of the promise, is born; and all his designs and labours are signally succeeded. "And it came to pass, after these things," writes the sacred historian, "that God did tempt Abraham, and said, Take now thy son, thine only son, Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt-offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of." Moses, immediately before his death and burial, was shown, from the summit of Nebo, the whole land of Canaan, with her cities and villages, oliveyards and vineyards. The splendid scenes of Tabor were probably designed to prepare the three disciples for the mournful transactions of Gethsemane; and the intercourse of Moses and Elias, to cheer the heart of the Saviour in prospect of his decease, which he should accomplish at Jerusalem. That holy man, the Rev. SAMUEL SHAW, had his house visited by the plague, which swept off, in a few days, two of his children, a beloved sister, a servant, and the child of a near friend. He himself, and the rest of his family, were shut up as prisoners in their dwelling, and felt as if the sentence of death was passed upon them. Previous to the event, his heart was secretly prepared for it, by appropriate views of the character of God, and a disposition of unreserved submission to his righteous appointments. He could see him in no other form than that of love; and his chief happiness appeared to consist in entire conformity to the Divine will, and cheerful acquiescence in his moral and providential arrangements. Were it not for these reviving cordials, our spirits would often sink in the hour of extremity. Never is the kindness of the Lord more manifest than in fitting his people for the burdens they are called to bear. He first gives them extraordinary assurances of his love, and then puts their graces to the test, by severe and painful trials. 66 One other source of consolation arises to the Christian mourner, and that is, the connexion that subsists between the Church on earth, and the Church in heaven. Although the ties of nature are dissolved, and we are forbidden any longer to indulge those low and grovelling affections which are part of the animal constitution, there is a link of union which death can never sever, and a principle of pure and exalted love which religion commands us to cherish. We, who live under the Christian dispensation, are said to come unto the spirits of just men made perfect." The brighter discoveries of this dispensation, seem to shorten the distance between this world and the next, and give us a participation, already, in the society and employment of its glorified inhabitants. We feel ourselves brethren of the same holy, happy family; we bear the lineaments of the same gracious Father, are united to the same living Head, and receive our supplies from the same Divine Spirit. The great principles which animate us, the object of our worship, and the sources of our enjoyment, are the same. And often, while we are meditating on the love of God in the redemption of the world through the vicarious sacrifice of Christ; or, prostrate at the mercy-seat, are presenting our mingled offerings of prayer and praise; or are engaged in acts of delightful obedience and service; we seem to be associated, in spirit and in aim, with such of our friends as have departed in the Lord. It is but a thin curtain that separates the Church on earth from the Church in heaven. Soon the veil will be drawn aside; the mysteries of the Holy of Holies will be disclosed to our view; and we shall stand, with the great congregation, in the presence of Him whose glory fills and beautifies the upper Temple. CHAPTER VIII. THE MOURNER'S ANTICIPATIONS. HOPE, with uplifted foot, set free from earth, COWPER. Of all the graces which form the Christian character, none is so animating or consoling, in its influence, as Hope. It supports the mind under all the trials of life; renders duty pleasant and delightful; removes, or lessens, the difficulties which impede our religious progress; and, sloping the way before us, strips death of its terrors, and throws a bright light around the shores of eternity. Like an endeared companion, it travels with us through all the stages of this wilderness, beguiling the tedium of the way, cheering our drooping spirits, and reminding us of our approaching end, when every cause of sorrow will be removed, and a state of perfect happiness enjoyed. Hope is the desire and expectation of future good. It always excites pleasurable emotions, in proportion to the excellency of the object on which it is fixed, and the degree of certainty which we feel of obtaining it. The ultimate object of the believer's hope is a state of entire freedom from sin and sorrow, where his mental powers will be continually advancing towards perfection, and where he will for ever contemplate the glories, and enjoy the presence, of the Great Supreme. It is "the hope which is laid up for us in heaven;" "the hope of the glory of God;" "that blessed hope" for which we are "looking, the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ:" and all who possess it, are said to be made "heirs according to the hope of eternal life." The promises of God "who cannot lie," made known by his Spirit, and ratified by the death of the Saviour, are its warrant. Resting on this broad and certain basis, it is as an anchor of the soul, both sure and stedfast." Unlike the feeble and fluctuating expectation of happiness, which is too fondly cherished by the mere man of the world, the hope of the Christian is called "a lively hope," "a good hope," and he is admonished "to show the same diligence to the full assurance of hope unto the end." 66 As the Bible was principally intended to be a revelation of the mind and will of God to man, in his present state of probation and trial, the disclosures which it makes, of that bright economy |