[1] Three children that this Christian mother had buried before.

I had become so enraptured with this beautiful sight, and so charmed with the music, that I had quite forgotten my sister; but now I bethought myself to look for her. I had not looked long, before I discovered her amidst the company of the just made perfect; and, I thought, her song was the loudest of any, as she sang: "I have come up through tribulations, and washed my robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb!" Oh, how I longed to be amongst the heavenly throng; but just then I heard friends calling me on this side, saying: "Oh, be content to stay with us a little longer; we cannot let you go; even lying here, we cannot do without you; even this is better than not have you at all." The little children came winding themselves around me, begging me to stay. "Oh," they would say, "we do want you to be back among us; we cannot bear you to leave us." Oh! the power of human love! How my heart was grieved! I was again in a strait betwixt two; for, indeed, I felt it better to "depart and be with Christ." But my Father knew best what he wanted me to do, so He left me the promise: "Abide in me and I will abide in you; I will not leave you comfortless; I will come to you." After this I entered into conversation with my guide, about my friends that had gone over; said he: "How did you know those friends?" I answered by asking him another equally important question: "How did you know the Lamb that was slain from the foundation of the world?" Said he: "I knew Him by the marks in His hands and side, (John xx., 20), and from what the angels told us when He was taken up into heaven and a cloud received him out of sight." "This same Jesus," said they, "which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven." (Acts i., 9.) Well, said I, that is just how I knew my friends; by the marks on them. Some men will say: "How are the dead raised up, and with what body do they come? Thou fool; that which thou sowest is not quickened, except it die, and that, which thou sowest, thou sowest not that body that shall be, but are grain; it may chance of wheat, or of some other grain, but God giveth it a body as it hath pleased him, and to every seed his own body. There are also celestial bodies and bodies terrestial; but the glory of the celestial is one and the glory of the terrestial is another. There is one glory of the sun and another of the moon, and another glory of the stars; for one star differeth from another star in glory, so also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body; there is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body. And so it is written, that the first man, Adam, was made a living soul, the last Adam was made a quickening spirit. How be it, that was not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural, and afterward that which is spiritual. The first man is of earth, earthy, the second man is the Lord from heaven. As is the earthy, such are they also that are earthy; and as is the heavenly, such are they also that are heavenly. And as we have born the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly. Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption." (1 Cor. xv.) Now this is the way that I know them. As the Lamb that was slain, took upon him the image of the earth, earthy, the form of a servant, so do they take upon them the image of the Lord from heaven; and, as you have shown me the Lamb, I cannot be mistaken in them, and I think when I look again, I shall find many more that I have known; for I think I know what kind of seed they were, and from every seed I look for its own plant. Then said my guide: "Who else do you think you will find there, besides your immediate friends?" I answered: "I think I shall see Moses and Elijah, from the fact that they were seen with my Saviour on the Mount of Transfiguration; and God is not the God of the dead, but of the living. And I think I shall see Abraham, because Christ himself says the rich man saw him with Lazarus in his bosom. And I shall see Israel, for the Revelator tells me that he saw one hundred and forty and four thousand of the children there. I shall see Solomon and David, and Samuel and Paul, and Peter, and so many others that I cannot now name, all of the one hundred and forty and four thousand of the tribes of Israel." I felt so rejoiced with the thought of meeting so many, that I could heartily join with the Poet in saying:

"Give joy or grief, give ease or pain,
Take life or friends away.
But let me find them all again,
In that Eternal day."

