r1 ti FEAR. OF DEATH. delivered from the overwhelming dread of that house which is appointed fbr all living ; we are put in mind that all who are born must die ! " The end of all things is at hand." To what purpose does the Apostle con- vert this awful proclamation ? Does he use it to encourage gloomptempers, to invite to unprofitable melancholy? No he uses the solemn admonition to stir us up to moral goodness - therefore, " be sober," - he does more, he uses it to excite us to religious vigilance, - " and watch unto prayer." Some men, and they are not the best men, talk boldly of death, especially while they suppose it to be at a distance but this boastful heroism is a very equi- vocal symptom of their being in .a proper state to meet it. Others of a less con- fident, but not more serious cast ofmind, take pains to keep it as far as possible from their thoughts, lest the indulging such gloomy reflections should make them uneasy, and embitter their present
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