All that are in their graves shall hear his voice; they that have done good unto the resurrection of life. John v: 29.And so shall we ever be with the Lord. 1 Thess. IV: 17. BRIGHT Future! opening to the good man's eyes, The final Judge of all men is represented in the Scriptures as coming in the clouds of heaven, attended by angelic hosts. When seated on the throne of his glory, all nations shall be gathered before him. The bow seen in the cloud shows that the Almighty is a covenantkeeping God, and will surely fulfill all While from the skies the angel floating down, his promises. The righteous dead, bursting their tombs, will arise with joy at the summons of the last trumpet. Clad in celestial robes, they ascend on high; the ministering angel displays the crown of immortality, the sure inheritance of every believer. The existence of the righteous and the before. Our Savior, in the parable, represents the rich man as seeing Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom, and speaks of him as addressing his discourse to him. Paul says, "What is our hope or joy, or crown of rejoicing? Are not even ye in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ at his coming? for ye are our glory and joy." The change to be made in the bodies of the wicked, in a future state, has been, by |tion of our Lord, Peter, James, and John Divine Revelation, placed beyond all knew Moses and Elias, as appears from doubt. God hath promised eternal life Peter's making a particular mention of to the righteous. Heaven is to be con-them-"Let us make three tabernacles; sidered as a place as well as state, in one for thee, one for Moses, and one for accordance to what is stated in John Elias!"-though he had never seen them xiy 2: "In my Father's house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you." The existence of the body of Christ, and those of Enoch and Elijah, is a further proof of it. For if it be not a place, where can these bodies be? and where will the bodies of the saints exist after tho resurrection? Some suppose that this earth, after it is refined and purified, will be the dwelling-place of the righteous. "The new heavens and the new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness," is thought will correspond with the Garden of Eden, as it first came from the hands of the Creator. Heaven, wherever located, will be a place of inexpressible felicity. It is called "a paradise," a "building and mansion of God," "a city, a better country," "an inheritance, a kingdom, a It is described as a place, or state of rest, peace, "joy in the Lord, glory," etc. The felicity of heaven will consist in freedom from all evil, both of soul and body, in the enjoyment of God as the chief good, in company of angels and saints, and in perfect holiness. In this prospect, the Christian exclaims, crown." "O glorious hour! O blest abode ! A question is sometimes proposed, "Will the righteous know each other in heaven?" The arguments generally brought forward to sustain the fact that it will be so, are taken from the instances recorded in Scripture, in which persons who have never seen one another before, have immediately known each other in this world by a divine revelation. We read that at the transfigura righteous will consist chiefly in three things: 1. When this corruptible shall put on incorpain; "the redemption of our bodies," significs ruption, we shall not be subject to sickness or that we shall be perfectly free from all bodily evils which sin has brought into the world. 2. Our bodies shall be raised in glory, for it is in the kingdom of their Father." said, "Then shall the righteous shine as the sun A resemblance of this we have in the luster of Moses face, when he had conversed with God on the mount. When the martyr Stephen was before the council at Jerusalem, they "saw his face as it had been the face of an angel. When Peter and his companions saw our Lord's face on the Mount of Transfiguration, it shone like the sun, and his raiment became white as snow. Peter was transported with joy and admiration. The unspeakable joy that we shall then feel will shine forth in our countenances. 3. The bodies of the righteous "shall be raised in power." This expresses the sprightliness of our heavenly bodies, the nimbleness of their motion, by which they shall be obedient and able instruments of the soul. This earthly body is slow and heavy in all its motions, listless, and soon tired with action. But our heavenly bodies will be as active and nimble as our thoughts are. Our bodies being spiritual will serve our spirits, and minister to them; whereas now our spirits are forced to serve our bodies, and attend to their leisure, and do greatly depend upon them for our actions. When the righteous enter the refined from earthly grossness, and every power glorious future, their bodies will be purified and find sweet employ, while ceaseless ages roll! and cold water. A small but beautiful plat of ground lay directly in frort, which, by cultivation, afforded him abundance of food; a small flock, of which he was a kind shepherd, supplied him with clothing. In a far distant country, and at a remote period of time, there retired from the busy scenes of the world a young man, who spent the remainder of his days as a hermit. Having, in the morning of life, met with severe af fliction from the hands of his fellow- A life thus spent gave a calm, semen, he resolved to have no more fellow-rene, and heavenly repose, which would, ship with them, but to seek his happiness in the