ghteous, that it shall be well with them: for they shall
eat the fruit of their doings. Woe unto the wicked! it shall be ill
with them: for the reward of their hands shall be given them."

I regard these words of the prophet as being true, not only as
applying to the world to come, but as applying with equal power to
the life of man in this world. A life of honesty, integrity,
righteousness, in all we do, is not only policy or wisdom in respect
to the world to come, but it is the best policy or highest wisdom in
all the affairs of this life. It secures the best results because it
makes use of the best means to promote our own happiness here, and
the happiness of all within the sphere of our influence. Says the
Psalmist: "The leaf of the righteous shall not wither, and whatsoever
he doeth shall prosper. He shall flourish like the palm tree." We are
told that the palm tree, to which the righteous are here compared, is
not only a very beautiful tree, but a very useful tree. It casts a
very delightful shade in the hot climates where it grows; from the
abundance of its sap it affords water to the thirsty; and its
excellent fruit supplies food to the hungry.

Whilst godliness, as Paul says, "is profitable unto all things, having
promise of the life that now is, and also of that which is to come;"
still, the life to come is what should chiefly concern us here. Our
time in this world is so short, so brief, that it makes but little
difference whether we are poor or rich, whether we weep or rejoice,
whether we be sick or well, provided we have a clear title to a
heavenly home, a clear title to an "inheritance that is incorruptible,
undefiled, and that fadeth not away." We may just as certainly get a
true title to this heavenly possession by a proper course of life here
as we can to a farm or any other property we may buy and pay for. The
difference, however, between the title to earthly possessions and that
to a heavenly estate is that the first is visible to our natural eyes,
and the last is not. How justly the old adage, that "a bird in the
hand is worth two in the bush," applies to the views and decisions of
great numbers of people! They talk of not risking a certainty for an
uncertainty,--the very thing they are doing. Such make no preparation
for death and eternity which are certainties; but all for life in this
world, which is an uncertainty.

But to be faithful to my calling, friends, I must repeat the last part
of my t