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hundred years old;" or, he shall at once attain to as great perfection as though he had been at that age when he left this world; and this is given as a reason why" there shall be no more thence an infant of days," or helpless infants there. They will be at once as capable of taking care of themselves as though they had left this world" a hundred years old." There shall not be there "an old man that hath not filled his days." As there shall be no sorrow from infancy, so there shall be none from age; for, old men who have "filled" their days, i. e., the righteous old men, shall have their "youth renewed like the eagle;" Ps. ciii. 5; while the sinner an hundred years old shall be accursed;" that is, he shall not enter that new earth at all; for nothing that is cursed can come there.This I believe to be the plain sense of this 20th verse. In this interpretation I am sustained by the reading and notes in some of the oldest Bibles. One copy, printed before 1580, reads thus: "There shall be no more there a child of years, nor an old man that hath not filled his years; for he that shall be an hundred years old shall die as a young man." A note in the margin says, Meaning, in this wonderful restoration of the church, there shall be no weakness of youth nor infirmities of age, but all shall be fresh and flourishing: and this is accomplished in the heavenly Jerusalem when all sins shall cease and the tears shall be wiped away." On the last clause of the verse, "the sinner being an hundred years old shall be accursed," the same note says, Whereby he showed that the infidels and unrepentant sinners have no part of this benediction."

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"But," continues the objector," it cannot refer to the immortal state, for the 21st verse says—They shall build houses and inhabit them. Surely nothing of that can take place in heaven."

Where is heaven? Most people suppose that heaven is somewhere in indefinite space, but seem to have no definite idea what it is, nor where it is. Of course, their faith has no object to rest upon; the result is. they have become reconciled to make the best

of this world, and are striving to make themselves so comfortable in their fine houses, pleasant walks, and worldly joys, that you cannot give them greater trouble than to tell them Christ is coming to put his saints into their inheritance: they are well satisfied to live here forever, without Christ, in preference to going to a heaven of which they have no definite idea.

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But let us see what the Scriptures teach about the saints' inheritance. See the following texts. Psa. xxxvii. 9: "For evil doers shall be cut off: but those that wait upon the Lord, they shall inherit the earth." Verse 11: But the meek shall inherit the earth; and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace. Verse 22: "For such as be blessed of him shall inherit the earth; and they that be cursed of him shall be cut off." Verse 29: "The righteous shall inherit the land, and dwell therein forever." Verse 34: "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." "See" what? See the land they are to inherit. When? "When the wicked are cut off;" according to Proverbs ii. 22: "But the wicked shall be cut off from the earth, and the transgressors shall be rooted out of it." Then "the upright shall dwell in the land, and the perfect shall remain in it." And our Saviour saith-Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth."

Have these and similar promises ever been fulfilled to the saints? No; their portion has been and will be, in this world, TRIBULATION." But the promise is, that they shall inherit the earth—be "HEIRS OF THE WORLD." See Rom. iv. 13.

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The earth, then, renewed, regenerated by fire, the power of God, is to be the eternal inheritance of the saints, and they shall "DWELL THEREIN FOREVER."

Having now settled the place of the saints' abode, we may attend to what Isaiah saith. "They shall build houses and inhabit them." "Will they build houses in the new earth?" So Isaiah saith: and shall

I dispute it? God says they will, and I dare not say, nay. See the description of the New Jerusalem, Rev. 21st chapter. Here are "walls—gates,' " &c.

It looks very much like building; and I know of no right we have to make the language figurative. I agree with Isaiah, then; they will build houses and inhabit them. "Let God be true," if "every man

is proved a "liar.”

