Page:The Last Judgement and Second Coming of the Lord Illustrated.djvu/197

 happiness and light. The state of heaven is like that of the human mind when in an orderly condition, and as the perfection of the mind is increased by successive receptions of intelligence and wisdom, so the felicities of heaven are augmented by continued accessions to the number of its inhabitants. Thus, to be admitted into heaven is not simply to receive a blessing, it is also to carry into it some graces which we have been enabled to cultivate and love; its felicities arise out of the mutual and reciprocal action of purity and virtue. The Lord tells us that there is joy in heaven over the sinner who repents; the reason is because when a man is repenting, good is being implanted; that good is from heaven; it brings the individual who receives it nearer to the Lord's kingdom, and it provides occasion for a joy that did not previously exist. Heaven, in the abstract, is wisdom and virtue with all their uses; in the concrete it is those excellences implanted in the human soul. These things, in their essence and their origin, are the Lord's, and are, therefore, infinite; but they are capable of indefinite modifications and development in the finite recipient: each one receives them differently, and they become a peculiarity in the individual; consequently, every additional variety must contribute something to the perfection of the whole. A society whose only object is to do good, must, by every addition to its numbers, have its power to do good increased, and thereby the enlargement of its excellence and happiness will be promoted. Now the inhabitants of heaven are such a society, and this in a pre-eminent degree; therefore, every one who is added to their number will carry with him something by which to increase the happiness of all. Can anything which is capable of promoting such a purpose have a termination? or can any conceivable means be considered