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, John 5:24; John 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, απαρτι, 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, Isaiah 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.