day unknown to men that they may shake off all carnal security, and be always watchful, because they know not at what hour the Lord will come, and may be ever prepared to say, "Come, Lord Jesus, come quickly."*

It has been shown how important is the relation which the final judgment bears, in the, Christian system, to the finished and everlasting state of blessedness of the righteous, in heaven. When the awful transactions of that day are ended, the redeemed shall accompany their Lord and Saviour, into heaven, "Where they shall be fully and for ever freed from all sin and misery; filled with inconceivable joys, made perfectly holy and happy both in body and soul, in the company of innumerable saints and angels, but especially in the immediate vision and fruition of God the Father, of our Lord Jesus Christ, and of the Holy Spirit, to all eternity. And this is the perfect and full communion, which the members of the invisible church shall enjoy with Christ in glory, at the resurrection and day of judgment."+

What great things are these, which are foretold? And soon, very soon, these things which are now dimly discerned, by the eye of faith, will be realized; and every humble saint shall appear with Christ in glory, and enter into the full fruition of God, the Father.

* West. Conf. of Faith, xxxiii. 3. † Larg. Cat. Ques. 90.

THE society of heaven is one of the elements of its

blessedness. It is not unnatural, nor improper for us to inquire, WHO WILL BE THERE? Whom shall we meet there?

There is an order of beings intermediate between us and our Creator. They are angels; and, as they are numerous, they constitute no inconsiderable part of the society of the Blessed. Scripture seems clearly to imply that all angels were once holy, and had their probation; but part of them fell. This probation, the hopeless apostasy of those who had sinned, and the confirmation of the obedient in holiness, appear to have preceded the creation of man; for it was through the temptation of the prince of these fallen spirits that our first parents were led into sin,* They did not always exist; but, having been created, they will live for ever. They will share immortality with the race of man.

* John, viii. 44; Jude, 6; Rev. xii. 9; Gen. iii.

Our Lord, in speaking of the everlasting felicity of the righteous, likens them to the holy angels: "Neither can they die any more: for they are equal unto the angels; and are the children of God being the children of the resurrection."* Just as the

existence of the souls of men, and the immortality of the heavenly body depend on the will of the Creator, so does the existence of angels. They too are dependent on HIM who made them, for the perpetuity of their being. In HIM they must for ever live and move. We may not be able to settle the question whether they are pure or embodied spirits; but this we know, that if it shall be requisite to fellowship with them, on the part of men, who "obtain that world, and the resurrection of the dead," that they should possess corporeal vehicles, the Divine Being, if HE has not already done it, will furnish them with these forms.

We know that they are beings of great intelligence. They were created with faculties in perfect maturity, and superior to those of man, when in his best or unfallenstate. † Their original capacities have been expanding and strengthening in vigour and activity ever since. They have resided in a world where there is no night; where the perceptions of the mind are clear; where truth reigns without any admixture of error; where moral evil exerts no † Ps. viii. 5.

* Luke, xx. 36.

obscuring influence; where the plans of Providence are unfolded, and the Divine perfections are disclosed; where, in worship, in studies, or in ministries of love, their activity has known no cessation. For thousands of years they have surveyed the works of creation, in their vastness and variety. Still, they are beings of finite intelligence. Their knowledge is limited and progressive; it is not that which extends to the secrets of men's hearts, and is a prerogative alone of Deity; it must be infinitely short of the knowledge of the Divine Mind.

They are perfectly holy beings. They were created holy; and, from the first moment of their existence, they have been employed in admiring the holiness of God, and rendering obedience to His will. They cover their faces with their wings, and cry, Holy, HOLY, HOLY! They fly swift as the morning light, to execute His commands; and every emotion of their minds is in perfect harmony with His will. They are in the presence of Jehovah, and "see HIS face." They belong to the number of those who are

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pure in heart," and who "see God." They are confirmed in this state of holiness, for ever. They can never sin, even as they can never die. They shall never be excluded from the blissful presence. While they have always been holy, it does not appear that they have always been in this confirmed, everlasting state of holiness. As some of their

associates sinned and fell, we are left to infer that they, too, were once upon trial, and might have sinned; but they resisted the temptation of the Prince of Darkness, and as a reward of their steadfastness, are now placed beyond the reach of temptation, or the possibility of sinning. Sin can never invade or approach the purity of their souls. HE who made them, and to whom they have maintained a faithful allegiance, has purposed to keep them, for ever. They are His "elect angels," and have. been admitted to the beatific vision; to which we may not presume that they were admitted previous to the close of their probation.

*

The same heaven to which redeemed men are admitted is their everlasting home. They are our Father's children; and they are in our "Father's house." While they are they are not redeemed sinners, redemption, nevertheless, is to them a source of unfailing bliss. They look into it, with intense and earnest gaze; they learn the manifold wisdom of God, by the church; the wonderful scheme of salvation to men, through Christ, is presented to them, crowned with an ineffable glory. It is their interest in the work of redemption, which will constitute the unfailing bond of union and sympathy between them, and the spirits of just men, made perfect. Holy angels and redeemed saints, while it * Eph. iii. 10.