body, but merely to observe such characteristics as are implied by the narrative. If we accustom ourselves to live with our risen Lord we shall not need to speculate upon what we cannot now understand, but we shall learn to avoid certain gross ideas which mar the enjoyment of the fruits of His resurrection and ascension. The changes which we find belonging to the Forty Days suggest expansions of energy which belong to His ascension, but probably they suggest as much as we can understand. We may well believe that the higher activity is altogether beyond our understanding, being outside of what we know as time and space. It is enough therefore for us to follow patiently as far as God may lead, and leave what is beyond, content to receive from the Divine glory such isolated statements of truth as God may give, without presuming to trace them out in their complete harmonies. Such isolated truths respecting forms of existence which are beyond the power of human reason to analyse, may be compared to points of curvature which may be determined by a mathematical equation, although the equation does not suffice to trace out the curvature in the plane through which the curve travels towards that point. The habit of meditating upon our Lord's risen Body will enable us to receive statements respecting His Body which would otherwise appear impossible. In fact probably many persons are opposed to certain truths, such as the truth of the real Presence in the holy Eucharist, because the statements are grotesque when they are made with reference to a Body existing under the conditions under which our bodies live upon the earth, and what is spoken in view of one set of conditions becomes a matter of cavil as being understood of conditions altogether different. The habit of dwelling upon our Lord's glorified state is assuredly of very great importance. Our fellowship with His glory will stimulate us with a holy joy if in any way we are permitted to suffer for His Name's sake. Thus the early martyrs triumphed. It is feared that in the present day we dwell disproportionately on the thoughts of our Lord's suffering, so that the contemplation of His glory is neglected. The joy of His Humanity and His personal human interest in us as His members are to be cherished by us as earnestly as the sense of the anguish with which He bore our sins upon the tree. We must remember that the joy is proportionate to the suffering and is an abundant reward. He did not die merely to satisfy an abstract theory of justice, but with the hope of the joy that was set before Him; and in the great day of His espousals at the marriage supper of the Lamb, He shall see of the travail of His soul and shall be satisfied. We must use the powers of the risen life in order to give to Him that satisfaction which He desires. The consciousness of living in the risen life to please our risen Lord, will be the true, the noblest, incentive to holiness that we can have. A knowledge of our Lord's risen life in itself will be the greatest help towards the use of His grace, that we ourselves may live as those who are risen from the dead to the glory of His holy Name. In the following Meditations it will often be found that there are variations in the quoting of Holy Scripture from the text of the Authorised Version. This, however, generally happens, and especially in the Old Testament, in order to bring out the meaning of a passage by the concordance, as the same word is often found in the original when different words are used in the English, and vice versa. Some expressions in the Colloquies have especial reference to those who are living under Religious Rule. They will not, any more than those which refer to the Priesthood, occasion any difficulty for other persons who may use the book. The reader's eye will readily pass over any sentence in which such a phrase occurs. The Meditations were primarily written for the purposes of a Religious Community, and there did not seem to be any necessity for their character in this respect to be destroyed. May our Ascended Lord draw all of us, as being |