because they are rare; but in the heavenly city they will assume their proper place, and will be trodden under foot, as only the external appendages of the divine glory. There everything will be found in its proper sphere; the throne of God as the centre of attraction; and gold, and jewels, and the river of Life, as only the outward symbols of an all-pervading Deity." Such reasoning as this will be the reverse of carnal-it will be, in the strictest sense, SPIRITUAL; for true spirituality does not consist in an unsubstantial dream, but in whatever leads on the thoughts to terminate in God and the Lamb. And such is the heavenly city, the very essence of which is this-that the throne of God is in the midst of it, and that the "Lamb is the light thereof." So that the heavenly city is at once perfectly REAL and essentially

SPIRITUAL.

These remarks upon the nature of the heavenly city are little more than a repetition of what has been published in the "Vials" ever since the year 1848.

Ir was surely to His whole flock that Christ addressed the words, "Fear not, little flock, it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom." It is a gift-the gift of free sovereign grace. But sovereignty has a perfect right to apportion that gift in individual measure or place according to any rule of its own appointment. This appointment seems to have been made, for the promises of the word of God very manifestly refer to a distribution of places in the kingdom to be made in righteous remembrance of service to the Lord and sufferings for His sake. The way in which the Church of Christ is spoken of and represented under the figure of a body, would lead us to expect that which has been just stated. "The body is one, and hath many members; so also is Christ. Ye are the body of Christ, and members in particular." In the first epistle to the Corinthians there is much and distinct reference to the different places and offices of the various members of the body of Christ. In allusion to this an esteemed Christian brother remarks* :

"Such is the body of Christ here; and as it is here, so it will be there; as on earth and under formation, so it will be in the heavens and in perfection. As here the members occupy different places, sustain different offices, and discharge different functions, so there; high and low, very near to the Head and less near, very glorious and honourable, and less glorious and honourable. But here 'God hath set the members in the body as it hath pleased Him,' and 'He divideth to every man severally as He will; there He will set the members according to their acquired qualifications and fitnesses. Here God acts in SOVE

* In a tract-"Rewards to the Saints." W. Yapp, Welbeck-street.

July 1, 1865.

REIGNTY, setting and bestowing as He will;' there God will act in RIGHTEOUSNESS, awarding to every man and appointing to every man 'as his work shall be;' here, in GRACE; there, in JUSTICE.

"This is a stimulating and an invigorating doctrine, and it is abundantly taught in Scripture, both expressly and by implication.

It is not the disjunction of sovereignty and righteousness, or of grace and justice, which we are taught; it is not that only sovereignty or grace is exercised here, and that only righteousness or justice is to be exercised hereafter, but that, although sovereignty and righteousness are ever and everywhere in the closest harmony, the main feature or principle of God's dealing with His children is here sovereignty, i.e. gratuitous donation and endowment, and there righteousness, i.e. faithful fulfilment of promise in recognition and remuneration of works."

Another writer* says on the same subject :

"When the raised and changed saints are caught up to meet our Lord above the clouds, there shall be found assembled before Him the whole of the Church of the firstborn, without one lacking. At first, however, we conceive of this immense multitude as standing in one mass of celestial bodies, shining with resplendent glory, reflected as it were from the irradiation of the divine effulgence of their common There remains yet to be effected, the marshalling of these heavenly armies, in their various orders and degrees of glory and dominion. Of this comely and glorious array, in which the saints shall descend with our Lord, when He treads the winepress, we have the type in the marshalling of the hosts of Israel, in Numbers i. and ii. And to the Church triumphant thus marshalled, I conceive also the words of Balaam, in Numbers xxiv. 5, 6, have a mystical relation. But this marshalling of the saints, in their various degrees of glory, supposes a previous judgment according to works, since this is absolutely necessary thereunto. See Rom. xiv. 10-12, 2 Cor. v. 10, and sundry other passages of Scripture, but especially the parable of the pounds, in which the judgment according to works is placed immediately after our Lord receives the kingdom."

The same writer also remarks:

"I conceive that the feast of tabernacles was a special type of the period during which the Church of the firstborn shall be with the Lord in the air. That feast continued seven days, with a supplementary eighth day. During the whole of this term of days the children of Israel were commanded to leave their houses and dwell in booths, in commemoration of the time when they dwelt in booths in the wilderness. But this sojourning in booths was also, I think, typical of the glorified Church leaving this earth, and abiding with Christ in the air, in the interval between His advent and descent to the earth in the day of Armageddon."

