06.04. Psalm 23:4

Psalms 23:4. "Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me." This verse of our beautiful Psalm is generally spoken of as descriptive of the believer’s experience in the passage of death — the death of the body. "The valley" is generally viewed as the path that lies between the two regions of life; and, though dark and dismal, the saint of God, having the Shepherd’s rod to guide, and His staff to comfort him, need fear no evil.

Most truly, there is every reason for the departing soul calmly to trust the Lord at that solemn moment, and during that brief but mysterious passage; but we do not think the text refers, merely, to the believer’s experience in his own death, but rather to the dark shadow which the death of another may cast on his path. To the departing one all shadows flee away. To those left behind they may be dark and heavy. For example: A dear and loved fellow-pilgrim has been called up higher. His or her place is empty. The broken circle is overwhelmed in sorrow. The whole scene below is clouded. The pallor of death shades everything to the eye, and in the felt loneliness of the bereaved heart, the path, once so bright and joyous, has been turned into "the valley of the shadow of death." But the happy soul of the dear departed rests in the pure light of God, and in the unmingled blessedness of His presence.

"No shadows yonder — all light and song;
Each day I wander; and say, How long
Shall time me sunder from that dear throng?

"No weeping yonder — all fled away!
While here I wander each weary day,
And sigh, as I ponder my long, long stay.

"No partings yonder! — time and space never
Again shall sunder — hearts cannot sever —
Dearer and fonder, hands clasp for ever

"None wanting yonder; — bought by the Lamb,
All gathered under the ever green palm,
Loud as night’s thunder ascends the glad psalm." In the text, we doubt not, it is the shadow of death that the pilgrim speaks of walking through, and of his experience therein, not of death itself. Were it his own death, surely it would not be called a shadow. To go through death, and to go mourning through its shadows, are widely different.

Here pause for a moment, O my soul. Such experience demands thy calm and deep meditation. In the whole realm of creation no event is more solemn. The sanctuary is thy proper place. God’s eye, His word and Spirit, alone can guide. The experience of the believer is changed, though still under the Shepherd’s tender care and mighty hand. Yes — everything is changed — changed as from light to darkness — as from joy to sorrow — as from strength to weakness. What a change! In the third verse the pilgrim tastes the waters of Marah; in the fourth he is plunged into them. But the Lord Himself has done it. It must be well and wise and good; it must be the strongest expression of His love, and of His Shepherd care. "Thou art with me" — Thou, O Lord, who knowest the taste of the waters, and the depths of the waters too, as none of Thy people ever can know. A loved one may be ill, very ill, all hope of recovery may be gone; still the soul is present in the body, and thoughts may be exchanged. But the moment the soul has passed into the unseen world, this ceases absolutely — irretrievably ceases. The dear departed one may love as ever, nay, infinitely more than ever, for "God is love," and heaven is its home. The love of the bereaved may be quickened into a burning flame, and the desire to express it may be intensified a thousand-fold, but there is no more communication of thought — no exchange of affection. The dark impenetrable veil that separates the two states of being must not be passed. Faith alone may cross the threshold, and see the departed one resting — at home — with Jesus — in the Paradise of God. For a moment the eye is bright — something like gladness passes through the mind; but a tender recollection touches the heart — the eye is dimmed — and sadness presses down the weary soul. Everything, save the blessed Lord Himself, seems gone; but He is near, very near, blessed be His name. "Thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me."

