One sweetly solemn thought
Comes to me o'er and o'er;
I'm nearer my home to-day
Than I've ever been before;
Nearer my Father's house

Where the many mansions be,
Nearer the great white throne,
Nearer the jasper sea;
Nearer the bound of life,

Where I lay my burden down;

Nearer leaving my cross,

Nearer wearing my crown.

The Celestial Mansions.

DEUT. XXVI. 15.

"Look down from thy holy habitation, from heaven, and bless thy people Israel, and the land which thou hast given us, as thou swarest unto our fathers, a land that floweth with milk and honey."

Ps. xlv. 15.

"With gladness and rejoicing shall they be brought they shall enter into the King's palace."

LUKE Xi. 2.

"And he said unto them, When ye pray, say, Our Father which art in heaven."

REV. vii. 9, 10.

"After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands; and cried with a loud voice, saying, Salvation to our God which sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb."

2 COR. v. 1.

"For we know, that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens."

"No shadows yonder

All light and song :-
Each day I wonder,
And say, how long
Shall time me sunder
From that dear throng?

No weeping yonder :-
All fled away!

While here I wander
Each weary day,

And sigh as I ponder,

My long, long stay.

No partings yonder !
Time and space never
Again shall sunder,—
Hearts cannot sever,-
Dearer and fonder
Hands clasp for ever.

None wanting yonder :-
Bought by the Lamb,
All gather'd under
The ever-green palm,
Loud as night's thunder
Ascends the glad psalm."

BONAR.

3

"In my Father's house are many mansions."

HESE words were addressed by our blessed Lord to His disciples, on the

night previous to His crucifixion, and,

in uttering them, He afforded a most touching and endearing proof, that, "having loved His own which were in the world, He loved them unto the end." He had told them, that He was about to leave them, and to return unto His heavenly Father, and "because He had said these things unto them, sorrow had filled their hearts." They had all along expected Him to effect the emancipation of their nation from foreign thraldom, and had been disputing among themselves, which of them should be the greatest in the temporal kingdom, which they had no doubt He was about to establish.

The

in heaven, is absolutely certain in its attainment, if sought in the right way. In the pursuit of earthly honours and rewards, the successful competitors are few. In this race, though many start and hold out to the end, yet none but the foremost receiveth the prize. But in the Christian race, every one who endureth to the end shall be saved. He, who hath been faithful over a few things, shall be as certainly rewarded, as he who hath been faithful over many. Upon the one, no less than upon the other, shall the welcome plaudit be pronounced, "Well done, thou good and faithful servant; enter thou into the joy of thy Lord." A melancholy uncertainty characterises everything earthly. Whatever be the recompense after which the votary of the world aspires, he can never calculate with certainty on obtaining it. Even when he is stretching out his hand to lay hold upon the prize, which it may have been the object of his whole life to gain, not seldom does some unforeseen circumstance arise to snatch it from his reach for ever. So true is it, that "time and chance happen alike to all," and that "the race is not always to the swift, nor the battle to the strong; nor riches to men of understanding; nor favour to