rest of the dead lived not again till the thousand years were finished" (xx. 5.); and though I cannot satisfactorily explain the petition of the souls under the altar, which you have already quoted, I remember it is said in another place, “Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord, that they may rest from their labours." And again, "There is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom in the grave, whither thou goest." Rev. xiv. 13; Eccles. ix. 10.

'What will you say to the thief on the cross, and the Lord's promise to him, that he should be with him that day in paradise?' Luke xxiii. 43.

'It is admitted, Alice, by those who have exercised research on the biblical manuscripts, that the sense of many passages is impaired by wrong punctuation: an instance of this occurs in Luke xiii. 24, where a full stop is put for a comma; points were seldom, if ever, found in the original, and ancient manuscripts were frequently written entirely in uncial letters, without even a division of words; it is therefore at least quite possible, that by the omission of the comma, inserted in this sentence, a different meaning might be conveyed, without injuring the grammatical construction of the original language. I think I have heard this asserted, but admitting the sentence as it stands, the testimony of other texts is not weakened; faith so wondrous as that displayed by the penitent thief, might surely have obtained special favour at the Lord's hands, and the display of his power in this case does not warrant the assumption that it is always so put forth.'

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Aunt, I often wanted to ask you, did Christ indeed descend into Hell?'

The thought is horrifying, dear Alice, if by the word we understand the place of torment. But Hell,

or Hades, (usually translated the grave in our bibles) meant only the unseen or separated place; the word is used in the Creed because it occurs in the sixteenth Psalm, and is applied to the Saviour by the Apostle Peter (Acts ii. 27); but much as I venerate our admirable liturgy, I almost wish this word expunged in this place, as tending to produce misconception amongst the simple and untaught. Our church, however, means no more than that as Jesus died, so his spirit passed, as do the spirits of others, to the unseen place in the Father's keeping, I am inclined to think, till he revived and rose again, because it was impossible that he could be holden by the bands of death.

'Speaking of this passage reminds me what a very strong argument it supplies to prove the unconsciousness of the departed soul: the Apostle contrasts in this second chapter of the Acts, Christ, who was raised from the dead, his soul not left in the separated state, nor his body given over to corruption, with David, who was dead and buried, and his sepulchre with the Jews; and he adds, "Jesus hath God raised up," but "David is not ascended into the heavens." Verses 32-34.

'I thought, Aunt, that only meant that David's body was not raised, while the Lord's was.'

'Those who hold the dogma of immediate blessedness, are necessarily obliged to make this kind of distinction, Alice; and men speak of the spirit being re-united to the body, and standing at the judgment-seat of Christ, as if it were indeed revealed: but I cannot so find it; and if it were not instilled by the precept of men, I think the conclusion simple Bible readers would arrive at, could only be, that the children of God slept in the grave till the Lord Jesus came, and broke their slumber with his own voice. I think our dear Master designed

to teach just this to his disciples, when he said, "Let not your hearts be troubled; I go to prepare a place for you, and I will come again and receive you unto myself, that where I am there ye may be also." John xiv. It appears to me, the coming of the Lord to his people, whether quick or dead, is always set before us in the Bible, though I find Christians much more constantly looking to going to Christ, making death, not the resurrection of the dead, almost the object of desire.'

"I see now, Aunt, why you choose your own view of this; you admit the state of glory to follow immediately to the believer's perceptions, while you wish the living to think of an unconscious interval, that the prayer for the Lord's advent may be strengthened. It would seem too that Job looked only to seeing the Lord when he should stand at the latter day upon the earth.'

Yes, Alice; he undoubtedly thought only of the resurrection when he said, "Though after my skin, worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God." Job xix. 25. I think also this was the hope set before Daniel, "Go thou thy way till the end, for thou shalt rest, and stand in thy lot at the end of the days." Dan. xii. 13. And Hezekiah evidently believed death to be a quiescent state when he said, "The grave cannot praise thee, they that go'down into the pit cannot hope for thy truth, the living shall praise thee as I do this day." Isaiah xxxviii. 18. Such also was the belief of David, "In death there is no remembrance of thee, in the grave who shall give thee thanks?" (Psalm vi. 5.) "What profit is there in my blood when I go down to the pit, shall the dust praise thee, shall it declare thy truth?" (Psalm xxx. 9.) "Shall thy loving-kindness be declared in the grave, or thy faithfulness in destruction? Shall thy wonders be known in the dark, or

thy righteousness in the land of forgetfulness?" (Psalm lxxxviii. 11.) "The dead praise not the Lord, neither any that go down into silence.” Psalm cxv. 17.

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'It is thrilling to think of all the Lord's people being at once raised up, the bodies, sown in dishonour raised in glory; and certainly, Aunt, the apostles looked to this. St. John says here, (and Alice turned over the leaves of the Bible as she spoke,) "When he shall appear we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is;" (1 John iii. 2.) and St. Peter, Rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ's sufferings, that when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy;" (1 Peter iv. 13.) and St. Paul, “We groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of the body;" (Rom. viii. 23.) and Isaiah, "Awake ye that dwell in the dust, thy dead men shall live, together with my dead body shall they arise.' Isai. xxvi. 19.

Alice paused, as if overpowered with rapidly unfolding thoughts, and after a short silence, Miss Annesley observed,

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'How does this glorious theme absorb and fill the mind, dear Alice! Having such a hope, how should we "purify ourselves even as he is pure," that we may not be ashamed before our Lord at his coming! The more prayerfully and deliberately I have considered this subject, the more I feel convinced with Job, that man lieth down and riseth not; till the heavens be no more, they shall not awake, nor be raised out of their sleep." Job xiv. 12. May God give us a right understanding in all things, and enabling us to "hold fast that which is true," finally grant, that "when Christ who is our life shall appear, we also may appear with him in glory." "

AN IRISH LADY.

SLEEPING IN JESUS.

BELIEVING, as we most firmly do, that our Irish sister's views, in the foregoing paper, are not accordant with the tenor of Scripture, and knowing how many loving hearts may be subdued thereby, concerning them that sleep in Jesus, we purposed appending a long note, explanatory of the contrary doctrine; but it must be post poned to our next number. Meanwhile, we would leave our readers to meditate on the song recorded in Rev. v. 9, 10. There we find a company of redeemed souls in heaven, giving praise to Him who had redeemed them to God by his blood out of every kingdom, and tongue, and people, and nation; and rejoicing in the assured prospect, "We SHALL reign on the earth." The reign is expressly future; a reign commencing with the first resurrection, which had not yet arrived. Can this be explained away? A multitude of passages occur, but we must reserve them for another paper.-EDITOR.