The

The time to him has been short; he has looked back upon the past, upon the things, that he ought to have done, and upon those, which he ought not to have done; but, like a shadow, or the summer cloud, all has passed away ;—he has brought his life to an end, as it were a tale that is told. longest life is but short. In the first ages, men were permitted to live for centuries; but to them all it is added-they died! Now, alas! a few years compose the existence of the strongest among us. life hangs but upon a thread; misfortune after misfortune, pressure after pressure, woe after woe,-all threaten to break it. The slightest accident affects it; and should we endure the repeated shocks, which fall upon all alike, the last great end must come, the end that makes us feel, that our time is but short.

Indeed,

But, secondly, TIME IS SHORT, WHEN COMPARED ΤΟ ETERNITY. Shortness indeed is the emblem of this life-eternity of the next. Oh! when the human mind begins to contemplate eternity, the vastness

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of the theme instantly causes it to shrink back upon itself to feel its own weakness -its own littleness. Canst thou by searching find out God? canst thou find out the Almighty unto perfection? It is as high as heaven, what canst thou do? deeper than hell, what canst thou know?"

The human mind cannot know any thing about eternity; it is accustomed only to observe moving objects-things which are to-day, but, perhaps, to-morrow are notthings which are hourly crumbling into dust; and what is this life compared with eternity? what is this life compared with a thousand years? and yet a thousand years represent not a unit of the time of the next life-it is for ever and ever. The innumerable particles of sand on the seashore, or the countless stars in the firmament, multiplied together, cannot, by any means, represent the number of years the next life is to last--it will have no end. Oh! eternity! eternity! like the great Omnipotent-incomprehensible-for ever and ever! How the powers of the mind fail! when they attempt to describe it; how the

nothingness of the creature forces itself upon our recollection, when we dwell upon a theme of such moment. We may

look

across the earth, and see the visionary objects pass daily before our view; we may look upon the glorious works of creationthe sun, the moon, the stars, the earth: and there is sufficient for the philosopher to admire, and to delight in. From these great works he looks to nature's God-the great Eternal! Then he becomes lost; the Divine hand shuts from his penetrating eye the ineffable splendour of heaven. It throws a vail upon his mind, when he would fix it upon eternity, and sets a mark, which bids him to come hitherto, but no further. Such things are too great for him. Humanity becomes weak, mortal comprehension fails-wisdom, earthly wisdom, becomes foolishness; and the philosopher, who attempts to dive into the annals of eternity, in the sight of heaven becomes-by his own feeling, by his own confession—a weak and impotent creature. Nothing can reduce the pride of the human heart so much, nothing bring down more the high and lofty

mind, than to compare human existence with eternity. It makes us consider this life as nothing, the next as every thing. It makes us comparatively disregard the things, that are passing around, and fix our hearts and affections upon the world to come. At least, if it does not, it should, accomplish this great end.

But let us, in the last place, consider the most important division of our text. Hitherto we have been moralising, and giving but a dreary picture of human life. Still, however, must we dwell upon the LITTLE

TIME, WE HAVE TO LIVE, AND THE GREAT WORK, WE HAVE TO ACCOMPLISH, BEFORE WE DIE.

The shorter the time we have to perform it, the greater exertion does it require on our parts. This life is only one of probation; the spiritual work, which we have to perform, is the working out of our own salvation, and this must be done with fear and trembling; and how little time have we to perform this mighty work! necessary occupations of life take up a vast

The

portion of our time, and, with respect to the remainder, how little inclined are we to make a proper use of it! although upon the just employment of the many talents committed to our care depends our very salvation. Brethren, we would solicit your serious attention to this subject-it is one, from which we may receive great spiritual profit. It is one, that demands our careful consideration, because it will treat of those things, which belong unto our peace.

The work, we have to accomplish in this life, is great-the time to effect it is short. When we consider human nature-its weakness, and its subjection to sundry diseases, all terminating in death, how necessary is it to be prepared to meet the Judge, when our appointed time shall come! When man was first created, he came from the ** hands of his Maker pure and holy, after the Divine image; and he would have been translated to heaven without the wasting and withering of death, had he not disobeyed the Divine command ; he would have continued in that purity, and, consequently, in that happiness, which was first