are as grasshoppers, and are counted to him as less than nothing and vanity,"-there is no disposition that appears more conformable to the character and condition of man, than "lowliness of mind," and none more unreasonable and inconsistent with the rank and circumstances in which he is placed, than pride, Laughtiness, and arrogance.

This amiable disposition forms a peculiar trait in the character of angels and other pure intelligences. It is poor, puny, sinful man, alone, who dares to be proud and arrogant. It is that rebellious worm of the dust alone, (if we except the angels of darkness,) that looks down with supercilious contempt on his fellow-creatures, and attempts to exalt himself above the throne of God. No such affections are ever felt in the breasts of superior beings who have kept their first estate. In proportion to the enlarged capacity of their minds; in proportion to the expansive views they have acquired of the dominions of Jehovah, in proportion to the elevated conceptions they have attained of the character and attributes of their Creator, in a similar proportion are their minds inspired with humility, reverence, and lowly adoration. Having taken an extensive survey of the operations of Omnipotence, having winged their way to numerous worlds, and beheld scenes of wisdom and benevolence, which the eye of man hath not yet seen, nor his imagination conceived, and having contemplated displays of intelligence and power, which are beyond the reach even of their own superior faculties to comprehend--they see themselves as finite and imperfect creatures, and even as it were fools,* in the presence of Him whose glory is ineffable, and whose ways are past finding out. Hence, they are represented as "covering their faces with their wings," in the presence of their Sovereign ;† and, in the Book of Revelation, they are exhibited as casting their crowns before the throne, and saying, "Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory, and honour, and power." What a striking contrast does such a scene present to the haughty airs, and the arrogant conduct of the proud beings that dwell on this terrestrial ball, who are at the same time immersed in ignorance and folly, immorality and crime!

In the book of Job, Eliphaz, when describing the perfections of the Almighty, declares, that "the heavens are not clean in his sight," and that even "his angels he chargeth with folly." Job iv. 18. xv. 15.

+ Isaiah vi, 2.

+ Rev. iv. 10, IT

In their intercourses with the inhabitants of our world, and the offices they perform as ministering spirits to the heirs of salvation, the same humble and condescending demeanor is displayed. One of the highest order of these celestial messengers-" Gabriel, who stands in the presence of God," -winged his flight from his heavenly mansion to our wretched world, and, directing his course to one of the most despicable villages of Galilee, entered into the hovel of a poor virgin, and delivered a message of joy, with the most affectionate and condescending congratulations. Another of these benevolent beings entered the dungeon in which Peter was bound with chains, knocked off his fetters, and addressed him in the language of kindness, and delivered him from the hands of his future persecutors. When Paul was tossing in a storm, on the billows of the Adriatic, a forlorn exile from his native land, and a poor despised prisoner, on whom the grandees of this world looked down with contempt,—another of these angelic beings, "stood by him," during the dark. ness of the night and the war of the elements, and consoled his mind with the assurance of the Divine favour and protection. Lazarus was a poor despised individual, in abject poverty and distress, and dependent on charity for his subsistence. He lay at the gate of a rich man, without friends or attendants, desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from his table. His body was covered with biles and ulcers, which were exposed without covering to the open air; for "the dogs came and licked his sores. What nobleman or grandee would have condescended to make a companion of a fellow-creature in such loathsome and abject circumstances? Who, even of the common people, would have received such a person into their houses, or desired his friendship? Who would have accounted it an honour, when he died, to attend his funeral? Celestial beings, however, view the circum. stances and the characters of men in a very different light, from that in which they appear to "the children of pride.' Poor and despised as Lazarus was, a choir of angels descended from their mansions of glory, attended him on his dying couch, and wafted his disembodied spirit to the realms of bliss.

Since, then, it appears, that angelic beings, notwithstand. ing their exalted stations, and the superior glories of their character, are "clothed with humility,"-it must form a a distinguishing trait in our moral characters, if we expect to be admitted into their society in the world to come. For

how could we enter into harmonious fellowship with these pure intelligences, if we were actuated with dispositions diametrically opposite to theirs, and what happiness would result from such an association, were it possible to be effected? A proud man, were he admitted into heaven, could feel no permanent enjoyment. The external glory of the place might dazzle his eyes for a little, but he would feel no relish for the society and the employments of that world. The peculiar honour conferred on patriarchs, prophets, and apostles, and the noble army of martyrs, and the exalted stations of the cherubim and seraphim, would excite his envy and ambition, and, ere long, he would attempt to sow the seeds of discord, and to introduce anarchy and confusion among the hosts of heaven. So that the passion of pride, when cherished in the soul as the governing principle of action, is utterly incompatible with our admission into the regions of harmony and love.

