the traitor over whom he can have power.

"Be strong,

then, in the LORD, and in the power of his might. Put on the whole armour of GOD, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil," and "in patience possess ye your souls." Soon,-a very short while-and your painful warfare shall be accomplished, when you shall be received into everlasting mansions, there with angels, and archangels, and with all the company of heaven, to praise and magnify God's glorious name for ever, and for ever.

A VARIETY OF STATION IN THE KINGDOM

OF GOD.

BY THE

REV. THOMAS SWORDE, M.A.,

RECTOR OF ST. PETER'S, THETFORD, AND CHAPLAIN TO THE
DUKE OF GRAFTON.

ST. MATTHEW xxv. 14, 15.

For the kingdom of heaven is as a man travelling into a far country, who called his own servants, and delivered unto them his goods. And unto one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one; to every man according to his several ability; and straightway took his journey.

WHEN the present life is regarded as a state of pro

WH

bation for a future one, an important question arises, in what respects the one is connected with the other;-whether the various distribution of talents which we see here, will have corresponding results in the future world; and men will be there treated differently, in the degree that they have diligently employed, or carelessly neglected their present opportunities?

In the text, the kingdom of heaven is said to be "as a man travelling into a far country, who called his own servants, and delivered unto them his goods; and unto one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one; to every man according to his several ability; and straightway took his journey." After a long time the lord of those servants cometh, and reckoneth with them. He that had received five talents went and traded with them, and made them other five, and received this encomium from his lord-" Well done, thou good and faithful servant; thou hast been faithful over a few things, I

will make thee ruler over many things; enter thou into the joy of thy lord." He that had received two talents, also gained other two, and received a similar encomium; and the slothful servant that had received one talent, and hid it in the earth, was condemned for his negligence, and adjudged to outer darkness, where was weeping and gnashing of teeth.

If this is a representation of what will occur in the case of human life, the doctrine of the text will be this,— that in the future kingdom of GOD, the reward of the righteous will bear some proportion to the progress they have made in holiness here; and the punishment of the wicked will bear some proportion to the degree of their wickedness here, that there is an ascending and a descending scale of glory and of punishment ;-and that when it is said, "Whatsoever a man soweth that shall he also reap," the meaning is not simply, that "he that soweth to the flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; and he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting ;"—but that the future crop shall bear a strict proportion to the present sowing, and shall either return an intolerable harvest of evil, or a reward of righteousness, thirty, sixty, or an hundred fold.

If this view be taken of the subject, it places before us, in an important light, the nature of our present probationary state, and shows us of how great consequence it is, that we should so act in the management of the talents committed to us, that when we give in our account at last, we may do it "with joy, and not with grief.”

For the most part, it is a mistaken notion that men form of their future existence, and of its connection with the present. They suppose that two states only await all men in the future world, stretching out into unvaried sameness; and that in one or other of these, all shall

have their portion. It is true, even this idea, if firmly believed, would have a beneficial effect upon the conduct; for no man could look forward to a futurity which would bring with it to him, either a state of unalterable joy or sorrow, without being influenced by it. But if the idea could be brought home to the mind, not only that a certain futurity awaits all men, but that their state in it will be the result of that character which they are every moment impressing upon themselves; that the thoughts, and feelings, and habitual occupations, which now form their conscious existence, will be transferred with them to the other world, and determine their condition there; if the subject were contemplated in this light, it would have the effect of bringing it into a practical application to the business of men.

The future life which awaits us, will not consist in a mere local transition from one place to another. When men leave the present scene, it is not simply exchanging an earthly and temporal for a spiritual and eternal existence. The conscious and thinking soul carries within it the elements of its joy or sorrow; and, in its own imperishable existence, has the materials of what will make it happy or miserable to all eternity. If the soul has been holy here, the fruits of its holiness will be transferred with it to the other world;-if the soul has been prone to evil here, the consequences of its wickedness will also be transferred with it to the other world; and the condition of every individual there, will be the result of the whole career he has run, from the first breath of conscious existence, to his last expiring sigh.

When JESUS, therefore, said to his disciples, that the kingdom of heaven was like unto a man travelling into a far country, and appointing his servants certain tasks till his return, he shadowed out to men the nature of their

present duty. And in the reckoning which followed, and the apportionment of different rewards to different service, he shewed what shall happen at the conclusion of human life. All men shall then receive "according to their deeds." He who has been faithful amidst many temptations and abounding iniquity, shall be received by his Saviour with this benediction, "Well done, good and faithful servant; thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things." On the other hand, he, who, in the midst of knowledge and the means of improvement, has neglected his duties; who has either buried his talent in the earth, or has employed himself in the active service of sin;-this man shall sink under a severer frown, and be repelled to a greater distance from the Judge: "Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels."

It is this relative adjustment of their future lot to the characters of men, which seems shadowed out to us by the parable of the talents. Not only are we taught that "the Judge of all the earth shall do right;" but that, in assigning the precise degree of each man's reward, or punishment, regard will be had to the whole history of every individual, throughout every step of his progress. From the first delivery of the talent, to the time when the account shall be given in, every thing must be reckoned for; and then, he, whose unremitting diligence enabled him to gain five talents, and he, whose less constant, but still laudable industry, had enabled him to gain two talents, and he, whose sullen and slothful spirit led him to bring back the bare talent committed to him, unemployed and unimproved, shall each receive their respective awards. To every man shall be rendered "according to that he hath done," and by this standard