Page:Heaven Revealed.djvu/252

 Here, again, we are told that it is because angels are men, and live together in society like men on earth, that they are clad in garments—the same reason, observe, which was assigned for their dwelling in houses. The argument, brief as it is, when duly considered is seen to be one of immense force. It will bear expansion—requires it, indeed, that its full force may be seen and felt. In its expanded form it may be stated thus:

Man is endowed by his Creator with a certain constitution, physical and moral; and this constitution has its laws. His physical or material organization perishes, but the moral or spiritual, which is the real, never dies. And the laws of his immortal part remain forever the same. And belonging to this part of our nature, even when regenerate, are certain implanted instincts, wants and tendencies. And these must remain so long as man's spiritual constitution remains, or so long as he continues to be man. And while they remain, they impel him in certain directions, and necessitate a certain environment. For example, he is gifted with a social nature which impels him to seek the society of his fellows. And as this tendency belongs to our immortal part, it must exist in the Hereafter, and will therefore necessitate the existence of societies in the spiritual world.

Another of the laws or God-implanted tendencies of our moral nature, is that of spiritual affinity, which impels each one to seek the society of kindred spirits. This law or tendency can never cease until we cease to be human. Its active force in the Hereafter, therefore, necessitates the arrangement of angels and spirits into innumerable societies.