January 10

Hebrews xi. - 1. Now, faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen;

2. For by it the elders obtained a good report.

3. Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.

4. By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, by which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts; and by it, he, being dead, yet speaketh.

5. By faith Enoch was translated, that he should not see death; and was not found, because God had translated him: for before his translation he had this testimony, that he pleased God.

6. But without faith it is impossible to please him; for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.

7. By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house; by the which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith.

8. By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for

an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whether he went.

9. By faith he sojourned in the land of promise as in a strange country, dwelling in tabernacles with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise;

10. For he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God.

12. Therefore sprang there even of one, and him as good as dead, so many as the stars of the sky in multitude, and as the sand which is by the sea-shore innumerable.

13. These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them atar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.

14. For they that say such things declare plainly that they seek a country.

15. And truly, if they had been mindful of that country from whence they came out, they might have had opportunity to have returned.

16. But now they desire a better country: that is, an heavenly: wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their God; for he hath prepared for them a city.

To the ancients the city was the embodiment of the ideas of home, of society, of enjoyment, of order, of security, of religion. In contrast with a roving life in tents, it was a settled abode; in contrast with the desert, the wilderness, the untravelled world, in which one felt himself a stranger, exposed to the wild powers of Nature, or to savage hearts and men, the city, with its walls, gates, and ramparts, was a place of safety and peace. The Divinity watched over it, and all good was centred in it. "Country," said Socrates, "is more than father and mother." And central in this idea of country, as its very sanctuary, was the city. To the Jew, Canaan was the ideal country; but Jerusalem was the joy of the whole earth. But all this was only a type of the city that God has

prepared for us: a city of abounding, felicity and satisfaction; of all beautiful things and rational delights; of the most select and congenial society; of perfect community from evil, where there shall be no hunger, nor thirst, nor pain, nor sorrow, nor death: a city into which there shall enter nothing that defile; where all good shall be complete, secure, and perpetual: a city illumined with the glory of God. This city, which kindled the faith of patriarchs, prophets, and apostles, shall be ours also, if our desire of it shall lead us to renounce the world, and to seek it with godly zeal and patience. The faith which gives reality to things unseen, which enables us to behold God in the creation, will bring us to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem.

APPROPRIATE HYMNS.]

Prayer.

[Nos. 39, 62, 127.

O God, who hast taught us in thy Word that there is still laid up a rest for thy people, and who hast given us a promise of entering into it! grant to us, we beseech thee, that we fail not of that promise through unbelief and disobedience. Teach us that here we have no abiding city. Teach us to look for a house that hath foundations, of which thou art the maker and builder. Lift our hearts thither in earnest desire.

O sabbath of eternal peace! O haven where the wicked cease from troubling, and the weary are at rest! When shall we see thee, O Lord! and behold the King in his beauty? When shall we meet the apostles and prophets, and the great multitude whom no man can number? When shall we see again our dear friends who sleep in Jesus?

O God the Father, who hast the times and sea-

sons in thine own power! let not that day come upon us unawares. O God the Son, who art gone to prepare a place for us! in thine own time take us to thyself, that where thou art, there may we be also. O God the Holy Ghost, the pledge of future glory in our hearts! seal us until the redemption of the purchased possession.

We bless thee for the help we have this day received in the divine life through thy holy Word and the prayers and praises of thy Church. We supplicate thy favor upon all who have heard thy Word, and upon those who have it not. We bless thee for thy mercy to this household, and commit ourselves to thy fatherly protection for the night. Keep us under the shadow of thy wings; and, O Father! bring us, we pray thee, finally to rest in thee, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.