poignant, almost intolerable, gradually subside into resignation. And so it may be, that missing in the groups of the saved some that we could wish to be there, our regrets may so subside into resignation to God's most excellent will, that we shall be able to say, with an emphasis with which we never said it before, "Thy will be done here, even as it is done elsewhere in heaven." But may

it not be that as there is a hope against hope respecting dead relatives which we feel here, it may be in mercy permitted to us, in the realms of glory, that we shall never be sure that some we expected to meet are not there? Our Father's house has all infinitude for its dimensions, all eternity for its duration; and though we may not meet some that we may wish to meet, that will not prove that they are not in some other chamber of the universal home, in some other compartment of our Father's house. But of this we are absolutely sure, that we shall have no feelings, desires, or sympathies that are not in perfect harmony with the will and the mind of God. For instance, Aaron held his peace when his two sons were struck dead; and the brothers of these two were forbidden even to weep for them, and we read that they held their peace. So our sympathies and affections shall be so entirely moulded according to God's holy will, that we shall not have a wish that is not a reflection from the throne; no desire that is not an echo of his word; no want that is not perfectly, completely overflowed by Deity. We shall miss some great professors that all the world would have canonized; and we shall meet many a quiet, reserved, almost speechless one, who felt deep thoughts,

uttered few words, was a saint concealed, it may be, by his imperfections, concealed, it may be, by his timidity, but a saint indeed, and an heir of everlasting glory. And it does seem that if you were to take away that blessed thought of meeting Christians whom we have known and loved below, relatives above whom we have spent our pilgrimage with upon earth, it would take a gem from the crown of glory, a bright beam from everlasting day. Beautifully, therefore, does the poet say,—

"Oh, when the mother meets on high,
The child she lost in infancy,

Hath she not then for pains and fears,

The day of woe, the watchful night,
For all her sorrows, all her tears,

An over-payment of delight."

And in that remarkable book by Tupper, "Proverbial Philosophy," full of precious thought, he says,

"I look

to recognize, through the beautiful mask of their perfection, the dear familiar faces."

But if you should ever think of missing one in glory, what is the available remedy? Are you, husband, associated with a wife who gives no evidence of being a child of God? Speak to her the sacred words; tell her of the availing name. Oh, let not that foolish, stupid, worthless shame that you would not show as a soldier, a sailor, a lawyer, or a physician, prevent you one moment from saying, "This is the way; walk ye in it. Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved." And if I address a wife whose husband gives no evidence of grace, speak to him; gentle words, spoken in a gentle spirit,

may fall like the dew upon the soil, without noise, and without seeming present effect; but they saturate the soil, and the beauteous summer gives token of its effects. "A word in season, behold how good it is." I ask, is there anything more worthy of being spoken of than Christ, the soul, eternity? In a few fleet years the youngest and the healthiest and the strongest must lie down and die; in a few fleet months the aged must leave this pilgrimage of toil, this battle-field of conflict. Surely, surely, if there be one thought that ought to dominate, that ought to be supreme and overwhelming till it is settled, it is this, Will it be well with me at the judgment-seat of Christ? Shall I be among those to whom He will say, "Come, ye blessed of my Father"? How is it that men are all anxiety about the things of the world, all apathy about the things of eternity? How is it, I ask in the name of common sense, not to speak of the name of Him whose ambassador I am, how is it that the trifles of a day stir every passion and sympathy of the human heart; and that the very world for which we are here, the very end for which we are born, the safety of the soul, acceptance through the blood of sprinkling, are treated as if time were eternity, and eternity were time?

If you have any one connected with you, live Christianity, speak Christianity, teach Christianity, and, above all, pray. I do not believe that a child that has been the object of a mother's prayers will ever perish. I do not believe that a husband who is the ceaseless burden of a wife's prayers at the throne of grace will die eternally. I have perfect faith in God as the hearer of prayer.

Pray, pray, pray. And then when your prayers are answered, they will be lost in everlasting praise; and you shall meet above them with whom you held sweet communion below; and nature's ties, glorified in the light and splendor of the better land, will be the media of only more reciprocal delight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be praise and glory.

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LECTURE XXXV.

THE THRONED PRIEST AND KING.

And he shall sit and rule upon his throne; and he shall be a priest upon his throne: and the counsel of peace shall be between them both."--ZECHARIAH vi. 13.

THE prophet, I need not say, refers to the Lord Jesus Christ, this is the prophecy of what He shall be. There can be no difficulty in coming to this decision. I do not therefore spend time in attempting to prove it. It has been fulfilled in no other, it has been actualized in Christ, and this alone as proof that it relates to Him. This spectacle of Christ upon his throne was seen by Isaiah when he saw "the Lord sitting upon a throne high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple. Above stood the seraphim: each one had six wings, with twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly. And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory. And the posts of the door moved at the voice of him that cried, and the house was filled with smoke. Then said I, Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for mine eyes

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