the spirit-land,—now almost keep up the illusion, even after we are conscious where we are; and if not themselves strains from that happy world, they seem at least to give us a foretaste of its joys, and to tell of that blessed state where all is harmony and love, and where angel-choirs sing together the glories and goodness of their Lord.
Such are some of the pleasures and delights, which our good Creator has provided for us, through the medium of the senses. And the truth should be distinctly seen and felt, that these are of His providing: this elevates and sanctifies them. True religion forbids no innocent enjoyments: it only regulates pleasures, not destroys or deprives us of them. And such regulation increases rather than diminishes the delight they are intended to afford; for it cuts off that excess which would turn pleasure into pain, and it fills every joy with a life and soul derived from gratitude to its Divine Giver.
And now, at length, old age creeps on. And has that no enjoyments? Has the great Creator provided no special delights for this period of life? "The hoary head," we read, "is a crown of glory, if it be found in the way of righteousness." When the battle of life has been bravely fought, and the mastery gained over appetites and passions, and the spirit rests in the settled peace of victory—not proud, however, in self-dependence, but humble and grateful in the acknowledgment that all its strength is from above,—then, there is a joy in the heart, surpassing the pleasures and delights of youthful and active life, almost as the happiness of heaven surpasses that of earth: it is, indeed, a
