and to find ourselves every day outstripping ourselves. That is the sweetest life in the world, for the soul to be dressing itself for the espousals of the great King, putting on more of the ornaments and beauties of holiness. That is our glory, to be made conformable to the image of God, and of Jesus Christ. If an image had sense, it would desire nothing so much as to look on the original whence it received its name, and to become more and more like it: so it is the pleasure of renewed souls, to be looking on him, and to be growing daily more like him, whose living image they are, and to be fitting themselves for that day of glory wherein they shall be like him in the perfection they are capable of. And this makes death more pleasant than life to the believer that which seems so bitter to the most of men, is sweetened to them most wonderfully. The continual observance of a man's ways, the keeping a watch continually over them, this casts a light upon the dark passage of death, which is at the end of that walk, and conveys him through to the fullness of life. So that the man who observes himself and his ways through life, hath little to do in examining them when he comes to die. It is a piece of strange folly, that we defer the whole, or a great part of our day's work, to the twilight of the evening, and are so cruel to ourselves, as to keep the great load of our life for a few hours or days, and for a pained, sickly body. He who makes it his daily work to observe his ways, is not astonished when that day comes, which long before was familiar to him every day.

OCTOBER 14.

Praise ye the Lord.-Ps. cl. 1.

AUGUSTINE.

THE subject of our meditation in this present life should be the praises of God; for the everlasting exaltation of our life hereafter will be the praise of God, and none can become fit for the life hereafter, who hath not practised himself for it now. Now then, brethren, we exhort you that ye praise God; this is what we all say to one another, when we say, Hallelujah. "Praise the Lord," thou sayest to thy neighbor, he to thee: when all are exhorting each other, all are doing what they exhort others to do. But praise with your whole selves: that is, let not your tongue and voice praise God, but your conscience also, your

ye

life, your deeds. For now, when we are gathered together in the church, we praise: when we go forth each to his own business, we seem to cease to praise God. Let a man not cease to live well, and then he ever praiseth God. Then dost thou cease to praise God, when thou turnest aside from righteousness and from all that pleaseth him. For, if thou never turn aside from a good life, though thy tongue be silent, yet thy life crieth out, and the ears of God are open to thy heart. For just as our ears are open to our voices, so God's ears are open to our thoughts. But it is impossible for a man's acts to be evil, whose thoughts are good. For acts issue from thought: nor can a man do any thing, or move his limbs to do aught, unless the bidding of his thought precede: just as in all things which ye see done throughout the provinces, whatsoever the emperor biddeth goeth forth from the inner part of his palace, throughout the whole Roman empire. How great commotion is caused by one bidding by the emperor as he sits in his palace! He but moveth his lips, when he speaketh: the whole province is moved, when what he speaketh is being executed. So in each single man too, the emperor is within, his seat is in the heart. If he be good, and biddeth good things, good things are done : if he be bad, and biddeth evil things, evil things are done. When Christ sitteth there, what can he bid, but what is good? When the devil is the occupant, what can he bid, but evil? But God hath willed that it should be in thy choice for whom thou wilt prepare room, for God, or for the devil: when thou hast prepared it, he who is occupant will also rule. Therefore, brethren, attend not only to the sound; when ye praise God, praise with your whole selves; let your voice, your life, your deeds, all sing. And if there be still groaning, tribulation, temptation, hope that they will all pass away, and then the day will come when ye shall praise without failure.

If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. Set your affections on things above, not on things on the earth.-Col. iii. 1, 2.

HAVING established the doctrine of the gospel, and vanquished the seducers, the apostle comes to the business of exhortation, that he might train to holiness of life those whom he had brought to hold the truth of faith. But this exhortation arises and is deduced from the twelfth and thirteenth verses of the preceding chapter, where these words occur, Buried with him in baptism, who hath also raised and quickened you: hence he now infers, If ye be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above. The first branch of the general exhortation is included in the first four verses; and has for its object to excite the Colossians to aim at and desire the true good,-what is spiritual and divine; and, moreover, to beget in them a contempt of apparent good things, -corporeal and earthly ones. And the apostle acts prudently in prescribing and defining, in the first place, the thirst for the true end since inordinateness of the will as to the end, engenders inordinate and monstrous actions through the whole course of life; for as the form is the principal in natural things, so the end is in morals.

