To the eye of man, the sun appears a pure light, a mass of unmingled glory were we to ascend with a continual flight towards this luminary, and could, like the eagle, gaze directly on its lustre, we should, in our progress, behold its greatness continually enlarge, and its splendour every moment more inteuse. As we rose through the heavens, we should see a little orb changing gradually into a great world; and as we advanced nearer and nearer, should behold it expanding every way, until all that was before us became an universe of excessive and immeasurable glory. Thus the heavenly inhabitant will, at the commencement of his happy existence, see the divine system filled with magnificence and splendour, and arrayed in glory and beauty; and as he advances onward, through the successive periods of duration, will behold all things more and more luminous, transporting, and sun-like, for ever. Dr. Dwight. What heart of stone but glows at thoughts like these? YOUNG. In order to assist our feeble and contracted minds in forming some faint ideas of this blessedness, and to inform us who shall enjoy it, it is compared in the sacred writings to the most delightful and glorious things which come under our notice in the present world; for instance, to denote its superabounding delights, it is called paradise; an allusion to the garden of Eden, for at God's right hand are pleasures for evermore. To signify its grandeur, magnificence, and glory, it is called a crown and a kingdom; as a crown it is unfading and incorruptible; to intimate that none shall enjoy it, but in virtue of a Redeemer's obedience, it is denominated a crown of righteousness; it is also called a crown of life, and a crown of glory. As a kingdom, it is boundless; it was prepared for believers from the foundation of the world; and it is the kingdom of their Father, who bestows it upon them here, in right, to possess hereafter, in perfect enjoyment. To ascertain its perpetuity, it is called ́an everlasting kingdom, while they who enjoy it are called kings, are said to sit upon thrones, and to reign in life. To inform us who shall possess it, and in what way, it is called an inheritance, plainly denoting that none but the children of God shall ever enjoy it. We must therefore be the sons of the Highest by adoption and grace, before we can justly expect the enjoyment of the heavenly patrimony; for however diligent the sons of God may be in keeping his commandments and performing his will, they will not perform it under the notion of a reward of duty, or as wages for their work; but under the idea of a gift. The gift of God is eternal life. It is a gift by way of legacy, and is bequeathed to them in the everlasting testament of our Lord Jesus Christ, according to these words: "And I appoint unto you a kingdom." The kingdom is most glorious; the inheritance most free to the children of God, and absolutely unalienable. Nor are the heirs of this boundless bliss without some prelibations or joyful foretastes of it in this life. Faith being, as the apostle defines it, the substance of things hoped for, and the evidence of things not seen, they anticipate, in some degree, the joys of the upper world. In the present state they receive the earnest of their future inheritance, and rejoice in hope of the full fruition; yea, at some bright intervals, they rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory. Pure are the joys above the sky, And all the region peace ; Those holy gates for ever bar Pollution, sin, and shame; None shall obtain admittance there, But followers of the Lamb. Booth. Dr. WATTS. When the souls of the righteous depart from the body, by whom are they received? By holy angels. The angels were ministering spirits to them in the days of their flesh, and will be their guard and their convoy when they relinquish the earthly tabernacle. When Lazarus died, he was carried by angels-what a comfortable privilege is this! not to be left solitary and desolate, like a shipwrecked mariner on some unknown coast; but to be under the guidance and protection of those benevolent beings. In what place are they lodged? This is described, not from our ideas of locality, or any properties of space, but from the society and the enjoyments; it is not very material whether they are above or below, in the heaven of heavens, (which I think is most probable) or in some separate mansion. A disembodied spirit, if under the wrath of God, must every where be extremely miserable: if surrounded with his favour, must every where be extremely happy. To such a spirit, that has no longer any connexion with sensible things, God's smile must be heaven-God's frown must be hell. Wherever this region lies, we are sure it lies under the beams of the Sun of Righteousness. Christ is there; and where he is present, happiness cannot be absent. "Thou shalt be with me," is his promise to the penitent thief. Abraham is there, the friend of God, and father of the faithful. Lazarus, we are told, was carried into Abraham's bosom; and