EVANGELICAL MAGAZINE, AND MISSIONARY CHRONICLE. FOR MAY, 1847. QUESTIONS ABOUT HEAVEN. turned my feet into the path of peace, Ir has been asked, Are there degrees in glory? We are persuaded there are. All analogy countenances the conclusion. We see diversities and inequalities pervading all the works of God. We know there are gradations among angels; for we read of thrones and dominions, principalities and powers. And though all Christians are redeemed by the same blood, and justified by the same righteousness, we know that there are degrees in grace. We know the good ground brought forth in some places thirty, in some sixty, in some a hundred fold.teousness, shall receive them into everAnd the apostle tells us, Every man shall receive his own reward according to his own labour." But here we approve of the old illustration-however unequal in size these vessels may be, when plunged into this ocean, they shall all be equally filled. It has been asked, Shall we know each other in heaven? Suppose you should not; you may be assured of this, that nothing will be wanting to your happiness. But, oh! you say, how would the thought affect me now! There is the babe that was torn from my bosom! how lovely then, but a cherub now! There is the friend who was as mine own soul, with whom I took sweet counsel, and went to the house of God in company. There is the minister, whose preaching VOL. XXV. lasting habitations? Does not Paul tell the Thessalonians that they are his hope, and joy, and crown, at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ? Some would ask, Where is heaven? The universe is immense, but what particular part of it is assigned for the abode of the blessed we cannot determine. It will probably be our present system renovated. May we not infer this from the words of the Apostle Peter-" Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens, being on fire, shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat. Nevertheless, we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness?" But is it a place? Our Lord has a S body like our own, and this cannot be omnipresent; and wherever he is corporeally there is heaven-" Where I am, there shall also my servants be." Enoch and Elias have bodies; all the saints will have bodies; and these cannot be everywhere. We read of "the hope laid up for us in heaven"—of "entering into the holy place;" and "I go," says Jesus to his disciples, "to prepare a place for you." But though it is really a place, we must chiefly consider it as a state. Even now, happiness does not essentially depend on what is without us. What was Eden to Adam and Eve, after sin had filled them with shame, and sorrow, and fear? But Paul in prison was infinitely happier than Cæsar on the throne of the nations. What, then, are we allowed to reckon upon as the grand component parts of this exalted state? You may reckon upon This is a that "Messiah cometh, who is called Christ; and that when he is come, he will tell us all things!" You may reckon upon Perfect purity.-This announcement has little attraction for those of you who never saw the beauty of holiness, and never abhorred yourselves repenting, in dust and ashes. But, oh! to a Christian it is worth dying for, to leave behind him the body of this death; this law in the members warring against the law of his mind; this inability to do the things that he would; this presence of evil ever with him; this liableness, this proneness to sin, even in his holy things-tarnishing every duty, wounding his own peace, and vexing and grieving the Spirit of his best Friend. To be freed from the enemy, and to have nothing in me that temptation can operate upon! To be incapable of ingratitude, and unbelief, and distractions in duty! To be innocent as the first Adam, and holy as the second !— What wonder the Christian exclaims, with Henry, "If this be heaven, oh, that I were there!" You may reckon upon The most delightful associations.-We are formed for society. Much of our present happiness results from attachment and intercourse. Who knows not "the comforts of love?" Yea, and who knows not its sorrows also? We must weep when the objects of our affection weep. The arrows that pierce our friends wound us also. We tolerate, we excuse, their imperfections; but we feel them. And the thought of absence-separation Pre-eminent knowledge. world of action rather than of science; and the wiser men are, the more readily will they confess that their present knowledge is unspeakably less than their ignorance. In whatever direction they attempt to penetrate, they are checked and baffled. Laboriousness attends every acquirement, and doubts and uncertainties diminish the value of every possession. The difference between the knowledge of Newton and the most illiterate peasant, will be far exceeded by the difference between the knowledge of the Christian on earth and in heaven. "The light of the moon shall be as the light of the sun, and-death-is dreariness, pain, and anguish. the light of the sun sevenfold as the light of seven days, when the Lord bindeth up the breach of his people, and healeth the stroke of their wound." Now they understand as children, then they will know as men. Now they see through a glass darkly; but then face to face. Now they know in part; then they will know even as they are known. How delightful the thought-amidst my present perplexities and obscurities, and under a sense of the penury of my talents, and in the want of means and opportunities of improvement, Hence, some have been ready to envy the unrelated, unconnected individual, whose anxieties and griefs are all