carey, Wilberforce, and Washington will live in the recollection of posterity, when those of Volney and Gibbon and Voltaire, or even that of the great Napoleon, will be forgotten; while the piety of Havelock, and his preaching in the heathen pagodas of Burmah, will be remembered longer, and be accounted more glorious than his prowess in the battle-field.

XIII. THE MEANS OF PROSECUTING THIS ENTERPRISE

ARE AT OUR DISPOSAL.

No real Christian but must be aware that there is a close connection between the means we are commanded to use to promote the cause of God, and the communication of the Divine blessing. God can impart his favours when and how He pleases; but He does not usually impart them unless the means employed are such as He has appointed. The kingdom of Christ is decreed to fill the whole earth, but not until prayer be presented for this object. Christ is to have the heathen for his inheritance, but not unless it is earnestly sought for by his people. "Ask of me, saith Jehovah, and I will give thee the heathen for thine inheritance,"* etc. * Ps. ii. 2.

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