FEBRUARY 5.
How well does the apostle call the Redeemer "our life." There are three modes of expression by which our relation to him under this character is held forth, and they all furnish matter for the most important meditation. We are said to live by him: "He that eateth me. even he shall live by me." We are said to live to him: "They that live, should not live unto themselves, but unto him that died for them, and rose again." And we are said to live with him: " That, whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with him."
To judge of this state, we must consider where He lives, and how He lives, and what He is, and how far He is able, by his presence, to bless us, and make us happy. For though our happiness, with such a nature as ours, must be social, it is not a privilege to live with every one. With some it would be a misery to dwell, even here; and to have our "portion with the hypocrites and unbelievers," and to be with "the devil and his angels," will be a dreadful part of future torment. But 0, to unite with those who will be all loveliness; to embrace, without any fear of separation, those who were endeared to us on earth ; to sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of God ; to join the innumerable company of angels; but, above all, to live with Jesus; to be with him, where He is, to behold his glory; to walk with him in white; to reign with him for ever and ever I This is far better.
The season for enjoying it is, "Whether we wake," that is, live, or "whether we sleep,'' that is, die. It takes in, therefore, time and eternity, our living with him on earth and in heaven, in the communion of grace, and in the fellowship of glory. These are inseparably connected, and are essentially one and the same condition with regard to him, but they differ in degree, as the bud and the flower, the dawn and the day, the child and the man, differ. His people live with him now, but not as they will live with hint hereafter. Now He is invisible; then they will see him as He is. Now their intercourse with him is mediate, and often interrupted; then it will be immediate, and free from any annoyance. Now they are With hint in the wilderness; then they will be with hint in the land flowing, with milk and honey. Now the groan, being burdened with infirmities, and cares and trouble; then they will be presented faultless before the presence of his ,dory, with exceeding joy. Yet, whether they wake or sleep, they live together with him.
And does not this more than indicate his divinity ? How else can they live with him now ? He is no more here, as to his bodily presence, for the heavens have received him. Yet, where two or three are gathered together in his name, he is in the midst of them. Yet lie said, " Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world." Yet, says the apostle, we live with him even while we wake. At the same time, others live with him when they sleep. The dead are with him above, while the living are with him below. How, unless He pervades all periods--unless He occupies all places? How, unless He can say, "Do not I fill heaven and earth?"
Here is your happiness, Christian. It is your union with Christ. This prepares you for all seasons and all conditions. Do you think' of life? This is sometimes discouraging, especially when you contemplate the prospect in a moment of gloom. But why should you be dismayed? If you wake, you will live together with him. If your continuance here be prolonged, you will not be alone. He will be always within your call. He will render every duty practicable, every trial supportable, every event profitable. And therefore, whatever be your circumstances, you may boldly say, " Nevertheless 1 am continually with thee; thou hast holden me by my right hand. Thou shalt guide me with thy counsel, and afterward receive me to glory." Do you think of death? This is often distressing, and there is much in it to dismay, if viewed separate from him. But if you sleep, you will live together with him. Death, that severs every other bond, cannot touch the ligatures that unite you to him. As you leave others, you approach nearer to him, you get more perfectly into his presence-you are for ever with the Lord.
Voltaire more than once says, in his Letters to Madame Duffand, I hate life, and yet I am afraid to die." A Christian neither hates nor fears either of these. He is willing to abide, and he is ready to go. Life is his. Death is his. " Whether we wake or sleep, we shall Live together with him."
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