The Pleasantville press. (Pleasantville, N.J.) 1912-1929, 1918-02-16

@@@ r remember m e
when thou contest
in thy kingdom" Or. W Christ at
once replied: "Verily I say unto thee,
today shalt thou be with me in Para
disc" These words of Christ are well
worthy our attention.
The promised blessing was for ITO
day." The thief thought of the king
dom, probably, as something afar off.
Jesus says, in effect, that he need not
wait so long, but that he would enter
that very day into bliss.
"Thou shalt be with me-" so says
the Lord. On the expression, with
me-" a noted Greek scholar says, mot
merely in my company, but sharing
with me. The promise implies con-
seriousness after DEATH"
Moreover, the Lord tells him exact.
ly where he shall enjoy this blessing,
viz, sin Paradise"
Bishop Moule on "Paradise."
We are moved at this point to give
a somewhat extended quotation from
Bishop Moule of the Church of Eng
land. He says: paradise is an orr
entail word meaning a royal pleasure
ground, q royal park or garden. 1t calls
up ideas accordingly of all that Is rich
and fair in the way of cultured nature.
1t suggests to us the loneliness of
woods, and lawn and flowers, and va
ters and also of the company which
possesses and enjoys the charming
scene, the friends, the guests, the fam
lily of the king. They are there for
delightful rest, or for delightful exer-
else. They have come from the battle
field, or the council, or the journey to
walk, to recline, to onvers to listen,
where all is beautiful with a large,
ordered, stately beauty. And all this
is taken up by the Lord Jesus, in his
use of the word Paradise, to set forth
n side Of the believers unseen life
after death. After the manner in
which spirits enjoy and spirits see, the
departed Christian walks by sight (Cf.
II Cor. &c, y, in a scene Of glorious
and restful beauty-in the garden Of
his King"
Into the Kings gardens the robber
would enter that very day.
Words Full of Comfort.
How full of comfort are the words
of the text to all believers who, like
the thief, shall be saved by grace! We,
too, enter into the Kings gardens, and
better still, the Kings presence, on
the very day of our death. ITO de-
partp is ito be with Christ" (Phil.
1928. AS one has put it, only a line,
not a space, separates between us and
him. To be "absent from the body"
Cor. 5:8 R. W.
Moreover, Paul says that to be with
Christ is far better" (Phil. 1928.
How c~onclusively this shows that he
did not expect to enter upon a state
Of Inconsistencies at death. For him
to live was Christ, and he was happy
in the Lords service. How blessed
must be that life upon which he ex-
pected to enter at death, when he could
speak Of it as gain" and as 'far bet
ter
Then, notice again that expression,
Eat home with the Lord" All the
love, and comfort, and ease implied in
being "at home" will be fulfilled and
even transcribed in the Fathers house.
We need not fear to trust ourselves or
u departed to him.
We believe the location of Paradise
has changed since the Old Testament
times. The saints of that day spoke
of going down" to Sheol, the under
world of the dead, of which Paradise
was a part. But Paul speaks of being
Caught up" to the third heaven, to
Paradise (II Cor. 1872, ~. 1t Is likely
that when Christ assembled he emptied
Sheol of the saints there, the "prison-
ers of hope" Ephesians AS (margin)
tells us that when he assembled up on
high he led captive a multitude of cap
tives. So the saint today enters into
an even brighter Paradise on high,
than that which the thief inherited.
How we should comfort ourselves
with these words A minister tells
how he grieved for his dead child and
would not be comforted. He would
visit the grave and thrust his walking.
stick into the sandy soil until ii
touched the little casket, but his heart
grew more and more sad. One day he
began saying to himself: with Christ
In Paradise" with Christ in Para.
disc" He soon came to see he could
ask for nothing more blessed for his
darling, and so he found peace.
My knowledge of that life Is small,
The eye of faith is dim;
But this l know, that Christ knows all
And / shall be with Him.