this earth as his prize, than that he will get our bodies as his property. We can well conccive what a fair orb this will be. At this moment it has glens, and mountains, and valleys, and landscapes, that show how much remains of its Eden magnificence; and that give token what it may become when all things are made new.

And I have no doubt, when this earth is restored, and resurrection bodies shall be its tenantry, that the rest of the orbs of the sky that never fell, as they gaze down upon their recovered, once fallen but now restored sister, will not only say, but shout and sing-"It is meet that we should rejoice, for this our lost sister orb is found, this our dead sister world at length is made alive."

We are now in this world, I believe, laying the outlines of our resurrection bodies. Did it ever strike you that a man can almost be deciphered from his face? I believe very much with Socrates of old, that the face is to the inner moral and mental economy very much what the dial is to the clock. Is a man sensual, depraved, debased? You can read it on his countenance. Take a man of ambitious passions. You can trace the shadows of them on his face. Take a Christian; and you can see on his brow that is without wrinkle, in the expression that is without hesitation-in the whole mannerism of the man -that he is on his journey to the everlasting home; and ripening for a place amid the redeemed in glory. May it not be then that we are in this world laying the outlines and the framework of the body that is to clothe us for ever; and that we deposit in the grave the germ of that body that shall rise to everlasting shame and contempt, or that shall rise to everlasting life, and shine like

the firmament, and as the brightness of the stars for ever and ever? If so, may we seek the Holy Spirit to inlay our hearts with that inner character which will shine in our outer life, and outlive the grave, and reach its culminating perfection when time shall be no more.

LECTURE XXIII.

THE SHINING THRONG.

Emerging from the sleep of ages shall appear a lustre, those of whom it is written

holy

"And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever."-DANIEL xii. 3.

FIRST of all there is set before us here a personal characteristic, "They that be wise;" secondly, there is pronised to such the blessed distinction, that "they shall shine as the brightness of the firmament;" then, thirdly, we have a missionary feature, "they that turn many to righteousness;" and we have a missionary reward, "they shall shine as the stars for ever and ever."

Let us first study the personnel, "they that be wise." What is meant by this? What is wisdom? First of all, it is not the wisdom of the world which regards progress, riches, greatness, as the main thing in life, and bends all its energies towards the attainment of these; that is not wisdom to seek as the end of life that which cannot give happiness when we have it, and cannot go with us when life terminates in the grave, is folly, not wisdom. In the

The

second place, it is not the wisdom of the schools that is here meant. Splendid eloquence, subtle syllogisms, beautiful and keen dialectics, questions that do not edify, discussions that do not profit, this was the wisdom of the schools; and of that wisdom we have a verdict we are sure cannot be wrong. "The world," says the apostle, "by wisdom knew not God;" and again, says the same apostle, "God has made foolish the wisdom of this world." whole wisdom of the schools was to find out what they called the to лọелоv, or that which becomes us, and the 10 xalov, that which is good; and the longer they searched, the less was their success; and thus the judgment pronounced upon it by Him that cannot err is, "The world by wisdom knew not God." The word philosopher means one that loves wisdom; but such wisdom never revealed God our Father.

Wisdom, the mark of those that are here spoken of, is something totally distinct from cunning. We often meet with a cunning man who is anything but a wise man. The tiger is cunning, the cat is cunning, even the dog has some particle of cunning, but that is not wisdom; it is the mark of the brutes of the field. Wisdom is the choice of the noblest end; the pursuit of it by the holiest measures, and the belief of certain success in attaining it by the promise of Him who cannot err. Let us therefore see what are the elements of wisdom. First, they that be wise study and settle in their minds primarily the great question, "What must I do to be saved?" Now there is no question that comes home to the human heart with a greater and a more enduring emphasis than this; what am I? what is the end of me? Is this world my

all, is its most magnificent hall my only home; and when I am laid in that house which is only six feet long by three feet broad, is that the end of me? If such be the end of me and you, the Being that made us must be a cruel monster; but if such be not the end of us, he that ignores the question, What lies beyond? cannot belong to those who are wise, and who shall shine as the brightness of the firmament. "The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God ;" and he is only second in his folly who supposes that the immortality and responsibility of the soul are questions he may adjourn till the judgment day. They that are wise in the highest sense of the word will never make a subordinate, but always a supreme question, "What must I do to be saved?" Would you call that man wise who risks his life in the pursuit of a transient pleasure? Would you call him wise who, when his house is dissolving into ashes amid the burning flame, saves his gold but forgets the infant that sleeps in the cradle? Would you call him wise who in a sinking ship, being a strong swimmer, loads himself with gold, instead of leaving himself free, in order to save his life from the devouring waves? In the same manner, can you call that nan wise who gives his whole soul to this question, How shall I be rich? how shall I be great? how shall I become renowned? but who ignores or despises, or totally neglects the great question, What is to become of me when time ceases, and where shall I be when the great white throne shall be the only sight, and the Judge upon the throne shall summon me to give an account of all the deeds done in the body, whether they be good or whether they be evil? You may determine whether you