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teaching us that denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously and godly in this present world; looking for that bles“sed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great "God and our Saviour Jesus Christ, who gave “himself for us that he might redeem us from all “ iniquity, and purify to himself a peculiar people, “zealous of good works." II. 11. &c..

The Jewish or Hebrew christians were from the first exposed to grievous persecution from their bigotted countrymen, and a great proportion of them appear to have been in low and distressed circumstances, so as to stand in need of the benefaction of the more wealthy Gentile converts. To these the apostle holds out the most comfortable prospects in futurity. "Here," he says, (Heb. XIII, 14.) "we have no continuing city, but we seek onę to come." And again, XII. 28. "Wherefore "we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, "let us have grace, whereby we may serve God ac"ceptably, with reverence and godly fear."

We see in the language of the apostles, and in their sentiments and conduct, which corresponded with it, the infinite advantage that christians, and even unlearned christians had over the most enlightened

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of the heathens, with respect to the troubles of life and the fear of death, in consequence of the firm belief of the former in the great doctrine of a future state, which was not only to be the termination of all their sufferings, but, under the righteous moral government of God, a certain means of obtaining an abundant recompence for all their sufferings in the cause of virtue here, whereas the heathens had little knowledge of any moral govern ment of God, or of a providence here, and no knowledge at all that could be of any practical use of a future state. To them all beyond the grave was absolute darkness, but to christians it is the most resplendent light.

The christian sees the hand of God, of his God and father, in every thing that befalls him here; and he expects a greater display of his perfections, and more evident and uninterrupted marks of his favour hereafter. These views enable him to consider all the troubles of life as a part of that excellent and benevolent discipline which is to prepare him for future happiness, a discipline which he is taught to believe is as necessary to him, as the controul and discipline of a child is to his acquiring the proper sentiments and conduct of a man; qualifying him

to be happy in himself, and disposed to make others so; which without this controul and discipline in the time of childhood and youth, it was impossible that he should be. And the near approach of death, which at the best cannot but afford a gloomy prospect to a heathen and an unbeliever, is consequently regarded by him not as an object of alarm, or despondence, but a source of joy and triumph; so that when he leaves the the world, which he believes to be at the call and appointment of him that made him, and sent him into it, he can with the apostle sing the triumphant O death where is thy sting "O grave where is thy victory." Thanks be to God who gives us the victory, through our Lord Jesus Christ.

song,

The difference between the moral writings of the heathens, and those of the apostles, to the advantage of the latter, cannot but appear upon the slightest attention. As these, besides being superior in point of clearness, have, from the fulness of their persuasion on the subject, which the heathens had not, infinitely more of animation; so that the perusal of their writings cannot fail to excite the same sentiments in others.

As I have purposely confined myself to the sub

ject

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ject of courage and perseverance, in bearing sufferings of every kind, and even persecution unto death, from the prospect of a future glorious reward which was wholly unknown to the heathens, I shall now recite a few passages from the epistles of Paul, in which mention is made of the sufferings to which he was exposed, and of his magnanimity in bearing them, without any immediate view to a future reward, though no doubt it was constantly on his mind.

At Corinth the christians seem to have been so numerous, and respectable, in the time of the apostle, or their fellow citizens so much more civilized than those of many other places, that they were less exposed to persecution than the christians in other places; and they had among them some eloquent declaimers, who seem to have derived pecuniary emolument from their harangues. The apostle, therefore, represents their situation as enviable with respect to that of other churches, and on this account he seems to have chosen to describe his own situation by way of contrast with theirs. "Now," says he, (1 Cor. 4, 8,) ye are "rich. Ye have reigned as kings without us, " and I would to God that ye did reign, that we

" also

"also might reign with you." And he immediately adds the following affecting account of his own situation.

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"I think that God has set forth us the apostles "last, as it were appointed to death; for we are "made a spectacle to the world, and to angels, " and to men.-Even to this hour we both hunger and thirst, and are naked, and are buffetted, "and have no certain dwelling place, and labour, working with our own hands.. Being reviled, "we bless; being persecuted, we suffer it; being 66 defamed, we intreat. We are made as the filth "of the earth and are the offscourings of all things unto this day." 1 Cor. IV. 9. &c.

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This was in his first epistle to this church. In the second, which was written not long after it, he still reminds them of his sufferings, to which it is probable they had not been sufficiently attentive.

We would not, brethren, have you ignorant of "our trouble which came to us in Asia, that we were pressed out of measure, above strength,

so that we despaired even of life. But we had "the sentence of death in ourselves, that we should "not trust in ourselves, but in God who raises the "dead; who delivered us from so great a death,

"and