"Be still, my soul! — when dearest friends depart,
And all is darkened in the vale of tears,
Then shalt thou better know His love, His heart,
Who comes to soothe thy sorrow and thy fears.
Be still, my soul! — thy Jesus can repay
From His own fulness all He takes away." Could there be, however far apart, only the means of exchanging our thoughts and affections, it would no longer be death. We may often be parted from each other in this life without the thought ever crossing the mind that we have suffered loss. Letters go and come; the path of the absent one may be traced and the joys of return anticipated. This is life — the object of affection is possessed. It is neither death nor its dark shadow. But from the moment that the Lord has taken the soul to Himself, all such communion is at an end. The awful fact of separation is felt. The heart may burn with the purest affection, for love never faileth — the whole soul may long to say something to, and to hear something from, the loved departed, but all is in vain. The body may be there still, and every feature may only seem in calm, repose; but that which thought, loved, intended, remembered, is gone. Stillness reigns — the stillness that is indescribable. You cannot awaken the sleeping one. The heart that would have been removed to its depths by a sigh, or melted by a tear, hears not the deepest wail and sees not the flowing tears. This is death — the death of the mortal body. And to those that are left behind, it is "the valley of the shadow of death." And so dense is that shadow sometimes in this weary wilderness, that even the heavenly orbs seem changed, and shine differently. At such a time the enemy is sure to assail the distressed soul, from all points, with his fiery darts. A thousand thoughts may be suggested from the past. A lifetime may be reviewed in a moment by a mind in agony. Time misspent — precious opportunities allowed to pass unimproved may be amongst the accusations of the foe. In such overwhelming circumstances nothing but the firm footing of God’s own plain statement of truth could bear up the stricken soul. But the Good and Great Shepherd is near. He causeth His voice to be heard. The eye is turned to Him. He lifts the fainting soul, folds it in His bosom, and bears it far above from its mere human feelings and spiritual foes. What would such trials and conflicts be could we not say in truth, "Thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me"?

Nothing can now be known of the condition and occupation of the loved departed, save that which holy scripture reveals. But, oh, blessed be the God of all grace! the light of a cloudless sky rests on the whole scene — the beams of divine light break through the darkness of these darkest of earthly days — we can see behind the veil. From the chamber of death, to the house of many mansions, a bright pathway has been consecrated for the believer by the risen and victorious Christ. The light of the glory "is now made manifest by the appearing of our Saviour Jesus Christ, who hath abolished death, and hath brought life and immortality to light through the gospel." (2 Timothy 1:10)

Glorious truth! precious certainty for the believer — for every believer in Christ Jesus — death was abolished on the cross, and triumphed over in the resurrection of Jesus; and by the gospel, eternal life to the soul, and incorruptibility to the body, have been brought into the clearest, fullest light. There may be great feebleness on the part of many Christians, in apprehending these all-precious truths, but the blessed facts remain the same. They are all connected with the Person of Christ: and from the moment that He is received and trusted, the believer is associated with Him beyond the power of death and the grave. "I know," says the apostle, "whom I have believed [trusted, margin], and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day." (Ver. 12) Christ, personally, was his one object. All that was dear to the apostle, right on to the glory, was committed to Him.

What truths — what comfort for the soul that is passing through the dark valley! Death annulled — the eternal life of the soul possessed — the incorruptibility of the body secured. Such is the sure portion of all who have fallen asleep in Jesus — of all who can say with the apostle, "I know whom I have trusted," of all who are simply looking by faith to Jesus, and resting on Him alone for salvation.

"THE FORMER THINGS ARE PASSED AWAY."
"Oh, she’s reached the sunny shore,
Over there

She will suffer never more,
All her pain and grief is o’er,
Over there!

"Oh, the streets are shining gold,
Over there!

And the glory is untold,
’Tis our Shepherd’s peaceful fold,
Over there

"Oh, she feels no chilling blast,
Over there!

For her winter-time is past,
And the summers always last,
Over there

"Oh, she’s done the weary fight,
Over there

Jesus saved her by His might
And she walks with Him in white,
Over there!

"Oh, she needs no lamp at night,
Over there!

For the day is always bright,
And the Saviour is her light.
Over there

Oh, she never sheds a tear,
Over there!

For the Lord Himself is near,
And to Him she’s ever dear,
Over there!

"GOD IS LOVE."

"MY BELOVED SPAKE, AND SAID UNTO ME, RISE UP, MY LOVE, MY FAIR ONE, AND COME AWAY. FOR, LO, THE WINTER IS PAST, THE RAIN IS OVER AND GONE."

Here meditate, O my soul, on this wondrous revelation — this bursting forth of light, and living strength from the dark, and hitherto unknown, regions of the tomb. The victory is complete! Christ has personally gone through the straits of death, and cleared the passage for all His followers, of every difficulty and danger. He who was in the lowest parts of the earth is now in glory. And from that glory - the glory of God in the risen Man — divine light now shines in these low and lonely depths. The gloom of death is dissipated — the darkness of the grave illuminated — the shadows of death are only on the human side, and felt by our poor human hearts.

