Y~~- 4-6.-Life and d,eath. No thougl1tful reader can take these remarks upon the lmng and the dead as complete and satisfactory in themselves, . The writer of this hook, as we know from other passages, never intended them so to be taken. 'rhey are singularly partial; yet when they are seen to be so, they are also singularly just. Just one aspect of life and of mortality is here presented, and it is an aspect which a wise and reflecting reader will sec to be of great importance. Life is a fragment, it is an opportunity, it is a probation. Death is an end, that is, an end of this brief existence, and of what especially belongs to it. If we thought of life and death only under these aspects, we should err; but we should err if we neglected to take these aspects into consideration. I. THE LOSSES OF THE DEAD. 1. They part with opportunities of lcnowledge which they enjoyed ou earth. 2. They part with passions which they experienced whilst in the bodily life. 3. They part with possessions which they acquired in this world. 4. They are soon forgotten; for those who remember them themselves depart, and a faint memory or ulter forgetfulness must follow. Death is a great change, and they who undergo it leave much behind, even though they may gain immeasurably morn than they lose. _ II. THE PBEnOGATIVES OF THE LIVING. 1. They have knowledge. This is doubtless very limited, but it is very precious. Compared with the knowledge which awaits the Christian in the future state, that which is within our reach now and here is as what is seen dimly in a mirror. Yet how can men be too grateful for the faculty in virtue of which they can acq11aint themselves with truth of the highest importance and value? Knowledge of self, and knowledge of the great Author of our being and salvation, is within our reach. We know the limitation of our period of earthly education and' probation; we know the means by which that period may be made the occasion of our Rpiritual good. 2. With all the living there is hope. Time is before them with its golden opportunities; eternity, time's harvest, is before them with all its priceless recompense. Even if the past has been neglected or abused, there is the possibility that the future may be turned to good account. For the dead we know that this earthly life has nothing in store. Bnt who can limit the possibilities which stretch before the living, the progress which may be made, the blessing that may be won?· APPLICATION. It is well to begin with the view of life and death which is presented in this passage; but it would not be well to pause here. It is. true 'that. there is lo5s in death ; but the Christian does not forget the assertion of the apostle that " to die is gain." And whilst there are privileges and prerogatives special to this earthly Hfc, still it is to the disciple of Christ only the introducti.on and preparation for a. life which is life indeed-life glorious, imperishable, and Divine.-:-T. Yers. 7-9.-Thejoy of hwman life. Optimists and pessimists are both wrong, for they both proceed upon the radically false principle that life is to be valued according to the preponderance of pleasure over pain; the optimist asserting and the pessimist dcnyincr such preponderance. It is a base theory of life which represents it as to be priz~d as an opportunity of enjoyment. .A.nd the hedonism which is common to optimist and to pessimist is the delusive basis upon which their visionary fabrics are reared. Pleasure is neither the proper standard nor the proper motive of right conduct. Yet, as the text points out, enjoyment is a real factor in human life, not to be depreciated and despised, though not to be cxaggerateu and overvalued. i. ENJOYMENT IB A DIVINELY APPOINTED ELEMENT IN OUB BUMAN EXIS'l'ENCll. Mru,'B bodily and mental constitution, taken in connection with the circumstances of tL(; human lot, are a sufficient proof of this. We drink by turns the sweet nuc! tho ECCLESIASTES; OR, THE PREACHEil. 23!)
bitter cup; and the one is as real as the other, although individuals partake or the two in different proportions. II. MANY PBOVIBlONB ARE MADE FOB BUMAN ENJOYMENT. Several are alluded to in this passage, more especially (1) the satisfaction of natural appetite; (2) the pleasures of society an<l festivity; (3) the happiness of the married state, when the Divine idea c_Oncerning it'is realized. 'l'hese are doubtless mentioned as specimens of the whole . . III. TaE RELATION OF ENJOYMENT TO LABOUB. The Preacher clearly saw that those who toil are those who enjoy. It is by work that most men must win the means of bodily and physical enjoyment; and the very labour becomes a means of blessing, and sweetens the daily meals. Nay, "the labour we delight in physics pain." The primeval curse was by God's mercy transformed into a blessing. JV. THE PARTIAL A.N1) DISAPPOINTING VIEW OF HUMAN LIFE WHICH CONSIDERS ONLY ITS ENJOYMENTS. 1. Pain, suffering, and distress are as real as happiness, and must come, sooner or later, to all whose life is prolonged. 2. Neither pleasure nor pain is of value apart from the moral discipline both may aid in promoting, apart from the moral progress, the moral aim, towards which both may lead. 3. It is, therefore, the part of the wise to use the good things of this life as not abusing them ; to be ready to part- with them at the call of Heaven, and to turn them to golden profit, so that occasion may never arise to remember them with regret and remorse.-T,