250 THE REASON WHY. 



' Not unto us, O Lord, not unto us, but unto thy name give glory, for thy 

 mercy, and. for thy truth's sake." -PSALM cxv. 



between the body and the soul than that which we might otherwise entertain. 

 The body is a machine, working for the spirit, which is its owner. While the 

 machine works, the spirit directs and influences its actions. But when the 

 machine stops, the spirit resigns its power over a ruined temple, quits it, and 

 flies to a region where, as a spirit, it becomes subject to a new order of existence 

 consistent with its severance from earthly things and laws, and there it enters 

 upon its eternal destiny, according to the judgments and appointments of God. 

 It is no longer dependent upon a relation between spiritual and material laws. 



Suppose that the air which man breathes, instead of returning from his lungs 

 clear and imperceptible to sight, were tinged with colour; we should see, 

 that every time a man breathed, the air would rush in a stream into his mouth, 

 and then return again ; and the air which returned would, being warm, be 

 lighter than the outer air, and would rise upward over the man's head, whe - e, 

 cooling and mingling with the outer air, it would descend again. We do, in 

 fact, see this action evidenced ; when in winter time the cold condenses the vapour 

 of the breath, we see the little cloud constantly rising before the breather's face, 

 and dispersing in the surrounding air. 



Is it not a wonderful thing that that clear and elastic substance, which you 

 cannot feel, though it touches every part of your body, and which you cannot 

 see, is composed of two distinct bodies, having very different properties ; and 

 that the two bodies can easily be separated from each other? 



Air is of the first importance to life. Hence it is provided for us every- 

 where. We require air every second, water every few hours, and food at inter- 

 vals considerably apart. Air is therefore provided for us everywhere. Whether 

 we stand or sit ; whether we dwell in a valley or upon a mountain ; whether we 

 go into the cellar under our house, or into the garret at the top of it, air is there 

 provided for us. God, who made it a law that man should breathe to live, also 

 sent him air bundantly, that he might comply with that law. And all that is 

 required from man in this respect is, that he will not shut out God's bounty, but 

 receive it freely. 



As we have employed the idea that if tho air were coloured we should have 

 the opportunity of marking the process of breathing, let us enlarge upon this, 

 and suppose that every time the air were returned from the lungs it became of a 

 darker colour, the darkness denoting increasing impurity. If we placed a man 

 in a room full of pure air, we should see the air enter his lungs, and sent back 

 slightly tinged; but this would disperse itself with the other air of the room 

 and scarcely be perceptible. As the man continued to breathe, however, each 

 measure of ah* returning from the lungs would serve to pollute that abiding 

 in the room, until at last the whole mass would become cloudy and discoloured, 

 and we should sees such a change as occurs when water is turned from a pure and 

 clear state into a muddy condition. '1 he air does become polluted with each 

 respiration, and although it is colourless, it is as impure as if with every breath 

 given oif from the lungs it becamu of a dark colour in proportion to its 

 impurity. 



Thus we see how important it is that we should provide ourselves with pure 

 air ; and tnat, in seeking warmth and comfort in our houses, we should provide 

 an adequate supply of fresh atmosphere because it is more vital to life than 

 either water or food. 



Indeed, so constant is our requirement of air, that if ice had to fetch U,fot 