Death itself, by man the justly styled King of Terrors, is completely vanquished! Every circumstance of death and the grave is mastered for ever. The Lord is risen from among the dead, and associates us with Himself in resurrection-life, power and glory. What a blessed position to be brought into! We stand on the same triumphant ground as the Conqueror Himself, and enjoy, with Him, the spoils of His victories.

What is death? What is the passage of death? What are the issues of death? are questions that had never been fully answered in scripture until now. Up till the time that the blessed Lord appeared, died, rose again, and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel, comparatively little was known on these solemn subjects. No doubt godly souls in Old Testament times, who had been taught of the Spirit to trust God through all their pilgrim days, could quietly trust Him in the hour of their departure. The last glimpse we have of Jacob is truly beautiful. We see him as an aged pilgrim, leaning on his staff, worshipping the living God. And the picture of Joseph is that of peace and victory. "By faith Jacob, when he was a dying, blessed both the sons of Joseph; and worshipped, leaning upon the top of his staff. By faith Joseph, when he died, made mention of the departing of the children of Israel; and gave commandment concerning his bones." (Hebrews 11:21-22) But to the Jew, as such, the subject of death was necessarily a more gloomy one than it is to the Christian; consequently, the application of Psalms 23:4 would be somewhat different to the latter. It is of the Jews that the apostle speaks when he says, "who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bandage." Christians may get into this state of mind, and some may never have been in any other, but it is certainly contrary to the cheering light and happy liberty of the gospel. Such, we fear, have never seen, or understood, the death and resurrection of Christ, as God’s great principle of blessing to the Christian. This is the alone ground of peace with God, oneness with Christ, and of full liberty from the fear of death.

Again, to the Jew, as such, this world was the land of the living. It was the place of his blessing; and the great promise to obedience was, "That thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee." "I had fainted," said the psalmist, "unless I had believed to see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living." (Psalms 27:13) But to the Christian, we may say, it is the land of the dying. "I protest," says Paul . . . "I die daily." It is also the land of death — the death of the Lord Jesus Christ; consequently it is the valley of the shadow of death. The cross has thrown its dark shadow over the whole scene. And where, it may be asked, is the place of the Christian’s joy and blessing? In heavenly places in Christ.

Heaven is the Christian’s home; he is from home in this world. As men, we speak of the place where we were born as our natural place; then is the Christian entitled to speak of heaven as his natural place. He is born of God — born from above. And the place, circumstances, and company that are suited and proper to his nature as a child of God, are on high. And never, never, until he reaches the shores of his fatherland. shall he breathe his native air, or know what the feeling of home means. Hence, the instinctive longings and desires of the heart to reach his father’s house are only natural.

"My cheerful soul now all the day
Sits waiting here and sings;
Looks through the ruin of her clay,
And practises her wings.

Faith almost changes into sight,
While from afar she spies
Her fair inheritance in light,
Above created skies.

Some rays of heaven break sweetly in
At all the opening flaws;
Visions of endless bliss are seen,
And native air she draws."

Here, in this body of sin and death, and sojourning in a world of evil where Christ was crucified, we may have much and most blessed fellowship with the Father, and with His Son Jesus Christ through the power of the Holy Ghost. But this is the effect of grace in the midst of evil, and of the Holy Ghost’s presence in the believer. The Father cares for the children — the Shepherd cares for the sheep, and the Holy Ghost’s presence on the earth is the power by which we enjoy our inheritance on high. This is a great truth, my soul; the truth, I mean, as to thy new birth — thy new life — that thou art born of God — born from above — quickened together with Christ. What then? What flows therefrom? That thou art a child of God — an heir of God — a joint-heir with Christ, and placed in Him, far, far above the power of death and the grave. Meditate, I repeat, O meditate, deeply, patiently, on what is involved in this most marvellous truth. The knowledge thereof will go far to explain thy wilderness experience, relieve thee of thy wilderness burdens, and shed a flood of light over the dark valley.

