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as a garment......Behold, these are the ungodly, who prosper in the world; they increase in riches. Verily I have cleansed my heart in vain, and washed my hands in innocency for all the day have I been plagued, and chastened every morning." Such was the temptation of the perplexed Psalmist : but scarcely had the words escaped his lips, when he recalled them, with this striking observation; "If I say, I will speak thus, I should offend against the generation of thy children...When I thought to know this, it was too painful for me; until I went into the sanctuary of God. Then understood I their end." In like manner David had been taught in God's sanctuary, and by God's Spirit, the superior blessedness of the righteous, notwithstanding all their earthly calamities; and was led to set his affections on " things above, and not on things which be on the earth." Therefore he adds, in the words of the text, contrasting his own case with that of the prosperous wicked, "As for me, I will behold thy face in righteousness: I shall be satisfied, when I awake, with thy likeness." This was the consideration which gave him comfort, even the "glory which shall be revealed." He envied not the power which the stroke of death must terminate; nor the wealth which can accompany us only to the grave. His ambition and his His ambition and his desire were to dwell for ever with God, in the temple not made with hands, eternal in the heavens; "to behold the fair beauty of the Lord," and to rejoice everlastingly in his presence. And as it was his desire, so was it also his confident hope. He speaks as one who knew in whom he had believed; and as one persuaded that he was able to keep that which he had committed unto him against the great day.

II. His enjoyment of the beatific vision;

III. His participation of the Divine likeness; and,

IV. His complete and everlasting satisfaction.

In directing our attention to these highly interesting subjects, let us implore the aid of "the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort," that our meditations may prove at once consolatory and instructive!

His words suggest to us four principal topics for our consideration:

I. The believer's resurrection from the sleep of death;

I. We are to consider, first, the believer's resurrection from the sleep of death: "When I awake." It is not uncommon with the sacred writers to speak of death as the "sleep" of the body. Of David himself it is said, that "he slept with his fathers." "Our friend Lazarus sleepeth," said our Lord. There appears to be a peculiar propriety in this figure, as conveying, by implication, the blessed doctrine of "the resurrection." Sleep implies the continuance of existence, and the possibility of being again roused into action. Thus is it with the sleep of death. The soul continues to exist, though the body ceases to act or feel, though it even moulder into dust. And how striking an image of the resurrection is the awaking of an individual from his nightly repose! From a state of darkness, he emerges into light; from a state of insensibility, to animation, exertion, and activity. He rises possessed not only of the same faculties as those with which he lay down to sleep, but of those faculties renovated and strengthened. He lay down exhausted, wearied, faint

he rises invigorated and refreshed.

Nor is this image more correct in itself, than comforting in the considerations which it suggests to the real Christian. Why should he so much dread the dissolution of his earthly frame? Is it not exhausted with labour, and enfeebled by sorrow? It is unfit, in its present state, to endure the effulgence of the light of heaven, or participate in the unending joys which are at

"they shall be," in that respect, "as the angels of God."

God's right hand. It must, therefore, undergo a considerable change. "Flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption." Grieve not at its temporary repose in the cold chamber of the tomb: it shall not always lie thus dor mant; but ere long shall arise to newness of life. The hour cometh when all that are in the graves shall hear the voice of the Son of Man, and shall come forth. Then shall mortality be swallowed up of life.

It affords, also, many cheering considerations to the afflicted mourn er, bereaved of his pious relatives, or of "the friend that sticketh closer than a brother." "The maid is not dead, but sleepeth." "Thy brother Lazarus shall rise again." "I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not even as others which have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died, and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him."

In one respect the image holds not good. In our present existence, the alternations of sleep and reanimation are frequent. If we awake, it is but to sleep again. Many hours cannot elapse ere the wearied body needs again to be prostrated in the emblem of death. But not so shall be the awakening of the resurrection morn. A day will then begin, such as shall never end: a day of endless activity, and yet of ceaseless repose; for there shall be no fatigue nor disquietude in the world of glory. It is emphatically said, "There shall be no night there." There will be no necessity for slumber; and, therefore, the circumstances favourable to it shall exist no longer. Oh, what a gloOh, what a glorious awakening, to sleep no more for ever! "There shall be no more death." The prospect of a second dissolution, even at the expiration of millions of centuries, would mar the bliss of heaven. "But they shall die no more," says our Lord;

II. But what is the glory to which the believer shall awake? The answer to this inquiry will form the second subject which we proposed to consider. He shall awake to behold the beatific vision of God. "As for me, I shall behold thy face in righteousness."

