The Dead in Christ may be remembered, in our praises. We may glorify God in them. From an interesting volume, “The Life of Lady Colquhoun," I subjoin an illustrative extract. It is the fragment

of an affecting letter, in which reference is made to the holy and the happy Dead :

:

"I used always to pray for my dear departed

I can

not omit her name; so I turn it into thanksgivings for God's goodness to her."

This is in accordance with the spirit of our Liturgy. In the Communion Service, having prayed for the members of the Church militant here in earth, we offer our praises to God for those who have fallen asleep in Jesus:

:

“And we also bless Thy holy name for all Thy servants departed this life in Thy faith and fear; beseeching Thee to give us grace so to follow their good examples, that with them we may be partakers of Thy heavenly kingdom."

To the like effect, in her sublime Burial Service, our Church comfortingly speaks. When consigning to the parent earth her silent Dead, she would teach us, with the charity that hopeth all things, to employ accents of thanksgiving :—

"We give Thee hearty thanks, for that it hath pleased Thee to deliver this our brother out of the miscries of this sinful world, beseeching Thee, that it may please Thee, of Thy gracious goodness, shortly to accomplish the number of Thine Elect, and to hasten Thy Kingdom."

We should bless God for dear Ones taken from us, if, through His grace, they fought the good fight, finished their course, and kept the faith. Remem

E

bering them, in this triumphant manner, may conduce to our own spiritual good. We may be stirred up, by their examples, to walk more consistently in life, and to desire, above all things, that by our death we may glorify God.

Nothing of this matter, as yet grasped by my mind, is sufficient or satisfying. I have but thought of the recollection of Mortals. And what is it, even in its happiest aspect? The temporary use of a mutable mental capacity. And by whom exercised? By those who, being but flesh, are even as a wind, that passeth away and cometh not again. Surely, there is a higher remembrance. These immortal longings were not given to me in vain. My existence will be a failure without a record; and I cannot willingly pass away, without obtaining recognition. But where shall such be found? Not with the creature, but with the Creator. He is ever in one mind. loves His people with an everlasting love. He is the Lord, and He changes not. And, above the most devoted human affection, He rightfully exalts His own ever-constant love; saying unto Zion :—

"Can a woman forget her sucking child,

He

That she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? Yea, they may forget,

Yet will I not forget thee.

Behold! I have graven thee upon the palms of My hands;
Thy walls are continually before Me."

I now seem to understand the right tendency of this yearning of my soul, and the real end of its

implantation within me. It should be sanctified. "Unto Thee lift I up mine eyes, O Thou that dwellest in the heavens. Think upon me, my God, for good. Domine! memento mei."

Yet am I in a strait, between my wants and my sinfulness. I am poor and needy; and, with me, it is a necessity that the Lord should remember the poor. But I am a sinful man before Him; and, if mine iniquities appear, they will testify against me, so that I may not stand in His sight. My unhappy condition calls for a marvellous treatment. quire an oblivion of mine offences, and a compassionate consideration of myself. With David, I cry unto Him:

"Remember not the sins of my youth,

Nor my transgressions;

According to Thy mercy remember Thou me,
For Thy goodness' sake, O Lord!"

I re

His royal amnesty, to this very scope, is graciously proclaimed in the Gospel. To me, the sinner, God reveals Himself as delighting in mercy; as waiting to be gracious; as unwilling that I should perish; as thinking thoughts toward me of peace and not of evil; and as beseeching me, by the most constraining motives, to be reconciled to Him. And, as for my sins, He covenanteth that He will not impute them to me, for that He has laid them on Another; that He will cast them into the depths of the sea, whence they shall not arise to bear witness; that He will place them behind His back, and will not turn to behold them; that He will blot them out, as a thick cloud marring the azure sky; that He will cover them,

as things which He could not endure to look upon; that He will forgive them, as a debt that in no other way could be settled; in short, and as dissipating all my fears, that He will, in the exercise of sovereign grace, "remember them no more."

Thus, with the mercy needed by His creature and characteristic of Himself, my Father in heaven dealeth with me. He can be just, and the justifier of him that believeth in Jesus. He hateth my sins; but He loveth myself. He saith to my fearful heart, "Be strong. Fear not!" Encouraged, I approach Him with the supplication, "LORD! REMEMBER ME." O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and know

ledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments, and His ways past finding out! Before I called, He answered. Before I ever thought of Him, He thought of me. Already, a book of remembrance was written before Him for them that feared the

Lord, and that thought upon His name. Immutable as His counsels, and enduring as His existence, is their memorial before God. I desire to have my portion with them; and, in a threefold manner, my necessities demand it. I need the Lord's remembrance:

I. In Life.

And here the burden of my song

would be David's petition—

"Remember me, O Lord,

With the favour that Thou bearest unto Thy people :

O visit me with Thy salvation !"

In His favour is life; yea, the life of life.

"Non

vivere, sed valere, est vita;" and the well-being of the

soul consists in its finding grace in the Lord's sight. Of this grace I would ask a continual supply. I would have my daily portion from the King's table. I know of the great favour that He bears to His people, and of His royal munificence in dispensing His feast of fat things. Of His fulness I would fain receive, and grace for grace. I long for a present salvation; for the spirit of adoption; for the sense of sonship; for the nearness of His presence; for the inhabitation of His Holy Spirit. Oh that He thus visit me, so "that I may see the good of His chosen; that I may rejoice in the gladness of His nation ; and that I may glory with His inheritance."

But, my days are like a shadow that declineth. My change cometh; and I cannot endure to the end, unless the Lord remember me—

II. In Death. They know nothing, who think or speak lightly of dying. This rending asunder of flesh and spirit is the execution of God's just sentence upon our guilty race. Its process is, mostly, sorrowful and agonizing. Its effect is the irrevocable fixing of our state, through everlasting ages. In both aspects, it comes to us invested with thrilling solemnity. For believers, the resurrection and glorifying change of their bodies will swallow up Death in victory. But at the present, it is not so; and, instead of being conquerors, they are overcome and slain. Like fugitives from the battle-field, their souls flee away, and leave the poor unburied Dead behind them. I cannot face this Foe alone. I ask so to be remembered by my Lord, that I may count upon His presence and providence " in the hour of death." When