th
Him,--"together with them,"--in the quiet chambers of the air!

_Seventh_.--"And so shall we ever be with the Lord." There is an
eternity of unmingled bliss. How short the time of separation, oh ye
mourning ones, compared with this! The pain is but for a moment,
whilst there is a far more exceeding and eternal weight of comfort.

What a contrast! Death is the sad, gloomy, mysterious, unknown
boundary for all, groans Ecclesiastes, "for that is the end of all
men." There is no end to the joy of the redeemed, says Revelation; and
Faith sings "forever with the Lord." What deep need of Himself has
this man's heart, that He has made. If in this sad scene we get one
ray of true comfort it is when "with Him"; one thrill of true joy it is
when "with Him"; one hour of true peace it is when "with Him." We were
intended, meant, created, _to need Him_. Let us remember that, and
then see the sweet comfort in that word, "so shall we _ever_ be with
the Lord." Man is at last, may it be said, in his _element_. His
spirit gets the communion that it needs--with Him forever; his soul,
the love it needs, in Him forever; his body the perfection it
needs--like Him forever! Is not this revelation self-evidently of
God--worthy of Him--possible only to Him?

Again, let us ask what would Solomon have given for a song like this,
instead of his mournful, groan "for death is the end of all men"!
Alas, as he goes on, he finds that even this is not the case, except as
regards the scene "under the sun." He finds it impossible to escape a
conclusion, as startling as it is logical, that there is another scene
to which death may introduce, from which there is no escape.

Our writer, ignorant as he confessedly is of this glorious light of
divine revelation, still speaks in praise of the feeble glimmer that
human wisdom gives. From his point of view, wealth and wisdom are both
good,--are a "defense" or "shadow" to their possessors; but still that
which men generally esteem the most--wealth--is given the second place;
for knowledge, or wisdom, has in itself a positive virtue that money
lacks. It "gives life to them that have it," animates, preserves in
life, modifies, at least in measure, the evils from which it cannot
altogether guard its possessor; and, by giving equanimity to a life of
change and vicissitude, proves, in some sort, its own life-giving
energy. How infinitely true this is with regard to Him who is absolute
infinite Wisd