Page:The Last Judgement and Second Coming of the Lord Illustrated.djvu/324

 who are connected with the Church, through a love of truth and goodness. They are said to mourn when the sign of the Son of man appears, because they will experience grief when, by means of truth, they see the errors which have prevailed concerning Him. The sincere will be sure to lament when they learn how truth has been mistaken, and perceive the difficulties which stand in the way to oppose its proclamation and acceptance.

Now it is persons of this character who are to "see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven." As the sign of the Son of man is that Divine truth which calls attention to Him; so the Son of man is the Lord in His Divine Humanity, in which He has mercifully adapted Himself to the faith and apprehension of mankind. Hence He is the true light which enlighteneth every man that cometh into the world; that is, of all who come into the Church: for He is not the light of those who are not of the Church. The clouds in which He is to come to men are those literal representations of His Word by which His spiritual glory is obscured. By that Word He teaches and enlightens, as men are disposed to learn and obey. The letter of it is called the clouds of heaven, because it veils the heavenly things contained within, and those things are so veiled to protect them from the profanations of the wicked. The clouds of nature are generally considered as the lowest parts of the natural heavens, covering the light which is above; yet they are always more or less irradiated by it, and they transmit the light which they receive, in a modified form, to the earth which is below. It is on this account that they have been selected to represent the letter of the Word. For that is the basis of all heavenly truth, veiling the light which is within; yet the letter is variously illuminated by it, and this it