Let me ask the man in whose heart pride and haughtiness predominate, if he really imagines that he can be a candidate for a glorious and immortal existence? Does he not at once perceive the inconsistency of such a thought with the dictates of reason, and the nature of future felicity ?-Of what has he any reason to be proud? Is he proud of his birth? of his ancestors? of his wealth? of his station? of his beauty? of his personal accomplishments? of his gallantry? of his debauch eries? of his military prowess? or of the thousands of human beings he has slain in battle? Is he proud of his skill in music, in dancing, in fencing, in fox-hunting, and in gambling of his knowledge in languages, in literature, in arts and sciences? Or is he proud that he is subject to the asthma, the gravel, the dropsy, and the gout, that his funeral will be attended by a train of mourners, and that a ment of marble will be erected to his memory, when his carcass is putrifying with the reptiles of the dust? Suppose he were admitted into the celestial mansions-which of all these topics would he choose for the theme of his conversation, and the ground of his boasting? Would he attempt to entertain the cherubim and the seraphim, by telling them how many rude chieftains he was descended from, how many ancient families he was connected with, and how many acres of land he possessed as a patrimony in that wretched world which is soon to be wrapt in flames? Would he tell them of his expertness as a marksman, of his dexterity as a horse-racer, of his adroitness as a boxer, of his skill in ma

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nœuvering an army, of the villages he had burned, of the thousands he had pillaged, or of the thousands he had butchered in storming a city?-He would be overwhelmed with shouts of indignation, and instantly hissed from their abodes. Would he boast of his skill in languages and antiquities, or of his knowledge in arts and sciences? What a poor ignoramus, (if I may use the expression) would he appear in the presence of Gabriel, the angel of God, who has so frequently winged his way, in a few hours, from heaven to earth, and surveyed the regions of unnumbered worlds! Would a poor worm of the earth, whose view is confined within a few miles around it, boast of its knowledge in the presence of beings endowed with such capacious powers, and who have ranged over so vast a portion of the universe of God? And, if he has nothing else to boast of, why is he proud? What a pitiful figure he would make among the intelligent and adoring hosts of heaven? While such a disposition, therefore, predominates in the mind, its possessor can enjoy no substantial felicity either in this life or in the life to come.

On the other hand, the man who, like the Redeemer, is "meek and lowly in heart," has "the witness in himself," that he has obtained the approbation of his God, that he is assimilated to angelic beings in his temper and affections, that he has the principle of eternal life implanted in his soul, and that he is in some measure qualified for joining in the exercises, and enjoying the felicity of the heavenly state."For thus saith the High and Lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy place --with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones."

4. Active Beneficence, with all its accompanying virtues, is another characteristic of the man who is training for the heavenly inheritance. Wherever the principle of love to God and man, and the grace of humility are in exercise, they will uniformly lead the individual who is under their influence to "abound in the fruits of righteousness, and to use every active endeavour to promote the comfort and happiness of mankind. He will endeavour, as far as his power and influence extend, to relieve the wants of the poor, the fatherless, and the widow, to sooth the disconsolate, to comfort the afflicted, to sirelter the houseless and benighted traveller, to instruct the ignorant, and to meliorate the moral and physical condition of every rank of society. He will patronize

every scheme which has for its object to remove the evils which exist in the social state-to increase the comforts of mankind—to improve the soil—to facilitate human labourto clear away nuisances from the habitations of men-to promote order, cleanliness, and domestic enjoyment—to train the minds of the young to knowledge and virtue-to introduce improvements in the mechanical arts, and to diffuse useful science among all ranks. Above all things he will en deavour, in so far as his station and opportunities permit, to promote the spiritual improvement and the eternal happiness of mankind, and will study to render all his other exertions subservient to this most interesting and momentous object. In contributing to the accomplishment of this end, he will give his countenance and support to every institution, and to every rational scheme which is calculated to promote the knowledge of the Scriptures of truth throughout our own. country, and in other lands, and to make known "the salvation of God" over all the earth.--In such benevolent exertions he will persevere, even in the face of every species of opposition, obloquy, and reproach, through the whole course of his existence in this world, till death transport him to a nobler sphere of action and enjoyment.

The necessity of acquiring habits of active beneficence, in order to our preparation for the felicity of the future world, will appear, if we consider, that heaven is a social state, and that a considerable portion of its happiness will consist in the mutual interchange of benevolent affections, and beneficent actions. There will, indeed, be no poor and distressed objects to be relieved and comforted, no sorrows to be alleviated, and no physical nor moral evils to be counteracted; for, in the New Jerusalem "there shall be no more death, neither sorrow nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain, for the former things shall have passed away, and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes." But its inhabitants will be for ever employed in acts of beneficence towards each other, corresponding to their dignified stations, and the circumstances in which they are placed. This is evident from the very nature of Love, which pervades the hearts of the whole of that "multitude which no man can number." Love can be ma. nifested only by its effects, or by those external acts of kind. ness and benignity which tend to communicate happiness to others; and, there can be no doubt, that, in a thousand ways incomprehensible to us, the inhabitants of the upper world will be the means of diffusing ecstatic delight through the