Can you not recall the hour when, standing by the grave of some departed relative or friend, you have received comfort in the midst of your affliction from this declaration-" Blessed are the dead"? Have you not received comfort yourselves, and have you not administered to others, this healing medicine for their woe?

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But the comfort of these words does not cease with the circumstances under which we are first affected by them. In all the remainder of our lives they will stay with us, and continue to cheer us; in the day of adversity; in the hour of temptation; when depressed by want; when harassed with sickness; we shall be led by them to reflect upon the happier condition of our departed friend. We shall joy to think that his soul is beyond the reach of all we endure; beyond the reach of all peril, and all sorrow; safe in the hand of God, at rest, and in peace. And so far from repining at his being taken from us, so far from wishing to call him back again, our earnest prayer, our daily aim, will be so to live now, that we may not be separated from him. hereafter; that we, too, when we die, may enter into the rest of God.

These reflections upon the "blessedness of the dead who die in the Lord," are surely at no time. unsuitable for us as Christians to entertain. But they appear more directly to force themselves upon

our minds after reading the service, and considering the spirit of that festival which we this day celebrate the festival of All Saints,-so called because it is the day on which our church remembers with praise, and thanksgiving, not one or two of her holiest, and now happy members-not Saint Paul, not Saint Peter, not Saint Stephen-not any one apostle or martyr, for whom, as you know, there are particular festivals-but the day on which she remembers all her holy ones-all the saints-all of every time, age, language, nation, and degree, who have ever died as they lived-in the faith and fear of God, and of His Christ. Yes, and all the people of God who are yet in the world; for these, as living members of their Lord's one body, are knit together in a real but mysterious union with one another, and with those who are departed: a union of hope, and charity, and faith.

All these are comprehended in the service of this day; a service which need not give rise to feelings of gloom and grief, but rather to those of joy and gladness for it carries our thoughts upwards, even to those realms of bliss where the souls of the faithful are in joy, and felicity: it carries our thoughts upwards, and leads us to give, as indeed we are most bound to do, all thanks, and praise to our Almighty Father for rescuing so many of His creatures out of the bondage of sin and death.

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Such being the intention for which this day has been appointed to be kept holy, the importance of so observing it, and the benefit that may be derived from so doing, is manifestly great. If it be a good thing to have our hearts and minds lifted up, even for a little moment, above the load of our earthly occupations,—if it be a good thing to have the pattern of "just men made perfect" exhibited to our view for our admiration, and emulation,-if it be a good thing to be put in mind of our common "fellowship in the Gospel," of the close union which subsists between the members dead or living of the one body or church of the Lord Jesus Christ ;-if, lastly, it be a good thing to be stirred up to greater diligence in all christian duties,-if this be good for our souls' health, (and who will say that it is not?) then, surely it is a good, and a blessed thing to do on this day as appointed for us,-to keep in memory the company of the saints, of those who have been redeemed to God out of all kindreds, nations, and languages of the whole world; to keep them in memory, and to consider their conversation, their actual life and demeanor amongst men, with a view to follow their faith, if so be that we finally, through God's aid, and guidance, may as well as they come to those unspeakable joys, which He has prepared for them that love Him, through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Let us, then, my brethren, shortly recur to that account of God's holy people which is given us in the service of to-day; for from it we shall be able to gather some faint notion of what they were while in the world, and of what they are now that they have been taken out of it.

And first, let us look at their character and conduct while in the world. They are described in the second lesson for this morning as working manfully the works which God gave them to do, and bearing patiently the troubles which He gave them to suffer. Of their works, and in some cases of their rewards, we are told in these words: "They subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, waxed valiant in fight, turned to flight the armies of the aliens, women received their dead raised to life again." Of their sufferings and of their endurance we read as follows: " Others were tortured not accepting deliverance; that they might obtain a better resurrection and others had trials of cruel mockings and scourgings, yea, moreover of bonds, and imprisonment: they were stoned, they were sawn asunder, were tempted, were slain by the sword; they wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, tormented; (of whom the

world was not worthy :) they wandered in deserts, and in mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth."

And here I may observe that this account of the doings, and sufferings of God's saints is completely borne out by what is recorded of them in the Bible. A very little acquaintance with the history of the Old Testament will enable us to find an individual example of each separate case above described, whether of endurance, or of affliction. Abraham

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will occur to your minds as an eminent pattern of a man working righteousness" and " obtaining promises; promises for himself and his posterity for evermore, and promises of life and safety for those on whose behalf he entreated with the Almighty. David and Joshua signalized themselves by subduing the kingdoms of God's enemies. Samson, when "the Spirit of God came mightily upon him," rent a lion as he would have rent a kid, that roared upon him out of the vineyards of Timnath. And Daniel, "forasmuch as innocency was found in him," was not hurt by the savage beasts, though shut up with them in their den. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, walked unscorched amidst the burning fiery furnace: Moses escaped the sword of Pharaoh; David that of Goliath; Job and Hezekiah were wonderfully recovered and "made strong" out of desperate sickness: Gideon was valiant in