258 WE SHALL MEET IN HEAVEN. frame, and desponding, unbelieving heart prevent it; for the mouth of the Lord has spoken it. You may get the start of me. You may be in heaven before me. You may say to me, in the language of the Bible you love, "Stand here, while I meet the Lord yonder;" but, for all that, "we shall meet in heaven." FOR ME. REGARDING myself as a part of that boundless whole, that immeasurable creation, which the hand of the Almighty has formed, and receiving, as I do, daily comfort and enjoyment from the things around me, I love to think that my happiness has been one of the ends for which they were created. The very thought is enough to call forth thankfulness in my heart and soul, and to fill my mouth with praises. I know that the creation has been formed for the enjoyment of myriads of beings, yet still it was not the less formed for me. The beauteous clouds that hang like a canopy around the world; Spring, Summer, Autumn, and Winter, that diversify the earth; are charged to minister to my welfare and happiness. The sunlit clouds above me fair and free, When I hear the winds gently breathing at ruddy morn or dewy eve, or when they rush forth, resistless in their course--when I regard the ebbing or flowing tide of the world of waters, or gaze with wonder on its mountainous billows chafed into fury by the storm, the same thought pervades my mind—it is for me these changes are made. For me the winds on urgent errands ride, The moon, that glides so peacefully through the blue vault above me, is distant two hundred and forty thousand miles. The sun, that gilds creation with its beams, is ninety-five millions of miles removed from this habitable globe; and the glittering stars that stud the skies are said to be at least nineteen millions of millions of miles separated from us; and yet, as an intelligent being and an heir of immortality, profiting by their existence, and admiring their beauty, I may say, in grateful acknowledgment to their Almighty Maker, Ye glowing balls! ye shining orbs of heaven! HOW OLD ARE YOU? "How old are you?" said a woman to an aged man, who was leaning upon two sticks. I lingered to hear the old man's reply. "I shall be fourscore," said he, "if I live till next Easter." Many a word dropped by the way-side has been picked up and pondered on with advantage in an after hour. Let me, then, ask you, "How old are you?" Are you ten? Because if you are, you have ten thousand sins to repent of, and ten thousand mercies to be grateful for. What a thought! Did you ever think of it before? If not, it is worth your while to think of it now, and very seriously too, bearing in mind that youth is the time to serve the Lord; that a good beginning bids fair to be followed by a good ending; that "dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return," Gen. iii. 19; and that "we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ," Rom. xiv. 10. Are you twenty or thirty? If so, you have still more sins to forsake, and more mercies thankfully 262 to acknowledge. HOW OLD ARE YOU? You are in the meridian of your days, the prime of your life. If you have allowed your youth to pass unimproved, run no further risk; try to make amends for the past. Up and be doing; call upon the name of the Lord. Though you forget a thousand things, never forget, "It is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment," Heb. ix. 27. Are you forty or fifty? there is no time to lose. If this be the case, You must look about you, lest the shadows of night overtake you. What have you done for the glory of God? What are you doing? What do you intend to do? More than half your life is gone by, even though your days should be long in the land. If you have not yet made up your mind to forsake sin, and to cling to the cross of the Redeemer, read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest the following passage in the word of God: "The wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord," Rom. vi. 23. Are you sixty or seventy? Do you answer, Yes? Then I hope that while your feet are on the earth, your eyes and your heart are fixed upon heaven. Is it necessary to remind you, that your days are drawing to a close, that your life is as a spider's web? "The days of our years are threescore years and ten; and if by reason of strength |