transfiguration, after a lapse of nearly fifteen hundred years, "there appeared Moses," as well as "Elias, talking with him" concerning his death, by which he was to accomplish the world's redemption. (Matt. xvii. 3.) Many centuries had passed away; several successive generations had been born, and had disappeared; powerful empires had arisen, filled the world with terror, and been overthrown; crowded cities had been built, and gradually depopulated; yet Moses still lived to converse with the incarnate God on the most momentous event that has ever occurred, either on earth or in heaven. Of his separate spirit it might be said, and that in a higher sense than the inspired historian intended, when he used the expression, "His eye was not dim, nor was his natural force abated."

2. The state of the pious dead is a state of activity. The Lord is their God; and the intercourse with him, which they maintained by acts of devotion here upon earth, is not only continued, but rendered more intimate. Their mode of existence is indeed changed; they are removed from the militant to the triumphant church; and their present services are somewhat different from those in which they were engaged when in the body; but their present occupations all have a direct reference to God, and the glory of his name. He is the one object of their delight and desire. His glorious attributes, the works of his hands, the dispensations of his providence, the wonders of redemption and of grace, are doubtless the subjects of their intensest study; not as matters of mere speculation and curiosity, but as elevating their views of his nature, and supplying ceaseless matter of adoration and thanksgiving. The will of each of them rests, with indescribable satisfaction, in the will of God; the understanding is occupied with inquiries concerning his perfections and acts; the memory traces the ten thousand instances of his goodness and mercy; and every affection is fixed upon him as the centre and source of all excellence. have now no sins to confess, no infirmities to deplore, no temptations to resist, no discouragements to encounter, no ungodly associates to admonish and reprove; and therefore they no longer offer their prayers accompanied by strong cries and tears, unto Him that is able to save. Holy meditation, the exercise of heavenly love, and grateful praise, are their uninterrupted and unwearied employ. They rest not day nor night. They need no rest. Their power is never exhausted. Each of them exists in all the freshness and bloom of immortal youth.

They

What intercourse the separate spirits of the just may still have with this world, and especially with those to whom they stood in the most tender and endearing relations, we know not; and on such a subject

it is useless to speculate when the Scriptures are silent. Thus much, however, we may gather from the inspired oracles, that such spirits are employed by the Lord Jesus in holy ministrations connected with his people and work upon earth. The spirit of one of the departed Prophets was sent to St. John, to show him things to come; (Rev. xxii. 9;) and there is no reason to believe that this was a peculiar case. Our own glorified friends, unknown to us, may perform for us many kind offices, by the appointment of their Lord and ours, which may at once exercise their benevolence, and increase their joy. If such were the will of the Lord, we ourselves should delight, when we are once freed from the burden of mortality, to serve those of our friends in love who are still left below to suffer and to mourn. Theirs is also,

3. A state of great enjoyment. Even in this life the happiness which arises from faith, from personal holiness, from the celebration of spiritual worship, and from fellowship with God, is rich and solid, immensely superior to all those pleasures from which religion is excluded, whether they be directly sinful or not. The penitent and believing man, who has submitted to the Scripture method of salvation, is justified from the guilt of all his past sins; and, in part at least, is sanctified to God. His conscience is sprinkled with the blood of Christ; the Holy Spirit witnesses his filial relation to his Maker, inspires him with all holy affections, and seals him to the day of redemption. In this blessed state of acceptance with God, and of practical conformity to his will, the child of God enjoys an inward heaven. The light of God's countenance shines upon him; every object around him serves to lead his renewed mind to his almighty Father; and his prospects of glory brighten at every step that he takes in the journey of life.

But if the happiness arising from genuine piety is so pure and elevated, in a world like this, where evil in every form abounds, what must be the joy of the separate state! In this life the people of God "see through a glass darkly;" but there they see "face to face." Here their spiritual enjoyments are connected with many and severe afflictions, both of body and mind, and "heaviness through manifold temptations" is their common lot; but there every occasion of sorrow is removed. The former things are passed away. There is no more pain; and tears are wiped away from all faces. In that world of unclouded light, their views of God and of divine things are immensely enlarged; their capacity for knowledge and enjoyment is vastly increased; and their intercourse with God is more intimate, hallowing, and joyous than it ever was upon earth. It is this that augments their bliss. Being absent, from the body, they are present with the Lord.

He is their God, their portion, their all. But what the beatific vision is, we mnst die to know. No man knows what the new name and the white stone really are, but he that receives them.

