Again the life, the energy which the soul possesses in its regenerated state, are the same as those which belonged to it before the entrance of sin; and certainly in his pure, unfallen nature, it would have never been subjected to the endurance of a long unconscious torpor. Yet further, the life and activity of the regenerated soul are derived from the presence and power of the Holy Spirit: and what reason is there to suppose that this gracious Being having filled every channel of the soul with light, having purified it from every spot, and rendered it a spirit bright and strong, and clothed it in the etherial armour of salvation, leading it from conquest to conquest, over legions of devils, till it at last beats down the monarch demon himself;-what reason is there to suppose, that having thus given it power and victory in the flesh, it should leave it, at the putting off of the mere earthly veil, to sink into a dark lethargic slumber?

Nor stop we here: the renewed and sanctified people of God are members of his everlasting church, which consists not merely of present and visible worshippers, but of the saints of all ages: and little is it to be supposed, that they who have completed their course, who have fully proved the might of the heavenly Spirit, and the worth of the Redeemer's intercession; that they who form the most glorious portion of the universal church,should be now passing the first ages of their glory in unconscious rest. In the same manner,

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deemed are members of that mystical body of which Christ is himself the head; for the church is his body, the fulness of him that fillethall in all.' And this is of itself almost sufficient to prove that no soul which hath been converted, and made partaker of the heavenly calling, can ever cease to be conscious; for how should any member of that body lose its quickening, which hath the fountain of eternal life to replenish it? Would Christ be fittingly clothed with glory on his throne in the heavens, did the living stream stop short, and leave the forms with which he has surrounded himself slumbering for want of its revivifying power? No! the life and energy which Christ derives from his eternal Father descend in neverceasing currents to the humblest members of his body: the life, the inconceivable, essential life, which, finding the frame even of glorified humanity too narrow a vessel for its fulness, beams forth, and mingling with the celestial light around him, mantles his form with all the splendour of deity; that life, thus glorious in Christ, envelops the pardoned and renewed souls of his people, diffuses itself with inexhaustible plenteousness through all the issues of rational being, and keeps the whole kingdom of heaven, both of saints still battling with Satan, and of saints that have gone to their reward,—in the full spring of activity and hope.

I have now stated the reasons which Scripture, and some collateral views of the subject, suggest

for believing that the soul in its separate state remains awake and conscious, losing none of its activity, none of its powers, none of its susceptibilities. The observations I have made in respect to the righteous and happy, may be applied reversely with regard to those who die in their sins: for in the same manner that it is highly improbable a pure and holy spirit should be, even for a time, deprived of the joy of its triumph, so is it that one evil and corrupt should be allowed in slumber to forget its wickedness and its fate. I confess that, when I began to look at this subject, several startling considerations suggested themselves to me, both from the language of Scripture, in certain passages, and the view of the soul in such constant connexion with the body; and I did not feel at all certain to what conclusion I should come. But I have found, in looking through the Bible, and in considering the relation of the soul to Christ, such powerful reasons to believe that it never loses its consciousness, that I am no longer doubtful on the subject; and am convinced that we may with great safety feel assured, that when our spirits are set free they will know and perceive all the mighty effects to be looked for from that awful change.

A few years at most-perhaps a much shorter time -will make us and our cotemporaries members of the wide, invisible realm of disembodied spirits. We shall then see the gathered generations of the penitent and redeemed-we shall behold the glorious

'company of the apostles,' 'the goodly fellowship of the prophets,' 'the noble army of martyrs,' saints from the four quarters of the world, the patriarchs of the ancient east, the soldiers of the cross, that fell beneath the swords of the heathen, the bold heroic preachers of truth that, in later days, came forth and hurled down the old enthroned superstitions of papal Rome:-these will in this short time be revealed to us; and amid that sublime assembly, it may be, through the mercy of God, that we shall behold those with whom in heart we still hold communion-the dear friends of our youth and of our homes, who are even now awaiting, with trembling hope, our arrival in that kingdom of the redeemed.

Let the thought of this destined habitation of the spirits of men temper our minds with seriousness: let it strive with our sloth and our worldliness: let it help to raise us above that gross and narrow sphere of mere present and sensual existence to which we have hitherto lived confined. Want of reflection is the great curse of weak, uncultivated minds. But while it in some instances only deprives the understanding of much high delight, in others it endangers salvation itself. We may, if we will, forget how, by the invisible operation of its laws, the kingdom of nature sends forth its voice of harmony, and its manifestations of power. We may forget to admire the day-replenishing sun, or the still luminous orbs that crown the night with

beauty, the firmament of waters in the under-caves of the earth, or those which the blue veil of heaven keeps suspended in mid-air. We may forget these, and such like things, if we will-we shall only suffer from it the common penalty of thoughtlessness --but if we forget that world of spirits to which we are journeying, we forget the necessity of repentance and sanctification; we shall lose sight of Christ; we shall live in contented slavery to the world; Satan will exercise an uncontradicted influence over us, and death will come upon us like an unexpected enemy.

The contents of the volume to which we now direct the reader's attention, will furnish him with instruction on the most weighty points, which, if rightly pondered on, will render him wiser, happier, and holier, for the rest of his existence. Baxter's mind was furnished with every species of knowledge that could render a treatise on death from his pen valuable to Christians. He had passed a life of unremitting labour in the service of God. Naturally thoughtful and energetic, his understanding carefully gathered together whatever human learning could teach him, and laying it up in the rich garner where he stored the fruits of his spiritual experience, whenever he needed or employed any portion of the one, he used the other with it. At the period when this invaluable

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