For many days more I lay there on the brink, waiting for the boatman; but still he came not. I began to think Patience was about to desert me; it seemed to me, I had so nearly lost sight of her, that I could hardly hear her voice; then I cried unto my Father: "Cast me not away from thy presence, and take not thy holy spirit from me!" Then came the message: "Rest in the Lord and wait patiently for him;" this comforting, though short message, cheered me much, for it seemed to bring a sweet sense of rest and security with it; and with the Psalmist I could say: "Thy mercy, O Lord, is in the Heavens, and thy faithfulness reaches into the clouds; thy righteousness is like the great mountains; thy judgments are as great deeps; Lord, thou preservest man and beast; how excellent is thy loving kindness, O God; therefore the children of men put their trust under the shadow of thy wing; they shall be abundantly satisfied with the fatness of thy house, and thou shalt make them drink of the rivers of thy pleasures." I felt filled with that sweet peace that flows as a river, and enters in and fills the soul with glory and with God. As the boatman came not for me yet, I thought I would look around again and see if any new friends had gathered along the brink; and, while I was looking, I saw one coming with slow, reluctant step, as if he would rather stay on this side of Jordan than to cross over; but his guide kept urging him on with the Father's message: "Come unto me all ye that are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest." "Well," said he, "I am weary and heavy laden; I have had a tiresome journey through this howling wilderness, and fain would find rest; but I have become so dirty and bedabbled through the swamps and quagmires, that I have not a garment fit to appear before Him in." The guide answered: "All that will come, may come and partake of the waters of life freely." Then said he: "I will arise and go to my Father." He brightened up and quickened his pace; as soon as the guide saw that he was willing to go, he sent to the servants to bring hither the best robe and put it on him; and, so neatly clad, and in his right mind, I saw him approach the "bank," and seeing he would have to wait some time for the boatman, I entered into conversation, by asking at what time the Father sent for him; he said: "Just about noon, just as I had finished up my morning's work, and thought the hardest of the day was done, and I could in the afternoon finish those little jobs that I had planned in the morning; but in the hour, I thought not, the Son of man came." "But what," I asked, "made you so reluctant to come?" "Oh," said he, "I thought the Father was angry with me; for it is written: 'God is angry with the wicked every day;' but I heard another say: 'He that cometh with a broken and a contrite heart, he will in no wise cast out.' I thought I would go, for I could only perish anyway, and if I tried to stay away, I knew I should perish; another said to me:

"A broken heart He'll not despise,
Nor on the contrite sinner frown,
His ear is open to their cries,
He'll quickly send salvation down."

"And He did send salvation; for, when I cried mightily unto the Lord, He heard me, and from His Holy Hill He sent me help; He took me up from the mire and clay and dressed me in garments neat and clean, and has brought me in sight of my heavenly rest! Only this narrow river lies between, and I shall cross that, for I think I see the boatman coming now." With a glad shout of triumph he entered the boat and was gone. I knew the gates would be opened again, so I made haste to gather up my telescope; and again I saw the shining ones come to meet and welcome a brother to his eternal rest; and again I heard the glad shouts of welcome and praise, as they dressed him in clean, white robes, and put a crown on his head, and led him to the Father, who met him, and with His own hand wiped all tears from his eyes, telling him, he should have no more sorrow, nor crying, nor sickness, nor death, nor go any more out, neither should he thirst any more, and the sun should not light on him, nor any heat. Oh! What more, I thought, could I want to make up an eternal rest! Just then my attention was attracted by the sound of unutterable groanings and crying, and I looked around to see what it all meant, and I saw close beside me one lying apparently in great agony. I inquired what could be the matter? Said he: "Just this morning, quite early, the Master has sent for me, and here I am; naked and barefooted; without a thing to cover me; I had a garment all washed in the blood of the Lamb. The Master provided it for me, but I thought it was too long and straight for me; so I laid it aside, and now I cannot find it; Oh! help me to look for it!" By this time others hearing his cries had been attracted to the spot, and in piteous moans and tears he begged, he entreated them, to assist in searching for the neglected robe. All this while he lay there without making an effort to seek for it himself; and, although his friends searched with much earnestness, they could not find it. They then besought him to get up and look for it himself; but he could not be persuaded, and would continue to lie there groaning, and begging them to continue their search. Meanwhile the boatman was waiting and urging him to go, till finally he compelled him to go on board, and the boat pushed off; and immediately the river became so dark and swollen, that we lost sight of it, and we could see it no more. Surely, thought I, "The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord."

