and to commit himself to the waves, whilst the Star of Promise, shining upon the dark waters, guides him homewards. Death then, hath nothing formidable to thee, O Christian! In the tomb of Jesus Christ are dissipated all the terrors which the tomb of nature presents. In the tomb of nature, O sinner! thou beholdest thy frailty, thy subjection to the curse and bondage of corruption; in the tomb of Jesus Christ thou beholdest thy strength and deliverance. In the tomb of nature the punishment of sin stares thee in the face; in the tomb of Jesus thou findest the expiation of it. From the tomb of nature thou hearest the dreadful sentence pronounced against every child of Adam-" Dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return;" but from the tomb of Jesus Christ issue those accents of consolation— "I am the resurrection and the life; he that believeth in Me, though he were dead, yet shall he live," John xi. 25. In the tomb of nature thou hearest this universal, this irrevocable doom written, "It is appointed unto man once to die;" but in the tomb of Jesus Christ thy tongue is loosed into this triumphant song of praise,"Ŏ death! where is thy sting? O grave! where is thy victory? thanks be to God who giveth us the victory, through our Lord Jesus Christ.

And, not only are these views of death and these prospects of future glory to the sincere believer animating and encouraging, when taken in connection with his own dissolution, but they are especially so when he has to mourn the loss of beloved Christian relatives and friends. Taken from our arms! Whither are they conveyed? They have arrived at home; they are not lost-oh! no— they have reached their Father's house-they are infinitely better and happier than when with us. The separation we are called to endure, be assured, is only temporary. A time of re-union will come; we shall see their

faces and hear their voices again in the flesh. Oh! how cheering a consolation! how suitable and how sure!

"Brethren, I would not have you to be ignorant concerning them which are asleep.

I. The description here given us of the death of true believers. "Them that sleep in Jesus."

1. "They sleep." Under the dispensation of the Gospel the term sleep is frequently made use of in the Scriptures to signify death. In the case of the ruler's daughter, our blessed Lord was applied to, to exert His power in the restoration of the damsel from the dead. "My daughter," said the distressed, broken-hearted parent, is even now dead, but come and lay Thine hand upon her and she shall live." Accordingly, "as soon as Jesus came into the ruler's house, and saw the minstrels and people making a noise, He said unto them, Give place, for the maid is not dead, but sleepeth." Ou another occasion, when desirous to inform His disciples of a message which had been sent unto Him by the weeping and disconsolate sisters of Bethany, relative to to their brother's death, Jesus mildly says, "Our friend Lazarus sleepeth, but I go that I may awake him out of sleep." Concerning the dying martyr Stephen also, it is recorded, amidst infuriated persecutors, blood-thirsty enemies, and showers of stones, "he kneeled down and prayed, Lord, lay not this sin to their charge; and when he had said this he fell asleep." David by the apostle Paul, is also honorably mentioned as "after having served his generation according to the will of God, fallen on sleep" and in a word, the term is constantly by the apostles referred to those who die in the Lord.

The term is peculiarly applicable in this point of view. It is expressive of the ease and readiness with which a Christian dies. "Mark the perfect man, and

behold the upright, for the end of that man is peace." He is "justified by faith, and has peace with God." The sprinkling of the blood of Christ has purged his conscience, and destroyed the sting of death, which is sin. His hope is cast upon the Rock of Ages-his soul is committed into the hands of One who is able to keep it-his sins are all forgiven-his heart sanctified by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit-his title clear to the heavenly inheritance-and thus, as easily and readily as a weary and way-worn traveler retires to rest, so does the Christian enter into rest and sleep in Jesus. And this rest is pure, undisturbed, and everlasting. "They shall rest from their labors." Then their praying days will be all over. Never more can it be said to them, "Be patient in tribulation," or "Fight the good fight of faith." "Without were fightings, and within were fears." But they are for ever ended. Darkness no longer struggles with light, or faith with unbelief. "The flesh" no longer "lusteth against the spirit, nor the spirit against the flesh."

Ye glorified saints, you can tell us what this blessed rest, this sleeping in Jesus is. You have traversed the wilderness, where you wandered in a solitary way-where you found no continuing city-where hungry and thirsty your "soul fainted within you;" but you have left the desert-you have passed the Jordan-you are come to your rest-and your pilgrim feet have terminated their earthly labors. Your week days, your worldly days, are now over, and you have begun Sabbath. Here you loved the Sabbath, but here the Sabbath was soon gone. You sometimes passed silent Sabbaths, and had to mourn the loss of sanctuary ordinances. You always spent imperfect ones; you could not do the things which you would; and you grew weary in the service of God, though not of it. But now your strength is

renewed-you are for ever with the Lord "-you "serve Him day and night in His temple "-you have the "keeping of Sabbath which remains for the people of God."

But sleep, as applied to the death of a believer, does not only intimate the peace with which he departs hence and the rest he is eternally to enjoy, but it may express also the expectation and hope he has of a future resurrection. We lie down to rest in sleep, expecting (if the Lord will) again to arise refreshed and strengthened for the duties of another day. We commit ourselves to slumber, relying on the guardian care of "Him who never slumbereth or sleepeth" to protect and defend us, and also enable us to wake with renewed vigor. And such hope has every believer. "Now is Christ risen from the dead, the first-fruits of them who slept." Death and the grave have no longer power to retain one single body in their dominion. So, then, the believer only sleeps; he lays his head upon the lap of earth; the tomb is the resting place, the couch on which the weary body shall repose until the dawn of the resurrection morning. Then shall the slumbering dead arise, "the trumpets shall sound, and the dead shall be raised." How truly refreshing-with what immortal bloom shall the glorified bodies of the saints appear washed! "This corruptible will put on incorruption, and this mortal put on immortality." Every form then shall appear perfected in the image of Christ—not an eye but shall sparkle with delight-not a brow on which shall not be placed a wreath of victory-not a countenance that shall not be radiant with the Redeemer's glory-not a soul or body that shall not be swallowed up of bliss.

Believers only sleep; let a few more years roll over their tombs-let a few more revolutions shake the world

-and then shall be seen "the sign of the Son of man in heaven," coming to gather together His saints, unite their glorified souls to their spiritual and incorruptible bodies, that so both may "ever be with the Lord." "Wherefore comfort one another with these words."

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2. The second description afforded of the death of believers is, they sleep" In Jesus." To such who have attentively examined the character and profession of a true Christian, it must have been evident that with them Jesus is all and in all." To them He is every thing. He is their life; and the "life they now live in the flesh is by the faith of the Son of God, who loved them and gave Himself for them." Nor is He less the preserver and security, than "the Author and Giver" of their spiritual life; "because I live," saith He, "ye shall live also." "Your life," saith Paul, is hid with Christ in God." He is their strength; "they can do all things only through Christ who strengtheneth them," and are alone "strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus." In a word, He is of God made unto them wisdom and righteousness, santification and redemption." Are they justified from the guilt and condemnation of sin? it is by Jesus. "There is no condemnation to them who are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh but after the Spirit." Are they sanctified, body, soul, and spirit? it is "by the Spirit of the Lord Jesus." Are they accepted of God? it is only through the Beloved. Are they reconciled to God?" He is their peace, who hath made both one, and broken down the middle wall of separation." Are they heirs of God, adopted into His family, made partakers of the Divine nature, and expectants of the Divine glory? they are only "children of God by faith in Christ Jesus." Thus all they are, all they hope to be is through Him; all they have in possession, all they anticipate in re-union, all of grace here,