CHAPTER V. (Continued from page 102.)

But whilst the King has not that most blessed light, and can get no further along this line of thought than his groan, "Who knoweth what good for man ?" yet there are some things in which he can discriminate; and here are seven comparisons in which his "unaided wisdom can discern which is
the better:-

1. A good name is better than precious ointment.
2. The day of death " " " the day of birth.
3. The house of mourning " " " the house of feasting.
4. Sorrow " " " laughter.
5. The rebuke of the wise " " " the song of fools.
6. The end of a thing " " " the beginning.
7. The patient in spirit " " " the proud in spirit.

Lofty, indeed, is the level to which Solomon has ' attained by such unpopular conclusions, and it proves fully that we are listening in this book to man at his highest, best. Not a bitter, morbid, diseased mind, simply wailing over a lost life, and taking, therefore, highly colored and incorrect views of that life, as so many pious commentators say; but the calm, quiet result of the use of the highest powers of reasoning man, as man, possesses; and we have but to turn for a moment, and listen to Him who is greater than Solomon, to find His holy and infallible seal set upon the above conclusions. "Blessed are the pure in heart,- they that mourn,- and the meek," is surely in the same strain exactly; although reasons are there given for this blessedness of which Solomon, with all his wisdom, had never a glimpse.

Let us take just one striking agreement, and note the contrasts:"It is better to go to the house of mourning than to go to the house of feasting:for that is the end of all men; and the living will lay it to his heart. Sorrow is better than laughter; for by the sadness of the countenance the heart is made better. The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning; but the heart of fools is in the house of mirth." That is, the loftiest purest wisdom of man recognizes a quality in sorrow itself that is purifying. "In the sadness of the face the heart becometh fair." In a scene where all is in confusion,-where Death, as King of Terrors, reigns supreme over all, forcing his presence on us hourly, where wickedness and falsehood apparently prosper, and goodness and truth are forced to the wall,- in such a scene of awful disorder, laughter and mirth are but discord, and grate upon the awakened spirit's ear with ghastly harshness. Whilst an honest acceptance of the truth of things as they are, looking Death itself full in the face, the house of mourning not shunned, but sought out; the sorrow within is at least in harmony with the sad state of matters without; the "ministration of death" has its effect, the spirit learns its lesson of humiliation; and this, says all wisdom, is "better." And yet this very level to which Reason can surely climb by her own unaided strength may become a foothold for Faith to go further. Unless Wrong, Discord, and Death, are the normal permanent condition of things, then sorrow, too, is not the normal permanent state of the heart; but this merely remains question, and to its answer no reason helps us. Age after age has passed with no variation in the fell dis-cord of its wails, tears and groans. Generation has fol-lowed in the footsteps of generation, but with no rift in the gloomy shadow of death that has overhung and finally settled over each. Six thousand years of mourning leave unaided Reason with poor hope of any change in the future,-of any expectation of true comfort. But then listen to that authoritative Voice proclaiming, as no "scribe" ever could, "Blessed are they that mourn, for they shall be comforted." Ah, there is a bright light breaking in on the dark clouds, with no lightning-flash of added storm, but a mild and holy ray,- the promise of a day yet to break o'er our sorrow-stricken earth, when there shall be no need for mourning, for death no more shall reign, but be swallowed up in victory. But turn over a few pages more, and the contrast still further heightened. The sun of divine revelation is now in mid-heaven; and not merely future, but present, comfort is revealed by its holy and blessed beam. Come, let us enter now into the'' house of mourning," not merely to clasp hands with the mourners, and to sit there in the silence of Ecclesiastes' helplessness for the benefit of our own hearts, nor even to whisper the promise of a future comfort, but, full of the comfort of a present hope, to pour out words of comfort into the mourners' ears. Tears still arc flowing,- nor will we rebuke them. God would never blunt those tender sensibilities of the heart that thus speaks the Hand that made it; but He would take from them the bitterness of hopelessness, and would throw on the tears His own blessed Light, – a new direct word of revelation from Himself,- Love and Light as He is,- till, like the clouds in the physical world, they shine with a glory that even the cloudless sky knows not.