Beyond all question all who have been quickened since death entered by sin, have received their new life through Christ, by the power of the Holy Spirit. The apostle, referring to Old Testament saints, speaks of "the Spirit of Christ which was in them." He is that eternal life which was in the Father, and was, in due time, manifested unto us. There is no other life — no life anywhere else, for the soul dead in sin. "And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life; and this life is in his Son. He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God, hath not life." "He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him." (1 John 5:11-12; John 3:36) But although, from the beginning, life could only be found in and by, Christ; still, it appears quite evident, that the condition of the life enjoyed by the Christian is quite different to that of the Old Testament saint. "I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly." (John 10:10) This abundant life, we doubt not, is life in resurrection. (John 20:22) Not only is the Christian a child of God, but he is said to be quickened together with Christ, raised up together, and seated together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus. Now, only mark, into what scenes of blessedness this great truth — this union with Christ, introduces the believer. United to Him, the risen Head, He communicates to us the privileges of His own position before God. He is the well-spring of the believer’s new life; it is fed by Him every moment. Neither sin, Satan nor death can ever touch it. The Christian, by faith, has begun his eternity with Christ. He needs not to wait till death, or the coming of the Lord, to relieve him. The foundation of all this great truth for the soul is the death and resurrection of Christ; He who knew no sin was made sin for us, that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him. In the greatness of His love He bore the burden of our sins in His own body on the tree. Death in all its bitterness He tasted for us, and put away sin, the source and sting of death, by the sacrifice of Himself. But God raised up that blessed One, and quickened us together with Him. And now, blessed be His name, we know of a truth, that our evil nature has been judged, our sin and sins all blotted out — that righteousness has been divinely accomplished — that our peace with God is made — and that we are one with the risen Jesus, in an entirely new sphere, where no evil can ever come, and where the light of God’s countenance shines on us perfectly and for ever. (2 Corinthians 5:21; 1 Peter 2:24; Hebrews 11:9; Hebrews 9:26; Colossians 2:12-13; Ephesians 2:1-22; 1 Corinthians 15:1-58) This is the only position from which death can be fairly and calmly viewed. Like Joshua of old, who, from Canaan’s side of Jordan, returned to its centre, and there planted his twelve stones of victory. From the heavenly side he could calmly contemplate the river of death, and go down into its depths. But the priests were there before him with the ark of the covenant, and, with "the Lord of the whole earth," it was as easy to pass the Jordan as the Red Sea. But to the merely natural man, who knows he is unpardoned — unsaved — death must be a fearful thing. If he thinks at all about it, and is intelligent and honest, the very thought of it must be dreadful. Death and judgment, the fruit of sin, are the two great objects of men’s fears. And so they may be. Terrible indeed to an immortal soul must be the consequences of death and judgment. And how humbling, too, is death to the natural man. He must succumb. The strong man must bow to it. The proud man must humble himself to it. The wise and the rich are alike unable to avoid it or resist it. It is an implacable enemy, that cannot be appeased or turned aside — that cannot be guarded against — that will not be sent away — that is relentless, rapacious, insatiable. Can I prevail on my reader, if this be his, or her, state, to give this subject a serious thought? And, oh, let it be now — just now. Delay not! Time is on the wing — thy days are flying fast — already they may be few. And what then? The eternal ages — an eternity of unmingled blessedness or unutterable woe. In the whole field of fallen human nature there is nothing to be found more awful than death. For as in the forest, so in this field, "as the tree falls, so it lies." How solemn — how eternally solemn! As death finds the soul, so will the judgment-seat, and so will a long, long eternity. Beyond death there is no repentance. As the breath leaves the body, the state is unalterably fixed. This is man’s last change — a change which admits of no succeeding one for ever Oh, then, my dear reader, listen to the affectionate entreaties of one who loves thy soul, and would earnestly warn thee against neglecting its salvation! "For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?" The whole material world, in the Saviour’s estimation, is of less value than one human soul. And, it may be, that the well-being of thy precious soul has never cost thee a serious thought. The most ordinary things of this life, or some ornament for thy person, may have cost thee more thought than thy soul’s eternal destinies, or the sufferings and death of Christ, by which alone it can be saved. Do think, I pray thee, my fellow-sinner, on this all-important subject! At all costs yield to its pressing claims. If it should involve the breaking of many engagements as to this life, and the blasting of all thy prospects therein, care not; suffer not such considerations to detain thee on the world’s enchanted ground, or hinder thy decision for Christ. Remember this — and this is plain — that he who sides not with Christ, sides with Satan, and must share with him the lake of fire. This is the second death. Oh, dreadful thought! What shall I say unto thee? How shall I plead with thee? Shall I fall down at thy feet and shed the beseeching tear? Shall I be as a fool in thy sight? Shall my loud and bitter cry be to thee as the noise of some fanatic — or of one who is righteous overmuch? Well, be it so; all these and more. I speak from feeling, not by rule. I am content if only thou wilt bethink thyself, and flee at once to Jesus, who has paid the ransom-price of the sinner’s redemption. To see thee at last, as a jewel in the Saviour’s crown, or as a monument of grace on the plains of eternal glory would be a rich compensation for being reckoned fool or madman in this world. But, soberly, tears of blood, could I shed them, would not be too much to shed over a soul that refuses the provision God has made for His own glory in our eternal happiness.

