Serin. XXV. The Ble,ffednefr of GoodAlen, after heath. 18 3 the other ; 'and therefore it Is added in the t 2 Verfe, Here is the Patience of the Saints: Here are they that keep the commandments ofGod, and thefaith of:Plus. This is reprefented in St. John's l ,fions, as theTaft and extremeft Perfecution of trueWorfhippers of God, and which fhould precede the final Downfall ofBabylon. And when this fhould happen, then he tells us, thePatience of. the Saints would he tried to purpofe, and then it would be feen, who are faithful to God, and con- flant to his Truth; and upon this immediately follows the Voice from Heaven in the Text ; And I beard a voice from heaven, laying unto me, Write, Bleffed are the deadwhich die in the Lord, from henceforth : Tea, faith the Spirit, that they may refl from their labours ; and their,works do follow them. The main Difficulty of the words, depends upon the word ä,rápTifrom hence- forth ; which Interpreters do varioufly refer to feveral parts of the Text. Some by changing the Accent, and reading, it, a'7rapl, would change the fignification of the word into onanina ; omninà beati funt, they are altogether bleffed, very happy, who die in the Lord. But this is altogether deftituteof the Countenance and War- rant of any ancient Copy. We will then fuppofe that the word is ävrdpi, and to be rendered as we Tranflate it, from henceforth, from this time. All the Difficul- ty, is to what part of the Text we are to refer it. Some refer it to the word Blef- fed ; Bleffed from henceforth are the dead which die in the Lord: As if from this time, and not before, the Souls of Good Men were, immediately after Death, admitted into Heaven ; which, many of the Ancient Fathers thought, the Souls of Good Men who died before the coming of Chrift, were not. But then this Blelfednefs ought to have been dated, not from the time of St. John's Vifion, but of Chrift's Afcenfion g according to that of St. Ambrofe, in the Hymn called Te Denn:; When thou hadfl overcome the fharpnefs of death, thou didfl open the Kingdom of Heaven to all Believers. Others refer it to dying in the Lord, Bleffedare the dead, thatfrom henceforth die in the Lord. But this bath no peculiar Emphafis in it ; becaufe they were bleffed, that diedin the Lord, before that time. Others refer it to the words following, concerning the Teftimony ofthe Spirit; yea, from henceforth faith the Spirit. All thefe Varieties agree in this Senfe in general ; That force fpecial Bleffednefs is Promifed and Declared to thofe who fhould die after that time : But what that is in. Particular, is not ealle to make out. But the molt plain and fimple Interpretation, and that which feems to be molt fuitable to the Occafion of thefe words, is this ; that the word ohrípv, fromhence- forth, is to be referred to the. whole Sentence, thus; from henceforth bleed are the dead which die in the Lord; as if St. John had faid, confidering the Extre- mityand cruel Circuniftances of this la/f and fevere Perfecution, we may from that timeforward reckon thofe, whoare already' dead, .(fuppofing that they died in the Lord) to be very happy; in that they did not live to fee and Puffer thofe things, which will then befall the faithful Servants of God, when theDevil(hall come, having great wrath, becaufe be knoweth be hath but a fliort time. Much in the fame Senfe as Solomon, when he conlidered the oppreffions that were done under the Sun, fays, Eccl, 4. 2. That he praifed the dead which were already dead ; more than the.living, which were yet alive ; that is, confidering the Op preffions, which were fo frequent in the World ; he reckoned thofe happier that were out of . it, than thofe who frill lived in it. o And as this is very agreeable to the Seope of what goes before ; fo it fuits very well with what follows after, as the Reafon, why thofe Perfons are declared to be fo happy ; yea, faith the Spirit, that they may tell from their labours; and their works do follow them; that is, that they may be at an end of their Troubles and Sufferings; and may not be tryed beyond their Strength and Patience, under that Terrible Perfecution which will. reign at that time ; and likewife that they may receive the Reward of all the'Good they have done, and the Evils they.have fuf- feted in this World; in the very fame fenfe, that the righteous are laid to be taken away from theevil to come, Efai. 57. I, 2. The righteous is taken awayfrom the evil to come, he(hall enter into peace: They fhall re/l in their beds, each one walking
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