heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love Him ""

Such are the prospects, such the rewards of Heaven. Then you are to consider that this great mercy, this hope of eternal happiness, is made quite certain by the word of God to all who strive for it, as He wills they should strive.

You know that in the things of this world there is great uncertainty; the wisest men cannot positively say how things will turn out: there are always doubts whether you may get what you wish, so many are the Providences of God over the passing events of life; and when you have got a thing wished for, it may after all turn out to be something very much less worth your having than you had thought. There will be some part wanting in it which you had expected, or something with it which you do not wish, and which you had not thought of.

But of gaining Heaven there is no doubt to any man who wills to do so. It

11 Cor. ii. 9.

is true we are all sunk in trespasses and sins true there are difficulties in the way, temptations and trials to overcome, evil passions to subdue, habits of holiness to make; but all is done in the strength of One greater than ourselves, even JESUS CHRIST. He has died on the cross for us, and by His passion and death has reconciled His FATHER to us, Who, for our many offences might most justly have cast us off, and has sent the Comforter, the HOLY GHOST into the world to be with us, and to give His Grace to all who will pray for it in the name of JESUS CHRIST.

No-there may be difficulty, but there is no doubt of the possibility that every man may be saved, and may reach the object of his wishes, heaven; let it only be the object of his prayers as well as his wishes, and let it be sought by faith, by hope and charity, and by holiness, without which no man can see the Lord.

And in this object we have no disappointments or regrets to fear-no wishes that we had held to the worldno looking back to what we have left.

It is the one only thing in this life which it is wise to be perpetually looking to, as it is the only thing that can stand us in need when this life is past, the only thing which can never disappoint nor fail us.

We must ask then how do the children of light show their wisdom.

We see that the children of this world toil and strive for the objects of their desires in spite of the things being without value nor worth striving for; we see that their endeavours are earnest, active, constant; that they make sacrifices and give up things they might enjoy, in the hope of what they are to gain.

These are all labouring for the meat that perisheth; and for things which they are neither certain of gaining at all, nor certain of liking when they have gained them; and which they are quite certain, gain what they will, they must shortly give up when they breathe their

last breath in this world.

But true it is still, as it was when our Lord spoke, that they are wiser than the children of light.

Where is that activity in Christians for Heaven and Heavenly things, that we see in worldly men, and even in men who do serve God, in their worldly concerns?

For instance, do not Christians often place themselves in situations of temptation? Do not they run risk of their faith by giving way in small questionable points, which soon, and almost without their perceiving it, lead them into sin? But the children of this world take care to do nothing to lead them into mistakes.

Do not Christians often quite forget the instructions of their LORD, and give way to great temptations, and fall into open sin? sin? But how seldom do the men of the world forget the rules by which they live, their rules of prudence and foresight, and calculation. And when Christians thus fall into sin, how hardly sometimes do they notice their fall; how difficult they find it to think they were wrong; how slowly they confess their sin, how unwillingly they turn to repent. But the worldly man soon sees

his error-he acknowledges it, and determines to be guilty of it no more. He, indeed, can but lose the things of this world, and Christians have Heaven to lose as well as to gain, yet still he is wiser in his generation than they.

Let us then take to ourselves, (since such is the acknowledged state of the human heart towards God,) the advice and command of our Lord, to make use of all our advantages, that when we fail and die we may be received into everlasting habitations.

Now every man, in order to fulfil this command, must consider what advantages he has, both those which he has in common with other people, and those which he has particularly, which they have not.

All here have the advantage of being born in a Christian country, and of being made Christians in Baptism; all are thus grafted into the mystical body of Christ, His Church, and have solemn vows made in their behalf against the world, the flesh, and the devil, and