of this life if there is not something to open the burr and let out the spirit?

These tokens of decadence in us, if we read them in the light of the higher life, are but the approaching steps of deliverance.

A man that for twenty years has been endungeoned, under the old government of Rome, to-morrow is to see the light of day. All night he cannot sleep, for thinking how the world will look to him. In the morning, afar off his ear detects the sound of tramping in the court-yard, and hears some gate creak and crash back, and the key turn in the rusty lock. Nearer, he hears the long unused bolt of some huge door, with much pains pulled back, and the iron clashing which is caused by opening and shutting it. Now he hears voices; and they come nearer; and at last the key is put into the door of his own cell, and it turns in the lock, and the bolt falls back, and the jailor comes in with his companions, bringing a rescript of liberty, and all the implements by which his chains shall be taken off. And does a man sit and cower and cry and shrink because he is being liberated, as you do lest death shall set you free?

All these tokens of approaching dissolution are to be hailed with joy by those who believe that Christ, who rose from the dead, will bring us, by a glorious resurrection, from the dead, and that this resurrection is not a resurrection of the body (flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God), but that it is a resurrection of the spirit, by which the soul shall be lifted out of these earthly training conditions, and brought into a state of freedom; so that turning whichever way you may, in all the universe of God, you shall meet not one stranger, and shall hear voices sweeter than any music on earth, and the heart shall say, "I am no longer a stranger or a foreigner; I am with God, and Christ, and the good men of every age, my parents and children, and companions all;" and the thought wreathes itself as fragrance about me; and I say, "Why did I fear and push from me the beatitude and blessedness of my real life ?"

O aged matron! rejoice in your growing infirmities; the jailor is drawing nearer and nearer to let you out. O vener

able father! tremble on, and rejoice that the way is almost passed over, and that every one of the infirmities of this life shall be left behind, and that your manhood shall be as enduring as the throne of God. O child, fear not to go.

Fear not, maiden, to depart. The joys that you leave behind you, compared to the joys to which you go, are as the poor flowers of the wilderness compared with the flowers that blossom in a garden.

And when those have gone out of life who were dear to you, do not look upon death timidly, or as a man of unfaith looks upon it, with blank despair. Remember that you have sent your children and friends into the relationships and plenitude of love, where all shall be one in Christ Jesus, blessed and blessing forever.

PRAYER BEFORE THE SERMON.

THOU dost not wait, our Father, for our petitions. It is not for thy sake that we draw near and pray to thee, but for our own. We are glad that thou art patient to listen and willing that we should draw near to thee. That thou shouldst desire it is because thou art a Father; and we know how fathers feel toward their children. Even with their imperfections and faults, how does their love bathe them, and clothe them, and perfect them! And in thy sight we can only stand approved in the atmosphere and prophecy of thy love-in that which we are, and are to be, through thy grace.

We

So we draw near in prayer, not in a meager, poverty-stricken way, as if we were beggars, and as though thou neededst to be persuaded and informed: we come knowing how generous thou art, how affluent thou art, and knowing that such a nature as thine, of sympathy and perfection, stands quick and ready to pour forth blessings. rejoice that even in the asking we are supplied and over-supplied, not alone in the things which we ask, if they be possible, but in other things multitudinous. We rejoice, O Lord, that thy gifts are so plentiful and so wonderful in their variety. If, being sick, we sigh for the wind to blow that it may cool our cheek, blowing, it also lifts the leaves, wafts fragrance through the air, and cheers a thousand others; bringing a multitude of mercies that are not thought of; and so the breath which thou dost breathe upon our souls bringeth not alone what we ask, but innumerable other things. Sitting central as thou dost in the midst of all divine influences, and pouring forth life everywhere, how canst thou turn thyself every whither, and bestow thy grace upon all! We rejoice in thy sovereignty. We rejoice in tho creativeness of thy love. We rejoice that we are all called to thee not to be ranked among animals. We rejoice that there is that in us which reaches far above the flesh into the unknown, and touches God, and is touched by him, and is yet to be fashioned into the divine likeness perfectly, as now it is rudely and imperfectly. And in this hope we desire to live above the world while we are in it, and are using it, and are seeking another and a better land. We pray that we may live in ennobling thoughts of thee, and labor for the working of thy Spirit, and thy divine love in every soul. Cleanse us, we pray thee, from pride and vanity, and all hindering passions; from all outward faults; from temptations that overtake us; from easily besetting sins; from habits imperfectly controlled. Grant that we may become free in Christ Jesus, and turn sensitively toward things which are good, and with an irresistible attraction towards thee. and away from things that are dark and sluggish, and cold and hateful, sin-bred and filled with misery.

