knew what it was. But, absorbed with grief at the prospect of losing his father, he exclaimed, "Tell me what it is you wish, and I will do it." The father said, "I shall soon breathe my last: now, on the evening of the day in which I am buried, you will retire alone, for at least a quarter of an hour, and you will spend that little space in answering to yourself two questions; the first,—WHAT IS ETERNITY? the second,-Where shall I SPEND MY ETERNITY? And not only is this to be done that evening, but also every evening for a year after I am buried. You are, my son, to be quite alone at these seasons. You are to have no book to divert your thoughts, nor, in a word, any one subject before your mind, but the momentous one now set before you, during these short appointed periods. Will you do it ?" "I will," exclaimed the weeping son.

The father died; and the night after he was buried the son retired to ask himself solemnly, What is eternity? and, Where shall I spend my eternity? The quarter of an hour appeared to him like an hour or two, so slowly did it pass. Day after day he retired to fulfil his father's dying charge. But soon he felt it so painfully irksome, so gloomy, so intrusive on his comforts, that he was again and again tempted to break his promise. But a principle of honour, in its conventional sense, determined him to persevere, however harassing to his feelings.

In the course of a few weeks a new interest was excited in his mind; the quarter of an hour, insensibly to himself, became doubled,―ere long increased to an hour, then hours,-till at last the great inquiry became the all-absorbing subject of his thoughts-What is eternity? and, Where shall I spend my eternity? What, under God, was the result? That his father had not been many months in the world of spirits, ere his son had become, under the grace of God, a decided Christian, treading in his father's footsteps, and living for eternal glory.

Such, then, dear reader, were the questions urged, not merely fitfully and occasionally, but daily, on the mind, which once decided an immortal being to flee to the only Saviour for the lost, the only refuge from the wrath to come. And for this great end you are now most affectionately entreated to ask again and again the momentous question, Where shall I spend my eternity?—and that with all the urgency, carnestness, and ceaseless importunity, which its stupendous importance demands.

The first step to eternal life is CONSIDERATION. "Thus saith the Lord of hosts, Consider your ways." Why do people

live habitually in practical ignorance of God and his salvation? The answer is given from on high-"Israel doth not know, my people do not consider." And because earnest, self-condemning consideration would for a moment disturb their false peace or comfort, they fly from themselves into the amusements, pleasures, or business of life. It is true they have bibles, places of public religious instruction, and a variety of other means to assist their minds in the grand decision, on which their eternal welfare is suspended. But these are all practically neutralized for want of earnest, oft-repeated, deliberate consideration when alone.

The truths heard or read are not calmly, steadily, perseveringly pondered, according to their importance; and how, then, can they be followed by a blessing from above-how can they affect the mind according to their nature and importance? The mind is so constituted, that it can only be affected permanently by any object or truth as it is steadily or powerfully kept in view.

It is true, indeed, and never to be forgotten, that it is by the power of the Spirit of God that souls are truly converted. But then he is the "Spirit of truth." He influences men through the truth when it is presented to the mind, and stedfastly considered,-in other words, when the appointed means are employed. Thus we read in the Holy Scriptures, "If thou wilt receive my words, and hide my commandments with thee; so that thou incline thine ear unto wisdom, and apply thine heart to understanding; yea, if thou criest after knowledge, and liftest up thy voice for understanding; if thou seekest her as silver, and searchest for her as for hid treagures; then (and not till then) shalt thou understand the fear of the Lord, and find the knowledge of God," Prov. ii. 1-5.

Now, every reader has it in his power either to keep the truth presented to him before his mind, by silently pondering it, by cherishing the impressions so produced, and by following them up in other impressive ways;-or, by neglecting the truth, and thus forgetting it, he may neutralize the effect of the whole. You do not require to cast it from you, as many would do,-or express a deliberate judgment against it, in order to lose the benefit, but simply to allow other subjects, comparatively trifling, worldly, or unnecessary, to enter powerfully and quickly engage the attention. And what then? These topics of unutterable importance are effectually expelled, and become to your mind as if they had no real existence.

Here, then, lies your responsibility-God has granted you power to give earnest heed to the things which belong to your

peace, till they have led to some practical results corresponding to their nature and infinite significance.

This fact at once overthrows the unscriptural assertion—that man is not responsible for his belief. For while it is perfectly true that we cannot reasonably be required to believe any testimony without sufficient evidence, yet in cases where evidence can only be perceived by much earnest search and attention, that attention may be either given or withheld. And if it be withheld, where abundant evidence is afforded, the simple cause of the unbelief is want of will to receive the truth-loving darkness rather than light. It was on this principle that our Lord, in the parable of "the Sower of the Seed," accounted for the continued unbelief of many gospel hearers, namely, their permitting worldly subjects to engross their mind, to the effectual exclusion of the realities of eternity. Thus he said, "When any one heareth the word of the kingdom, and understandeth it not, then cometh the wicked one, and catcheth away that which was sown in the heart." But why does Satan thus eagerly divert the mind of the unawakened from a continuous attention to the gospel? The answer is given-"Lest they should believe and be saved." He knows the vast importance of a continuous earnest consideration of the truth to the salvation of the soul; and hence his ceaseless effort to prevent it. Again; our Lord exclaimed, "He also that received seed among thorns is he that heareth the word and the care of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, choke the word, and it becometh unfruitful."

