Standing  of  the  common  people,  who  are  led  by
their  faith  to  enter  on  a  better  course  of  life,  he
was  nevertheless  obliged  afterwards  to  say  (in
order  that  we  might  not  misapprehend  his  mean-
ing) ,  after  "  Let  us  bear  the  image  of  the  heaven-
ly," these  words  also  :  "  Now  this  I  say,  brethren,
that  flesh  and  blood  cannot  inherit  the  kingdom
of  God ;  neither  doth  corruption  inherit  incor-
ruption."^ Then,  knowing  that  there  was  a
secret  and  mystical  meaning  in  the  passage,  as
was  becoming  in  one  who  was  leaving,  in  his
Epistles,  to  those  who  were  to  come  after  him
words  full  of  significance,  he  subjoins  the  follow-
ing, "  Behold,  I  show  you  a  mystery ;  "  ^  which
is  his  usual  style  in  introducing  matters  of  a  pro-
founder  and  more  mystical  nature,  and  such  as
are  fittingly  concealed  from  the  multitude,  as  is
written  in  the  book  of  Tobit :  **  It  is  good  to
keep  close  the  secret  of  a  king,  but  honourable
to  reveal  the  works  of  God,"**  —  in  a  way  con-
sistent with  truth  and  God's  glory,  and  so  as  to
be  to  the  advantage  of  the  multitude. Our  hope,
then,  is  no/  "  the  hope  of  worms,  nor  does  our
soul  long  for  a  body  that  has  seen  comiption  ;  "
for  although  it  may  require  a  body,  for  the  sake
of  moving  from  place  to  place,*^  yet  it  under-
stands—  as  having  meditated  on  the  wisdom
(that  is  from  above),  agreeably  to  the  declara-
tion, "The  mouth  of  the  righteous  will  speak
wisdom  "  '° — the  difference  between  the  "  earthly
house,"  in  which  is  the  tabernacle  of  the  build-
ing that  is  to  be  dissolved,  and  that  in  which
the  righteous  do  groan,  being  burdened,  —  not
wishing  to  "put  off"  the  tabernacle,  but  to  be
"  clothed  therewith,"  that  by  being  clothed  upon,
mortality  might  be  swallowed  up  of  life. 