Though our knowledge of the spiritual world is very limited, and our conceptions of the happiness and employment of the saints there are very inadequate; yet one view which the holy Scriptures give us of these subjects is of special interest and importance. It is strongly implied in the text; and great prominence is given to it in the New Testament. The view to which I refer is, that theirs is a state of direct and immediate intercourse with the Lord Jesus; so that they have the fullest knowledge and enjoyment of him of which their intellectual and sanctified nature is capable. This is an object of his gracious intercession. "Father, I will that they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am; that they may behold my glory, which thou hast given me." (John xvii. 24.) This high privilege he has also made a subject of especial and peculiar promise; "I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also." (John xiv. 3.) In applying this promise to the separate state we have the authority of St. Paul, who "desired to depart, that he might be with Christ;" (Phil. i. 23;) and who acted under the full conviction, that when "absent from the body," he should be "present with the Lord." (2 Cor. v. 8.) At the resurrection, also, the pious dead, and the living who will be "changed, shall be caught up together in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall they ever be with the Lord." (1 Thess. iv. 16.) So that, whether they be on earth, in the intermediate state, or in the highest heavens, to them Christ is all and in all. They know nothing of happiness but in and through him. He is the object of their unlimited confidence, and of their supreme delight and love; and it is the consummation of their blessedness, that, "when he shall appear, they shall be like him, for they shall see him as he is," (1 John iii. 2,) and be indissolubly one with him for ever. By his most compassionate assumption of their nature, and voluntary submission to poverty, reproach, and pain, and death in their behalf, they have been redeemed from the lowest depths of guilt and wretchedness, and elevated to thrones of glory and felicity; and hence the indelible impression of his redeeming mercy will, through all eternity, bind them to him in wondering and adoring love. Redemption is the subject of their loudest and sweetest songs, as it is the basis of their happiness. "Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, glory, and blessing." (Rev. v. 12.) The state of which we are speaking is also,

4. A state of absolute safety. With the present life the period of probation ends, and nothing remains but the solemn awards of the general judgment. He that is guilty and unholy on his entrance into the world of spirits must remain guilty and unholy still, and endure through eternity the bitter cousequences of his sin. But those who die in the Lord are happy, inasmuch as their state of justification and personal holiness is irreversible. They are therefore no more subjected to temptation from any quarter, or in any degree. Neither as an angel. of light, nor as a roaring lion, can their great adversary assault them now. Nor can the rod of persecution reach them in their present peaceful and secure abode. They have believed in Christ, and been adopted into the family of God; they have been renewed after his image, and made partakers of his holiness; they have kept the faith, and finished their work, and are approved by their Lord as good and faithful servants; and they are now so placed under his protection, and the control of his power, that no evil can come near them. They can neither sin, nor suffer, nor die. Theirs is,

The soul is in

5. A state of joyous expectation. While the Bible represents those who have departed hence in the Lord, as being now in unspeakable "joy and felicity," it never describes this state as the consummation of their bliss. They are in paradise; and it is "gain" to the holiest man upon earth, to die and meet them there. Well as it is with the servants of Christ in this world, it is "far better to depart," and be with him. Hence, as we have seen, with St. Paul this was an object of strong "desire." For the perfection of their bliss, however, they must wait till the end of time, when their dead bodies will be raised, and their entire persons glorified with Christ. deed the nobler part of man; yet it is only a part. The Lord is the God of the entire persons of his people; and his gracious covenant with them secures the resurrection of their earthly frame; not in weakness, but in power; not in infirmity and dishonour, but in glory; not in its present gross and frail state, but so refined as to be denominated "spiritual" perhaps capable of motion as quick as lightning; and resembling the glorified body of the Lord Jesus, both in immortality, and in the beauty and splendour of its form. Such are the lofty anticipations which God taught his people to entertain, even in the early periods of his church. Job confidently expected a resurrection, through the might of his incarnate Redeemer; and the venerable Patriarchs, to whom the text immediately refers, dwelt in tents, and "confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth." They "looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God ;" and VOL. II. First Series. JULY 1842.

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"desired a better country" than that of the earthly Canaan: a country in the "heavenly" world.

The promises, then, upon which God has caused his people to rely, will receive their full accomplishment at the resurrection of the just, and the second coming of his Son. It is then that the crown of glory will be placed upon the head of each of them, and that they will be seated upon his throne, as he is seated upon the throne of the Father. Till that period shall arrive, the people of God, even those who are with him in the heavenly paradise, must remain in hope. Blessings are promised to them which they have not yet obtained; and higher joys await them than they have yet realized. With eager desire they look forward to the day when death shall be swallowed up in victory; the wondrous plan of redemption be brought to its final issue; and all the ransomed of the Lord shall follow in his train, "with songs and everlasting joy upon their heads.” Believers now wait, and even "groan," for "the redemption of their bodies;" and pray to their Almighty Saviour, "That it may please thee, of thy gracious goodness, shortly to accomplish the number of thine elect, and to hasten thy kingdom; that we, with all those that are departed in the true faith of thy holy name, may have our perfect consummation and bliss, both in body and soul, in thy eternal and everlasting glory."

These are subjects of the highest importance; and they are subjects in which we have, every one of us, a deep and awful interest. The happiness of which we have been speaking, and which was enjoyed by Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, when the Angel of the Lord appeared to Moses in the burning bush, is not bestowed upon mankind indiscriminately; but only upon those who are duly qualified for it. We have denominated it the happiness of good men; for to none but such is it promised. It arises from intercourse with the Lord Jesus, and is peculiar to those who have him for their God. Had he not been the God of those holy Patriarchs in the present life, they would not have been received into his joy when they passed into the world of spirits. Here they were justified by faith in his revealed mercy, and were sanctified by the power of his grace. Here they joined themselves to him in a perpetual covenant; they aspired to a participation of the divine nature; they studied to please him in the whole of their conduct; they regarded his favour as better than even life itself; and they maintained habitual communion with him by such sacrifices as he had appointed, offered in faith, and with importunate prayer. The blessings which they enjoyed they viewed as the gifts of his love; for which they cherished a spirit of fervent gratitude. They resorted to