len heads. She, and
all with her, who have washed their robes in the blood of the Lamb,
are trophies of free, saving mercy; monuments of that love which, when
stern justice had dragged us to the mouth of the pit, and angels, who
had seen their fellows punished by one awful act of vengeance, stood
in dread and silent expectation of another, graciously interposed,
saying, "Deliver from going down to the pit, I have found a ransom."
Then, blessed Son of God, thou didst step forward to say, And I am
that ransom! From that day heaven was happier. It found a new joy.
Angels tuned their golden harps to higher strains; and now, these
blessed spirits, above the mean jealousies of earth's elder brothers,
whenever they see Christ born anew in a soul--a sinner born again,
called, converted, apparelled in Jesus' righteousness, rejoicing in
His arms, or even weeping at His feet, wake up the old, grand
birth-song, singing, "Glory to God in the highest!" "There is joy,"
said Jesus, "in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that
repenteth--joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth, more
than over ninety and nine just persons, which need no repentance."

_PART II._

No man hath seen God at any time; so saith the Scriptures. He who is
confined to no bounds of space cannot in the nature of things have any
visible form. God has however occasionally made revelations of
Himself; and such are described in language which seems opposed alike
to the declarations of Scripture and the deductions of reason. It is
said, for instance, of Moses and Aaron, when they ascended Mount
Sinai, that "they saw the God of Israel;" and Isaiah tells how he "saw
the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train
filled the temple." Believing with the Jews that if any man saw God he
could not survive, but would die as by a flash of lightning, the
prophet was struck with terror, and cried, in expectation of immediate
death, "I am undone; for mine eyes have seen the Lord of hosts."

The object seen in these and also other cases was no doubt the
Schekinah--that holy and mysterious flame whereby God made His
presence known in the days of old. We know little concerning it beyond
this, that it was of the nature of light. The fairest, purest, oldest
of created things, passing untainted through pollution, turning gloomy
night into day, and imparting their varied beauties to earth and air
and ocean, this of all material eleme