But  great
as  was  Solomon's  wisdom,  who  would  pre-
sume that  he  was  satisfied  with  his  attain-
ments in  knowledge  in  this  life,  or  that  when
he  passed  to  the  higher  sphere  of  an  immor-


Ube  Hctipitiea  of  1beax>en  6d

tal  life,  his  desire  to  know,  to  search  into  the
hidden  mysteries  of  the  works  and  ways  of
God,  was  in  any  manner  abated?  Does  not
inspiration  clearly  teach  that  the  present  life
is  but  the  incipient  stage  of  our  being,  only  a
stage  of  probation,  of  trial,  of  preparation,  a
stage  in  which  we  are  to  lay  the  foundation
of  character,  to  start  our  activities  in  the
right  direction,  to  train  our  varied  powers  in
the  merest  rudiments  of  work,  that  we  may
be  pre  pared  to  enter  upon  the  higher  stage
of  activity  that  awaits  us  in  the  life  beyond?
And  when  we  shall  have  entered  upon  that
immortal  state,  who  will  dare  to  say  that
there  will  be  any  bounds  set  to  our  progress,
any  limit  prescribed  to  our  attainments  in
knowledge,  in  holiness,  in  love,  in  the  power
to  appreciate  and  enjoy  the  things  that  apper-
tain to  the  Kingdom  of  God?

The  Apostle  Peter  speaks  of  ^^  Exceeding
great  and  precious  promises  tvherehy  we  are
become  partakers  of  the  Divine  Nature,''  and  if
we  are  even  now  become  partakers  of  that
nature,  which  belongs  in  its  perfection  to  God


70  XTbe  ©lories  ot  t>cavcn


alone,  shall  we  not  ceaselessly  aspire,  not  only
in  this  life,  but  more  especially,  and  more
successfully,  in  the  life  beyond,  to  approxi-
mate more  and  more  closely  to  the  glory  and
grandeur  and  the  infinite  perfection  that
belongs  to  that  nature?  But,  ^^  The  multi-
plication of  the  finite  can  not  produce  the
infinite,"  and  while  we  may  continually
aspire,  and  continually  advance  toward  that
Infinite  Paragon  of  Perfection,  we  can  never
reach  it;  but  there  will  always  be  heights
beyond  yet  accessible,  and  as  in  this  earthly
life,  so  in  the  heavenly,  the  more  we  know
the  more  we  will  desire  to  know,  and  the
nearer  we  approach,  in  nature,  to  God,  the
great  Center  of  spiritual  attraction,  the
stronger  will  become  the  force  that  impels  us
onward,  the  keener  will  become  our  suscepti-
bility of  enjoyment,  the  greater  will  become
our  capacity  to  receive,  appreciate  and  appro-
priate the  glories  of  that  blessed  estate. 