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THE
HAPPINESS
OF
SEPARATE SPIRITS.
[DISC.
II.
spirits
of
a
more exalted station
?
Or
may
not
our.
Lord
Jesus Christ
himself
be
the everlasting teacher
of
his
church
?
May he
not at
solemn seasons summon
all
heaven
to
hear
him
publish
some new
and surprizing dis-
coveries, which
have
never
yet
been
made
known
to
the
ages
of
nature, or
of
grace,
and are reserved
to
entertain
the attention,
and exalt the pleasure of spirits advanced
to
glory
?
Must
we
learn
all by
the mere
contemplation
of
Christ's person
?
Does
he
never make
use
of-
speech
to
the
instruction and
joy of
saints above
?
Moses
and Elijah
came down once
from
heaven to
make
a visit to
Christ
on
mount Tabor, and
the subject
of
their
converse
with
him was his
death and
departure
from this world
;"
Luke
ix.
31.
Now
since
our
Lord
is
ascended
to
heaven,
are
these
holy souls
cut
off from
this
divine pleasure
?
Is Jesus
for ever silent
?
Does he
converse
with his glorified
saints
no
.more
?
And
surely
if
he speak, the
saints
will
hear
and attend.
Or
it
may be
that our
blessed Lord, even
as
he
is
man,
has
some noble
and
unknown
way
of
communicating
a
long
discourse, or
a
long
train
of
ideas and discoveries
to
millions
of
blessed
spirits
at
once,
without
the formali-
ties
of
voice
and language
;
and
at
some
peculiar
seasons
he
may
thus
instruct
and delight
his
saints
in heaven.
Thus
it
appears there
may
be
something among the
spirits
of
the
just
above
that
is
analagous tó prayer and
preaching,
as well as
praise.
O
how gustful
are the pleasures
of
celestial worship
!
What
unknown varieties
of
performance, what sublime
ministrations there
are,
and
glorious
services,
none
can
tell.
And in all this
variety
which may be
performed in
sweet
succession,
there
is
no
wandering thought,
no cold
affection, no divided heart, no
listless
or
indifferent wor-
shipper.
What
we
call
rapture
and extasy here
on
earth,
is
perhaps
the
constant and
uninterrupted
pleasure
of
the
Fhurch
on high in all
their adorations.
But let
the worship
of
the
glorified
spirits be
ever,so
various, yet
I
cannot,
persuade
myself
that
mere
direct
acts or
exercises
of
what
we
properly
call worship,
are
their
only
and everlasting
work.
The
scripture
tells
us,
there are certain
seasons when
the
angels, those
sons
of
God,
come
to
present
themselves
before
the
Lord
;
Job
i. 6,
and
ii,
1,
It
is
çvidept
tI
ç;