13 And I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Write, Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth: Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labours; and their works do follow them.



Ver. 13. A voice from heaven] That voice of Christ, Joh_5:24; Joh_8:51.



Write, Blessed are the dead] Though by the pope accursed and pronounced damned heretics.



Which die in the Lord] Especially if for the Lord; which is (saith Father Latimer) the greatest promotion in the world, such as is not granted to any angel in heaven.



From henceforth] As well as heretofore in those primitive persecutions. Or, from henceforth, that is, presently from the very time of their death, áðáñôé , e vestigio, a mode, ab ipso mortis tempere. This puts out the very fire of purgatory; for if all believers die in Christ, and are blessed, and that presently, then none are to be purged.



Rest from their labours] The sleep of these labourers, oh, how sweet is it! Quale sopor fessis in gramine -they get the goal, they enter the haven:



" Italiam socii laeto clamors salutant."



A Christian here is like quicksilver (which hath in itself a principle of motion, but not of rest), never quiet; but as the ball upon the racket, ship upon the waves, &c. Death brings him to his rest, Isa_57:2.



And their works follow them] They die not with them, as Hortensius’s Orations did. Mors privare potest opibus, non operibus, Death may deprive a man of his wealth, but not of his works.