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Let the consideration of this subject prove a source of consolation to surviving friends on the loss of a pious relative. . With anxiety you wait, and look for the last flight of breath from the dying friend's lips. It is gone! But remember, no sooner is it absent from the body, than the soul is present with the Lord in endless felicity. Therefore I would not have you ignorant concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others that have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. 1 Thessalonians iv. 13, 14. Let your spirit bow before the Lord, instead of murmuring at the sable stroke which has deprived you of a friend, and fly to the arms of a compassionate Saviour for the enjoyment of his mercy, and grace to finish your own course with joy.

There are some pious persons who have expressed the most painful apprehensions of a dying hour, somewhat like those recorded, who, through fear of death, are all their life time subject to bondage. Hebrews ii. 15. Such timid persons may not express so much fear of death as an enemy conquered by Christ; or their personal unpreparedness to meet their change; or even of the consequences of death; but a painful apprehension of the very act of dying. This sometimes arises from the weakness of the natural constitution, and from the force of temptation; but let the cause be what it may, it is presumed that what has now been stated on the unconsciousness of the positive act of dying, may

afford a degree of relief. Paul estimated the value of death, for to me to live, said he, is Christ, and to die is gain. Is sleep a blessing, a refreshment of our animal nature? Death will certainly be more so, both to body and soul, for blessed are they who die in the Lord. Should the reader be one of this timorous class, it is only necessary for me to say, Fix your faith upon the redemption and conquest of the Lord Jesus; walk humbly with your God; and the Lord who has done so much for you already, will certainly take good care of you at the last; that whether you doze before the sleep of death, or die suddenly, he will finally receive you to his eternal kingdom and glory.

THE HOSPITABLE OLD MAN.

Blest is the map whose soft'ning heart

Feels for another's pain;

To whom the supplicating eye

Was never rais'd in vain ;

Whose breast expands with gen'rous warmth,

A stranger's woes to feel;

And bleeds in pity o'er the wound

He grasps the power to heal.

Barbauld.

AFFABILITY, kindness, and hospitality, are virtues highly to be commended, especially in those who are advanced to old age. We are informed in the nineteenth chapter of the book of Judges, that there was a man of Mount Ephraim, who removed his residence to Gibeah, and dwelt among the children of Judah, some of whom addicted themselves to the grossest vices. At that time there was likewise a Levite of Mount Ephraim, who took his servant and went to the city of Bethlehem, for the purpose of bringing home his concubine from the house of her father. On their return, arriving at Jebus, the day was far spent, and the servant, apprehensive of danger on the road, advised his master to stop for the night; but few Israelites living in that place, the

Levite determined to go as far as Gibeah. Here they arrived at the setting of the sun, and, as was the custom of travellers in places where there was no inn for their accommodation, the Levite, his concubine, and his servant, sat themselves down in the street, in expectation that some one would invite them to a habitation for shelter. Disappointed in their hope, at length an old man came from his work, and after asking them a few necessary questions, he most cordially invited them to his habitation, and repose for the night, which they thankfully accepted. Now, although there are related in this history the wickedness of some of the men of Gibeah, which we shall not so much as name, yet there are such amiable traits of character in this old man, especially in his hospitality to the benighted strangers, and the story is recorded with so much simplicity, that we shall find it worthy of our consideration, and the conduct of the old man to be deserving the imitation of every aged Christian.

I. You may perceive in the short history of this man, that habits of industry and moderate labour are not incompatible with old age. He had been engaged in the field, either by choice or necessity, and returned at the setting of the sun, possessing a cheerful mind, and a disposition to do good to others. Indolence creates an involuntary burden upon any person, whether young or old, but especially those that are advancing in years, preventing the due circulation of the blood, reducing the appetite, and seldom failing to depress the mental

faculties; of course it must hasten the period of dissolution. Better, therefore, keep the animal machine in motion; it will soon enough stop of itself. In proportion to an old man's remaining strength, like the aged man of Gibeah, air and exercise will happily conduce to preserve the blessing of health, cherish the animal spirits, sets a fine example to the young, and seldom fails to create a charming anodyne for repose at night. So true is the saying of Solomon, the sleep of a labouring man is sweet, whether he eat little or much: but the abundance of the rich will not suffer him to sleep. Ecclesiastes v. 12. It is too often found, that citizens having by industry and hard labour accumulated a considerable store of wealth, retire to secluded scenes of life, purposely to spend the fragments of their days in case and comfort. But they are frequently disappointed; a transition from activity to seclusion and rest, have acted unfavourably upon the nervous system, so that instead of affording them the anticipated satisfaction, they have produced a depression of spirits, a lassitude in action, which were followed with diseases that embittered instead of enlivening their last days. Nor has this been the case with worldly men only; Christians, from this mistaken calculation, have found retirement from activity as unfriendly to the happy frame of their minds, and their usefulness in religious life, as it was injurious to their bodily health. Better, therefore, learn a lesson from the old man of Gibeah, and according to the degree of your strength, you will find moderate labour or ex

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