glorified Head. to see how all his words agree; both those which were spoken when He was in this vale of tears, bearing about our human nature with all its infirmities, and those which He spoke from his kingdom of glory above. It is beautiful also "He that overcometh shall not be hurt of the second death," said the glorified Jesus. "If a man keep my saying, he shall never see death,” i.e., eternal death, said the Son of man. "If, therefore, thou shalt not watch, I will come on thee as a thief, and thou shalt not know what hour I come upon thee." (Rev. iii. 3.) "Watch, therefore, for you know not what hour your Lord will come. (Matt. xxiv. 42.) "He that overcometh, &c., I will confess his name before my Father and before his angels." (Rev. iii. 5.) "Whosoever shall confess me before men, him will I also confess before my Father which is in heaven." (Matt. x. 32.) "Because thou hast kept the word of my patience," &c. (Rev. iii. 10.) "I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not." (Luke xxii. 32.) "As many as I love I rebuke and chasten." (Rev. iii. 19.) "Every branch in me that beareth not fruit, He purgeth it." (John xv. 2.) See also Rev. iii. 20, and John xiv. 23; Rev. iii. 21, and Matt. xix. 28. Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, to-day, and for ever, is our Saviour, our all in all, our hope in this world and in the world to come; whom, having not seen, we love; in whom, though now we see Him not, yet, believing, we rejoice with joy unspeakable, and full of glory. "For ever with the Lord!' Amen! So let it be! Life from the dead is in that word "Tis immortality! Yet nightly pitch my moving tent cr "Ah! then my spirit faints To reach the land I love, "Yet clouds will intervene, And all my prospect flies, Like Noah's dove, flit between Rough seas and stormy skies. "Anon the clouds depart, The wind and waters cease, While sweetly o'er my gladdened heart Expands the bow of peace." [12TH SUNDAY. "Be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life."-REV. ii. 10. OUR gracious Saviour perhaps intended this as an especial promise to the primitive martyrs, as if He had said, "Be thou faithful unto the death," that is, even unto suffering a violent death for my sake, and I will give thee a glorious reward, even a crown of everlasting life, in exchange for the sacrifice of a few years of earthly existence. But though not called upon to suffer martyrdom, we may take the promise to ourselves of a glorious reward, given us immediately after death-a reward of grace from Him who died for us. Be thou faithful unto the hour of death, and then I, your Saviour, will give you a crown of life. This, and many other passages, imply the immediate happiness of the souls of the redeemed at death. Still, how often is it necessary to remind the true believer that it is not the will of his Saviour that he should find rest on earth. Here is the scene of conflict and trial; now is the time for probation, and discipline, and training for eternity. Yet we need the lesson over and over again that this is not our rest. We try, and try again, to rest in the creature, and in the many gifts which the Lord has given us, to be our solace on the way to heaven. Again and again we forget that this is not, and that heaven is, our home. Our faith is tried, our courage fails, despair creeps over us, but our Saviour graciously comes with the warning— "Be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life. Look not for perfect happiness here; in the world you shall have tribulation. But be of good cheer; I have overcome the world, and this is the victory by which you shall overcome too, even your faith. Look forward to that glorious time |