where he resides, where all the children of God and heirs of glory dwell, there must be pleasure-such pleasures, that the place is called Paradise. "Thou shalt be with me in Paradise." The delightful garden of Eden, which the Lord himself planted, and which innocent man inhabited, was incomparably the finest, noblest spot in this sublunary world; and this is used to give us some faint representation of those blessed abodes, where the souls of the righteous remain, till the shout of the archangel. How soon are they lodged in this desirable situation?Without delay. I find no mention of any intermediate purgation, or of any period for inactivity or forgetfuluess. "To-day shalt thou be with me," is our Lord's expression; and it is observable, that the Jewish day was very near closing when our Saviour gave up the ghost; nearer still, when that converted malefactor expired. "I have a desire to be dissolved, (says St. Paul) and to be with Christ." He speaks of his release from clay, and his introduction into the Redeemer's presence, as instantaneous. No sooner does the former take place, but the latter commences. What an encou ragement is this to fight the good fight of faith! The very moment our warfare is accomplished, our reward begins. What is the condition of holy souls in this separate state? They rest from their labours; have no more conflict with the power of darkness and their own corruptions; sin and sorrow cease eternally; they enter into peace; they have then peace with Godpeace in their own thoughts-peace with fellow-saints, which passeth all understanding. Peace, in the scriptural language, denotes all manner of blessings, and such is its import in the preceding passage. They are honoured with near approaches to God; they are fa voured with clearer manifestations of his glory; they feel richer emanations of his love, and are more and more transformed into his image; every doubt vanishes, and they rejoice in the prospect, the assured and refreshing prospect, of receiving all the fulness of their everlasting felicity. I said fulness-for though the felicity of the soul, upon its dismission from the body, is great-is high—is to us inconceivable, yet it will not be complete till the body is re-united to it, re-animated by it, Then that will not only be rescued from corruption, but made like unto Christ's glorious body; will be dignified by divine approbation, and that before the largest assembly of men and angels. They will receive a crown of righteousness; they will sit on thrones, and judge the apostate angels; they will then possess the kingdom prepared for them from the foundation of the world. Hervey. Where am I new? Angels and God are here! An unexhausted ocean of delight Swallows my senses quite, And drowns all what, or how, or where! Not Paul, who first did thither pass, And this great world's Columbus was, Oh! 'tis too much for man; but let it ne'er be less. COWLEY. Of all the subjects that can possibly engage the attention of mortals, while passing through the present state of affliction and toil, the one now under consideration is unquestionably the most cheering and comfortable. How animating to the weary traveller is the prospect of a resting-place! Such is the hope of the Christian. He is a sojourner and a pilgrim on earth, and has to contend with a host of adversaries, who, by open hostilities or secret machinations, endeavour to effect his overthrow; but the blessed assurance, that "there remaineth a rest to the people of God," cheers and invigorates him in his warfare with the powers of darkness, by presenting to his faith and hope the happy country, Where all is calm, and joy, and peace. he shall possess Where, after all his labour, and pain, and sorrow, and enjoy the reward of the inheritance; and with renovated affec tions and ennobled faculties, shall triumphantly unite in the song. of Moses and the Lamb, for ever! Anon. "We shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is." Is not this sufficient to captivate your heart, even in prospect? To have all the lattices of types, ordinances, and appointed means, (which are of infinite value now) removed, to give place to one eternal transporting open view of his meridian glory. "Now we see through a glass darkly, but then face to face." Language fails, and thought is outstripped in the anticipation of that inexpressible glory, which bursts upon the ransomed soul when first ushered into the celestial world: having dropped all its incumbrances-passed the confines of darkness, misery, and fear-and gained the realms of glory, honour, and immortality-he is welcomed home by his eternal Father, seated near his precious Redeemer, crowned with the influence of the Holy Spirit, absorbed in the everlasting love of the Triune Jehovah, and "filled with all the fulness of God." Irons. Now, just as the gates were opened to let in the men, I looked in after them, and behold, the city shone like the suu; the streets also were paved with gold; and in them walked many men with crowns |