See then, Brethren,
1 . What you should affect on earth —
[The sun and moon may well be considered as emblems of all that is great and glorious upon earth : but " glorious as they are, they have no glory, by reason of the glory that ex- celleth." Before the superior lustre of the Redeemer's king- dom they must hide their diminished heads, " ashamed and confounded," as unworthy of regard, in comparison of Christ, and of the felicity that is enjoyed through him. Let this, then, be the one object of your desire, to become subjects of his kingdom. Verily, " to be a door-keeper in his house, is better than to dwell in the most magnificent and richly furnished tents of the ungodly^." Seek to be able to say, " My Beloved is mine, and I am his^ ;" and you can have no richer bliss out of heaven.]
2. What blessedness awaits you in the eternal world —
[There you will "behold the King in his beauty"," yea, in the full effulgence of his majesty and glory. There, too, will you yourselves be freed from all your present infirmities : for there " the spirits of the just are made perfect^." There your powers will be enlarged, beyond all that you can now conceive ; and you will be filled with bliss, to the utmost ex- tent of your capacity to contain it. And what will you think of earthly honours and enjoyments the7i ? Verily you will wonder how it was ever possible for you to be so enchanted with them as you once were. The sight of Christ " face to face^" will swallow up every inferior object, even as the meri- dian sun eclipses and banishes the stars : and then your bliss will be complete, because there will no longer remain any object to distract your mind, or so much as a thought that does not emanate from, and centre in, your Saviour and your King. Methinks, in the anticipation of that day, I hear you already saying, " Allelujah ; for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth'^ ! "]
X Ps. Ixxxiv. 10. y Cant. ii. 16. " Isai. xxxiii. 17.
a Heb. xii: 23. ^ 1 Cor. xiii. 12. " Rev. xix. 6.