birth-welcome to what? It may be to poverty and an unholy home, to a troop of infantile diseases, to pains from within, and probably to neglect from without.

The believer's deathday—the time of triumph and victory, is better than this. Birth is the beginning of a journey; death is the ending of the weary march to our Father's house above. Again, about the birthday hangs an uncertainty. Children are blessings, but we cannot tell what will become of them when they grow up and come under the influence of evil-they may be useful and honorable, or dissolute and degraded. But everything is certain about the saint's deathday. When a child is born we know he is born to sorrow, but when a saint dies, we know he is done with sorrow and pain. Write, therefore, the death-date above the life-date on the headstone.

II. The believer's deathday is better than all his happy days. What are his happy days? The day of his coming of age-he is a man, and an estate may be coming to him. This is a day of great festivity-all around may be called to rejoice with him. But on the deat.day of a believer, he comes of age and enters upon his heavenly estate. What a jubilee that will be. The day of his marriage. Who does not rejoice, what cold heart does not beat with joy on that day? But on the deathday we shall move fully into the joy of our Lord, into that blessed marriage union which is established between Him and us, into that guest chamber where the feast will be spread, and we shall await the Marriage Supper of the Lamb. Day of gain. When some sudden windfall enlarges their capital, or multiplies the profit. But there is no gain like that of departure to the Father from a world of trouble to a land of triumph. A day of honor -when promoted in office, or receiving the applause of

men.

But what a day of honor to be carried by angels

into Abraham's bosom-heirs of God, joint heirs with Christ. Days of health are happy days. But what health. can equal the perfect wholeness of a spirit upon whom the Physician has displayed his utmost skill-clean, recovered, and where the inhabitant shall no more say, “I am sick." Happy days of social friendship, when hearts warm with hallowed intercourse with a friend, or in the midst of one's family. But no day of social enjoyment can match the day of death. What t.oops of blessed ones shall meet us! What priceless friends over yonder! What family greetings there will be! Oh, the bliss of meeting with the Lord! Those who are truly related to us in the bonds of everlasting life shall be there. Natural kinship has ended, spiritual relationship lasts and survives.

III. Better than his holy days. The day of conversion. Never to be forgotten when the heart began to beat with spiritual life, and the hand grasped the Lord, and the eyes saw his beauty. But what will it be to see him face to face? The Sabbath day. Precious and dear are the Lord's days-sweet rests of love-blessed days. But death gives us an eternal Sabbath, "where congregation, &c." Communion days. How sweet to sit at the Lord's table with his memorial in hand, and to think of what He has done, is doing, and has promised. What is that to communing with Him in Paradise. Bless the Lord for every one of the happy days-but heaven's days will be better. There we shall know each other better-more delight, in magnifying the name of Jesus. Our company shall be better-perfect company, and we shall then be at home.

IV. Better than the whole of his days put together. All his days here are dying days. Death is the end of dying. Life is conflict-death is victory. Life is full of sorrow, death ends that. Life is longing, death possessing.

It will be the day of our cure. We shall carry diseases till the last Physician comes, but his touch cures all. Death will be the cure of old age. Then renew youth like the eagles. Death will be the loss of all losses. Death, the last enemy, is the death of every enemy. It is the beginning of our best days. The dawning of heaven's days is often delightful to the dying. Words of wondrous import are often spoken by dying ones-it was the bliss of dying. Beginning the day on earth, closing it with loved ones, angels, and God in heaven. Oh! the eventide of that day! and that day without end!

Only mind you do not miss the way to get there. Turn to the right, by the Cross, and keep straight on.

A ROYAL ALARMIST.

REV. B. W. WILLIAMS.

The King of Terrors.—JOB Xviii: 14.

HIS is Bildad's description of death.

THIS

of the Shuhite is :

This assertion

I. A fact. Death is a king. Death simply in itself is no more than a cessation of life or a termination of being in a certain mode of existence. But it has been the universal custom of mankind to personify it; and the sacred writers, accommodating themselves to the language and apprehension of mortals, represent principles and feelings under sensible forms and as real characters. Thus in apostolic phrase "Death reigns." And while he reigns as a king, he enslaves as a tyrant. Where on earth shall we find an empire so ancient, with subjects so numerous, a vassalage so abject, and a territory so large? Why all this? Though by the original sin of our first parents, death gained a being and usurped a

throne, yet he became formidable or terrible only through personal transgressions. All the paraphernalia of purishment are only terrible to delinquents. A serpent is always an unsightly object, but it is the poison of its sting that renders it alarming. The sting of death is sin-sin, actual, personal, felt: and "all have sinned," hence the universal application of the text. But the terrors of the rod of this sceptered king, are but a small part of the terrors of the Almighty," who permits him to act as the officer of His justice.

II. The qualification of this fact.

He need not be a "king of terrors."

5. There are those to whom death has, or ought to have NO real terror. There is a great difference often between the privilege and attainment of the Christian, between what he might be and what he really is. To believers in Jesus, death should have no terror, and yet through fear of death they are all their lifetime subject to bondage. Those who have fled to Him, need not trouble. Their souls cannot die when they have committed them to Him, of whom it is said that, "He ever liveth." Nor should they fear as to their bodies, since these are united to Christ, even in the grave. Why then should not the children of Zion be joyful in their KING?

2. There are those whom terrors should exceedingly affright, though perhaps they do not heed them now.

There have been some who have jested in the presence of this king of terrors, but this does not prove that terror does not accompany and succeeds this king to such. Nor can we marvel at any feelings and forebodings among those who see death coming with "terrors as an armed man," and have no weapon of resistance, nor shelter for retreat, no shields against his fury, no refuge from his frown.

III. The illustration of this fact.

There are several things which justify the epithet of the "king of terrors."

1. Those of anticipation. Obscurity and darkness, uncertainty and error, speculation and surmise are frequent sources of disturbance and distraction. Men's hearts fail them for fear in looking for those things that are coming upon them. They cannot know what death is except by experience, and what it is in anticipation and imagination gives much of terror to death.

2. Those of his approach. We cannot say to him "Comest thou peaceably ?" Death in itself comes only as a waster, an enemy, a murderer; one whose harbingers are to seize, whom himself will next destroy. His terrors are increased when "We feel the sentence in ourselves," when we feel the time has come for us to know what he is-to be separated from all earthly things and to find that all we have acquired of earth nought, to have our very bodies become so loathsome that our dearest ones will say "let me bury my dead out of my sight."

3. His attendants too are terrible. Death is preceded by a multitude of evils,-pains, sorrows, surprise-afflictions of various kinds, all revolting to our nature and destructive to our hopes, and all rushing forth to exccute death's purpose.

The divorcement of soul But of the struggle conflict often seems

4. Of death's actual result. and body seems trying and severe. itself we know but little, but the fierce and sometimes long.

"After death the

5. Its results and consequences. judgment." It was no man's nature, but man's sin that introduced death to him. "Death is the wages of sin." Hence some of the chief priests of infidelity have, at the approach of death, been, of all men, the most affected by its "teriors." Nothing that they have can give the