THIRTIETH DAY.

The Rest of Paradise.

THE souls of the righteous are in the hand of God, and there shall no torment touch them. In the sight of the unwise they seemed to die: and their departure is taken for misery, and their going from us to be utter destruction: but they are in peace. For though they be punished in the sight of men, yet is their hope full of immortality. And having been a little chastised, they shall be greatly re warded: for God proved them, and found them worthy for himself. As gold in the furnace hath he tried them, and received them as a burnt offering. And in the time of their visitation they shall shine, and run to and fro like sparks among the stubble. They shall judge the nations, and have dominion over the people, and their Lord shall reign for ever. They that put their trust in him shall understand the truth: and such as be faithful in

love shall abide with him: for grace and mercy is to his saints, and he hath care for his elect.

The righteous live for evermore, their reward also is with the Lord, and the care of them is with the most High. Therefore shall they receive a glorious kingdom and a beautiful crown from the Lord's hand: for with his right hand shall he cover them, and with his arm shall he protect them.

Wisdom iii. 1-10; v. 16, 17.

And he said unto Jesus, Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom. And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, To-day shalt thou be with me in paradise.

St. Luke xxiii. 42, 43.

For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. But if I live in the flesh, this is the fruit of my labour: yet what I shall choose I wot not. For I am in a strait betwixt two, having a desire to depart and to be with Christ; which is far better: nevertheless to abide in the flesh is more needful for you. Philippians i. 21-24.

And I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Write, Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth: Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labours; and their works do follow them.

T. V. FOSBERY.

WE

E must believe, from what is revealed to us, that the souls of the faithful who have departed hence in the Lord are, in the language of our Burial Service, "in perpetual joy and felicity.' They are, we cannot doubt it, in a waiting expectant state. If Christ be the one great sacrifice offered for sin, if that altar spoken of in the Book of the Revelation be a perpetual memorial of His having suffered, then the souls beneath the altar, hidden as it were from all danger and evil by that perfect oblation and satisfaction once made for them, can abide His good time and pleasure; and yet we are told they say, 'Lord, how long?'

For the great triumph of Christ and of His Church is reserved till all the world's history be brought to a close, and until the day of His appearing and His kingdom. And all His faithful people, wherever they be, must long for that time. And their joy must

be incomplete until their Lord has indeed rolled away the stone from the door of that mighty sepulchre where still lie buried the bodies of His redeemed, and bidden them by the voice of the archangel and the trump of God to arise and come forth, that with soul and body, henceforth never to be separated, they may acknowledge Him to be the second Adam, the Lord from heaven, who has brought life and immortality to light.

But these things being so, let us now consider that blessed state of heart and mind which seemed so

habitual to the apostle. 'To me to live is Christ and to die is gain. I am in a strait which to choose, having a desire to depart and to be with Christ, which is far better.'

To live is Christ,'

yea, even in the midst of the mockings and scourgings, and of the bonds and imprisonments, and of the varied and multiplied sufferings which for his Master's sake he endured-to live was Christ. To live was to be beside Him, to share His cross, to understand His love that revealed itself through the sorrow, as through the joy of life, to be filled with all the fulness of God. But 'to die was gain.' If His life here was a partaking of Christ's sufferings, to die was to enter into His rest. To depart was to be with Christ, no longer the Man of Sorrows, but the Prince of Peace, to lose the memory of pain in the blissfulness of unbroken repose, to hear no longer the noise of battle, but only the voice which said of him who had fought the good fight, and finished his course, and kept the faith: 'Well done, good and faithful servant.'

Consider now what manner of heart and mind that man must have, who can truly speak as St. Paul speaks here; and ask yourselves further if you can echo his words, 'To me to live is Christ.' Have you any clear conception of what this means? Can you lift yourself above the common business and ordinary cares which beset you every day? Can you feel that you are not a slave to any or all of these things, that you really are their master; can you act accordingly? . .

...

Is there a

great love in your heart for Christ, so that it is strong enough to move you to act for Him, to confess Him before men, to bear rebuke and contempt for His sake, to count all things but loss for the excellency of Christ Jesus, as your Lord? Are you loving the least of His brethren because they are His? are you ready to comfort and help them, and share some of your good things with them, not indeed counting them yours, but only held in trust for Him? If it be thus with you, all is indeed well, and your life here is one of happy service ;— and yet your heart will sometimes, there can be no doubt, be visited by a desire to depart and to be with Christ, which is far better.' There are many who wish to die, to be, as they think, out of their misery, 'anywhere, anywhere, out of the world.' But there may be no yearning after Christ in this. The apostle wanted to be with Christ, He reckoned it to be far better. Yes, better than the strain and excitement of life, better than its best companionships, its dearest interests. To go away from all, not slighting the blessings of life, not undervaluing its treasures, but counting all things but loss for Christ. To rest in Him, to have one's place beyond the reach of sin, away from the power of temptation; above all, where He would come, with unspeakable manifestations of His love, who had so often upheld the wearied frame in the journey of life, and cheered the fainting heart.

Yes if to live is Christ, to die will be gain; and you will feel it to be so. St. Paul indeed accepted the