of the Bible, is the arranging of these dispensations, as when it is said of Christ, "By whom also he made the worlds (or ages); Heb. i. 2. Revelation points us forward to these ages to come in the history of earth, when Christ shall fulfil all His gracious designs. We speak according to our modern ideas of looking "beyond this world," meaning another sphere, away from earth, and having no connection with it; whereas, in the theology of the Scriptures, "beyond this world" means beyond this dispensation to another succeeding, but one belonging to earth as much as the other. "This world," and the world to come, represent simply differing periods of time, through which the earth is passing. The Jewish nation looked forward to the times of the Messiah as the consummation of all hope and desire, not misunderstanding in this their own Scriptures; and that future blessed era was "the world to come," in contrast with this present evil world, where sin abounds. Thus it was literally the world or age to come; not a world already in existence, upon which we might at once enter, if only released from the body. It had no being as yet, except in the promise and purpose of God. In the strictest sense it was the future world, the world to come. This is the thought which runs through the Scriptures, but which we often overlook because our minds turn away from earth to some far distant sphere. "But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ (by grace ye are saved); and hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus: that in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us, through Christ Jesus;" Eph. ii. 4-7.

Having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure, which he had purposed in himself; that in the dispensation of the fulness of times

ne might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth;" chap. i. 9, 10. The times, therefore, are not complete. The ages are not finished. There are eras or dispensations in the future, when the grandest purposes of God shall be fulfilled, and He shall reveal all the marvellous riches of His grace to His believing ones, even "an exceeding weight of glory."

Notice, again, the manner in which the Scriptures speak of the righteous inheriting the earth.

:

The promise of redemption, made in the beginning, belonged to the righteous. They were the heirs of the inheritance, and died in the full faith that it would be theirs. "These all died in faith, not having received the promises [the things promised], but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth;" Heb. xi. 13. Notwithstanding their death and departure, they believed that they should still inherit these promises. The same thought is presented in the 37th Psalm "Fret not thyself because of evil-doers, neither be thou envious at the workers of iniquity. For they shall soon be cast down like the grass and wither as the green herb. Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for him fret not thyself because of him who prospereth in his way, because of the man who bringeth wicked devices to pass. For evil-doers shall be cut off: but those that wait upon the Lord, they shall inherit the earth. For yet a little while and the wicked shall not be: yea, thou shalt diligently consider his place, and he shall not be. But the meek shall inherit the earth; and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace. The wicked plotteth against the just, and gnasheth upon him with his teeth. The Lord shall laugh at him: for he seeth that his day is coming. Wait on the Lord,

and keep his way, and he shall exalt thee to inherit the land. When the wicked are cut off, thou shalt see it." Have these promises been fulfilled? Who has seen an end to the prosperity of the wicked, or of the righteous patiently waiting upon the Lord for the accomplishment of this very word? Who has seen the earth yet put in possession of the meek, that they might inherit it? Is not the condition of things described by the Psalmist precisely what we witness to this hour? Do we not need to be cautioned still not to fret because of evildoers, nor to be envious of the workers of iniquity, while we trust in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him, until we see the wicked cut off, and the righteous put in possession of this earth as their inheritance? This was the very promise made in the beginning the redemption ever held forth as the object of faith. This earth is to come into the possession of the saints. The wicked have held it hitherto, since sin extended; which has been the occasion of wonder, and sometimes of fretfulness and envy to God's children. But it is not always to be so. wicked are not always thus to triumph and plot against the just. Their day will come ere long, and the righteous shall see it. Christ declares the same truth in His sermon on the mount; "Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth." They do not inherit it now. The wicked are exalted, riding on the high places. It was no idle boast of the Adversary, when pointing to the kingdoms of the world and the glory of them, he said to Jesus, "All these are mine, and to whosoever I will I give them." There was too sad truth in this. The kingdoms are his. The world has undergone no radical change, no regeneration, since David's time. But there is a restoration promised; and those who wait patiently for the Lord, trusting in him, shall see it. The meek shall inherit the earth. Christ, the promised seed, shall give it to them as

The

a possession forever. This is the consummation held up to faith, and long waited for. And though it has seemed to delay, and the suffering people of God have oft cried, "How long, O Lord, How long!" yet the Lord is not slack concerning His promise as some men count slackness, even though a scoffing, infidel world does ask, "Where is the promise (evidence) of his coming?" The Apostle declares how the very creation itself is waiting with earnest expectation for this day of the manifestation of the sons of God, while it now travails in pain and groans under the curse. Thus the promise of redemption is not only to the people of God, but also to the creation. Peter and John both describe the new heavens and the new earth, which are to be, wherein dwelleth righteousness, when old things shall have passed away, and all have become new.

Thus do the teachings of the Scriptures from the beginning agree as to the redemption of earth from the curse, and the final restitution of all things, paradise standing for centuries before the early generations, a living type and demonstration of that truth as Canaan did at a subsequent period. Thus Paradise and Canaan have both become sacred names to the Church of God, burdened with hallowed associations. Believers have not yet "received the promises," but die in faith, counting themselves strangers and pilgrims on the earth, and looking for the rest remaining for them. And the day shall come that shall see all their hopes fulfilled.

CHAPTER. XX.

THE TREE OF LIFE.

"AND out of the ground made the Lord God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil; " Gen. ii. 9. These two last were evidently special creations for paradise, not found without its sacred precincts, and sustaining the most important relations to our race. To this one, Adam and his wife were allowed free access; the other was forbidden them on pain of death. What terrible reality, too, there was in this prohibition, our ruined race has had most painful experience of. We may believe, therefore, that there was no less a reality to the other.

The designation of the trees was significant. That applied to the forbidden tree was taken from the fact that the eating thereof through the transgression of God's commandment led to the knowledge of evil, or the difference between good and evil. The temptation, as presented by the Adversary, was that it would lead to knowledge, exalting them almost to the place of Divinity, fulfilling the destiny for which God created them: "Ye shall be as gods," or, more properly, as God. The Adversary here held out the attainment of that preeminence and glory which were designed in their creation, and which he knew were intended for them, which also may have been promised as the reward of their obedience. The Tempter pointed to this magnificent tree as the means of securing all that had been revealed to their faith-all that they desired and hoped for; and expressed his surprise that God should have prohibited them from partaking of this fruit.