"Death like a narrow sea divides
That heavenly land from ours!"

"Amessenger is sent to bring us to God, but it is the King of Terrors. We enter the land flowing with milk and honey, but it is through the valley of the shadow of death." Yet fear not, oh thou child of God! there is no need that thou, through fear of death, shouldst be all thy lifetime subject to bondage. 2. No: hear the apostle: the entrance is ministered unto thee! Death is but his minister; he cannot lock his ice-cold hand in thine till He permit. Our Jesus has the keys of hell and of death, and till he liberates the vassal to bring thee home, not a hair of thy head can fall to the ground! Fear not, thou worm! he who minds the sparrows appoints the time for thy removal: fear not; only be thou always ready, that, whenever the messenger comes to take down the tabernacle in which thy spirit has long made her abode, thou mayst be able to exclaim, "Amen! even so, Lord Jesus, come quickly!" Death need have no terrors for thee; he is the vassal of thy Lord, and, however unwilling to do him reverence, yet to him who sits at God's right hand shall even death pay, if not a joyful, yet a trembling homage; nay, more:

"To him shall earth and hell submit,

And every foe shall fall,
Till death expires beneath his feet,
And God is all in all."

Christ has already had one triumph over death; his iron fangs could not detain the Prince who has "life in himself;" and in his strength thou shalt triumph, for the power of Christ is promised to rest upon thee! He has had the same entrance; his footsteps marked the way, and his cry to thee is, "Follow thou me." "My sheep," says he, "hear my voice, and they do follow me;" they follow me gladly, even into this gloomy vale; and what is the consequence? "They shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand."

3. It is ministered unto you abundantly. Perhaps the apostle means that the death of some is distinguished by indulgences and honours not vouchsafed to all. In the expe

1

rience of some, the passage appears difficult; in others it is comparatively easy; they gently fall asleep in Jesus. But we not only see diversities in the mortal agony-this would be a small thing. * * *. Some get in with sails full spread and carrying a rich cargo indeed, while others arrive barely on a single plank. Some, who have long had their conversation in heaven, are anxious to be wafted into the celestial haven; while others, who never sought God till alarmed at the speedy approach of death, have little confidence,

"And linger shivering on the brink,
And fear to launch away."

This doctrine must have been peculiarly encouraging to the early converts to whom St. Peter wrote. From the tenour of both his epistles it is clear that they were in a state of severe suffering, and in great danger of apostatizing through fear of persecution. He reminds them that if they hold fast their profession, an abundant entrance will be ministered unto them. The death of the martyr is far more glorious than that of the Christian who concealed his profession through fear of man. Witness the case of Stephen: he was not ashamed of being a witness for Jesus in the face of the violent death which awaited him, and which crushed the tabernacle of his devoted spirit; his Lord reserved the highest display of his love and of his glory for that awful hour! "Behold!" says he to his enemies while gnashing on him with their teeth, "behold! I see heaven opened and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God:" then, in the full triumph of faith, he cries out, "Lord Jesus! receive my spirit!"

But did these things apply merely to the believers to whom St. Peter originally wrote? No; you are the men to whom they equally apply-according to your walk and profession of that Gospel will be the entrance which will be ministered unto you. Some of you have heard in another of our houses during the past week the dangerous tendency of the spirit of fear, the fear of man. I would you had all heard that discourse; alas! many who have a name and a place among us are becoming mere Sabbath-day worshippers in the courts of the Lord, and lightly esteem the daily means of grace. I believe this is one cause at least why many are weak and sickly among us in Divine things. The inner man does not make due increase; the world is stealing a march unawares upon us: may God revive among us the spirit of our fathers.

These things, then, I say, equally apply to you. Behold the strait, the royal, the king's highway! Are you afraid of the reproach of Christ?

"Ashamed of Jesus, that dear friend,

On whom your hopes of heaven depend?"