performance of religious duties. For this purpose he retired to a kind of cave in a mountainous part of the country, which, with a little labor, he converted into a comfortable habitation. A sparkling rill fell near the door of his cot from the rocky heights above, and gave him an ample supply of pure probably, have continued, but for the accidental visit of a traveler, who gave him an account of the state of the world, and, in particular, how wickedness prevailed, how vile men apparently prospered, and, also, how the cause of righteousness was trampled down in the earth, and how often good men suffered from the violence and perseca tion of the wicked. The hermit was astonished, and hardly knew what to think. Doubts sprung up in his mind whether a Divine Providence did really govern the world or not. He was disturbed; the even tenor of his soul was lost, and he felt unhappy. "So when a smooth expanse receives impressed Calm nature's image on its watery breast, Down bend the banks, the trees impending grow, And skies beneath with answering colors glow. To clear his doubts on this perplexing subject, the hermit resolved to travel and see for himself if the world was so badly governed as had been represented. He, accordingly, commenced his journey with the rising sun, and passed through long and lonesome wilds before he approached the habitations of men. As the sun ap. proached midway of the heavens, "A youth came posting o'er a crossing way, His raiment decent, his complexion fair, And soft, in gracefu! ringlets, fell his hair; Then, near approaching, Father, hail! he cried; And hail, my son! the reverend sire replied; Words followed words, from question answer flowed, And talk of various kinds deceived the road; The two travelers were so much pleased with each other that they determined to continue their journey together. The youth appeared to possess knowledge far beyond his years. The hermit, being very desirous to know the reason or cause of every thing he saw about him, continually kept asking questions His companion finally told him, if he would keep silent on this particular subject, he would explain all things to his satisfaction when they arrived at the end of their journey. The hermit and his companion passed pleasantly along till the closing hour of day, and when the busy world was sinking into repose they drew near a stately palace. By the light of the moon they traversed the pathway adorned with shrubbery and flowers; around. The master of the mansion tall and graceful trees stood in ranks made his house the wandering stranger's home yet his kindness arose, in some degree at least, from a thirst of human applause. When the pair arrived at the gate they found attentive servants, with their lord in attendance, waiting to receive them. They were conducted to a table loaded with rich and costly food, and pressed to partake of the various delicacies. When the hour of rest arrived, they were conducted to the elegant eastern chambers of the mansion, where they sunk to repose on beds of down, beneath a silken canopy. In the morning, before their departure, a rich banquet was provided for them; and, among other things, the master of the house brought rich, luscious wine in a golden goblet, of which he pressed his guests to partake. When they left the hospitable mansion, the younger guest secretly took the golden cup and hid it in the folds of his vesture. After they had proceded some distance on their journey, the youth drew from the place of its concealment the golden goblet which had been so conspicuously displayed at the hos pitable mansion-house. The hermit was confounded at the conduct of his com panion. The travelers passed on till near the close of day, when the sun became shrouded with black clouds, and the deep thunder rolled in the distance. It came nearer; the wind roared, the rain descended, the forked lightning unimproved. The owners of this habitation were, in temper, timorous and severe. They were considered unkind and griping, and every thing about their premises appeared desert-like and forbidding. Driven by the wind, and drenched by the rain, they arrived at the miser's door and knocked for admittance. For a long time it was in vain. At length some pity seemed to move the miser's breast. It was the first time that his house had ever received a guest. Slowly he turned the creaking door with jealous care, and he half welcomes the suffering pair. With a few fagot sticks he lights the naked walls by which the travelers are able only to partially dry their clothing. A small quantity of the coarsest bread, and wine of the poorest quality, was And much he wished, but durst not ask to part; Murmuring, he lifts his eyes, and thinks it hard, That generous actions meet a base reward."] set before them; each, hardly granted, served them both for a meal. As soon as the tempest had ceased, and sufficient light had appeared, so that they could discern their pathway, they received an intimation to depart in peace. As they parted from their miserly host, the youth drew from his vest and presented him with the golden cup he had taken from the generous landlord who had entertained them in so princely a manner. The miser received the glittering gift with startled eyes, and was so overwhelmed at the princely reward for his stinted kindness, that he sunk to the earth in surprise, and before he could sufficiently recover himself to thank his generous guests, they had traveled out of his sight and hearing. The dark clouds were soon scattered, |