It is a house of hope.-"If a man die, shall he live again?" Assuredly he will; for the testimony of Scripture, and the empty grave of Christ, render it certain. "My flesh also shall rest in hope." Jesus himself slept ; but on the morning of the third day he awoke, and burst the barriers of the grave, and became the first-fruits of the dead. As the first-fruits were the sure earnest of a harvest to follow, what a harvest will that be when the earth shall move, and yield up the dust of a thousand generations! Let me trust to the Death of deaths, and I shall be more than a conqueror. MARCH 14. The Soul after Death. "The spirit shall return unto God who gave it."-Eccles. xii. 7. The soul separated from the body.-It is a "spirit." God breathed into man's nostrils the breath of life, and he became a living soul. The body is only the casket, the soul is the jewel; the body is only the tabernacle, the soul is the living being that inhabits it. The soul possesses vast powers, which are always expanding, and which elevate man far above all other earthly beings. The soul, swift as the lightning's blaze, can hold intercourse with heaven or the remotest regions of the globe. soul, and shall I not care for it? The best mathematician, or the not calculate its worth; hence, the price paid for its redemption is an infinite price. "We are redeemed with the precious blood of Christ." For the salvation or loss of the soul every one is responsible. Salvation is secured by faith in Christ; and as we know not how soon our souls may be required of us, our only safety is to believe Shall my immortal spirit stand in jeopardy, while now. Has God given me a The soul is invaluable. highest archangel, could THE SOUL AFTER DEATH. 121 Jesus is pleading with me; and shall I not take hold of him and eternal life? O my soul, shall thy immortality be evident from Scripture facts and Scripture arguments, and wilt thou not make it a blessed immortality by flying to the arms of Jesus' love? "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved.” What The soul's destiny." It returns to God." God was its Creator, and he is to be its Judge. He shall fix its destiny till that destiny be finally fixed at the judgment. is called a middle state is a fiction of man, and has no foundation in the word of God. Lazarus "died, and was carried by the angels unto Abraham's bosom." The expiring thief had this assurance, "To-day shalt thou be with me in paradise." And the proto-martyr Stephen prayed, "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit." Hence, when the righteous die, their souls are admitted to glory; they receive the applauding welcome of Christ, "Well done, good and faithful servant ; enter thou the joy of thy Lord;" and they join the general assembly of the first-born, and serve God day and night in his holy temple. What a country! what a kingdom! what a house! what an inheritance! "Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man the things which God hath prepared for them that love him." But when the wicked die, their souls return to God to be condemned. What a sentence ! "Cast ye the unprofitable servant into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth." Thus was it with the rich man in the parable: he no sooner died than "in hell he lifted up his eyes, being in torments." What torments! burning thirst, burning woe, and burning rage! What torments from awakened conscience, blaspheming companions, exulting fiends! He wept, he writhed, he prayed; but prayed unanswered for a drop of water to cool his tongue ! 122 THE RESURRECTION OF THE BODY. MARCH 15. The Resurrection of the Body. "Why should it be thought a thing incredible with you, that God should raise the dead?"—Acts, xxvi. 8. THINK of the reality of a resurrection-the nature of it— and the use of it. The reality of a resurrection. This appears from the resurrection of Christ. He rose as the representative of others; he is the first-fruits, and the glorious harvest must follow. "If Christ rose from the dead, how say some among you that there is no resurrection of the dead?" It appears from the testimony of Scripture. Job says, “In my flesh shall I see God." Isaiah says, "The earth shall cast out the dead." Daniel says, "Them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake." And Christ says, "All that are in their graves shall come forth." If, in addition to these testimonies, we remember that the just decisions of the last judgment will require a previous resurrection, surely we must believe "that there shall be a resurrection of the dead, both of the just and unjust." The nature of the resurrection.-It shall be general. All ages, all ranks, all characters shall rise. Every one that breathed, and ceased to breathe, shall breathe again. The unjust as well as the just shall come forth. And oh, what a change shall some experience! He who journeyed through life with sightless orbs, it might be from his birth, shall then have piercing eyes to gaze on everlasting glory, or to witness the miseries of everlasting woe. He whose palsied and enfeebled frame was long a burden to himself, shall be endowed with energy and activity. He whose tongue was never loosed to speak the language of man, shall have it fitted to sing the lofty songs of heaven, or to curse the hour he breathed the breath of life; and he, through whose THE RESURRECTION OF THE BODY. 123 ears sound never vibrated, shall hear the last trumpet summoning him to judgment. The same body, too, shall rise, and the difficulties of men will be nothing to Him who has all power in heaven and on earth. The resurrection of the righteous and the wicked will be simultaneous, while the separation will afterwards be made. O my soul, see that thou art raised from the grave of sin to the life of holiness, otherwise thou shalt not welcome the second resurrection! The use of the resurrection.-It shall illustrate the divine perfections, and display the glory of Christ. How fitting that he who rose the first-fruits from the dead should quicken our vile bodies! It should make us think less of our frail bodies, and not pamper and adorn them to the neglect of the soul. It should comfort us when we lose dear friends, for at the resurrection we shall meet them in happier and better circumstances. It should gladden our hearts, by giving us the prospect of having all the ravages of death more than repaired. "It is sown in corruption; it is raised in incorruption: it is sown in dishonour; it is raised in glory." MARCH 16. The Last Judgment. "Because he hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained."-Acts, xvii. 31. THERE will be a judgment-Christ will be Judge-all the world will be judged-and the judgment will be righteous. There will be a judgment.-Reason teaches that there will be a future reckoning, to give every one according to his deeds, and to vindicate the justice of God in his government of the world. Conscience teaches man that 124 THE LAST JUDGMENT. he is accountable; hence Belshazzar saw his doom in the handwriting on the wall, and Felix trembled at the thought of his. The testimony of Scripture settles the point. "We shall all stand before the judgment-seat of Christ." Alas! how many live as if there were no day of reckoning! It is only delayed, but come it will. Christ will be the Judge.-He is "that man whom God hath ordained." "The Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son." The Judge shall be visible. These heavens shall disclose him in solemn grandeur, attended by his angels, and every eye shall see him. He shall come "in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory;" all things will be naked and open to his eyes; his judgment shall be just, and his omnipotence will carry his decisions into effect. All the world will be judged.-"Every one shall give account of himself unto God." When he comes, the wicked living on the earth shall be numerous, and he shall judge them. All nations during all ages shall be gathered before him from the four winds of heaven. The sea and the earth will give up their dead for judgment. The small and the great will be there. The whole race from Adam to the last of his sons will be there. The reader and the writer will be there. What an august assemblage! What a vast convocation! How solemn the decisions! How tremendous the results! O my soul, claim him now for thy Saviour who is to be thy Judge! The judgment will be righteous.-Though the Judge has an infallible knowledge, his proceedings will be accurate and satisfactory to all. Hence the books will be opened. The book of remembrance, the book of conscience, the book of the law, and the book of life, will disclose to all the revelation of Christ's righteous judgment. No flaw will be undetected-no humble believer will be overlooked-no self-righteous hypocrite will escape |