We may just notice the foreshadowing of this truth to be seen in the interesting record of the achievements of David's mighty men. These

men went out to David and cast in their lot with him in his deepest adversity. They believed him to be the Lord's anointed, even when they found him an outcast in the cave of Adullam, hiding from the

* Rev. W. Cuninghame.

July 1, 1865.

pursuit of his enemy. They believed even under those most unlikely circumstances that the kingdom of Israel was his, and that Jehovah, who had caused him to be anointed for it, would surely give him the throne. They looked forward to the day of his prosperity, and were, meanwhile, content to share with him in adversity. They became personally attached to him, and were willing to suffer for his sake. In various degrees they showed their devotedness, and David preserved the record of all their deeds of daring and tokens of love. The latter seem to have had special notice. How interesting the little incident about the waters of Bethlehem. There was no command given. Their beloved leader only expresses the wish, "Oh, that one would give me drink of the water of the well of Bethlehem, which is by the gate!" At once three mighty men, impelled by love alone-love to the man David, their captain and leader-break through the host of the Philistines, and draw water out of the well. David never forgot this; he doubtless remembered it when crowned as Israel's king. It is remembered also in the record of the deeds of his mighty men. Like these men in respect to David, so the true and devoted Christian in respect to his Lord. He is willing to suffer with Him, knowing that we shall all be glorified together. Let the following Scriptures cast their light on this history; they will show the blessed lesson of present use and application:-"Whosoever shall give you a cup of water to drink in my name, because ye belong to Christ, verily I say unto you, he shall not lose his reward." (Mark ix. 41.) "For God is not unrighteous to forget your work and labour of love, which ye have showed toward His name, in that ye have ministered to the saints, and do minister." (Heb. vi. 10.)

33;

The following Scriptures prove the doctrine of a reward to saints in the kingdom of Christ, bestowed in grace, but according to works :-Matt. v. 11, 12, 19; x. 41, 42; xvi. 27; xix. 27-30; xxiv. 45—47; xxv. 21-23; Mark viii. 34-38; Luke vi. 22, 23; ix. 23-26; xii. xiv. 13, 14; xix. 12-27; John xii. 24-26; Rom. xiv. 10; 1 Cor. iii. 8, 12, 15; iv. 5; ix. 24-27; xv. 58; 2 Cor. i. 14; iv. 17, 18; v. 9, 10; ix. 6; Gal. vi. 7-9; Eph. vi. 7, 8; Col. iii. 24; 1 Tim. iv. 8;v. 25; vi. 17-19; 2 Tim. ii. 11, 12, 20, 21; iv. 8; Heb vi. 9-12; x. 32-37; xi. 35; James i. 12; 1 Peter iv. 13, 14; v. 2--4; 2 John 8; Rev. ii. 7, 11, 17, 25-29; iii. 5, 6, 11-13, 21, 22; xxii. 12.

We find in the word of God reference to four distinct judgments. These may be now pointed out, and it will be seen that one of them has to do with the settlement of places in the kingdom.

1. Judgment coming upon Christ. "Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us." (Gal. iii. 13.) "In that He died He died, unto sin once." (Rom. vi. 10.) This judgment which passed upon the Lord was the judgment due to, and which otherwise must have come upon, all them who believe. They-that is, all believers-are now entirely free through that substitution of Christ for them. This is clearly declared by our Lord: "He that heareth my word, and believeth on Him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation." More literally rendered this is THE JUDGMENT." (John v. 24.) Believers in Christ will therefore never be called upon to stand at the judgment of the great white throne

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July 1, 1865.

2. A judgment upon works. "We must all appear before the judg ment seat of Christ." (2 Cor. v. 10.) Paul is addressing believers This judgment cannot be upon the persons as to any question of life or death. Those who stand there are those who have eternal life. There are no unsaved ones there; all are Christ's, and are about to enter with Him into the manifested kingdom. Christ is examining the works of His servants. As redeemed and possessed of eternal life they shall be with Him; as joint-heirs with Him they inherit the kingdom, but He is now distributing the places in that kingdom according to the work and service of each. One of the writers already quoted (in the tract, "Rewards to the Saints ") says of this judgment:

"It is not that of the great white throne, the dead, small and great, standing before it, and the earth and the heavens fleeing away; not any tribunal or court, or any trial or inquisition, which might arouse conscientious accusation or agitate with legal trepidation; not any array or process affecting 'the GRACE which is to be brought to us at the revelation of Jesus Christ,' or qualifying 'the GLORY which is, on the manifestation of the Son, to be revealed in us, the sons;' but the one Great congregation of the living members of the Eternal Life' their Head, standing as stewards and servants to receive, under form of a righteous-gracious adjudication, recognition of occupying' and ministering, of labouring and suffering, of willing and doing, prompted and wrought by love to Him now sitting as Judge to acknowledge it, to accept it, and to reward it.”

