arise upon us, with healing in his beams. The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light; they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined. And as the natural sun, in its successive circles, visits every part of the habitable world with its light and warmth, so the great Light of the moral world is to visit. all conditions of benighted man, dispelling the darkness from his soul, and imparting light, life, and joy. To Thee, O God, the darkness and the light are both alike, but to our finite senses light is indispensable, and without the moral illumination afforded by the Sun of Righteousness, man could never rise to that state of glory and perfertion for which he is constituted. Hence, that will be a glorious day to which we are now pointed by the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, when he will destroy the face of the covering cast over all people, and the vail that is spread over all nations. At that time, we are assured, righteousness, joy, and universal good will shall prevail, human society be regenerated, and the grand doctrine of a universal brotherhood every where acknowledged.More than this, our Father, the true Light, which Thou hast shed upon us, leads us to anticipate even the time, when he will swal

low up death in victory; and the Lord God will wipe away tears from off all faces; when a ransomed world shall be made the recipients of a glorious immortality, and the loved and the lost shall meet to part no more. In these glorious prospects we rejoice, with joy unspeakable and full of glory. And for these soul-inspiring hopes, we would call upon all our powers to unite in an offering of praise to Thee, the Author of all blessedness.. Help us to elevate our affections to the heavenly, and give our hearts to God. May we duly appreciate Thy spiritual gifts, so richly bestowed in Jesus Christ, and may we have grace to live according to his holy precepts. Help us sinners to repent of all our sins, and exemplify in our conduct, the kindness, benevolence, and charity of Jesus Christ our Saviour. Thus wilt Thou enable us to enjoy the guiding influence of the true Light through life, and in the last hour of disolving nature, may we be sustained by its bright visions of immortality; may it take away the terror and sting of death, and enable the soul to launch away from the shores of mortality, leaning on the rod and staff of Almighty love, to the realms of endless beatitude; and Thine shall be the praise and glory, through Jesus Christ. AMEN.

SERMON XIV.

THE LIFE AFTER DEATH.

BY REV. W A. DREW, AUGUSTA

LUKE, XX: 37, 38.

"Now THAT THE DEAD ARE RAISED, EVEN MOSES

SHOWED AT THE BUSH, WHEN HE CALLED THE Lord, THE GOD OF ABRAHAM, AND THE GOD OF ISAAC, AND THE GOD OF JACOB.

FOR HE IS NOT A GOD

OF THE DEAD, BUT OF THE LIVING FOR ALL LIVE UNTO HIM."

We live in a dying world, where changes are perpetual, and nothing is so certain as death. At the longest, life is comparatively short, and in a very little time these tongues will cease to speak, these lungs will cease to breathe, and these bodies will cease to move; for all that is mortal of us now, will be re

posing in the quiet solitude of the grave; and we, like those who have gone before us, and who are forgotten on the earth, shall be numbered with the dead. With this fact before us, the most thrilling question that can engage our attention here, is, "if a man die, shall he live again?" In our faith, as disciples of Christ, this question is finally answered. We believe that man shall live again. A rejection of this doctrine would be the denial of the great essential principle of christianity; it would be striking out the keystone of the arch in the temple of Christ. if there be no resurrection of the dead," says Paul, then is Christ not risen; and if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching, (the preaching of the gospel) vain; and your faith (the faith in christianity) is also vain." So that, as professed christians, we do not need to be convinced of the truth of a future life beyond the grave. Nor do those who believe in Jesus Christ as the Savior of the worldof the whole world-need to be convinced that that life is a glorious and happy existence

"For

glorious and happy for all whom Jesus has redeemed from the power of sin and death. I shall not, therefore, in this discourse, direct an argument to prove the doctrine of a future,

happy existence after death, or to show that this re-existence will be the equal joy of all. I prefer, rather, to consider some circumstances connected with these great truths, concerning which the mind makes often and earnest inquiries, and an attempt to gratify which, may at least be innocent, if the conclusions to which we may come are not vitally essential. It is not, perhaps, altogether enough for us to know, in general terms, that there is to be a future life; there are circumstances connected with that life which cannot but go far to diminish or enhance the present joys of our hope in that life. We cannot, if we would, and I do not know as we ought to if we could, suppress inquiries like the following: when is that life to begin? immediately after death, or not till the general resurrection at the last day? Are souls conscious still, though the body be dead, or is a reorganization and resurrection of the body necessary to the operations of the thinking machine? Will human beings hereafter preserve their individuality? or will they, like kindred drops, all mingle and be swallowed up in the ocean of divine love? If, maintaining distinct identities, will friends recognize in heaven, the lost friends of earth. and husbands