what faculties we may then be endowed, and how we shall be fitted for our new home-but of this we are sure, that the loss of an earthly life will be abundantly made up to these innocents in heaven -that they will there lack nothing to their complete happiness, seeing they will be of that blessed company that follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth; in whose mouth is found no guile, for they are without fault before the throne of God.

And now turning, brethren, from the fate of these particular innocents, let us read from their history some lessons for ourselves. One of the first will be a lesson of comfort-a lesson of comfort especially for those of us as may have lost our children young-lost them at a time when, from their tender age, no reasonable doubt could be entertained of their comparative innocence; of their being free from any deadly sin. When such early deaths occur, when some dear child is stricken down by a sudden blow, cut down as a flower in its freshness, the first feeling is naturally one of sorrow. "Rachel weeps for her children and refuses to be comforted." To be separated so soon! to lose what this life (in spite of all that can be said against it), so rich in blessings, has to give! to see no more this goodly earth, with its Maker's hand-mark pressed everywhere visibly upon it! Not to grow up and glean wisdom with the ripening powers of the mind!

never to arrive at man's estate! all this, in the first moment of our bereavement, adds to our anguish.

But let us pause, let us reflect, let us look on the other side; let us think of the danger that life has, its temptations-its fiery trials-its disappointments -let us consider how many they are of whom, at the end of their course, it must be said with sorrow : "Good were it for this man had he not been born!" Let us withal exercise our faith; let us believe that God orders all things in heaven and earth; that both when He gives, and when He takes away, He does that which, in the end, will be seen to be the best. Let us further try to set that end before us; let us think of our lost ones; those who have died quite young and innocent, not so much with reference to what they were, as with reference to what they shall be. Let us think of them as being with Him when He cometh in His kingdom. Let us see them (by faith) standing on the Mount Sion, with the hundred forty and four thousand that have His Father's name written on their foreheads. Let us think of them as taking their part, joining their young voices, in that new song, known only to such as they-such as have been redeemed out of the earth and then we shall be selfish indeed in our grief, if we do not cease to wish them back. We shall grudge no more that their course here has been

so short, seeing it has brought them to so safe a goal; seeing that they have reached already, untossed by any storm, the haven where we, after much toil in rowing, hope, and only hope, at length to be!

Again: this subject may suggest other thoughts, and not only one of consolation under the death of those who die quite young.

If God be glorified by infants in their death, so, and much more, is He glorified by infants in their lives. Of all sights, the sight of the young preserving their innocence, passing out of infancy into childhood, and out of childhood into maturity, without any great stain upon their souls, must, we are sure, be most pleasing to the Almighty-to Him who "is of purer eyes than to behold iniquity." And so is it most pleasing to us men. There is a purity and beauty about such characters which commands attention from us all. They bear about with them an atmosphere of heaven. We feel that they would not be what they are, "wise unto that which is good, and simple concerning evil," unless God were with them. And so, as I have said, we admire and love the innocent. Perhaps we admire them the more because we so seldom see such characters; because they are so few so very few, who maintain, even for a while, a blameless walk.

The most of us-alas! the most even of the young, are quickly corrupted by familiarity with evil. Instead of God being glorified, I fear He is but too commonly dishonoured amongst us, and that by those who have but just begun their career! For look at the life and conversation of many of our young men. How opposite is it to the Gospel of our Lord! Instead of being gentle, they are rough! instead of keeping their lips guileless, what bad and profane words come out of them! Instead of fearing to offend, and feeling sorry when they have offended, how forward are they to sin and to provoke to sin! Instead of being obedient to their parents, and paying all respect to their words, no sooner do they step out of boyhood, but they cast off all reverence for them, set at nought their counsel, and will not bear their reproof!

As for succouring their parents, sparing to them out of their earnings some portion to make them comfortable, who is there of you, my younger brethren, that ever thinks of this?

And yet, if you cared to glorify God, you would. The first of all the commandments for you- the first with a promise, is, "Honour thy father and thy mother." And honour means, not only obey, but love, respect, help, cherish. I dwell upon this, this lack of respect and obedience in young men towards their parents, because it is one of the

saddest signs of the times, and also one of the surest signs of lost innocence, of a heart hardened by early acquaintance with sin.

And who is to blame for this? Not only the young themselves, but their parents as well. Perhaps their parents most of all. For they—if you inquire—did the same in their youth. They went before them in the offence. They, too, were heady, high-minded, disobedient to their parents. And now, as we often see, God repays them for it after a like sort; and raises up evil for them out of their own sin.

But if this be so, let parents learn a plain lesson from the subject before us; let them learn to go before their children in the way in which they would have them follow. Let the home practice be a practice good for them to copy. Let the son see how the grandfather or grandmother are honoured by his parents in their declining years. Let it be impressed upon him, not by word of mouth only, but by what he witnesses within his own family circle, that the first duty of a Christian youth is to show piety at home, and to requite his parents.

And now, in concluding, let me go back to the point from which I have digressed — to the more immediate teaching of the subject. That was, to show how the young may glorify God. They may do so in two ways,-by laying down their lives in