and another, who would nearly lose the other half. -Thus there will again have been different degrees of Happiness, yet one and the same gift. It is plain, then, that a reward may be at once the same, and different: the same, in itself; different, to the persons on whom it is bestowed: quite the same in itself; altogether different to those who ought to enjoy it. For it is evident that a thing is pleasant or not, as we are able to derive pleasure from it, or the contrary. In other words, the amount of every gratification depends upon ourselves. And in spiritual matters, this holds just as true as in temporal. Observe, for instance, the unwillingness of some men to come to Church: whereas the King of Israel said that a day in the Courts of the LORD was better than a thousand spent anywhere else. Here is a strange difference of opinion! David, slaking his thirst in the Waters of Life, appeasing his hunger with the Bread of Heaven,while the heartless worshipper is only remarking on the length of the Service; wishing himself away; or distressing himself with thoughts of worldly anxiety !.... Imagine these two persons transplanted into Heaven. Set them down before the Throne of GOD. Let them hear the Angels cry aloud, the Heavens, and all the powers therein, the Cherubim and Seraphim continually crying Holy, Holy, Holy! Join them to the glorious company of the Apostles,-the goodly fellowship of the Prophets,-the noble army of Martyrs; let their lot be with those who are continually praising GOD. Both of these persons will be in Heaven; but which of the two will feel as if he were in Heaven? Surely not he who begrudged an hour a-week for his Master's praise! He surely will alone feel the blessedness of Heaven who longed for more opportunities of praising GOD, than ever he enjoyed here below: who rejoiced in the CREATOR'S Worship, and was very jealous for His honour and glory: who mourned over his own weakness, and smarted under Temptation, and groaned beneath the burthen of his sin! To him, pardoned and transfigured into his LORD's likeness, Heaven. will be Heaven indeed; but not to the other. We are therefore, perhaps, the authors of our own Eternal Happiness or Misery in a sense and to a degree, which we little suspect. Men are apt to speak of GOD as a severe Judge,―rewarding some, and condemning others, and having the fate of all men in His hand. But what if it shall appear hereafter that every man had his own fate in his own hands, and fixed his own eternal doom, for Joy or for Despair, by himself? Do but think, after all, that to be in Heaven is to enjoy the sight of GOD, as He is: and by whom shall this blessedness be enjoyed, except by 'the pure in heart?' These then are the persons who will enjoy supreme blessedness. 'The pure in heart' will see God.' The purest will enjoy the nearest and the clearest vision. What are acts of Sin, therefore, but a tarnishing and defiling of that mirror which ought to reflect the glories of the Most High? To vary the figure:-As we bring vessels to the fountain when we would draw water thence, but the quantity of the water we carry away depends on the size of the vessel which we bring; so exactly is it in our approaches to the Fountain of all Goodness. If the capacity of our souls be small, how shall they be filled with the largeness of the Divine Love? He who mars his vessel, lessens the quantity of the treasure which he shall carry away: while those who have broken their vessels, must perforce return empty. To conclude.-There need be no fear lest the discovery of our own responsibility should make us forgetful of GOD's free mercies in CHRIST. The more awful a sense we entertain of the largeness of the prize at stake, the more forcibly shall we feel ourselves drawn to Him for supplies of strength; the more frequently shall we feel ourselves compelled to implore His aid to enable us to resist our own sinful inclinations, and to obey the motions of His Holy Spirit. And if we have the strongest motive for dreading Sin, so surely have we the strongest motive supplied us for perseverance, constancy, and all godliness. Those who love God, will not only fear lest some one should take their crown: they will aim at a yet higher degree of blessedness in Heaven. Whatever God hates in them, they will learn to hate also; whatever God loves, they will prize and cherish,-as that which will draw them nearest to Him, and increase their bliss throughout the ages of Eternity. THE PARABLE OF THE SOWER, ST. LUKE viii. 5-8. A sower went out to sow his seed: and as he sowed, some fell by the way-side; and it was trodden down, and the fowls of the air devoured it. And some fell upon a sprung up, it withered rock; and as soon as it was away, because it lacked moisture. And some fell among thorns; and the thorns sprang up with it, and choked it. And other fell on good ground, and sprang up, and bare fruit an hundredfold. THREE things go to make up the present parable; THE SEED, THE SOWER,—and THE SOIL; each of which will be found to supply a most important lesson. And first,-what do we learn from what is here said about THE SOIL? 1. We learn a thing which ought to make us very thoughtful and anxious; and set us, many a time, on a very strict examination, not only of our condition of heart, but of our whole manner of life for it is found that the fate of the seed sown depended altogether upon the soil on which it fell. It was either trodden down before it had begun to grow; or it withered away as soon as it sprang up; or it was choked and yielded no : |