How soon would the world be overcome if all who profess that faith were faithful to it! Wo to the rebellious children who compromise truth with the world, and in effect deny their Lord and Master! - Who hath required this at their hands? Do they not follow with the crowd who cry "Lord! Lord! and yet do not the things which he says." Will they have the adoption and the glory? Will they aim at the honour implied in these words, "Ye are my witnesses." Will ye indeed be sons? then see the path wherein his footsteps shine! The way is open! see that ye walk therein! The false apostles, the deceitful workers, shall have their reward; the same that those of old had, the praise and esteem of men; while the faith of those who truly call him Father and Lord, and who walk in the light as he is in the light, who submit, like him and his true followers, to be counted as "the filth of the world and the offscouring of all things," shall be found unto praise, and honour, and glory!

The true Christian does not seek to hide himself in a corner; he lets his light shine before men, whether they will receive it or not; and thereby is his Father glorified. [Having thus served his generation, by the will of God the hour of his departure at length arrives.] Then angels beckon him away; Jesus bids him come; and as he departs this life he looks back with a heavenly smile on surviving friends, and is enabled to say, "Whither I go ye know, and the way ye know." An entrance is ministered unto him abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of his Lord and Saviour.

III. Having considered the state to which we look, and the mode of our admission, let us consider the condition of

it. This is implied in the word "So." For so an entrance shall be ministered unto you. In the preceding part of this chapter, the apostle has pointed out the meaning of this expression, and in the text merely sums it all up in that short mode of expression.

The first condition he shows to the obtaining like precious faith with him, through the righteousness of God and our Saviour Jesus Christ. Not a faith which merely assents to the truth of the Gospel record, but a faith which applies the merits of the death of Christ to expiate my individual guilt; which lays hold on him as my sacrifice, and produces, in its exercise, peace with God, a knowledge of the Divine favour -a sense of sins forgiven, and a full certainty arising from a Divine impression on the heart made by the Spirit of God, that I am accepted in the beloved and made a child of God!

If those who profess the Gospel of Christ were but half as zealous in seeking after this enjoyment as they are in discovering creaturely objections to its attainment, it would be enjoyed by thousands who at present know nothing of its happy reality. Such persons, unfortunately for themselves, employ much more assiduity in searching a vocabulary to find out epithets of reproach to attach to those who maintain the doctrine, than in searching that volume which declares that "If you are sons God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying Abba, Father," and "that he that believeth hath the witness in himself." In whatever light the scorner may view this doctrine now, a time will come when, being found without the wedding-garment, he will be cast into outer darkness.

*

*

O sinner! cry to God this day to convince thee of thy need of this salvation, and then thou wilt be in a condition to receive it.

"Shalt know, shalt feel thy sins forgiven,
Bless'd with this antepast of heaven."

But, besides this, the apostle requires that we then henceforth preserve consciences void of offence towards God and towards man. This faith which obtains the forgiveness of sin unites to Christ, and by this union we are made, as St. Peter declares, "partakers of the Divine nature:" and as he who has called you is holy, so you are to be holy in all manner of conversation. For yours is a faith which not only casts out sin, but purifies the heart-the conscience having been once purged by the sprinkling of the blood of Christ, you are not to suffer guilt to be again contracted; for the salvation of Christ is not only from the penalty, but from the very stain of sin; not only from its guilt, but from its pollution; not only from its condemnation, but from its very inbeing: "The blood of Jesus Christ cleanseth from all sin;" and "For this purpose was the Son of God manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil." You are therefore required by St. Peter "to escape the corruption that is in the world through lust," and thus to perfect holiness in the fear of the Lord!

Finally, live in progressive and practical Godliness. Not only possess, but practise the virtues of religion; not only practise, but increase therein, abounding in the work of the Lord! Lead up hand in hand in the same delightful chorus all the graces which adorn the Christian character; having the Divine nature, possessing a new and living principle, let diligent exercise reduce it to practical holiness, and you will be easily discerned from those formal hypocrites whose faith and religion are but a barren and unfruitful speculation.

To conclude: live to God-live for God-live in God; and let your moderation be known unto all men-the Lord is at hand: "Therefore, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue, knowledge; and to knowledge, temperance; and to temperance, patience; and to patience, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, charity."