Jesus, God’s blessed Son, "was made a little lower than the angels . . . that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man." (Hebrews 2:9) Here all is plain. Scripture never exaggerates if preachers do. What does this text teach us? This truth, plainly, that sin, unrepented of, brings the sinner to the place that the grace of God brought Christ. In grace and love He took the sinner’s place — the place of the curse — the forsaken place, where it was not possible that the cup of wrath should pass from Him. Now we see, in the cross, where sin leads to — what sin deserves — and how God deals with it. Doubtless sin was measured and dealt with in the holy Person of Jesus in a way that can never be done even in the lake of fire. God’s hatred of sin was perfectly expressed on the cross. One drop of that cup which He drained — one stroke of that judgment which He exhausted, would sink a world of rebellious sinners in the depths of woe. But there, alas, the cup will never be drained — the judgment never exhausted.

Truly, may we not say — If such things were done in the green tree, what must it be in the dry? If the true and living tree so felt the fires of holy justice, what must become of the dry and rotten tree? If He, who had not a particle of sin in Himself, was thus dealt with, when sin was imputed to Him, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear? What, my friend, would the rotten branch of thy good deeds avail thee in the swellings of Jordan? One thing seems perfectly plain — he who rejects God’s green tree now, can have nothing to say at last when God rejects the dry.

But, oh, the Lord grant that this may never be the case with thee, my reader, or with any soul who has ever read, or heard, that beautiful. text, Jesus "was made a little lower than the angels . . . that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man." What a revelation of the heart of God for us! "By the grace of God"; and what a blessed work by the Son! He tasted death that we might never taste it. O, believe it — rest in Jesus — trust all to His finished work! Glory in the fact, that the God of all grace loves thee — that He spared from His bosom His well-beloved Son, that He might taste death for thee a sinner. And, now, can I hear thee saying, "Bless the Lord — He has tasted death for me a sinner. Now I believe it — the bitterness of death is past — had I a hundred hearts He should have them all"?

"Descending from glory on high,
With men Thy delight was to dwell.
Contented our Surety to die,
By dying to save us from hell.
Enduring the grief and the shame,
And bearing our sin on the cross,
Oh! who would not boast of this love,
And count the world’s glory but loss?

It is well, for thee, my soul, to plead, and to plead earnestly, with sinners who are unprepared for death. "Knowing therefore the terror of the Lord," as the apostle says, "we persuade men." But now, for a little while, let thy contemplations be confined to the triumph of the saint in that solemn hour. Thou hast spoken of the human side, the dark valley; now look at the heavenly side — the way of glory. Suppose then - The messenger of peace is come — come to close, in quiet sleep, the pilgrim days of one who has been something like forty years in the wilderness. Of one, we shall still suppose, who had become foot-weary, but whose sympathies were all with Christ and His people, and who cared for the testimony of Jesus on the earth. But the Lord’s appointed time has come. The tie is dissolved; the body is left behind; the happy soul is liberated — it is present with the Lord.

