THE LIFE OF PRAISE.

419

ing theme the thought, the feeling that underlies all others

the fountain from whence issues all other streams.

Ever, as the blessed consciousness of present position fills their minds, they must be compelled to say, —

""Twas the same love that spread the feast,

That sweetly forced me in,

Else I had still refused to taste,

And perished in my sin; ".

and the reflection must spend itself in a louder note of praise -a better offering at the feet of the Lamb who bore their sin, and carried their sorrow; who bought and sprinkled them with his own blood. The heavenly courts will resound with anthems of praise from these blood-bought ones forever. It will be a delightful occupation the free outpouring of the whole being to Him who has washed, redeemed, and safely gathered them into so goodly a heritage. There will be perfect union between Christ and his people perfect sympathy, so that it will be counted the highest honor and joy to coöperate with him in every plan. "Eternity will be too short," said an eminent and youthful Christian, who was almost overwhelmed with a sense of the all-sufficiency of God's free grace,"to speak the praises of God."

"I cannot praise Jesus half enough," said a little heathen girl in her simplicity, "my tongue is too short; " but all tongues will be loosed in heaven, and there will be full liberty as well as power to shout the praises of the Redeemer. If these moments are so sweet upon earth, when the spirit of heavenly worship is caught, and the soul is borne exultingly aloft, what must it be to stand where praise is the natural and unceasing flow, the spontaneous and abiding condition? New and countless influences will continually inspire it. "There rise, without distraction or division, the united devotions of myriads of pure and fervent hearts. There mingle the grateful songs of an almost infinite number of ransomed spirits, all infinitely blest. They worship without distinction, and are happy without end."

420

CULTIVATION OF THE VIRTUES.

Surely this is a delightful feature of heavenly employment. Praise is highly significant of pleasure and approbation in its application to our friends here, or to any condition or circumstance. It implies appreciation, a satisfaction with persons and things; but we know that its highest exercise here is not at all commensurate with that which is known and felt by those around the throne in the blissful sphere of the saints. It is grateful incense there, and it is never perfectly pure until it is chanted by the redeemed.

All heavenly employments, of whatever character, infinitely transcend in interest and benefit any that are known in these sublunary regions. They may, and doubtless will, have these elements of which we have spoken, but, in proportion so magnificently glorious that the realization will scarce bear any relation to the puny ideas, yet joyous ones, entertained upon earth. We know that mind and character will be eternally progressing in knowledge and holiness, and in exact ratio with the expansion will be the means for further development; that the virtues and graces which so adorn men will be cultivated, and brought to beautiful perfection, yielding blossoms of rarest loveliness, that will fill the blest abode with sweetest fragrance.

Thus the cultivation of moral and spiritual excellence is evidently one of the heavenly employments. In its own congenial soil, in the presence of Him who was its living embodi ment, the saints will reproduce that which will bear some divine resemblance to the original. Every step of advancement will be a triumph that will be celebrated with song, and the exhibition of victorious palms. There will be no lack of employment, no failure in it, however stupendous the enterprise that claims engagement; for He who gives the commission also gives adequate skill and the requisite power for perfect execution.

There are spirits in this world with holy and benevolent inclination, that prompts them to the bestowment of good continually in some form or other, their highest joy being

ENDEAVOR CROWNED WITH SUCCESS.

421

the dissemination of truth, but who, nevertheless, by reason of circumstances, prejudice, or some other obstacles, are able to accomplish but little, at least in comparison with desire. How attractive to such must be the enterprises of the heavenly world, that are never attended with any loss! The pledge is, "It shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it."

Believer in Jesus, "know thy full salvation;" think of what awaits thee when thou shalt be eternally employed in the pure service of thy most gracious Lord; think what it will be when a desire swells thy bosom to do something for thy Redeemer, to be able to haste to its performance with not a hinderance from within or without, and with the full assurance of success. Returning with the offering to lay at his feet, the sensations of delight that then thrill thy being will whisper unutterable things of the blessedness of the life thou art living, and that is yet to be lived. There will be no temptation, no sinful suggestion attending it, but only the pure oblation from a pure heart; and this is a precious thought, indeed, for the best service here is not unmixed with sin and selfish

ness.

Of course, such a condition must be one of unmingled happiness. It cannot be otherwise. There is the presence of everything that tends to promote it, and the absence of all things that in any way tend to mar it.

O, how much the Christian has to hope for, how much to anticipate!

"To be ever advancing nearer and nearer to the nature of our Great Master, though we can never reach it, — to gaze ever closer and closer on those glorious and lovely qualities of which we can never understand the full perfection, - to advance ever farther and farther into the inexhaustible treasury of the knowledge of God's mighty works seems one of the sublimest and most interesting and most encouraging, and at the same time one of the most rational expectations that a zealous Christian can form respecting the blissful state pre

422

HEAVEN A GLAD SURPRISE.

pared for him." And how much is implied in this preparation!

A young man, in affluent circumstances, was in possession of the hand and heart of a lady whose only fortune was the graces of an affectionate spirit, and these she had cheerfully tendered to his keeping, at least so far as they were capable of being imparted. He was satisfied with the committal, and only wished they might minister to his enjoyment by being constantly before him; therefore he began a preparation of the home to which he had invited her. There was something more than convenience studied in those arrangements. There was allowance made for taste and pleasure, as objects here and there testified, and the effect of all was heightened according to the imagined appreciation of the fair one for whom it was designed. The value of all was estimated by the same standard; and when the time for final introduction came, the countenance of one was indicative of eminent satisfaction, and the other of grateful surprise at such lavish provision for happiness. Mutual love was the charm that added the zest; and as I viewed it, I thought, here is shadowed forth the principle upon which God acts in the preparation of a home for his loving ones. He is arranging it for thee now, O Christian, and the furnishing of it will be according to the richness of his own nature and the unexampled wealth at his disposal; and in the day when he shall call thee to minister unto him, in his immediate presence, a glad surprise will doubtless await thee, because of the loving care that is manifest in the ample provision for happiness in its varied forms.

We are poor, and can do nothing to aid in adorning or in any way furnishing our celestial home to which we are invited; but nothing is required save the offering of a confiding, loving heart, and yielding this, it is ours to share the full inher itance.

BEAUTIFUL ELEMENTS IN NATURE.

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CHAPTER XXV.

SOCIETY OF HEAVEN.

Beautiful Elements in Nature. — Man communicative and receptive. — Jesus loved Society. Soul made for it. - Degrees in Heaven. Society of Angels, of Christ. — Love the prime Characteristic. - Perfect Appreciation found only in full Fruition.

"The fellowship of noble men,

Refining now, transcendent then,

In zeal, and power, and purity;

For this, to all eternity,

When death for life exchanged shall be,

Dear Lord, I'll render thanks to thee."

GOD has much to do with beautiful and joyous elements in his plans, and these are eminently conspicuous in the social instincts, and the provisions to meet their demands. Deeply wrought into the structure of the human soul are desires and affections that must have objects upon which to devote themselves, or its joy will wither, pine, and die. With their necessities met, the vigorous outgrowth is such as to challenge admiration, both for its use and beauty. They spread broader and deeper, and rise higher, sending out new tendrils, that attach themselves to new objects, which they cover with their rich unfoldings.

They cannot live and thrive alone. They must be engaged in imparting and receiving, or they fail to realize the true condition of growth and development. They must be met, must be reciprocated, or the soul becomes a desert- an absolutely sterile waste.

They who love most, usually find themselves enriched with