For many days I lay there, feeling very listless, not caring to look beyond the river, nor even to look on this side. I was just in the condition to listen to the voice of the tempter, when he whispered: "Why stay here any longer? the Lord delays his coming; He might have come sooner; it is very cruel to be lying in this dreary, loathsome place so long." And again, with shame I must confess, that after all the visions of glory I had seen, and all of my Father's goodness to me, I listened to his wily whispering, till I became almost enraged, and began to cast about me this way and that, for a way of deliverance. At one moment I would feel like going back into the wilderness, in all its filth and quagmires, and the next I would feel like rushing headlong, uncalled for, into the river; any way, it seemed to me, to get out of this murky, deathly atmosphere. For several days I was thus tempted. Oh! those were dreadful days to me! I sat in sullen silence, and would not look toward my Father's house; I would not see the light that was beaming across; would not see my Father's gracious smile; nor would I see His loving hand reached out to help me. My telescope lay beside me, but I would not take it up. But, oh! the depth of the wisdom and knowledge of God! "How unsearchable are His judgments, and His ways past finding out!" Blessed be His Holy Name. He would not leave me, nor suffer His loving kindness to be removed from me; but in the midst of deserved wrath He remembered mercy toward me. On looking up I saw my guide coming near, saying: "Dost thou well to be angry. Hast thou not received good from the hands of the Lord, and shalt thou not receive the evil? And if thou doest well, shalt thou not dwell in the land of the living forever? For the mercy of the Lord is round about them that put their trust in Him. Though clouds and darkness may be round about Him, yet righteousness and judgment are the habitation of His throne." At these words the tempter left me, and Patience again resumed her seat, and commenced to soothe and tranquilize my spirit, saying: "Return unto thy rest, for the Lord has dealt bountifully with thee. Ye, that fear the Lord, trust in the Lord, for He is your help and your shield. O! forget not all His mercies." At this I felt very much humbled and sinsick; and I longed to be free from the power of sin and temptation, and earnestly I prayed the Father: "Lead me not into temptation, but deliver me from all evil!" And with the apostle I could exclaim: "Oh! wretched man that I am! Who shall deliver me from the body of this death? Oh, that I had the wings of a dove! Then I would fly away and be at rest." "But then," said Patience, "as you cannot go yet, you had better take your telescope and look again beyond the river." So I took it up and began to look around; first on this side, but here, as usual, I could find no rest or abiding place; nothing but filth and stench that sickened me; but as soon as I turned my gaze toward my Father's house, I was struck with the glorious light that fell from the place; for it seemed to shine with peculiar brightness; and, as the gates were ajar, I could look full within; but I could see no sun, nor moon, nor the light of a candle; but the light was glorious, far surpassing the light of the sun at noon-day. So I looked in wonder, to see from where it came. My guide said: "There is no need of the sun or of the moon to shine in it, for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof. (Rev. xx., 2, 3.) And this is the same light that has lighted up this valley ever since the time the Lamb passed through it and fought and conquered the tempter; for it was in this valley He spent some time, and on this bank He was hard beset; here was the dreadful conflict; here it was He was hedged in as you are; here the tempter raged as he never had raged before; and Jordan swelled and roared, and overflowed her banks; such a time was never known before, since the world began; but the Lamb gained the victory; bound the enemy, subdued Jordan, and passed safely over. And all his followers have to do, is to keep in the light and they need not fear." Then the prayer arose from my heart: "Oh Lord! help me to walk in the light of thy countenance; my times are in thy hands; deliver me from the hands of my enemies; make thy face to shine on thy servant; save me for thy mercies' sake." Then said my guide: "Be of good cheer."

Sanctification.
BY MRS. R. S.

Can we be sanctified and live?