Here pause one moment, my soul. Pray what tie is it that is dissolved? The tie that binds the divine life in the earthen vessel. "For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens." Here the apostle speaks on behalf of all Christians. "We know." There is no thought whatever, in such a case, of death being "the wages of sin." Christ, our Surety, paid the penalty in full — so full, we may say, that it is not necessary the Christian should die at all. And certain it is, that all Christians shall not die. "We shall not all sleep," says the apostle plainly, "but we shall all be changed." And again, "then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord." (1 Corinthians 15:51; 1 Thessalonians 4:17) The dissolving of the tabernacle, gently or roughly, touches not our eternal life in the risen Jesus. It simply dissolves its connection with the earthen vessel. The new man in Christ can never taste of death. But here it may be profitable to dwell a little on the blessed and comforting truth just alluded to, namely, that all Christians shall not die — that many shall be changed, and caught up with the quickened dead to meet the Lord in the air. It is quite evident, from the passages already quoted, that those who are alive on the earth when the Lord comes shall not pass through death at all. In their case, as the apostle says, "Mortality shall be swallowed up of life." Such will be the power of life in the Son of the living God, that every trace of mortality in their human nature shall instantly disappear from His presence. It will be swallowed up — annihilated. And observe, it is mortality, not death, that is here said to be swallowed up of life. Death, too, we know, shall be swallowed up in victory. In the one case the apostle refers to those who have fallen asleep in Jesus; in the other, to those who are alive on the earth at His coming. How beautiful and interesting is the perfect accuracy of scripture! If a word is changed, there is an important reason for the change. The same truths and their distinctiveness are taught by the Lord, when speaking of Himself as the resurrection and the life. "Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall be live: and whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die." (John 11:25-26) But need we wonder at this manifestation of the power of life in the coming Lord? Sin, we may say, is an accidental thing. It is no part of the divine arrangements. It was introduced by an enemy. But every particle of the poison of sin, with all its baneful effects, shall be completely expelled from the living saints when the Lord comes for them. There is no need that they should die: Christ had died for them. And oh! how sweet the thought, it will be the same body still, but without the sin and its effects. Then shall our bodies of humiliation be fashioned like unto His body of glory; yet the perfect identity of each shall be preserved. And all this, observe, shall be accomplished by the power of a life which we now see in the risen Jesus; and, oh, wondrous truth! this life is ours — ours now — ours in Him, where all is victory!

It is most interesting to observe what we may call the fourfold state, in which our divine life is here contemplated in the reasonings of the apostle. (2 Corinthians 4:6-18; 2 Corinthians 5:1-9) But although it is viewed in four different aspects or conditions, the life itself remains unchanged and unchangeably the same. It is eternal life — the life of the risen and glorified Christ.

He had spoken in the third chapter of the gospel in contrast with law — of the ministration of righteousness and the Spirit, in contrast with the ministration of death and condemnation. The law, as presenting God’s claims on man, condemns him, because he breaks it. But the gospel reveals a righteousness on God’s part, in place of requiring it from man. Christ Himself is this righteousness. When He is received by faith, we are made the righteousness of God in Him, and sealed with the Holy Spirit. And where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty — liberty from the pressure of law, and from the fear of death.

Christ glorified is the foundation of the whole argument. "But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord." The Man Christ Jesus, who was on the cross for us as our Sin-bearer, is now on the throne. Blessed proof to the heart of the perfect and eternal settlement of the whole question of sin. Humanity has been carried to the throne of God. The divine glory is fully displayed in the risen Man. He is also the blessed manifestation of our place and portion in the same glory. And, oh, precious truth! in meditating on this glory, as it shines in the face of Jesus, we are changed into His likeness, through the power of the Holy Ghost. Lord, grant me this grace, that I may indeed meditate, with delight and intelligence, on Thy glory, and become here, on earth, its true reflection. The apostle preached to the world the good news of Christ in glory. "We preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord." He preached Christ victorious over sin and Satan, death and the grave. He invited and entreated sinners to believe on a glorified Christ — to come to Him in faith, and enjoy the love, and share the blessings and glories of the Saviour. Christ has established righteousness for the sinner in the presence of God, so that there need be no doubting and fearing. The full blessing is promised to all who trust in Him. "Blessed are all they that put their trust in him." What an immense power there is in such a gospel; but what weakness must characterise every other! All who believe the gospel Paul preached are introduced into the pure light of the glory as it is revealed in Christ. Those who reject the light, are, alas! blinded by Satan, the god of this world. What a thought! Refusing the glorified Saviour, alas! they fall into the hands of the enemy.