To explain a subject so sublime as this, with any measure of fulness and correctness, is beyond the power of man. For "no man hath

seen God at any time." "He dwelleth in light which no man can approach unto; whom no man hath seen, or can see."

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There is a sense, then, in which we shall behold God hereafter, in which we cannot behold him now. He will manifest himself to his assembled saints in some very peculiar and extraordinary manner. "They shall see him," as it were, "face to face." They shall dwell in his immediate presence, and behold his glory. Blessed," says our Lord, " are the pure in heart, for they shall see God." "I know," says the patriarch Job, "that my Redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth: and though, after my skin, worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God: whom I shall see for myself, and mine eyes behold, and not another."

What a glorious consequence this, of awaking from of awaking from the sleep of death, clothed in the garments of righteousness! He shall see God! he shall behold his smiling countenance. Here he can catch but an obscure, imperfect, and momentary glimpse; there the vision will be clear, perfect, and unchanging. Then will the believer know even as he is known. He will not speculate, but stand assured. The treasures of heavenly wisdom shall be opened to his purged eye. The perfections of Jehovah shall be more fully comprehended-the plan of redemption, the everlasting love of the Father, and the unsearchable

riches of Christ, shall be revealed to him as things seen, felt, and understood.

But "to behold the face of God," implies a residence in his celestial abode "the city of the great King." The description which St. John gives us, in the book of the Revelation, of "the New Jerusalem," may serve, in some degree, to assist our efforts in picturing to our imagination the sacred splendour, and ineffable magnificence, of God's more immediate dwellingplace." He carried me away," says the Evangelist, in the Spirit, to a great and high mountain, and shewed me that great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of hea ven from God, having the glory of God; and her light was like unto a stone most precious, even like a jasper stone, clear as crystal. And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it; for the glory of the Lord did lighten it, and the Lamb was the light thereof." A city implies numerous inhabitants. But there never yet existed a city whose population can be compared with the ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands, who shall dwell for ever with the Lord. It has been peopling from the death of righteous Abel until this day, and shall go on increasing in its numbers till the final consummation of all things.

This is a subject of unfeigned satisfaction to the Christian. His pleasure in beholding the face of God in righteousness, will not be diminished, but, on the contrary, increased, by the circumstance of millions of holy and happy beings sharing with him in the one glorious and beatific vision. It will delight him to find himself surrounded by myriads of holy brethren, of kindred experience, and kindred joys; to unite in their praises and hallelujahs, to sing the same song, and to testify of the same deliverance. Most cordially will he add himself to the number of those who shall CHRIST. OBSERV. No. 339.

cast their crowns before the throne, saying, "Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory, and honour, and power. Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing." "The communion of saints," imperfectly as it exists in this world, is replete with comfort; but what will be the satisfaction which it shall yield, when we shall indeed "come unto Mount Zion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem; and to an innumerable company of angels; to the general assem bly and church of the first-born, which are written in heaven; and to God, the Judge of all; and to the spirits of just men made perfect; and to Jesus, the Mediator of the new covenant." Oh who can describe the ecstatic bliss which such an intercourse shall ensure! Who can form even an adequate conception of the joy which such sympathies shall yield, when the unity of the Spirit, and the bond of peace, shall be perfect and indissoluble! Then shall "the ransomed of the Lord return, and come to Zion with songs and everlasting joy upon their heads: they shall obtain joy and gladness; and sorrow and sighing shall flee away." "God shall dwell with them, and they shall be his people; and God himself shall be with them."

III. I observe, in the third place, that at the resurrection from the sleep of death, the believer shall partake of the Divine likeness: "When I awake," says the Psalmist, "after thy likeness."

The Christian is, even in this life, a "follower of God," or, as the original signifies, "an imitator of God." He bears something of his moral image, some marks and lineaments of a heavenly origin. He is said, indeed, by the Apostle, to be a "partaker of the Divine nature." But, alas! how imperfect is this resemblance! How indistinct, dis torted, and obscure are the features U

which characterize his affinity to his heavenly Parent! It is not until he puts off the garments of mortality that his likeness becomes strong and perfect. Then will his disembodied spirit ascend to the mansions of the blessed, without any stain of impurity, without the remotest tendency to sin any more.

