es are enlarged, and sorrows and sins are for ever ended. Neither
such negatives as 'no night there,' 'neither sorrow nor crime,' 'no more
pain,' nor such metaphors as 'white robes' and 'golden crowns' and
'seats on thrones' are enough. We are 'heirs of God,' and only as we
possess Him, and know that we are His, and He is ours, are we 'rich to
all intents of bliss.' That inheritance is here set forth as being 'in
light' and as belonging to saints. Light is the element and atmosphere
of God. He is in light. He is the fountain of all light. He is light;
perfect in wisdom, perfect in purity. The sun has its spots, but in Him
is no darkness at all. Moons wax and wane, shadows of eclipse fall,
stars have their time to set, but 'He is the Father of lights with whom
can be no variation, neither shadow that is cast by turning.' All that
light is focussed in Jesus the Light of the world. That Light fills the
earth, but here it shineth in darkness that obstructs its rays. But
there must be a place and a time where the manifestation of God
corresponds with the reality of God, where His beams pour out and there
is nothing hid from the heat thereof, nothing which they do not bless,
nothing which does not flash them back rejoicing. There is a land
whereof the Lord God is the Light. In it is the inheritance of the
'saints,' and in its light live the nations of the saved, and have God
for their companion. All darkness of ignorance, of sorrow, and of sin
will fade away as the night flees and ceases to be, before the rising
sun.

The phrase 'to be partakers' is accurately rendered 'for the portion,'
and carries a distinct allusion to the partition of the promised land to
Israel by which each man had his lot or share in the common inheritance.
So the one word inheritance brings with it blessed thoughts of a common
possession of a happy society in which no man's gain is another's loss,
and all envyings, rivalries, and jealousies have ceased to be, and the
other word, 'the portion,' suggests the individual possession by each of
his own vision and experience. Each man's 'portion' is capable of
growth; each has as much of God as he can hold. The measure of his
desire is the measure of his capacity. There are infinite differences in
the 'portions' of the saints on earth, and heaven is robbed of one of
its chief charms unless we recognise that there are infinite differences
among the saints there. For both states the charter by which the
portio