November 2

35 But some man will say, How are the dead raised up? and will, what body do they come?

36 Thou fool, that which thou sowest is not quickened, except it die:

37 And that which thou sowest, thou sowest not that body that shall be, but bare grain, it may chance of wheat, or of some other grain.

38 But God giveth it a body as it hath pleased him, and to every seed his own body.

39 All flesh is not the same flesh, but there is one kind of flesh of men, another flesh of beasts, another of fishes, and another of birds.

40 There are also celestial bodies, and bodies terrestrial; but the glory of the celestial is one, and the glory of the terrestrial is another.

41 There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars, for one star differeth from another star in glory.

42 So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown in corruption, it is raised in incorruption:

43 It is sown in dishonour, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power:

44 It is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body.

45 And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit.

46 Howbeit that man not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural, and afterward that which is spiritual.

47 The first man is of the earth, earthy; the second man is the Lord from heaven.

48 As is the earthy, such are they also that are earthy; and as is the heavenly, such are they also that are heavenly.

49 And as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly.

50 Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption.

51 Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not al. sleep, but we shall, al. be changed.

52 In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump; for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.

53 For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.

54 So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory.

55 O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?

56 The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law.

57 But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

58 Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.

"Since Christ has crossed and recrossed it, the river Death has lost its terror to the Christian."

"Death is not a thing to be dreaded by the believer: it is 'a sleep.' Tired, we lay our heads on Jesus' bosom and awake in heaven!"

"Paul saw our grave in the furrow of the plough; our burial in the corn dropped into the soil, and our resurrection in the grain bursting its sheath to wave its head in the summer sunshine."

"The seal of the Sanhedrim, a regiment of soldiers from the tower of Antonio, floor of rock, roof of rock, wall of rock, niche of rock, cannot keep Christ in the crypt. Though you pile upon us all the boulders of the mountains, you cannot keep us down. The door of the tomb will be lifted off its hinges and flung flat in the dust."—Talmage.

"Looking at those grassy mounds in the light of this truth, the eye of faith sees them change into a field sown with the seeds of immortality. Blessed field! What flowers shall spring there! What a harvest shall be gathered there!"—Dr. Guthrie.

Oh! the comfort of this belief in the resurrection of our loved dead! Oh, the grave is cruel! With teeth of stone it clutches for its prey. Between the closing gates of the sepulchre our hearts are mangled and crushed. But a brighter day is yet to dawn. The resurrection morn will come. Abraham will shake off the dust of Machpelah and arise with Sarah by his side. David will come with harp in hand. The village churchyard and family burial-grounds will open their rusty gates. Be still, mother, your child will not be left behind; and you, ye old men, the companions of your youth and strong manhood will break their cerements and live again! Wherefore comfort one another with these thoughts.

Closet Promise.—To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you, who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.—1 Pet. i. 4, 5.

What a heritage! It is called a Kingdom, Inheritance, Paradise, Life Eternal. "Thus our largest and best conceptions of greatness, and glory, and durability, and felicity, are appealed to, and then surpassed—immeasurably. For when time is over, and death is dead, and probation is ended, and the destiny of all determined, somewhere God will do His best for the bliss of His redeemed ones. What a quantity is that—God's best, through all eternity, for those who, during this brief moment of earthly life, washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb."