thy hand and thy counsel determined before to be done."

Now, it is not strange that, while the church is in a low condition, and the power of Satan is great among the nations, there should be many pious people, who, like Joseph in the dungeon, and like Peter in the infancy of his Christianity, are disposed to deny that many events which they witness belong to the wise and good plan of the great God. But as Joseph and Peter advanced in divine knowledge until they obtained more exalted views of the truth of God, so all true Christians shall grow in the knowledge of God. until all their errors shall be cast away. The path of the just, like the shining light, shineth more and more until the perfect day. And thus, when the church attains the full maturity of her glory in the millennial day, all her children shall see eye to eye; and in the heavenly state God shall wipe all tears from the eyes of his people; for he will then show them that he has done all things well.

SAINTS TO EXCEL ANGELS IN GLORY.

THE prospects which the gospel presents to Adam's children are wonderful. God has created a great variety of intellectual beings. We read of angels, cherubim, seraphim, principalities, powers, thrones, dominions, &c., &c., all which terms, doubtless, denote other orders of intelligent beings, who have been formed by the hand of the Almighty. But among all creatures in God's wide empire, MAN, alone, finds his nature united to the Divinity.

In the person of Jesus Christ, humanity is joined to the uncreated Godhead. The second person of the Holy Trinity put on our nature when he came to earth. In our nature he lived. In our nature he received the stroke of death. In our nature he arose from the grave and ascended to heaven. In our nature he now reigns above. And through the long periods of immortality, he will be clothed in the mantle of humanity. This single fact promises, to the redeemed from among men, an elevation in the kingdom of their Father, to which, while on earth, our boldest conceptions cannot rise.

It is clearly held out in the word of God, that those who are ransomed by the blood of the Lamb will, in the progress of eternal ages, ascend beyond all the angel hosts in holiness, in happiness, and in nearness to

the throne of God. The angels are "all ministering spirits sent forth" at his command. They are his servants. They were created to serve his church ; and, however holy, happy, and glorious, they can approach God in no other character than as servants. But of the redeemed, it is declared, that the Lord of glory "is not ashamed to call them brethren." They have a peculiar relationship to Christ that angels have not. They are his kindred; and he is their elder Brother. None of all the heavenly family are thus united to the Divine Being except the followers of the Lamb; and this single fact-I repeat it promises to the saints an exceedingly exalted station among the children of their Father.

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The same thing appears from the intercessory prayer of our Lord Jesus Christ, where he speaks of the peculiar and wonderfully intimate connection between him and his children. His prayer is, "that they all may be one, as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us. And the glory which thou hast given me have I given them; that they may be one, even as we are one; I in them, and thou in me." Wonderful petition! Blessed Savior, how high is the hope which thou hast set before thy people! The apostle James tells us that God designs the saints as a "kind of first-fruits of his creatures." In Rev. ii. 17, God promises to bestow on those who overcome through the blood of the Lamb, a glory beyond the knowledge of all created beings save those who receive it. And, in Rev. xiv. 3, we are told that, among the anthems of eternity, the song of Redemption is peculiar and transcendent; and that, among all the bright spirits above, none can learn that song but the thousands who are redeemed from the earth.

This truth is also implied in what we are taught respecting the manner in which the perfections of the invisible God are revealed to his creatures. Christ says, "No man hath seen God at any time; the onlybegotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him." "No man knoweth the Father but the Son, and he to whom the Son will reveal him." The apostle asserts that God created all things by Jesus Christ, to the intent that "now unto principalities and powers in heavenly places might be made known by the church the manifold wisdom of God." It is through the church, then, that the perfections of God are chiefly revealed to other orders of beings. Accordingly, the redeemed family of Jesus Christ is set forth in Scripture as the admiration of all heaven. In the beautiful language of the poet,

"Nearest the throne, and first in song,

Man shall his hallelujahs raise;

While wondering angels round him throng,
And swell the triumph of his praise."

"And one of the elders answered, saying unto me, What are these which are arrayed in white robes? and whence came they? And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said to me, These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. Therefore are they before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple; and he that sitteth on the throne shall dwell among them. They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more; neither shall the sun light on them, nor any heat." (Rev. vii. 13-17.) There is a charming imagery used by the

sacred writers to set forth the glory of the various orders of holy beings in the dominions of the great God. They are mentioned as brilliant luminaries, reflecting the light that issues from the uncreated throne. The Lord declares to Job that, when he laid the foundations of the earth, "the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy." The morning stars were doubtless holy and happy spirits that his hand had formed. Paul says, “There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars; and one star differeth from another in glory." Daniel, in view of the events of the resurrection day, declares,

They that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament, and they that turn many to righteousness, as stars forever and ever." Of the same day the Savior says, "Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father."

What a delightful idea does this imagery present to the mind, of the glory of Jehovah's upper kingdom! On the great white throne is seated the everlasting I AM. Before him are the several orders of angelic beings, as stars of various magnitudes in the firmament of heaven, ever growing in capacity, increasing in brilliancy, from glory to glory, and rising to higher and higher stations before the great Eternal. But the Son of God has been sent on an errand of mercy to a revolted world; and behold, in virtue of his mediation, 'a great wonder is seen in heaven." On the verge of the celestial horizon new lights are discovered; stars of uncommon brilliancy begin to appear; constellation after constellation rises into view. Who are these? These are the companies of patriarchs, and prophets,