2 Corinthians 4:6 gives the explanation of what we call the first state. "For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ." The heart is the vessel of the light. A light from the glory is kindled in the human heart. Divine life, through faith in a glorified Christ, being thus communicated, we are responsible for its manifestation, as a light shining in a dark place. It is the light of life. It comes direct from God. He who at first commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined. in our hearts. Christ is our life, our light, our glory. In this dark world, before the eyes of man, we are called to be the reflection of our absent Lord. This is the first state of the new life. And how important! What a place it gives us here! The men of this world, who will neither read the Bible nor religious books, will surely read the lives of Christians. Oh, to be an epistle of Christ, known and read of all men! As the Jew could read the ten commandments when he looked on the tables of stone, so may the eyes of those that are around us, be able to read, Christ, in our daily walk and conversation.

"But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us." This is the second state. The divine life is viewed in near contact with the mortal body, and with all the infirmities and evils connected therewith. But no evil can ever touch the life of Christ in the soul. The more the vessel was troubled on every side, the more evident it became that the power of God was there. It rose above the working of death in the apostle, and triumphed over all the difficulties of his thorny path. "For we which live," he says, "are alway delivered unto death for Jesus’ sake, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our mortal body." This "daily dying" caused the life of Jesus to shine forth more brightly. Like Gideon’s pitchers, the light was manifested when the vessel was broken. But what experience! What conflict! What service! His many and heavy afflictions he calls light, and but for a moment, in the view of that eternal weight of glory which he saw before him. Encourage, Lord, and strengthen the hearts of Thy weak and sorrowing ones now, who come so far short of the example of Thy servant Paul.

We now come to the third state — the "unclothed" state — the one more immediately under our meditation. Paul was "willing rather" to be in this state; although, at the same time, he saw in the Man Christ glorified in heaven, the perfect, or resurrection-state. This is the fourth state, when the person, complete, shall be glorified, after the image of Christ in glory. This was the grand object before the apostle’s mind. "For we that are in this tabernacle do groan, being burdened not for that we would be unclothed, but clothed upon, that mortality might be swallowed up of life." (See also Philippians 3) The fourth state being connected with the Lord’s coming, we have much more light and definite teaching on it, than on the intermediate state. Comparatively little is said on the third, or separate state of the soul. A veil, we doubt not, has been purposely drawn over it, so that it might not come between our hearts and our Lord’s return. Had the soul’s blessedness with Jesus, during the present period, been fully revealed, we might have been selfish enough to have thought so much about it, and to have longed so much after it, that the hope of His coming might have lost its proper place and power in our hearts. The Holy Ghost guards the hope of the church on all sides, and with special care. But enough is revealed to satisfy the heart of faith, as to our dear departed ones. Further light is, in love, withheld. Meditate deeply, my soul, on what is revealed, and be subject thereto. And knowing the love of Jesus, and the unchangeableness of our divine life amidst all changes, the interpretation will be easy.

"For to me to live is Christ," says the apostle, "and to die is gain." This is a contrast. To live is Christ — to die would be a gain upon that. And further, he adds, "For I am in a strait betwixt two, having a desire to depart, and to be with Christ; which is far better." "With Christ," would be his "gain." This would be "far better." But first of all, carefully note the blessedness of the state with which he contrasts departing "to be with Christ."

"For to me to live is Christ." What nearness to Christ, what communion with Him, the servant must have that can say this! It includes the idea, first of all, of having Christ for his object, — his motive, his joy, his strength; and, also, of great love for the church, a deep and tender interest in all that concerned the name and glory of Christ, and the well-being of His people. "For to me to live is Christ" is like the condensed energy of the Spirit, that would sum up all of that mighty heart, that bright light, that noble servant, in these few words. And now comes the important question — How much would such a one "gain" by death? He would be "WITH CHRIST" — in the enjoyment of Christ, personally, in heaven. And this is like the condensed energy of the Spirit as to the other side — the consummation of all blessedness — "with Christ." But would the soul not lose much of its interest in all these lower things, now that it has reached the higher? Most assuredly not! It has the higher things in addition. This is the point of great interest as to the "unclothed" state. We can never lose anything that we now have, in fellowship with Christ, because He is already risen and glorified. He is our life — that life has no trial to go through. It only loses in death the poor cumbersome body in which it groaned, being burdened. All that we now know, and enter into, through the teaching of the Spirit, must abide for ever. We only lose that which belongs to the first Adam, but nothing of that which belongs to the last Adam. There is immense force in the apostle’s words of contrast, far better - FAR BETTER! This would be true as to everything touching the soul’s connection with the blessed Lord, both as to the higher and lower things.