We pray, O Lord, that thou wilt draw near, this morning, to those in thy presence who need thee by reason of any special dealings of thy providence with them. Are they children of joy by reason of the overflowing of thy goodness? Then may their joy lift them up, and not make them selfish. May the prosperity of those who, this morning, rejoice in alertness of spirit and good cheer be consecrated in

thanksgiving and praise. May those who have, through thy goodness, achieved the ends which they have long sought, rejoice because they can associate thy foresight and guardianship with all the stages through which they have come. May it be a thing to be rejoiced over, that by God's great help we live from day to day and achieve successfully the tasks of life.

Be with those who are in the midst of not unwelcome trials and troubles; be with those who are manfully bearing this world's burdens; performing its duties; venturing the things that are to be ventured. May all acquit themselves as men, gird up their loins, and never faint. Taught of thee, and day by day receiving fresh supplies from thy unwasting Spirit, may they go on courageously in the work which thou hast imposed upon them. May they this day have the divine blessing and impulse resting upon them. We pray that more and more they may be able to consecrate their powers and endeavors to the welfare of men, and to the honor and glory of God.

We beseech of thee that thou wilt draw near to any who are weak; to any who are sick; to any who are in the gloom of trouble. Wilt thou irradiate their room, if they be hindered from coming to the sanctuary. Wilt thou be with them wherever they watch, and wherever they wait. Grant that they may easily open their arms, forth from which are to go God's angels, lent to them for a little while.

Draw near, our Father, to all who are poor and who are suffering from the mischiefs, and cares, and anxieties which befall them. Grant that though they are poor outwardly, they may be rich of heart, and that they may trust in the divine bounty, though they seem withheld from human bounty. May they be sustained, knowing that they are pilgrims and strangers here, and that it will be but a little while ere they will go hence. May their faith not fail them. May they not suffer from double poverty-without and within.

We pray that thou wilt grant thy blessing upon the young. We thank thee that there are so many who are being nurtured in the Lord. Grant that those that are in our midst may grow up to all manliness; to truth; to fidelity; to industry; to frugality; to temperance in all things; to purity of thought and feeling; to all noble ambitions; to the love of mankind; to the love, and reverence, and obedience of God.

Bless our schools. Bless those who superintend or minister therein. Bless the teachers and officers of these schools. And we pray that it may not be the knowledge of the letter alone, but also that knowledge that maketh wise unto salvation, that shall be imparted and received. We thank thee for so much success as has been granted to these little assemblies. May thy Spirit, with its ever-quickening power, abide in their midst.

We pray for thy blessing upon all those who go forth to make known the unsearchable riches of the truth as it is in Christ Jesus, in the waste places, in the by-ways, among the poor and sick, along our wharves, in jails, and prisons, and poor-houses. May those who have volunteered to cheer the unfortunate, and degraded, and desolate, be filled with the very Spirit and with the abundant blessings of the Lord their Master whom they imitate.

Bless, O Lord, the churches of this city, and of our whole land, that are working for thy cause. Be pleased to bless the President of these United States, and those who are joined with him in authority, and the Congress assembled. Grant that all their counselings may be wise, inspired and overruled for the furtherance of thine own purposes. Bless the Legislatures of the different States, the courts, the judges, the magistrates, and all rulers. Grant that the citizens may live obedient lives; that intelligence and morality may prevail; that the hearts of this people may more and more cleave together; and that there may be essential unity throughout the entire nation.

Nor do we pray selfishly for ourselves alone. May thy bounties become universal. May those jealousies cease which have separated nations so long, and those angry passions which have dashed one upon another. May the day come when there shall be the true fellowship of a true brotherhood. May men rise to a higher plane of life. May men seek after the things which shall strengthen, and not for the things that shall weaken one another. May all ignorance and superstition disappear; may the lower feelings cease to rule; may the Spirit of God with all wisdom dwell with all mankind, and this world become as the kingdom of heaven.

And to thy name shall be the praise, Father, Son, and Spirit. Amen.

PRAYER AFTER THE SERMON.

OUR Father, we pray that thou wilt take away from us the shadow which overhangs the bright and blessed valley through which we seek thee. Bring us at last, we pray thee, to some faith in thy truth. O how long shall the heavens drop down upon us promises! How long shall thy words be in our ears not understood? How long to the dumb and to the deaf shall they call from off the walls of heaven, saying, Come? How long shall we believe in things which belong to the body, and not in things which belong to the soul? Blessed Spirit, give to us something of our birthright; something of the vision that belongs to us; and grant that our sorrows, which have so surged about us in the past, may, at the coming of Christ, be assuaged. Grant that our disappointed hopes may seem to be grafted on a better and more enduring stalk in the other life. May we rise up and set our affection on things above, where Christ sitteth, on the right hand of God, and not on things upon the earth. Wilt thou bless us, now, for the rest of this day, and prepare us for its events, and for thy kingdom at last, through riches of grace in Christ Jesus. Amen.