He shall come, He shall come! the Bridegroom, To claim His waiting Bride;

And the peal of His mighty trumpet

Shall herald Him far and wide.

No eye that shall not see Him

In that sudden lightning-glare;
No ear that shall not hear Him
In that awful trumpet-blare.

He will come with thousand thousands,
And ten thousands in His train;
All His hosts of glorious angels,
And the souls He died to gain.
Himself a crownèd Victor

From Heaven's eternal throne;
And myriad saints, victorious
With victory all His own.

He shall come in glorious beauty,
Unveiled to human eyes;

And many a fainting heart shall spring
In sudden sweet surprise.

One glance through the dazzling air,
One glimpse of the Master's face,
Then into His own fair image changed,
Caught up to the Heavenly place.

He will come in robes of judgment
To those who spurn His love,
And in thunder-clouds of holy wrath
Break on them from above.

Then Heaven and earth shall tremble
To see them swept aside,
As thistle-down before the storm
Upon the mountain-side.

He cometh! the Bridegroom cometh!
Behold, the Day draws nigh,
When Christ shall appear in glory,
And be seen by every eye.

He comes in the clouds of Heaven :
O children of the King,

Have ye learnt to watch, and wait, and long
For the glory He shall bring?

A-G-.

References.- Job xix. 25-27. 2 Isa. xxv. 8. 4 John v. 25. 5 Dan. xii. 2. 6 Rey. xx. 4, 5, 6. 8 Phil. iii. II. 9 1 Cor. xv. 35. 10 1 John iii. 2. 12 Phil. iii. 20, 21. 13 1 Thess. iv. 14-17. 14 1

7

3 Isa. xxvi. 19. 1 Thess. iv. 16. III Cor. xv. 49. Cor. xv. 51-53.

F all the thousand and one interests, ever claiming our attention, and absorbing our minds, few touch us more closely than the oft-discussed question of "the state of the blessed dead,"- that is, the present condition of those who have left this world for the present home of God's saints in Heaven. And how natural that it should be so! Which of us has not at least one, whether parent or brother, child or friend, whom we fervently hope to be there? Which of us does not earnestly wish that when death shall overtake us, we may be permitted to join that happy company?

The "present home" is an expression used

advisedly; since careful study of the Bible gives us good reason to suppose that the present abode of the spirits of the just will not be their permanent abode after the Resurrection.

There is a difference between the "Heaven " of the present, and the "Heaven" of the future. This question has been already in some degree discussed. While examining what God's Word tells us about "Heaven" it is well to bear the distinction in mind, even though many general descriptions may apply to either the one or the other, and probably do really apply to both.

Leaving such passages for later consideration, we will gather together a few which more distinctly and exclusively point to the present state of those who have died in Christ, and see what we can learn on the subject.

It has, I hope, been already made clear, that so far as we are able to speak decisively on such a subject, Paradise is part of Hades. Paradise contains those only who are saved. "Hades " of the New Testament and "Sheol " of the Old, contains both those who are saved, and those who are lost. With regard to the future of

"Hades" we read,—“And death and Hades delivered up the dead which were in them. And death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire."I Whether "Hades" is here spoken of as including Paradise we cannot say certainly. A remarkable expression is however used by St. Paul, writing on the subject of the Resurrection: 66 The dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. . . . O death, where is thy sting? O Hades, where is thy victory ?" The conclusion suggested by these two passages certainly seems to be that Hades, including Paradise, is a place for temporary use only, by-andby to be discarded and destroyed.

An idea was at one time held firmly by many minds that Hades, including the Paradise-home of the saved, and the prison-house of the lost, occupied the centre of the globe. It cannot be denied that certain texts, taken alone, might seem to favour such a notion. As for instance :

"Wherefore He saith, when He ascended up on high, He led captivity captive, and gave gifts