with Jesus the mediator of the new covenant;" yea, and have access" to God, the judge of all." And were we better acquainted with the privileges of our dispensation, we should become, in a more full manner, inheriters with "the saints in light." But, though it is allowed we may have communion with angels, various are the objections raised against the belief of our communion with that other part of the heavenly family, the disembodied spirits of the just. I shall consider these objections one by one. Lord, help me in so doing! Let me at least strive to comprehend something of "the length, and breadth, and depth, and height, of the great victory obtained for us over death;" give me to see a little into that truth, “we are brought from Mount Sinai to Mount Zion." Objection the first.-If a good spirit loves those which it loved before, and is acquainted with all their proceedings, will not the sins and miseries of those they thus know and love, render them unhappy, or at least mar their happiness in some degree? I answer, there are two kinds of love. If the persons they loved continue sinners, there will doubtless be a separation of spirit, yet I believe a remembrance and a pity will continue. It is said of the Almighty, that "it repented the Lord he had made man," and that "it grieved him at the heart;" and again, that "he was grieved with their manners in the wilderness forty years." Nevertheless, his own immutable hap. piness was not interrupted thereby. Now, as the saints yet on earth are made partakers of the Divine nature, and much more "the spirits of just men made perfect,' so I should imagine their happiness would, in that respect, remain as immutable as that of the holy angels did, when so many of their once dear companions they now daily behold as devils. I cannot let it into my thoughts that ignorance makes up any part of celestial glory, or that forgetfulness can be entered into by their nearer approach to Him, "before whom all things are open and manifest ;" and in whom is no darkness at all." But, if an entire alienation of affection from the wicked should be needful, that is no proof it is the same with the righteous; for, if the sins of obstinate sinners would afflict them, the growth of grace in the righteous would augment their joy; and our Lord himself tells us, "There is joy in heaven over one sinner that repenteth." If you say, But this joy is only among the angels; I answer, Can we suppose those faithful attendants on the heirs of salvation so carefully to conceal this joy within their own bosoms as to exclude the heavenly spirits who stand in a much nearer relation to us? Can we believe they have not all their joys in common? No, no; in the Church of Jerusalem they proved that "great grace was upon them all,” by their community of goods. And shall our narrow hearts let in the thought that they have not all their joys in common in the Church above? Yea, verily," the general assembly of angels, the Church of the first born," and "the spirits of just men made perfect," are but one innumerable company, concerning whom it may well be said, 66 "Lift your eyes of faith, and see Saints and angels join'd in one! Stands before yon dazzling throne!" If, then, there is joy throughout all the realms above, yea, more joy over one sinner that repenteth, than over the ninety and nine which went not astray," how evident it is to an impartial eye, that the state both of the one and the other must be known there, together with the progress of each individual. Objection the second.-Is not a spirit divested of the body, become of a quite different nature from what it was before, so as to be incapable of the same feelings? I answer, Certainly no; the spirit is the man. The spirit of my dear husband loved and cared for me, and longed above every other desire for my spiritual advancement. Now, if it were the body, why doth it not love me still? You answer, Because it is dead. That is to say, the spirit is gone from it; therefore, that which loved me is gone from it. And what is that but the spirit, which actuated the body, as the clock-work does the hand which tells the hour? It therefore appears quite clear to me, that every right affection, sentiment, and feeling of mind, we have been exercised in here, will remain in the spirit just the same immediately after death. Nevertheless, as with the righteous, heavenly light and love will daily grow stronger, and with the wicked will be an increasing darkness, so there may be, perhaps, in a few days, a much greater change on the newly glorified spirit, than in the understanding of a child in seven years. The point therefore to be considered is, Will not a continuance and growth in the heavenly state erase those affections and ideas so strongly impressed on the spirit at its first entrance therein? To which I reply, As spiritual union arises from a communication of the love which flows from the heart of Christ, I cannot but believe a nearer ap. proach to its centre, and a fuller measure of that Divine principle, must increase, and not diminish, the union between kindred souls; and that their change will consist, not in the loss, but in the improvement of all that is rood. Whatever agrees with the nature of heaven cannot be destroyed, but increased by their abode therein. Now are not love and gratitude natives of heaven, which dwell for ever there? If in our present state an abundance of grace is poured out on the soul, what is the effect? Doth it make us forgetful of kindnesses received? Doth it not rather raise the soul to such a pitch of gratitude, that it is ready to see favours where really there are none? And shall not the same love, when perfected in heaven, have the same effect in a more perfect