"Having a desire to depart and to be with Christ, which is far better."

The presence of Christ with his saints on earth and the presence of Christ with his saints in paradise are here brought into comparison: We are plainly assured many a time that Christ is now with us, that he never leaves us, that he never forsakes us. Nevertheless that presence of Jesus with us now is simply as absence compared with what his presence with us in paradise will be.

The difference may be explained in more ways than one. The first and simplest view of the question is that the Lord Jesus Christ is now bodily absent from us, but present in the church through his Holy Spirit. On earth we have his presence spiritually; in heaven we shall meet him bodily face to face.

But this hardly clears up the question with regard to paradise. When our Lord said to the dying thief, "To-day shalt thou be with me in paradise,” he was promising no bodily presence, since that day his sacred body was to be laid in

an earthly tomb. Also there seems full reason to believe that paradise is not identical with the heaven of heavens, where Christ in bodily presence sits enthroned at the right hand of the Father.

It may be that in actual bodily presence he comes and goes in paradise. This we cannot tell. It may be that as each ransomed soul emerges from the waters of the river of death, the lifted rejoicing eyes find Jesus there, bodily, face to face. This again we cannot tell. We know little of the nature of a disembodied spirit.

No need that at present we should know more. It may be that in actual bodily presence our Lord will not show himself to any of his saints, whether on earth or in paradise, until the great day of his coming in glory. What then? This would not bring the happiness of paradise down to an earthly level. Whatever we know of the presence of Christ now, that knowledge is as nothing compared with what the saints in paradise know of his presence. Here we walk

by faith, there they walk by sight.

They may not see him bodily, yet they see him. They may not hear him bodily, yet they hear him. They may not have his bodily presence, yet they are with him. They have not attained to the unutterable fulness of glory, yet the glory to which they have attained is unutterably beyond what we can picture to ourselves. They abide in the very radiance of his smile. They rest in the very sunshine of his gaze. No doubt of his love can ever darken their hearts; Jesus is with them and they are with him, vividly, actually, personally, consciously, in a sense infinitely surpassing the moments of intensest confidence ever experienced by the holiest saint upon earth.

Is not this enough for us to know, whether in reference to our own future or in reference to those who have gone before? We shall be "with him." They are "with him." Do you want to know the precise mode in which his presence is there revealed? That he has not told us. We only know that it is a manner of being with him far better than the manner of

our being with him now, even as light is better than darkness, as sunshine is better than shadow, as sight is better than faith. St. Paul, after his visit to or vision of paradise, found it "not possible" to repeat the words which he had heard there. How then shall any of us attempt to picture what the presence of Christ in that fair garden of God may be? - AGNES GIBerne, "MY FATHER'S HOUSE."

And we also bless thy holy name for all thy servants departed this life in thy faith and fear; beseeching thee to give us grace so to follow their good examples that with them we may be partakers of thy heavenly kingdom.

CHAPTER XIII.

IN PARADISE.

Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, To-day shalt thou be with me in paradise. Luke 23:43.

I knew a man in Christ above fourteen years ago; .. such a man (whether in the body I cannot tell, or whether out of the body I cannot tell; God knoweth)-how that he was caught up into paradise and heard unspeakable words, which it is not lawful (or, possible) for a man to utter. 2 Cor. 12:2, 3.

To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life which is in the midst of the paradise of God. Rev. 2:7.

GOD created man to be immortal and made him to be an image of his own eternity.

Nevertheless through envy of the devil came death into the world; and they that do hold of his side do find it.

But the souls of the righteous are in the hand of God, and there shall no torment touch them.

In the sight of the unwise they seemed to die and their departure is taken for misery,