If, then, multitudes have been, and are now being eternally destroyed through neglecting the great salvation, and having their earnest attention ever and anon withdrawn from eternal things to the passing trifles of a day—an hour-a moment,can I too urgently beseech every reader to flee from this fatal snare ?

Who, for example, can keep his mind, like the young man, from day to day, on the stupendous questions--What is eternity? and, Where am I going to spend my eternity? without seeing more and more clearly that this life is but " a dream," a "passing show?" and without, in some degree, feeling the appeal of the Redeemer, "What shall it profit a man, if he gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? What shall a man give in exchange for his soul?"

We are all of us on a journey to the world of spirits; and although we cannot tell when we shall reach its termination, or even declare what is to be on the morrow, yet from the principle of our immortal existence our minds do stretch for

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ward to the time and eternity which are before us. the light of Christianity burst upon the nations, the nature of the soul, and its immortality, were darkened by the dense clouds of superstition. The sad event of death was fearfully dark, and eternity but a dream. Thus, when death closed the eyes of a sufferer, the grave presented to the bereaved mourners but a dismal chasm, from which there was no return -a chasm which appeared to engulph for ever the objects of their fondest solicitude. But how different-how widely different-is our condition, both in regard to privilege and responsibility! How does it illustrate, as by a tremendous contrast, the awful accountability of those living, as we do, under the proclamation of life and immortality which have been brought to light through the gospel! To us the gates of eternity are thrown open, and we are commanded by God to look in with such a fixed and stedfast gaze, as shall afterwards tinge every object we look at in this world with the colours of eternity. And while we look into the different regions, the awful termination of our earthly career,—we are commanded to inquire individually, Where am I going? Am I on the road to heaven? or am I still traversing the path to hell?

My dear reader, have you so yielded to the love of God, now urgently inviting you to Christ for pardon and peace, that you can joyfully answer with the apostle, "We know that when the earthly house of this tabernacle is dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens"? Or are you yielding to the fearful delusion that it may be safe to allow the question to lie, for one day, in abeyance ?

Believe me, you cannot possibly gratify your insatiable enemy, and endanger your eternal interests more fully, than by postponing the momentous decision. For what argument, what impressive appeal can then avail you, if you thus refuse to deliberate, earnestly and continuously, on the awful alternative? But why shrink from it because of the momentary pain or uneasiness of considering your ways and your tremendous danger, when, even apart from the consideration of the wrath to come, your present and eternal happiness is suspended on your fully and fairly meeting the question? What, I ask, in an analogous case, would you say of a dying man, who, because of the momentary uneasiness of drinking a bitter draught, which he is assured will absolutely heal him, prefers to rush into the agonies of death? But even were there no sword of wrath suspended over you, which at any moment may de

scend and cut asunder the slender tie which holds you to earthly things, and plunge you into irretrievable ruin, let it be asked, can anything short of immortal blessings satisfy your ever-craving and capacious spirit?

It may at once be proved, not only from Scripture, but from the evidence of all history, and from all the analogies of living beings, that no intelligent creature can be happy, but where his possessions and expectations correspond to the nature, desires, sympathies, and capacities of his constitution. Now, such are the height and constitutional grandeur of the human soul, that creation, with its endless stores of riches and enjoyments, cannot possibly satisfy it. But even if these could satisfy the mind for awhile, and render the soul happy,--which they cannot do,--they want the stamp of immortality. They bring no assurance to the monarch on his throne that they can be retained an hour. They are only held from moment to moment. In an instant they may be all taken, and the soul as completely left alone, as if the whole world had been burnt up in one vast conflagration. Thus the soul demands, to render it truly happy, a portion, which can now enter and pervade the spirit a joy that will always be new, fresh, satisfying--a hope full of immortality. In a word, it wants a stream of blessing, that will never cease to flow, in time or in eternity.

But where shall this be found-this bliss for the weary soul? Ah! you need not seek to ascend to heaven or descend into the deep abyss, to discover and enjoy the treasure. The glad tidings have arrived-the infallible direction to obtain it is at hand. "If any man thirst," exclaimed the Redeemer, "let him come to me and drink. He that believeth on me shall speedily enjoy "rivers of living water." Come, then, at once to the Redeemer, and implicitly submit to his gracious sceptre, and soon, soon you shall find in your happy experience that this very portion, with its endless blessings, has been freely bestowed upon you, and that it is held forth, without money or price, to every creature, through his precious blood.

One grand end of revelation is to show the bearing of this world on the other; that the entire life of every man is continuous in the sight of God; each part bearing on what follows the present hour on future ages-all time on eternity. It is to show that eternity to man is but the development of time; that an eternity of happiness in heaven is as truly appointed by God to proceed from a previous state of love to Christ on earth, as the ripened field of harvest ever proceeds from the sowing of the same field in spring; and