fig TfIE ETAPPIÑESS OF sEPARATi! SPTILITS. [171SC. all when we leave this body; and that for two reasons One is, because God has never yet received the honour due to his wisdom and power, displayed in the material creation, from the hands or tongues of men. And the other is,, because the spirits of the just shall be joined W bodies again,'and then they shall certainly have necessary converse with God's material works and worlds ; though perhaps they have more acquaintance with them now in their separate state, than we are apprized of. And besides all these material works of God, what an unknown variety of other wonders belong to the world of pure spirits, which lie hid from us and are utterly concealed behind the veil of flesh and blood! What are their natures, and the reach of their powern!' What ranks and orders they are distributed into ! What are their governments, their several employments, the differ- ent customs and manners of life in the various and most extensive regions of that intellectual world ! What are their messages to our earth, or the other habitable globes, and what capacities they are endowed with to move or influence animate or inanimate bodies ! Ali these, and a thousand more of the like nature, are made known doubtless to the inhabitants of heaven. These are things that belong 'to the provinces of light and immortality, but many of them are mysteries to us who dwell in these tabernacles ; they lie far beyond our ken, and are wrapt up in sacred darkness, that we can hardly do so much as shoot a guess at them. Now can we suppose that the meanest spirit in heaven has a full an entire surveyof all these innumerable works of God, from the first moment of its'entrance thither; throughout all the ages of immortality, without the change of one idea, or the possibility of any improve- "merit ? This would be to give a sort of omniscience to every happy spirit, which is more than is generally al: lowed to the man Christ Jesus. And if there be such a thing as degrees of glory among the saints above, we may be well assured that the lowest rank of blessed spi- ritsis not advanced to this amazing.degree. Is there no new thing,, neither under nor above the sun, that God can entertain any of his childrenwith in the upper world, throughout the infinite extent of all future ages ? are they all made at once so much like God, as
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