ments, and be clothed with the white robes of immortality; when they will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father; and with all the elect of God, the Son of God whom they acknowledged here below, will feed them, and lead them unto living fountains of waters, where they shall eat of the hidden bread of heaven, and of the Tree of Life, and drink of the living fountains of waters, and be like unto the angels; where, with cheerful hearts and melodious voices they will sing praises to the Lamb their Bridegroom, joining in the new song with joy ineffable and full of glory, and which no man can take from them, as they are made kings and priests unto God, and will live and reign with Christ for ever and ever.

Now, may the God of grace, mercy and all comfort, who hath called us with a holy calling, grant unto us, unworthy mortals, to be strengthened by his divine Spirit, to follow after and be made worthy of his fellowship, and of the glorious inheritance of his heavenly kingdom, for ever, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Of the everlasting kingdom of heaven and its King, read:-Whereby we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear. Heb. 12: 28.-Jesus answered, My kingdom is not of this world.If my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight, that I should not be delivered to the Jews: but now is my kingdom not

irom hence. John 18: 36.--Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light; who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son. Col. 1: 12, 13.— For the kingdom is the Lord's; and he is the governor among the nations. Ps. 22: 28.

Read farther, how the eternal King Jesus Christ, at his return from heaven, when the dead are raised and the judgment passed, will receive all his members into his everlasting and glorious kingdom of heaven, where they shall see God in his ineffable glory:-Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. Matth. 25: 34.-And when the chief Shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away. 1 Pet. 5: 4.I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith: Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord the righteous Judge, shall give me at that day and not to me only, but unto all them also, that love his appearance. 2 Tim. 4: 7, 8.

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-Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord has promised to them that love him. James 1: 12. Be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life. Rev. 2: 10.-Then we which are alive and re

main, shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore, comfort one another with these words. 1 Thes. 4: 17, 18. And ye now therefore have sorrow; but I will see you again, and your heart shall rejoice, and your joy no man taketh from you. John 16: 22.

Beloved, now we are the sons of God; and it doth not yet appear what we shall be; but we know that when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is. 1 John 3: 2.-For our conversation is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ; Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself. Phil. 3: 20, 21.-When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory. Col. 3: 4.---Thine eyes shall see the King in his beauty; they shall behold the land that is very far off. Isa. 33: 17.

Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure; for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall: For so an entrance shall be ministered unto you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. 2 Pet. 1: 10, 11.

Now, concerning the precise time of the drawing up of the foregoing articles of our con

fession of faith, we have no certain information. But as it is evidenced, that, so far as to their true import and meaning, they were acknowledged, taught and practiced by the Mennonites, many years previous to the time in which they were forwarded to the press, as well as at that time; which was at the close of the last persecution. We have therefore fixed their date to the 16th century, and at the close of which we have assigned them a place in our. work.

The above account of the chronology of the foregoing Articles, is given by the Authors of the large work referred to in our introduction, and from which work these articles were translated.

Now we will conclude these articles by the following extract from the Bloody Theatre or、 Martyrs' Mirror; which is as follows:

In the time of Sylvester, there is mention made, that the doctrine which was afterwards taught and defended by great multitudes of Anabaptists and Waldenses, was at that time taught and defended. Yea, that the same churches which were, in the eleventh, twelfth, thirteenth and the following centuries, called by the names of Waldenses and Albigenses, and were afterwards called by the name of Mennonites or Anabaptists, were in existence at that time, and had existed long before. Hereof did a certain author of an ancient work, and who was of note in the church of Rome write,

complaining of these people, saying, These hereticks (as he calls them,) have, at all times, had many sects among them: but among all those sects there has none been so pernicious to the church (namely, the Romish church) as the poor men of Lyons, namely, the Waldenses or Anabaptists; and this for three reasons;, Firstly, Because they have existed so long, that some say they were in the time of Sylvester; others even say that they existed in the time of the apostles.

At another place in the same work above referred to, we find written by James Mehrningius, of the above mentioned people, as follows:

This is by no means a new sect who arose in the time of Waldus; for the papistical writers themselves acknowledge that they existed in the times of Sylvester the pope, and long before his time, even in the time of the apostles.

The same writer at another place writes, That Flacius observed the same from an ancient papistical book: That these people existed in the time of Sylvester, and were as ancient as the time of the apostles. Moreover, That Thuanus testifyeth that the doctrine of those people continued through many centuries.

'T'he time of the reign of Sylvester, who was the first pope of that name, but in the register the thirty-fourth Romish bishop, is computed to the year 315.