apartments of glory, to beings of different natures;
whether, as they: excel one another in perfection, they are not admitted
nearer to the throne of the Almighty, and enjoy greater manifestations
of his presence.

18. Whether there are not solemn times and occasions, when all the
multitude of heaven celebrate the presence of their Maker, in more
extraordinary forms of praise and adoration; as _Adam_, though he had
continued in a state of innocence, would, in the opinion of our divines,
have kept holy the _Sabbath day_, in a more particular manner than any
other of the seven. These, and the like speculations, we may very
innocently indulge, so long as we make use of them to inspire us with a
desire of becoming inhabitants of this delightful place.

19. I have in this, and in two foregoing letters, treated on the most
serious subject that can employ the mind of man, the omnipresence of the
Deity; a subject which, if possible, should never depart from our
meditations. We have considered the Divine Being, as he inhabits
infinitude, as he dwells among his works, as he is present to the mind
of man, and as he discovers himself in a more glorious manner among the
regions of the blest. Such a consideration should be kept awake in us at
all times, and in all places, and possess our minds with a perpetual awe
and reverence.

20. It should be interwoven with all our thoughts and perceptions, and
become one with the consciousness of our own being. It is not to be
reflected on in the coldness of philosophy, but ought to sink us into
the lowest prostration before him, who is so astonishingly, great,
wonderful, and holy.

_The present Life to be considered only as it may conduce to the
Happiness of a future one_.

SPECTATOR; No. 575.

1. A lewd young fellow seeing an aged hermit go by him barefoot,
_Father_, says he, _you are in a very miserable condition, if there is
not another world. True son_, said the hermit; _but what is thy
condition if there is_? Man is a creature designed for two different
states of being, or rather, for two different lives. His first life is
short and transient; his second permanent and lasting.

2. The question we are all concerned in is this, in which of these two
lives is our chief interest to make ourselves happy? or in other words,
whether we should endeavour to secure to ourselves the pleasure and
gratification of a life which is uncertain and precarious, and at its
utmost length of