personal. But it is not good for man to be alone in any condition. It is better to follow the course of Providence; to cherish the intimacies of life; to improve and to sanctify them; and under the disadvantages which now mingle with them, to look forward to a state where the honey will be without the sting, and the rose without the thorn; and attachment and intercourse without the deduc power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing." You may reckon upon The most glorious employment. — I should as soon think that heaven was a nursery of vice, as a state of inaction. Indolence is no more irreconcilable to virtue, than perfectly incompatible with happiness; "A want of occupation is not rest: tions arising from pain, and infirmities, is the Lamb that was slain, to receive and pity, and fear. In the Revelation, heaven is always presented as a social state. You have now few holy companions; the many are going another way. But, says John, I beheld, and, lo! a great multitude which no man can number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands; and cried with a loud voice, saying, Salvation to our God, which sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb."-And you will have access to them all. You will there have the most endeared society; for it will include those to whom you were so tenderly related by nature, or pious friendship, and at parting with whom you sorrowed most of all that you should see their face and hear their voice no more; and also those you left behind you with reluctance and anxiety, in a world of sin and trouble. With these your fellowship, after a brief separation, will be renewed, improved, and perfected for ever. The society will also be the most dignified; and without its present embarrassments. There are now personages so superior, that you seem reduced to nothing at the thought of them. You esteem and admire them; and wish to hear, and see, and mingle with them; yet you shrink from the presence of such genius, wisdom, and goodness. But you will feel nothing of this, when you sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, and Moses, and with prophets, and apostles, and martyrs, and reformers, in the kingdom of God. Nor will saints only be your companions, but those glorious beings who never sinned, who excel in strength, who are proverbial for their wisdom, who are your models in doing the will of God on earth, who are your ministering spirits, invisibly watching over you in your minority-the innumerable company of angels. And though they will not be able to say, He hath redeemed us unto God by his blood, they will cry with a loud voice, though you will endeavour to be louder, "Worthy A mind quite vacant is a mind distress'd." All the powers conferred by a wise Creator necessarily imply their application and use and the more life any being possesses, the more energy and activeness will distinguish him, unless he is in a state of perversion or restraint. But what are the employments of heaven? Dr. Watts has speculated much on this subject. Some of his conjectures are probable, and all pleasing; but we dare not follow him. Of this we are sure, that there will be none of those mean and degrading toils which arise now from the necessities of our nature, or from luxury and pride. Neither will there be any of those religious exercises which pertain to a state of imperfection. Repentance will be hid from our eyes. There will be no more warfare and watchings. Neither will there be any more prayers, with strong cryings and tears. Yet it is said, "They serve him day and night in his temple." And their powers will be equal to the work; for neither the fervency nor the duration of the service will produce exhaustion or languor. The common notion of always standing up and singing is too childish to be entertained. We have no doubt but that there may be stated assemblies for adoration and praise But Christians are said to be still prais ing him now; and they do this, not by acts of worship only, but by performing his will, by filling up their stations in life properly, and promoting the welfare of all around them: and his work, even here, is honourable and glorious. On the presence and sight of the Saviour, in whom dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily, you may reckon; and you will reckon-and reckon supremely if you are a Christian. "Ah!" says Paul, "I long to depart, and to be with Christ, which is far better."-" We | are confident, I say, and willing, rather to be absent from the body, and present with the Lord." What would everything be in his absence? Could the place, the company, the harps, be a substitute for him? But here is the consummationyou shall serve him, and see his face." You need not envy those who knew him after the flesh; you will have access to him; you will see the King, and see him in his beauty. He is now with you. He knows your soul in adversity: and comes to you as a friend, and helper, and comforter. But you are now in prison. His visits, when he looks upon you through the bars, and brings you supplies, and communes with you in the cell, are relieving. They solace the confinement; you wish them multiplied; you expect them with joy. But the best of all these visits will be the last, when he will come, not only to you, but for you: when he will open the doors of the dungeon, and knock off the fetters, and take you home to his palace. Then you will be with him; you will "walk with" him "in white;" you will "eat and drink at his table in his kingdom;" you will be "for ever with the Lord." It is hardly necessary to say, that you may reckon upon The most exquisite enjoyment.