world. It is in all matc~ial existences. It has been said that one-seventh of our -earth's crust is comprised of limestone, and limestone contains the sepulchres of departed existences. We feed on death, and by our own death become food for future -existences. The husk is not the germ, the body is not the man. It is his house that must crumble, it i~ his garment that must wear out. III. MAN'S RESURRECTION. What is his resurrection? A springing-up of his being from the earth. After the death of the grain there is a resurrection of the seed that ,comes forth into new forms of life and beauty. It is not the husk that rises, but the germ. After the burial of the body the man comes fo1th into new life. The body rots, the man rises. Whether Paul refers here to the resurrection of the body from the grave -or not, one thing is cleat, that at death there is a real resurrection of the soul. As when the husks of the seed rot in the earth the seed itself is quickened, so when tho body falls int-0 the dust the soul springs forth into new life-a life of woe or bliss, accord- ing to its moral character. There is a resurrection, a standing-up of every soul at death. "The dust returns to dust-, the soul to God who gave it." ·wm the body itself ):"ise from the grave after it .has gone to dust? It may, and we see some evidence to enable us to cherish the cheering hope. Whether this be a delusion or not, one thing is certain-the soul rises up at the fall of the body to its dust, and this is a most real and solemn resurrection. We "know that when the earthly house of this our tabernacle is dissolved, we have a building of God above, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens." Ver. 41.-Diversity in the heavenly inhabitants. "One star differeth from another star in glory." The iLlea of Paul unquestionably is that there is as great a variety amongst redeemed men in the celestial world as there is in the orbs of heaven, that saint differs from saint as star from star in the midnight vault. ,v e offer three remarks on this subject. Such a variety is- I. A FAC'.l.' WELL SUSTAINED. 1. It is sustained by all analogy. Variety reigns through every part of nature, not only in celestial, but in terrestrial spheres. No two -objects are exactly alike. This variety reveals the illimitable inventiveness of the Divine mind, and gives to the universe its eternal freshness and transporting charms. 2. It meets the instinctive love for the new in human souls. All souls loathe monotony _and crave for the fresh. A dead uniformity would crush out its life. 3. It agrees with the varieties found amongst men here. No two minds are alike here. They differ in the kind and measure of faculty, differ in the educational processes through which they have passed, differ in the positions which they occupy in relation to all objecti vc truths and realities. Is it conceivable that all these varieties can be lost in the higher world, that all souls will run into a common mould? 4. It accords with the general teaching of the Scriptures. Paul speaks of the temple of the good as composed of gold, silver, and 1,recious stones. Christ refers to Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, ns sustaining the most honourable positions at the heavenly feast. Ay, ay, there must be varieties there. There are the speculative in mind and the practical, the imaginative and the logical, tho intuitive and the philosophical; there are those who have been advancing in intelligence and power for millenniums, and those who have just commenced their heavenly studies, with those of every intervening stage. Such a variety is- 11. ESSENTIAL TO SOCIAL IlLESSEDNESS. Suppose a society, all of whose members -shall be exactly alike in temperament, in experience, in attainments, in articles of faith, in modes of thought, and in forms of expression. Could there in such a circle be any social enjoyment? What one thought, all thought; what one felt, all felt: why, such a state of things would be incompatible, not only with social enjoyment, but with social life. The monotony would become intolerable. The utmost variety in speculative thought is compatible with unity of heart; and the larger variety in spiritual temperament and conception in any circle-where all hearts are one-the hi"her the social enjoyment. Most unwise, most unrighteous, most impious, have been th~ attempts of ecclesiastics to force on all men the same system of thought and form of worship. Such a variety is- III. CONSISTENT WITH '.1.'HE HIGHEST UNITY. "One star diITereth from another star in glory." 1. \Vhatever variety _in tho stars, they _have one cen~re. Some larger, some smaller, some aimmer, some brighter, some movmg more quickly, and some moru 504 THE FIRST EPISTLE TO THE CORINTHIANS. [en. xv. l-ii8.
i;lowly, yet all move round the same central orb: so with sainted souls. ,v11atcver their diversities, they revolve round one great ccntre--God. God in nnturc and God in Christ. 2. \Vhatcver variety in the stars, they are controlled by one law. Attraction ruo,,es all, regulates all, keeps each in its place and speed. 0110 law, the law of love, rules all sainted souls above, however illimitable their varieties. 3. Whatever variety in the stars, they fulfil one mission. They nil catch the light from the central orb, and flash their borrowed ra'tliance abroad through all their spheres. So with souls above. They are all the recipients and reflecton, of Divine light and love.