The duty to which we are excited by the apostle, is comprehended in three precepts: seek those things which are above; set your affection on, that is, think upon and love, the things above; seek not after, neither mind, earthly things.

The inducements to the performance of this duty, are several, and taken from our spiritual condition, from the exaltation of Christ, and our relation to, and interest in him.

I. Of the duties. And in this exercise only the first of these, -Seek those things which are above.

The word seek indicates labor and effort; and, to use the scholastic phrase, excludes sluggish willingness. By the things which are above we must understand, in the first place, the kingdom of heaven, or the beatific vision of God, and those pleasures to be hereafter enjoyed with Christ our Head, and the blessed angels, which neither eye hath seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man.

But secondly and consequently, we must

understand those gifts of grace which are the seeds of this desired glory, as faith, love, holiness, and all those means by which, as by an intermediate path, God would have us proceed to this mark of heavenly glory. For Augustine has properly remarked, that these things may also be called things which are above, because "as to the excellency of their worth, they far surpass earthly things;" as, furthermore, because all things of this kind are bestowed from above, and come down from the Father of lights. When, therefore, the apostle exhorts to seek those things which are above, he would have us to understand, that we ought not only to seek celestial pleasures, but so to live that we may at length attain them. For he who does not advance in faith, love, and holiness, he does not, by the whole course of his life, seek heaven, but hastens to hell.

Hence we infer,

1. That heaven is not given to the indolent, but to those who seek it with great labor: Seek ye the kingdom of God, and his righteousness, Matt. vi. 33. And elsewhere, the violent take it, not those who slumber.

2. Celestial pleasures are not possessed in this life: we should, therefore, long after, and patiently expect those things, ⚫ being certain to obtain them at last, if we seek them as we ought to do.

"Be this my one great business here—

With serious industry and fear

Eternal bliss t' insure;

Thine utmost counsel to fulfill,
And suffer all thy righteous will,
And to the end endure."

To all that be in Rome, beloved of God, called to be saints; grace to you and peace from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ.-Rom. i. 7.

SEE how continually he puts the word called, saying, called to be an apostle; among whom ye also are called; to all that be in Rome, called. And this he does not out of superfluity of words, but out of a wish to remind them of the benefit. For since among them which believed, it was likely that there would be some of the rulers and consuls as well as poor and common men, cast

ing aside the inequality of ranks, he writes to them all under one appellation. But if in things which are more needful and which are spiritual, all things are set forth as common both to slaves and free, for instance, the love from God, the calling, the gospel, the adoption, the grace, the peace, the sanctification, all things else, how could it be other than the uttermost folly, whom God had joined together, and made to be of equal honor in the greater things, those, to divide on account of things on earth; and on this ground from the very outstart, this blessed apostle, after casting out this mischievous disease, conducts them to the mother of blessings, humble-mindedness. This made servants better, since they learnt that they should take no harm from their servitude, while they had the true freedom. This also would incline masters to be gentle, as being instructed that they would have no advantage in being free, unless the goods of faith have the first place given them. And that you may learn that he was not doing this to work confusion, by dashing all things, but still knew the best distinction, he wrote not simply to all that were in Rome, but with a definition added, beloved of God. For this is the best discrimination, and shows whence the sanctification Whence, then, was the sanctification? from love. For after saying beloved, then he proceeds, called to be saints, showing that it is from this that the fount of all blessings is. But saints he calls all the faithful. Grace unto you, and peace.

was.

Oh address, that bringeth countless blessings to us! This also Christ bade the apostles to use as their first word when entering into houses. Wherefore it is from this that Paul also in all places takes his beginning, from grace and peace; for it was no small war which Christ put an end to, but one varying, and of every kind, and of a long season; and this not from our labors, but through his own grace. Since, then, love presented us with grace, and grace with peace, having set them down as if in the due order of an address, he prays over them that they may abide perpetual and unmoved, so that no other war may again be blown into a flame, and beseeches him that gave, to keep these things firmly settled, saying as follows: "Grace be unto you, and peace from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ." See in this passage the "from" is common to the Father and the Son, and this is equivalent to "out of." For he did not say, Grace be unto you and peace from God the Father, through our Lord Jesus Christ;