of Providence itself. To be without afflictions is impossible below, where man is born to trouble as the sparks fly upward; not to feel when afflicted, is a stoical, is an impious stupidity; but to sink under troubles of any kind, is beneath the character of the Christian. Yet, when I reflect on that eternity of bliss which is before me, on that world of glory of which I am an heir in minority, I wonder that my afflictions are not rather more, than that they are so many. Is it much for me to stumble among the rough stones of adversity, to have my flesh pricked with the thorns of trouble, who shall walk the golden streets of heaven, and wear a crown of immortal glory? Though the whole earth should rise up against me, if heaven, and the God of heaven be for me, I am in perfect safety, and may sing my requiem in the midst of all the storms and tempests, whirlwinds and hurricanes, that can blow.

XXI.

A SWEET PROSPECT OF FUTURE BLISS.

Νου. 20, 1773.

HOW soon I shall mingle with the inhabitants of the invisible world, I cannot say; but I may assure myself it cannot be long. Why then converse I so seldom with the unseen world? why daily strike my roots deeper into this world, like an old tree, when, like an old tree, I must shortly be cut down? By kind providences, and gracious promises, I am hired to be heavenly-minded, and by afflictions am I chastened for my carnality; but could my faith get one sip of

the heavenly banquet, I would long to sit down at the marriage-supper of the Lamb. What a rich feast is found in the kingdom of God, which entertains thousands and ten thousands of happy souls through eternity; and shall my immortal soul feed on the refuse of creation! I tread under foot the flowers of this footstool, and rise in my ambition to the 'ss of heaven, to the fruition of God. O what beans of glory shine on me! what treasures open in my view! the all-sufficient good enjoyed through everlasting day by all the powers of my expanding, wondering, ravished, and enlarged mind.

XXII.

THE RAVISHING EMPLOYMENT OF SAINTS IN GLORY.

May 22, 1774.

IT is owing to the richness of grace, and stability of love, that I do not forfeit my title to the heavenly inheritance, by taking so little delight in divine things, and being so captivated with the perishing creature! O fool that I am! to be busied about dust and ashes, and to delight in a thing of nought; for the whole creation shall at last be set on fire, and deceive for ever all the votaries of sense. Then, when admitted into thy unclouded and beatific presence, what a strange change shall take place in my pursuits? I shall feel a frame of mind superior to the claim of my faith, and my soul shall be filled with raptures never felt, never known below. My soul shall largely open to the sacred emanations of the Deity, and exert all her ravished powers in searching the divine perfections,and through

eternity pursue the blissful theme. Then, and not till then, shall I know what it is to see God, to have communion and fellowship in their perfection with the Father, and with his Son, Jesus Christ, and, with saints and angels, to enjoy him in all his inexhaustible fulness. There shall not be an unemployed moment, nor an idle thought there. Crowns and kingdoms shall not excite one wish there (why then should lesser things excite so many wishes now, since, I am to be so soon there ?) but God's infinite self shall be my all in all through eternity!

XXIII.

A REPREHENSION FOR DECAY IN GRACE.

Dec. 17, 1775.

WITH tears of blood might I write bitter lamentations over the deadness of my soul, the darkness of my state! Is the beloved of my soul in heaven, and shall the love of my soul grovel on the earth? Has he who is fairer than the children of men, than the angels of God, lost all his beauty with me? Has he no form nor comeliness that I should desire him, meditate on him, and long for him? O the mad career of my unestablished mind, to hunt after shadows, vanity, wind, and let heaven and glory go! O happy day of glory that is on the wing, when sin shall poison my pursuits no more; but all my soul, with the ardor of heavenly love, and the vigor of perfected grace, shall search the adorable perfections of God.

XXIV.

THE NOBLE INDIFFERENCE.

April 13, 1776.

THE brevity of time, and the near approach of eternity, give to the rightly-exercised soul a noble indifference about every thing below. What matters it whether I dwell in a palace or a prison, since it is but for a day, an hour, a moment! What disappointment should pain me in time, if I shall possess God for eternity? I look around me, and see multitudes eager on the chace, keen in the pursuit of created good, forgetful that the world passeth away. I look forward to the invisible world, and see multitudes in their eternal state, astonished at the stupidity of saints and sinners, that the trifles of a day should with them preponderate so much. I also find myself in the deluded throng of triflers, and condemn my own conduct. An hundred years ago, ye disembodied nations, some of you were inhabitants in time, and ere an hundred years hence, I shall dwell in eternity. Ye then straggled along the road of human. life with care and concern, with burdens and bitterness, but now are forever at your journey's end; I am now travelling the thorny path, and shall also shortly arrive at home. Then there shall be no difference between you and me, when both dwelling in the same eternal world; and the interim is so short, that nothing that can befal me should either give pain or pleasure. I am on the wing to the celestial paradise, and no blasts in my face shall hinder my flight to the mount of God. The brevity of time may be bitter to the sinner, because torment and eternity seize him in the same mo-

ment; but it must afford me joy, for the shorter my time, the nearer to my endless felicity. Bodies can

never be larger than the orbits in which they move; then all the complicate afflictions of time must disappear when time is no more. Why, then, take deep thought, or long sorrow, or much joy, or lasting delight, at the ill or good of a few flying moments. My soul is immortal, and God is eternal; therefore in thee below, and in thee above, in thee in time, ar. in thee in eternity, shall my soul find boundless pleasures and unfading bliss.

XXV.

NO HAPPINESS BELOW.

Nov. 18, 1777.

NEVER shall I attain to happiness, while I seek it in the creature, or expect it out of heaven; and O how little concern have I with the things of time, who am so far on my journey towards eternity! When the world gets into the affections, there is nothing but tumult and disorder there; this I have long found; but when heaven dwells within, the heart becomes a little heaven, and all is peace and serenity, composure and. joy. O! then, to keep the heart barred against enchanting trifles, and to live above every thing below. At the hour of death, I shall make my triumphant entry into the New Jerusalem, and from the walls of the holy city I shall bid defiance to all the cares of life, the pleasures of sense, the armies of corruption, and the legions of hell.