degree? The mistake lies here; we forget that Christian love and union below are the same in kind, though not in degree, with those above; and we might as well suppose, when we enter into the realms of light, that we shall plunge into darkness for want of the natural sun, as to suppose that Christian love and union must be destroyed by an abode in that kingdom, where the very element we breathe shall be eternal love. Doubtless we shall know, and gratefully acknowledge, the ministering spirits who have served us here, and be sensible that gratitude is immortal, and does not change its sentiments with its place. I think all this is clear from those words of our Lord, “Make to yourselves friends of the mammon of unrighteousness, that when ye fail on earth, they," viz., those whom you have helped," may receive you into everlasting habitations." Objection the third.-But are they not so taken up with admiring Jesus, as to lose every other affection in him? I answer-That love of Jesus which fills the soul with the admiration of his graces, is a love begotten by that which reigns in the heart of Christ himself; consequently it is of the same nature. But is the love of Jesus a barren and inactive love? Did it produce in our Lord such an enjoyment of his own pure nature or such a shutting up in the glories and delights of the Trinity, as to render him forgetful of his creatures? Or did it bring him down to "die for his enemies, and receive gifts for the rebellious?" When a powerful effusion of grace is poured out on our souls, are we not then most willing and ready to help our neighbour, and to cry out with that good woman, Jane Muncy, "Methinks I am all spirit! I have no rest day or night but in gathering souls to God." Surely, then, we may with safety believe that a holy, unembodied spirit feels the same effect from a fuller effusion of the same love; and that as soon as he hears that word, "I will give thee many things to be faithful over," he immediately en. ters more fully than ever into the joy of his Lord, which is the joy of doing his creatures good. Objection the fourth.-But though it may be allowed that the angels are ministering spirits to the saints, in honour of their Lord, who hath taken our nature upon him, we do not know but the spirits of just men made perfect, being of a higher order by their near relation to their Head, may be exempt from that servitude. I answer— To this objection may not those words of our Lord be applied, "Ye know not what manner of spirit ye are of?" "He that will be greatest, let him be servant," saith Jesus Christ, who came himself " not to be ministered unto, but to minister;" and if our Lord washed our feet, shall we be above the same employment? Jesus, our Master, though in his glorified state, calls himself the " Shepherd of his sheep," and walks with jealous care amid his "candlesticks of gold, holding the stars in his right hand ;" and I can no more believe the divinest spirit in glory above the service of mankind, than I can believe there is pride in heaven. Abraham is represented as receiving Lazarus to his bosom, and as giving a mild answer even to a damned spirit! And when souls at the foot of the altar cried, How long? they were told "to wait till their fellow servants came also." Did they not then remember their fellow servants? When the heart is full of grace, it delights in the meanest office, and feels pleasure in yielding 66 happiness even to an insect. We are sensible no part of our worship is more pleasant in the sight of God than obedience, and no employment more delightful to the saints than that of promoting the glory of God. Now the Lord hath said of his creatures, I have created thee for my glory; I have formed thee for my praise!" Shall not then the blessed spirits be very zealous in promoting that glory? The glory of God and our interest are inseparably one. And are they not "one spirit with the Lord?" And is not their highest delight in that in which he most delights, which is the salvation of his people? So that an exemption from serving the Church would rather create pain than give satisfaction. Again, the highest honour that can be conferred on a creature, is to have the nearest resemblance to its creating Head. Now he hath said to the believer, "I will dwell with you-I will come and make my abode with you." The soul who hath felt a small degree of pure love can answer this objection at once from the feelings of his own heart; the language of which is, I love him continually, and therefore I will feed his lambs. Objection the fifth.-But as paradise is a place, as well as a state, and finite beings are not omnipresent any more than omnipotent, how can they be there and here in the same moment? I answer-I do not suppose they can. But if I were to tell you of a minister who daily visited his flock, inquired into all their concerns, and knew their whole situation, would you say it was impossible, because he lives in that house, which is his home, and he cannot be in two places at the same time? And yet it is certain we are perfectly acquainted with the situation of many who do not live with us in the same house. If we see them but once a week, our shallow capacities can take in all they tell us of their past and present state. But if, instead of waiting for the slow and imperfect conveyance of words, we could by a cast of the eye read every thought in a moment, and without labour visit them as easily as the sun shines in at their windows, (though it still remains in its proper place,) our acquaintance would be much more perfect. We are now in the body, and have senses and faculties suited thereto; therefore our human eye can at once measure the body of our child, and discern every |