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It is of the resurrection, however, that the Psalmist here speaks. The believer will partake more especially of this resemblance, when mortality shall be swallowed up of life; when his body, having mouldered into dust, shall be raised again from the grave. Besides a spiritual likeness, he shall awake after the bodily likeness of his Saviour. What says St. Paul? "Our conversation is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things to himself." The body shall be raised in incorruption, in glory, and in power; it shall be no longer " natural," but "a spiritual body;" and as we have born the image of the first man, namely, the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the second man, "the Lord from heaven." "Now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be but we know that when Christ shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is." "We shall see him as he is," that is, as he now exists in his glorified form; and "we shall be like him." Oh what a transforming view will it be, when Christ "shall come to be glorified in his saints, and to be admired in all them that believe!" His people shall with rapture hail his approach, and, gazing with admiring wonder on the glory of his person, shall be transformed into the same image, from glory to glory. They shall thus be fitted to dwell with him for ever in his heavenly kingdom, to

sit at his table, and enjoy his society. So shall they be "ever with the Lord, following the Lamb whithersoever he goeth."

IV. Thus resembling his Divine Master, in body and mind, is it surprising if, in the fourth place, the Christian shall be satisfied?" I shall be satisfied, when I awake, with thy likeness." In nothing will the contrast be greater between the blessedness of earth and heaven, than in the complete satisfaction which the believer shall experience in the latter. In this world there cannot be any perfect or enduring satisfaction. Exposed to foes without, and fears within, how can the Christian repose in peace? He may, and indeed ought to be resigned to the dispensations of God's providence; "yet no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous." He cannot feel at home in a state which is liable to continual change, and in which trouble is his frequent companion. He cannot feel satisfied with this world as his "abode," though he can bless God with a grateful heart for the many mercies which he has scattered along his path. Still less can he feel perfect satisfaction in this world with reference to his soul. Continually tempted to transgress, and often actually transgressing, the Divine commands, how can he be satisfied? It is not enough to feel assured that "the blood of Jesus Christ cleanseth from all sin," that "there is no condemnation to them that are in Christ Jesus." He is anxious to go and sin no more: he mourns to think of his weakness and his folly; he blames and feels dissatisfied with himself.

But it shall be otherwise in heaven. When the believer shall awake up after his Redeemer's likeness, he shall lose all sense of dissatisfaction and disquietude. In that blessed world the righteous shall endure no evil, whether of mind, body, or estate. They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any

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more; neither shall the sun light on them, nor any heat. For the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters, and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes. And there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain."

View the Christian in whatever light we may, he must needs "be satisfied when" he "awakes with the Divine likeness." Is he a "pilgrim and a stranger" here below? He shall then have terminated his wearisome journey, and have reached his home. And oh, what a glorious home! the palace of the great King! a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. "In my Father's house," says our Saviour, "are many mansions. If it were not so, I would have told you: I go to prepare a place for you."-Is he a "warrior?" He shall then have fought the fight, and kept the faith: he shall then have received his crown! The vigilance of the camp, and the perils of the field, shall all have passed away. -Is he a laborious" husbandman?" His toil shall have ended;-he shall have entered into his rest. "I heard a voice from heaven, saying unto me, Write, Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord: even so, saith the Spirit; for they rest from their labours, and their works do follow them."-Is he an "adopted child," waiting for his promised inheritance? He shall then have survived his non-age, and have received his portion-an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled, and that fadeth not away? Is he struggling against sin, full of apprehensions, and often cast down? He shall then have reached the region of peace and felicity, his home, the presence of his God. He needs no longer the exercise of a faith so weak and wavering, or the consolation of a hope so faint: faith shall have been lost in sight, and hope in fruition.-Is he, finally, a

"mourner?" The days of his mourning will have ended. He shall have entered into perfect bliss, and there have met his righteous kindred in the enjoyment of the same felicity. Every tear shall be wiped away, and no remembrance of his sorrows remain, except such as shall serve to enhance his present and eternal joys.

Surely, then, the Christian must be abundantly satisfied, when he shall awake from the sleep of death in the likeness of his God and Saviour! Nothing will then be wanting to complete either his anticipations or his wishes. He will find in the Divine presence, "fulness of joy ;" and at his right hand, "pleasures for evermore.'

I feel it, however, to be my duty to remind you, that these observations have an exclusive reference to the true and faithful disciples of Jesus Christ. To all others, the results of a resurrection from the dead will be more awfully distressing than language can describe. I will not even attempt to describe them, but content myself with reminding you that they will be the reverse of those which we have been contemplating. The contrast is frequently adverted to in the inspired volume, and ought to be familiar to our minds. 66 Many of them that sleep," says Daniel, "in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt." "These," observes our Saviour, "shall go away into everlasting punishment; but the righteous into life eternal." Ah! what dissatisfaction will be the portion of the ungodly! How will they reproach themselves and each other! What weeping, and wailing, and gnashing of teeth! They will see Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of God, and find themselves excluded for ever! Oh that men were wise, and understood these things, that they would consider their latter end!

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