3. A judgment upon living nations at the coming of the Lord. "When the Son of man shall come in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then shall He sit upon the throne of His glory; and before Him shall be gathered all nations." ["Ethnos," Gentiles, excluding Israel.] (Matt. xxv. 31, 32.) It is to the same "nations" and the same judgment that reference is made by Paul in his address at Athens: "He hath appointed a day in which He will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom He hath ordained. (Acts xvii. 31.) The word here rendered "world" is the same as that in Luke ii. 1, "oikoumenen," the habitable earth of the day when Cæsar Augustus made the decree, or the Roman Empire. This fact limits the application of certain Scriptures which declare this judgment on living nations. There are no dead persons raised up to stand in that judgment. It is entirely upon living persons whom the Lord meets at His appearing. A comparison of various Scriptures would distinctly prove this. The same nations are referred to in Joel: "I will gather also all nations, and will bring them down into the valley of Jehoshaphat, and will plead with them there." (Joel iii. 2.) Also in Zephaniah: "Therefore wait ye upon me, saith the Lord, until the day that I rise up to the prey; for my determination is to gather the nations that I may assemble the kingdom, to pour upon them mine indignation, even all my fierce anger." (Zeph. iii. 8.) And again in Zechariah: "I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle. Then shall the Lord go forth, and fight against those nations. And this shall be the plague wherewith the Lord shall smite all the people that have fought against Jerusalem.

And it

shall come to pass, that every one that is left of all the nations which came against Jerusalem shall even go up from year to year to worship the King, the Lord of hosts." (Zech. xiv.)

July 1, 1865.

4. The final judgment of the great white throne, as set forth in Rev. xx. 11, &c. No believer in Christ can possibly be judged there. Certainly the bride, the Lamb's wife," who, a thousand years before, was received by her Lord and heavenly bridegroom, and set down with Him on His throne, shall not descend from that throne and stand the criminal or accused of crime at the bar of justice. On the contrary, the Scriptures refer to the Lord's people as sitting with their Lord in judgment on the wicked. Judgment was given to the saints of the Most High." (Dan. vii. 22.) "Do ye not know that the saints shall judge the world?" (1 Cor. vi. 2.) "The Lord cometh with ten thousand of His saints, to execute judgment upon all." (Jude, 14, 15.) This is the judgment on the wicked dead who have been raised to appear in it. There is a thousand years between the first resurrection and the second. The first resurrection is that of the Lord's people, when ALL who have part in it are caught up (along with the living saints who are changed) to be for ever with the Lord. "The rest of the dead" (that is, the wicked dead) “lived not again until the thousand years were finished." The great white throne is set up at the end of the thousand years, and it is distinctly stated that it is THE DEAD, small and great, who now stand before God. Nothing could be declared in more distinct and positive terms. The believer in Christ has been LIVING with Christ in the brightness of the heavenly city for a thousand years, and can in no sense be said to be among THE DEAD. The believer's condition immediately on the coming of the Lord is fixed by that most conclusive Scripture "We know that when He shall appear we shall be LIKE HIM; for we shall see Him as He is.' (1 John iii. 2.) There is no room here for the idea of delay in the full glory of the believer, and much less is there any ground for the popular mistake that believers as well as unbelievers will stand at the final judgment. In respect to THE DEAD only appearing at that judgment, it is important for us to observe that it is only of those who are in Christ Jesus that a portion alive on the earth at the time of His advent shall not taste of death. All who are not in Christ, must taste of death. "It is appointed unto men once to die." That is, man as man is appointed to death. Some men escape this because they have life in Christ and happen to be alive at the period when their Lord appears. They shall not sleep," says the inspired apostle, but shall be at once changed by the sight of their Lord when He comes. Of all the Christless we must declare they are appointed to death, and it is these dead ones who are raised at the second resurrection to take their stand at the great white throne. In proof of this we may refer to the fact that of the wicked who are confederate with Antichristthat is, "the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against Him that sat upon the horse, and against His army" (Rev. xix. 19)-it is distinctly stated that they " were slain with the sword of Him that sat upon the horse." They are put to death at the commencement of the millennium, and then raised again for the judgment at the end of it. The only exception to this appears to be in the case of" the beast" and "the false prophet;" of these two it is written: "These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstoue." Some other points may yet be noticed in a concluding article. Lynmouth, Devon.