ourselves with them. Now, as it is not the vague notion of God which is afloat in the world that awes or animates our minds; but his revealed character as God in Christ, and that, viewed in all its attributes, and often thought of; so it is not the vague and meagre notion of heaven as a mere place of safety from hell, that can either set our affections on things above, or soothe us amidst the vicissitudes of things on the earth. We must meditate on the character of eternity, as we have on the character of God-deeply, frequently, voluntarily, if we would be influenced by it. In like manner, whatever love we have to an unseen Saviour was not derived, and is not sustained, from the superficial ideas of him which are afloat in the world; but from views of his person and work, drawn from the divine testimony, compared with the opinions of the apostles and prophets, harmonized with the songs of angels and glorified spirits, and often tried upon the fears of our heart and the wounds of our spirit. Thus, whatever just and influential estimate we have formed of the divine favor, it has been drawn from scriptural views of the divine character. We set ourselves to think over the character of God and the Lamb, until it awake some hope, and of " And Here, then, there is some happy accordance between the influence which the invisible God and Saviour have over us, and that influence which they had over the first believers. We are, in some measure, one spirit" with them, in bringing the perfections of God and the blood of the Lamb to bear upon our hopes and fears. Why, then, are we so unlike them, in reckoning that the sufferings of the present time, are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us? It is needless to ask, why do we not "desire to depart and be with Christ;" nor, why do we not " groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed upon with our house which is from heaven ?" These questions would be evaded. But let us not evade the inquiry, Why have eternal 1 things such a small place in our thoughts and conversation, compared to the "large room" they had in the hearts of the primitive Christians? We not only can make but little practical use of the prospects of heaven; but we are ashamed to speak, and often afraid to think of them. We might really dislike heaven, so little do we say about it; or be indifferent to it, so seldom do we set ourselves to contemplate it. It is not, therefore, at all wonderful, however lamentable it may be, that we turn more to the doctrine of a present Providence for relief in the day of trouble, than to the doctrine of future glory. We have studied the former more than the latter. Had Providence engaged our attention as seldom and slightly as eternity has done, it would have had even less place in our minds, and less influence on our character, than eternity has. What, then, would be the happy effect of giving, for a time, such "6 good heed" to the whole doctrine of immortality, as we have done to the doctrines of grace and Providence? The revelation of glory will not divert us from the revelation of grace. The time required in order to our being well informed concerning the crown, will not render us ill affected to wards the cross. A fair and full view of heaven will not cut any of the natural links of life, nor alienate the heart from any of the duties of life or godliness. These may be eclipsed for a moment by the superior claims of eternity; but, as in the eclipses of the sun and moon, the shadows will soon pass off, and leave all proper things in their proper place and power. There is no danger of so realizing the things which are unseen and eternal, as to forget the things which are seen and temporal, The danger is, lest the latter displace the former. No. II. THE POSSIBILITY OF REALIZING ETERNITY. We WHILST there is nothing we more readily admit than the grandeur and solemnity of eternity, there is, perhaps, nothing we are more reluctant to dwell on. We have, indeed, no objection to hear, occasionally, a well-timed and solemn-toned appeal to the awful realities of eternity; nor do we dislike those occasional gleams of it which flash upon our spirit when we are communing with God in prayer. are rather pleased, than otherwise, to feel now and then that we are not insensible to the glories of heaven and the terrors of hell, nor altogether uninfluenced by them. Indeed we should question both the soundness and the sincerity of our faith, if it never realized "the things which are unseen and eternal,” except when it was forced to do so by ministerial and providential appeals. Thus the subject has |