(Rev. xiv. 13): they rest from their labours, and their works do follow them. They make supplication for the saints who are yet in tribulation -"How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost Thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth?"-and entreat that the Lord will establish His dominion (Rev. vi. 9—11). They are sometimes engaged in works of great honour and mercy-Moses and Elias were allowed to talk with Jesus concerning the crucifixion (Luke ix. 30, 31; Matt. xvii. 1—3) ; but they are not yet in the highest glory, though they possess unspeakable bliss. They enter that glory at the coming of the Lord (Jno. xiv. 1-3), when the resurrection reunites body and soul, so that both, being glorified, they may possess the new heavens and the new earth (1 Thess. iv. 15-18). The soul in contemplation, Into song!" Sabine Baring-Gould. In the grave is no more sacrifice for sin; so that a man's condition after death is undoubtedly determined by his previous life; nevertheless, we have good reason to suppose that there will be revelations of knowledge and bestowals of grace to the blessed departed; so that their spiritual faculties will be sufficiently enlarged to be commensurate with the high degree of wisdom and might to be possessed by the glorified body and soul (1 John iii. 2). "O Breather into man of breath, O Holder of the keys of death, O Giver of the life within, Save us from death, the death of sin; That body, soul, and spirit be For ever living unto Thee!" Amen. What the new body will be,we are told on the best authority: to every kind of man his own body, so that individuality will be preserved; all will possess fitting disposition, position, and peculiar glory various as the stars; to each and every will belong a spiritual body of power, bearing the image of the Heavenly, in incorruption, in immortality, and able to see the open vision of all things (1 Cor. xv. 38-54). We can in part, even now, form a conception of the change so marvellously to be wrought in the inner and the outer man. In our minds and bodies innumerable changes are excited, which represent whatever strikes our vision, or excites the other senses. These changes and views, rightly understood, are not more natural nor less supernatural than those changes and views that we shall be conscious of at the Resurrection; in sure hope of which we pray "Oh! quickly come, sure Light of all; With weary watching for the day. Oh! quickly come; for round Thy throne Even at this very time, we see with the eyes of our spirit those who are not present. We can picture to our soul the effect of our words, of our presence, on the spirit of the absent beloved. In, say, the twenty-fifth part of a second we carry our thought to the most distant star; not only so, in about the same H time our mental conception embraces the universe. All that we know about this mysterious operation is, that it is by corporeal movement and property; and yet, not by them; for there is something present utterly dissimilar to what is corporeal: for thought is not matter, nor is sight substance, but probably something of a reality that transcends all known materials. Gennadius, doubtful of the existence of a future life, saw one night, in a dream, a young man of agreeable countenance, who said “Follow me.” He followed, and arrived at a city where he heard music so soft and harmonious that it surpassed all he had ever heard it was the hymn of the Saints and the Blessed. He awoke, the dream faded away, for it was to him as a dream only. On the following night, the same young man appeared again and inquired--"Was it in a dream or awake that you saw and heard?" "In a dream,” replied Gennadius. "True," said the young man, “it was in a dream, and only in a dream that you see now; but where, at this moment, is your body?" "In my bed," said Gennadius, "and my corporeal ves are at present shut, and without perception I cannot see with them." "How is it then," said the young man, "that you see me?" Then the young man added-"You are in bed, your bodily eyes are shut and powerless; but you have other eyes with which you see me, and they serve you, while those of your body are powerless and useless; even so, when you are dead, although your corporeal eyes will not see, you will be capable of seeing and hearing. After what has passed, be careful not again to entertain doubts of a life after death for all men."* "Father, in Thy gracious keeping Leave we now Thy servant sleeping." Amen. O, God, whose mercy is infinite, we thank Thee that Thou dost chastise us only to bring us into the way of salvation, or to confirm our steps in it. Be not angry with us, good Lord! if, when Thou appliest the cautery, or the knife, our flesh and heart so fail that we cry impatiently. Be gracious, and when our tongue can find no words to express our thankfulness, * Letter to Evodius.-St. Augustine. |