deceived when I am awake? If my fancy is filled with such things, as will have no substance when I awake in the morning of the resurrection, then will my whole life be no better than a dream: and of that which is real I shall have no knowledge or sense. When I am told of God, or of heaven, or of the wrath to come, these things will not affect me, because I am in a sort of sleep, and my heart is filled with things of no substance. The rich man in the parable, was lulled to sleep by his fine clothing and his sumptuous living, and he never awaked till he died. Then he lift up his eyes, and found himself in a place of tor ent. What are the pleasures of youth, the honours of manhood, or the wealth of age? Will they last? And can we carry them with us beyond the grave? No! they will all forsake us, and be left behind us as the shadow of a dream. Yet these are the things the world seeketh after, and their fancy is so employed that they can think of nothing else. Man walketh in a vain shadow, and disquieteth himself in vain: he heapeth up riches, and cannot tell who shall gather them. When he is awake, he is employed just as mer are when they are asleep; his time is taken up, and his mind is disquieted, like the mind of a man in a dream, with things which prove to be nothing at last. His life hath nothing real in it, and so it is but the shadow of life, a vain shadow. But if I serve God and read his word, and say my prayers, and do good to the poor; then I act like a man who is awake; for these and other like things, are all real and lasting as God himself is; and the fruit of them will remain with me for ever. When I awake in another world, I shall still be the servant of God, as I am now his word and his wisdom will de light me as they do now, and much more, because I shall understand them better; and what I have given to the poor upon earth, I shall find again as a treasure in heaven. Lord, let me not sleep, as others do, in sin; but let me walk with thee, as a child of the day, and be awake unto righteousness; that when I shall awake from death, I may find myself in thy presence, and live in thy heavenly kingdom, where is neither darkness nor vanity, neither dreams nor shadows; but all is truth, and all is light, for ever and ever. THE QUESTIONS. Q. What strange things happen to us when we are asleep? A. Our mind is deceived with dreams and visions, which we believe to be true. Q. And what happens to us when we are awake? A. We deceive ourselves with many visions, and think to no more purpose than men do who are asleep, Q. When the mind is in this state, what doth it perceive of things real; such as God, heaven, hell, and the resurrection of the dead, and such like? A. No more than a man asleep perceives of the fire which is about to burn him in his bed. Q. When did Dives lift up his eyes? A. Not till he was in torments. Q. What rule have you to distinguish between shadows and substances? A. All things that vanish with this present life are false: all things that endure beyond it are true, and will never deceive us. THE TEXTS. Psal. xxxix. 6. Man walketh in a rain shadow. 1 Thess. v. 6. Let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch, and be sober. Eph. v. 14. Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light. Luke vii. 14. Young man, I say unto thee arise. Psal. lxxvi. 5. The proud are robbed; they have slept their sleep; and all the men whose hands were mighty, have found nothing. Psal. xvii. 16. When I awake up after thy likeness, I shall be satisfied with it. LESSON XIII. THE GREAT FAMILY. GOD is my father, the church is my mother; all Christian people are my brethren in Jesus Christ, who is the true Son of God. We all make one family under the same head, and the same Saviour; and the angels of heaven are comprehended within this family, as well as the saints upon earth. It is called the church and I was born unto God, and made a member of it by baptism; as surely as I was made a meinber of this world by my birth from my natural parents. I do not belong to the church by any right of nature but only by the grace and calling of God. If God is my father I may depend upon his goodness and affection to me; but I must pray to him, as I make my wants known to my earthly parents. I must also expect that God will chastise and correct me for my faults; even as every wise father punish eth the child in whom he delighteth. How unhappy are those children, who are under foolish parents, who keep them in ignorance, and ruin them with indulgence! God's children are not so left to themselves. Let me then be thankful when I am corrected in mercy; as a token of my adoption, and election to be a child of God. If the church is my mother, who hath brought me forth to be an heir of glory; it is my duty to conform to her rules, that I may have the benefit of her ordinances. If christian people are my brethren, it must be my duty to love them; and to bear in mind that wise advice of the good Joseph to his brethren, see that ye fall not out by the way. In our journey through life, we are under so many trials and afflictions, that it is both foolish and wicked for christian brethren to add to one another's troubles by strife and envying, by quarrellings and disputings. Proud people are ashamed of their poor relations: but I must not be ashamed to own the poorest child in the family of God; who perhaps, after a laborious life of faith and patience, will be my superiour in the kingdom of heaven. I am to remember that Jesus Christ, the head of this great and holy family, was made poor for my sake, and doth now hear the prayers and attend to the wants of the poorest christian. Who then am I, that I should dare to despise or neglect those of whom Jesus Christ is mindful? When I do them good, I must do it because they belong to him; not to shew my own superiority, or to obtain the praises of men; and then all I do will be accepted, and I shall have treasure in heaven. THE QUESTIONS. Q. Who is your spiritual father? Q. Who is your spiritual mother? Q. Who are your brethren? A. All christian people? Q. How do they become such? A. In Jesus Christ, who is the true Son of God, and the first-born of many brethren. Q. When was you taken into this family? A. When I was baptized. Q. How far doth this great family extend? A. It takes in the the angels of heaven, and all saints departed. Q. What must you do, if God is your father? A. I must make my wants known to him in prayer, as children do. Q. And what will God do as a father? A. He will correct me in love and mercy, that my own will may not ruin me. Q. What duty is required of you to the church? A. To conform myself to her rules, that I may have the benefit of her sacraments. Q. What duty is repuired toward your brethren? |