-This will spring abundantly from all the foregoing sources, and especially the last. It will far transcend every feeling we have had of delight and ecstacy here. The state itself is expressed by it. "Enter thou into the joy of thy Lord." Jude says, we shall be "presented before the presence of his glory, with exceeding joy;" and says David, "In thy presence is fulness of joy, and at thy right hand are pleasures for evermore." may reckon upon For you The perpetuity of all this.-"Permanency," says the poet, "adds bliss to bliss." But here it is absolutely indispensable even to the happiness itself; for, the greater the blessedness, the more miserable we should feel if it were in danger. Who, in the possession of such a prize, could exist under the thought of losing it? How careful, therefore, are the sacred writers never to leave out this essential attribute, in any of their descriptions! If it be life, it is "eternal" life. If it be salvation, it is "everlasting" salvation. If it be a kingdom, it is a kingdom that "cannot be shaken." If it be a crown, it is "a crown of glory that fadeth not away." To which we may add, that you may reckon, not only on the eternity, but the increase. Who could think of being doomed to remain stationary? How irksome would any condition be in which there could be no possibility of advance and improvement ! But your faculties will not be confined to a circle of sameness they will be free; they will break forth on every side. How much more do the angels know now than once! and yet still they desire to look into the Saviour's sufferings and glory. How often will there be new songs in heaven, or fresh exclamations of admiration and praise, from fresh discoveries and displays of the perfections of God, in his works and ways! Every finite being is capable of accession; and in knowing and doing, and attaining and enjoying, there will be an infinite progression before us. If, with this account of heaven, you are dissatisfied, be assured, the lecturer is still more so. Who, upon such a subject, can speak worthily? Heaven is a place where all joy is enjoyed-mirth without sadness, light without darkness, sweetness without bitterness, life without death, rest without labour, plenty without poverty. O what joy entereth into a believer, when he enters into the glory of his Master! Who would not look for glory with the greatest patience? O what glories there are in glory! Thrones of glory, crowns of glory, vessels of glory; a weight of glory, a kingdom of glory.-Dyer. PICTURES FROM LIFE. No. III. OUR FAST DAY IN 1847.-NATIONAL TRIALS. "They said, that hunger pinch'd them sore; It needed but to view Their hollow, pale, and faded cheeks, To know their words were true. They said, that oft, from day to day, No roof to cover them from rain, And wind, and snow, and sleet. And then they said, 'twas nothing strange Ir is an obvious remark, that there are certain periods when, in the arrangements of Divine Providence, we are called, most loudly and impressively, to observe three things:-to indulge in special consideration-special humiliation— special prayer. Special consideration is imperatively required. It is not merely expedient, desirable, proper, but indispensable. It cannot be disregarded and contemned, without great, and, perhaps, irreparable injury being the result. We are called, by the voice of a warning Providence, to contemplate the characters we sustain, the professions we have made, the principles by which we are governed, the sins to which we are prone, the obligations imposed on us, and the manner in which those obligations have been discharged. There are certain seasons, also, when, by an awakening Providence, which is always exercised in mercy, we are called to indulge in special humiliation before God; to prostrate our spirits in the Divine presence, in consequence of the judgments of heaven inflicted on a guilty land; and in consequence of our coldness, infidelity, rebellion, and frequent departure from God, after all the expressions of his goodness, and all the tokens of his paternal care, and forbearing mercy. There are certain periods, moreover, when we are called to indulge in the presentation of special prayer-fervid, wrestling, agonizing, united prayer-that past calamities may be sanctified, that present trials may be mitigated, and that impending judgments on a nation may be either diminished, or entirely removed. The present, unquestionably, is one of those periods-a period in our national history, which cannot be too seriously regarded, which cannot be too carefully, too earnestly, too devoutly improved. And how delightful it is to dwell on the noble, the admirable spirit of the Christian religion, under individual, social, or national calamities! It expresses everything that is kind. It involves everything that is generous. It comprehends everything that is magnanimous and disinterested. How different from the spirit of the world! How opposite to the cold, selfish, calculating, temper of the human heart! "Do good unto all men, but especially unto them who are of the household of faith." "Bear ye one another's burdens." "By love serve one another." "Weep with them that weep." "If thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink." "And whether one member suffer, all the members suffer with it." This is the period, in the judgment of many, wisely and most properly appointed, by the highest authority in the realm, for general humiliation before God, in consequence of the dearth prevailing, and, especially, in consequence of the miseries which multitudes are now |