Far, therefore, from being disturbed at the thoughts of quitting a wicked, treacherous, and deceitful world, he should rather endeavour to enter into the sentiments of St. Paul, who "longed to be dissolved, and to be with Jesus Christ." Instead of being sorry or unwilling to be disengaged from a frail body, subject to a thousand infirmities, he should rather, like King David, thirst after the happy hour that is to put him in possession of that eternal kingdom of glory, for the enjoyment of which he was created. In effect, if the _seafaring man_ long for his arrival in the port of his destination; if the _military man_ wish for an and of the campaign, and long for the day that is to restore him to his friends, crowned with laurels, and enriched with spoils and trophies; if the _wearied traveller_ pant after his native soil, and wish for the end of his journey; if the _captive_ long to be freed from his chains; if the _farmer_, after the toils and fatigues of the winter, rejoice at the bright prospect of the approaching harvest; why should not a _Christian_ long for the end of the laborious winter of this life, in order to reap the sweet fruits of his past labours? {280} Why should he not be charmed with the well-grounded hope of _entering_ into the joys of his Lord, and finding the gates of heaven open to receive his soul? Why should he not wish to be _rescued_ out of the stormy sea of this world, and arrive safely in the harbour of eternal life? Why should he not long for the end of the _spiritual warfare_ wherein he is constantly engaged, in order to receive that never-fading _crown of glory_, which is reserved in the kingdom of heaven for such as _conquer?_ Why should he not welcome the happy hour of his death, which is to restore him to his native country, fix him in his proper habitation, secure him from the embarrassments and snares of this mortal life, and translate him to the glorious society of the holy apostles, martyrs, confessors, virgins, and an innumerable host of heavenly citizens, who await him, and long to congratulate his happy arrival? "Which amongst us," says St. Cyprian, "who for a long time had been a sojourner in a foreign country would not anxiously desire to return to his native soil? What person would not wish for a prosperous gale of wind to waft him with expedition to his favourite home, that he might the sooner embrace his friends and relations?" Heaven is our native country; here we are but strangers, captives, and pilgrims. Here we have no permanent city; but there we shall be at home in our Fathers house. Here we are exiles and travellers, hastening to the end of our journey. This world is a tempestuous ocean, full of rocks and quicksands, wherein we are constantly tossed to and fro by storms and hurricanes, tortured between hopes and fears, and every moment exposed to the danger of being shipwrecked.