DDOL DE COO0udess thered as the dower of the DE STARS ▼ Ders by the dower fadeth." Man is like criss & net cu Bow, or withered by the winter's frost. That is the loss of a. numural enjoyments, it deprives us A part of many years Naked we came into the a mnd riked we return again. We brought nothing e vond, and x is certain we can carry nothing out. we call all the kingdoms of the world our own, and went na ngenal crown placed on every head, yet it would ☛ dimensions of THE 2 NO DONe to possess than the d Solomon

It was this considerat.

1

to cry out, "All is vanity and vexation of spirit!" Riches are not for ever, and doth the crown endure to every generation? The Lord saith thus-" Behold, that which I have built will I break down, and that which I have planted will I pluck up." When Samuel was to anoint Saul he brought him to Rachel's sepulchre, thus to suppress pride by putting him in mind of his dissolution. The great projects of kings and princes, the vast designs of the greatest potentates, fall to the ground in a moment; they themselves return to their dust; and in that day all their thoughts perish.

Death removes from all former society. Our relations. that knew us will know us no more: this separates the nearest relatives, and breaks the strongest ties. "Lover and friend," says David, "hast thou put far from me, and mine acquaintance into darkness." The churches that

knew us will know us no more; no longer shall we take sweet counsel together, or be fellow-helpers of each other's joy. We shall not see the Lord, even the Lord in the land of the living, and shall behold man no more with the inhabitants of the world; no more shall we see our friends; we shall enjoy no more seasons of grace, no more converse with ministers, for there is no conversations in the regions of darkness; even a David and a Jonathan will be parted, nor can the union of their hearts prevent their being thus separated one from the other.

Death equals all. "Be not thou afraid when one is made rich, when the glory of his house is increased; for when he dieth he shall carry nothing away, his glory shall not descend after him." When Nebuchadnezzar's image was broken down, the iron, clay, silver, brass, and gold, lay confused together. Who can distinguish between royal and common dust? Thus the prophet, in the spirit of prophecy, triumphs over Babel: " Art thou also become weak as we; art thou become like unto us? Thy pomp is brought down to the grave, and the noise of thy viols; the worm is spread under thee, and the worms cover thee." And it is

the prospect of it! He calls it a cutting off of his days, a breaking of his bones, and a making an end of him. What a striking description of death's forerunners have we in Ecclesiastes:-" The keepers of the house shall tremble, and the strong men shall bow themselves, and the grinders shall cease because they are few, and those that look out of the windows be darkened." And this the wise man makes use of as an argument why we should improve our youthful days, and then remember our Creator. Some may say with Job, "Wearisome nights are appointed unto me. When I lie down, I say, When shall I rise, and the night be gone? and I am full of tossings to and fro unto the dawning of the day;" and may even wish to be gone for a freedom from pain. In some loathsome, in others acute diseases, make the sufferer weary of life, and even wish for the separating stroke before it comes.

4. Death is the object of fear on account of the vast change that is wrought thereby. The soul is now unclothed, no longer converses with external objects through the medium of the organs of sense. It now sees things in a different light, converses with different objects, is no longer confined to the dark prison of the body, but ranges wide, and expands itself to a great degree. The body having lost its dear inhabitant, is thrown aside as of no further use; its beauty is now decayed, and it is rendered unlovely as well as useless. "What shall I cry? All flesh is grass, and all the goodliness thereof as the flower of the field: the grass withereth, the flower fadeth." Man is like the grass, either cut down, or withered by the winter's frost.. Death is the loss of all natural enjoyments, it deprives us of the hoard of many years. Naked we came into the world, and naked we return again. We brought nothing into the world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. Could we call all the kingdoms of the world our own, and were an imperial crown placed on every head, yet it would leave us no more to possess than the narrow dimensions of a grave. It was this consideration which induced Solomon

to cry out, "All is vanity and vexation of spirit!" Riches are not for ever, and doth the crown endure to every generation? The Lord saith thus-" Behold, that which I have built will I break down, and that which I have planted will I pluck up." When Samuel was to anoint Saul he brought him to Rachel's sepulchre, thus to suppress pride by putting him in mind of his dissolution. The great projects of kings and princes, the vast designs of the greatest potentates, fall to the ground in a moment; they themselves return to their dust; and in that day all their thoughts perish.

Death removes from all former society. Our relations that knew us will know us no more: this separates the nearest relatives, and breaks the strongest ties. "Lover and friend," says David, "hast thou put far from me, and mine acquaintance into darkness." The churches that knew us will know us no more; no longer shall we take sweet counsel together, or be fellow-helpers of each other's joy. We shall not see the Lord, even the Lord in the land of the living, and shall behold man no more with the inhabitants of the world; no more shall we see our friends; we shall enjoy no more seasons of grace, no more converse with ministers, for there is no conversations in the regions of darkness; even a David and a Jonathan will be parted, nor can the union of their hearts prevent their being thus separated one from the other.

Death equals all. "Be not thou afraid when one is made. rich, when the glory of his house is increased; for when he dieth he shall carry nothing away, his glory shall not descend after him." When Nebuchadnezzar's image was broken down, the iron, clay, silver, brass, and gold, lay confused together. Who can distinguish between royal and common dust? Thus the prophet, in the spirit of prophecy, triumphs over Babel: "Art thou also become weak as we; art thou become like unto us? Thy pomp is brought down to the grave, and the noise of thy viols; the worm is spread under thee, and the worms cover thee." And it is

And are these the consequences of death? is so great a change wrought by it? No wonder we are apt to be afraid of it.

5, and lastly. Death is terrible, because it is a mark of God's wrath, and the summons to his bar. After death, the judgment. O the dismal aspect of Death riding upon a pale horse, and hell following!" It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God." When Paul reasoned of righteousness, temperance, and judgment to come, Felix trembled. Were death to put an end to our being, though then it would be far from desirable, yet would it be less terrible to many; but death translates out of time into eternity; arrests and brings to the judgment seat. How, then, must the unprepared, the soul without hope in Christ, tremble! The time then comes when he that is filthy will be filthy still. No wonder, then, if the prospect of death fills with fear. See the effects of this fear on Saul: though renowned for valour, he fell straightway all along on the earth, and was sore afraid because of the words of Samuel, and there was no strength in him; and on Belshazzar, in the midst of his feast, whose countenance was changed, and his thoughts troubled him, so that the joints of his loins were loosed, and his knees smote one against another.

How oft is the candle of the wicked put out, and how oft cometh their destruction upon them! God distributeth sorrows in his anger. Christ comes in an hour that he is not looked for, and how terrible must sudden death be to the wicked, sudden death, sudden damnation! O what surprise and consternation to sleep on earth and wake in hell! Nay, there are sometimes disadvantages to a good man in sudden death, though the advantages seem to preponderate. It was the saying of a very good man,—“ Spare me, that I may recover strength before I go hence, and be no more seen."

We now proceed to show what is the character of that fear of death from which Christ delivers his people.

1. It is not a natural fear. This no degree of grace can