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But says the objector—" The prophet tells us 'They shall plant vineyards, and eat the fruit of them.' Do you think they will eat there?" Why not? Angels eat. See Psa. lxxviii. 25: "Man did eat angels' food." Where? In the wilderness, when God gave them" manna," "the corn of heaven." See also Gen. xviii., where the "Lord" and "two angels appeared to Abraham. What was done on that occasion? "And Abraham hastened into the tent unto Sarah, and said, Make ready quickly three measures of fine meal, knead it, and make cakes upon the hearth. And Abraham ran unto the herd, and fetched a calf tender and good, and gave it unto a young man ; and he hastened to dress it. And he took butter, and milk, and the calf which he had dressed, and set it before them and he stood by them under the tree, and THEY DID EAT." Our Lord ate after his resurrection. See Acts x. 40, 41: "Him God raised up the third day, and shewed him openly not to all the people, but unto witnesses chosen before of God, even to us, who did eat and drink with him after he rose from the dead." Thus we see our Lord eat, and why may not his members after their resurrection?

Now look at the following texts. Luke xxii. 29: "And I appoint unto you a kingdom, as my Father hath appointed unto me:" Verse 30: That ye may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom, and sit on thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel." Rev. vii. 17: For the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes." I might multiply this tes

timony, but enough has been given to show what the Scriptures teach on the question; and that, in the immortal state, there is eating and drinking; not figuratively, but really.

"But that makes heaven very carnal!" I ask,— Does it make it any more carnal than the Bible makes it? I think not: and I dare not alter it.

Verse 22: "They shall not build and another inhabit;" [as men often do in this world ;] "they shall not plant and another eat;" [i. e., they shall not have the fruit of their efforts wrested from them, as is frequently done in this state of sin and covetousness;] "for as the days of a tree" [even "the tree of life which is in the midst of the Paradise of God"] are the days of my people, and mine elect shall long enjoy the work of their hands," [even "forever and ever."]

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Verse 23: "They shall not labor in vain, nor bring forth [the fruit of that labor] for trouble;" [because there is none to "hurt or destroy" in the new earth ;] "for they are the seed of the blessed of the Lord, and their offspring with them." ["Behold, I and the children which thou hast given me." Such will, no doubt, be the language of many who have been instrumental in bringing their children into the new earth.]

Verse 24: "And it shall come to pass, that before they call, I will answer; and while they are yet speaking, I will hear."

This denotes the special and constant attention that God will give to their "desires," all of which will there "be granted;" and that without delay.

Verse 25: "The wolf and the lamb shall feed together, and the lion shall eat straw like the bullock; and dust shall be the serpent's meat. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain, saith the Lord."

"That shows," says the objector, "that it cannot be in the immortal state, or new earth." But I askWhy not? Can any man prove that there are to be

no animals in that land? I think none can do it. When Adam was created there were animals on the

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earth; and none, I apprehend, can show that those animals would ever have died, had it not been for the introduction of sin. The animal creation have suffered by the sin of man, and not by their own fault. God pronounced his work, at the close of creation, very good;" and when the work of "restitution" is accomplished, let any man show, who can, that there are no animals in that regenerated state. It is true, their ferocious character will be changed, and will correspond with the peaceable character of the inhabitants of the new earth. Can any man believe the earth, itself, would ever have been "cursed," [see Gen iii. 17,] had it not been for sin? The animals felt the shock, and "the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now;" but when the "times of restitution of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began," comes, then, let him show, who can, that animals will not be restored to that which they lost by no fault of their own. The new earth will be no more than "very good ;" and when the earth was very good there were animals. See Gen i. 24, 25, 26: "And God said, Let the earth bring forth the living creature after his kind, cattle, and creeping thing, and beasts of the earth after his kind: and it was so. And God made the beast of the earth after his kind, and cattle after their kind, and everything that creepeth upon the earth after his kind: and God saw that it was good. And God saw everything he had made, and behold it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day."

When "the redemption of the purchased posses sion" is fully accomplished, and God says "IT IS DONE," then shall all things which are not cursed by their own fault, again be very good; nor can I see any reason why animals, which were included in the approbation God gave to his works, are to be excluded from that regeneration.

This view presents to the mind a heaven, not of imagination, but of reality: a heaven such as the

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