It is no longer in our power to communicate to the dear departed soul that which we know would have given it joy here; but being present with the Lord, everything that is worthy of His love, and fitted to deepen the joy, and elevate the worship of the loved departed, we can happily trust Him, to communicate. All is well! How well! "Absent from the body, present with the Lord." How far the soul apart from the body (its own proper instrument of expression), can express itself, we venture not to say, but in its bright consciousness, it remembers and loves. It thinks of the past and present, it anticipates the future. It waits in patience, with Christ, for the morning of the first resurrection; but its present and blessed feast is His unchanging, never-ending love.

"There are our loved ones in their rest;
They’ve crossed time’s river; now no more
They heed the troubles on its breast,
Nor feel the storms that sweep its shore.

But ’there’ pure love can live, can last;
They look for us their home to share:
When we, in turn, away have passed,
What joyful greetings wait us there
Across the river!"

There is only one other passage I would refer to on this point. It has always been a favourite with the weary pilgrim. I mean the Lord’s own words to the penitent thief, "Today shalt thou be WITH ME in paradise." The sweetness, the comfort, the rest of heart which this assurance gives is beyond all expression. There "with the Lord" and with loved ones who have gone before, the soul rests, clothed in light, and breathing the air of heaven. The mother has found her firstborn, long, long gone before her, ’but never forgotten. And oh! what a fresh spring to her worship! "O, magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt his name together," will now be their joyous song. And there, too, the husband meets the wife of his youth, who was early called, but whose hearts were formed to love, not only for time, but for eternity. True, human relationships will be unknown there, but hearts and loves remain for ever. But lest we should anticipate the resurrection-state, we leave — oh most contentedly leave — our dear, our loved, our cherished, departed ones, "with the Lord," and with each other, in that blooming garden of heaven’s choicest delights. Now, we often travel by faith, between the dark valley and that bright Eden above; but soon, soon, the Lord will come. Lord, Lord of that happy land, how soon? — when, oh when, shall the cloudless morning come? "A LITTLE WHILE" is the Master’s own measure of His absence. Then, when that happy morning dawns, we too shall say farewell to this vale of tears. Faith’s work shall then be done; "for we shall see him as he is." Hope, too, shall then be realised in the Person of the Lord, as it is written, "And they shall see his face." These all-important companions of the valley are no more needed. Faith, so long accustomed to the flight, shall then, and for ever, "fold her wings." Farewell, "precious faith," but, oh, how much I owe thee! Hope, "blessed hope" — soul-sustaining hope, shall then be lost amidst the glories of the Jerusalem above; but love remains; yes, love, eternal love prevails through all the ransomed throng. But what, my soul, what of the poor body that lies mouldering in the grave? The now humbled body shall, ere long, share eternal glory with the soul. Scripture is plain on this point. But I will do little more than quote two or three passages.

"What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you?" (1 Corinthians 6:19) Here, observe, the Holy Ghost has taken possession of the body. He has thus appropriated the body to God. Had the text said, "your heart is the temple of the Holy Ghost," the question of affection might have been raised; but it is your body — which plainly assures us that the body, living or dead, is in the custody of the Holy Ghost — that, henceforward, He is the custodian of the believer’s body. Again, "But if the spirit of him that raised up, Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you." (Romans 8:11) Here it is said not merely "your bodies," but "your mortal bodies," which meets the heart in sweetest grace. But what a volume of truth we have on this subject in 1 Corinthians 15:1-58. "It is sown in corruption; it is raised in incorruption: it is sown in dishonour; it is raised in glory: it is sown in weakness; it is raised in power: it is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. . . . And as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly."

Need we anything more, O my soul, to set the heart of strongest affection at rest for ever! Let patience have her perfect work — the "little while" will soon be past. "Weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning."

"The resurrection-morn will break,
And every sleeping saint awake,
Brought forth in light again:

O morn, too bright for mortal eyes!
When all the ransomed church shall rise,
And wing their way to yonder skies
Called up with Christ to reign."