First, then, all must be grounded and based on faith in the Lord Jesus. We are talking to those who share with us in a common divine faith. We believe that Jesus died:but more, we believe that He rose again:and here alone is the foundation of true hope or comfort. They who believe not or know not this are as absolutely hopeless – as comfortless – as Ecclesiastes:they arc "the rest which have no hope." True divine Hope is a rare sweet plant, whose root is found only in His empty tomb, whose flower and fruit are in heaven itself. Based on this, comforts abound; and in every step the living Lord Jesus is seen:His resurrection throws its blessed light everywhere. If One has actually risen from the dead, what glorious possibilities follow.

For as to those who are falling asleep, is He insensible to that which moves us so deeply? Nay; He Himself has put them to sleep. They are fallen asleep [not "in," as our version says, but] through (dia) Jesus. He who so loved them has Himself put them to sleep. No matter what the outward, or apparent, causes of their departure to sight, faith sees the perfect love of the Lord Jesus giving "His be-loved sleep." Sight may take note only of the flying stones as they crush the martyr's body; mark, with horror, the breaking bone, the bruised and bleeding flesh; hear the air filled with the confusion of shouts of imprecation, and mocking blasphemy; but to faith all is different:to her the spirit of the saint, in perfect calm, is enfolded to the bosom of Him who has loved and redeemed it, whilst the same Lord Jesus hushes the bruised and mangled form to sleep, as in the holy quiet of the sanctuary.

Let our faith take firm hold of this blessed word, "fallen asleep through Jesus," for our comfort. So shall we be able to instil this comfort into the wounded hearts of others,-comforting them with the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God. What would Solomon have given to have known his?

Next, the mind must be gently loosened from occupation with itself and its own loss; and that by no rebuke or harsh word, so out of place with sorrow, but by the assumption, at least, that it is for the loss that the departed themselves suffer that we grieve, It is because we love them that our tears flow:but suppose we know beyond a question that they have suffered no loss by being taken away from this scene, would not that modify our sorrow? Yea; would it not change its character completely, extracting bitter-ness from it ? So that blessed Lord Himself comforted. His own on the eve of His departure:"If ye loved me, ye would rejoice because I go unto my Father, for my Father is greater than I." The more you love me, the less – not the more – will you sorrow. Nay; you would change the sorrow into actual joy.

The measure of the comfort is exactly the measure of the love. That is surely divine. So here, "You are looking forward to the day when your rejected Lord Jesus shall be manifested in brightest glories:your beloved have not missed their share in that triumph. God will show them the same "path of life" He showed their Shepherd (Ps. 16:), and will "bring them with Him" in the train of their victorious Lord.

3. But is that triumph, that joy, so far off that it can only be seen through the dim aisles and long vistas of many future ages and generations ? Must our comfort be greatly lessened by the thought that while that end is "sure," it is still ".very far off,"- a thousand years may – nay, some say, must-have to intervene; and must we sorrowfully say, like the bereaved saint of old, "I shall go to him, but he shall not return to me"? Not at all. Better, far better than that. For Faith's cheerful and cheering voice is "we who are alive and remain." That day is so close ever to faith that there is nothing between us and it. No long weary waiting expected; and that very attitude -that very hope – takes away the "weariness" from the swift passing days. Those dear saints of old grasped and cherished this blessed hope that their Saviour Lord would return even during their life. Did they lose anything by so cherishing it ? Have we gained by our giving it up ? Has the more "reasonable" expectation that, after all, the tomb shall be our lot as theirs, made our days bright-er, happier, and so to speed more quickly? Has it made us more separate from the world, more heavenly in character, given us less in common with the worldling? Has this safe "reasoning" made us to abound in works of love, labors of faith, and in patience of hope, as did the "unreasonable" and "mis-taken" hope of His immediate coming the dear Thessalonians of old ? For look at the first chapter, and see how the "waiting for the Son from heaven" worked. Again I ask, have we improved on this ? Can we improve upon it ? Was it not far better, then, for them-if these its happy accompaniments-to hold fast, even to their last breath, that hope, and even to pass off this scene clasping it still fondly to their hearts, than our dimmed and dull faith with-it may be boldly said-all the sad loss that accompanies this ?

Hold it fast, my brethren, " We w/io are alive and remain." Let that be the only word in our mouths, the only hope in our hearts. It is a cup filled to the brim with comfort. How they ring with life and hope in contrast with the dull, heavy, deathful word of poor Ecclesiastes-" For that is the end of all men "!

Oh, spring up brighter in all our hearts, them divinely given, divinely sustained Hope! F. C. J.

(To be continued.)